Sunday, 2 February 2025

Enjoyed in January

Historical fiction is my favourite genre interspersed with family sagas. Here are some of the titles I read in January.


Five of the best

1. The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. Lonely and bearing the brunt of her mother's endless grievances, Ellie dreams of a friend to alleviate her isolation. Luckily, on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind, passionate girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. Follow them through their lives as they face revolutions, relationships and personal challenges.

Women's issues, revolutions, social class

2. An Undeniable Voice by Tania Blanchard

1907, London. As the winds of change sweep across the world, Hannah Rainforth and her friends take to the streets to fight for the vote for women. Now is not the time for quiet argument - the country will only listen when it's forced to, and the women join the suffragette movement, putting their bodies, reputations and personal safety on the line to achieve lasting change for women. Dark clouds of war and sinister forces are gathering on the horizon and Hannah is desperate to protect those she loves the most. Faced with the loss of her home, her livelihood and even her family, Hannah risks everything to ensure their survival - and to achieve the vote for women, which is now a matter of national urgency. As the country is plunged into war and deadly bombs are devastating the city and the north, Hannah and women across the nation join the home war effort to galvanise the nation.
Based of the life of the author's husband's great grandmother.

Historical fiction, Women's suffrage, WWI

3. The Glass Maker by Tracy Chevalier

Venice, 1486. Across the lagoon lies Murano. Time flows differently here – like the glass the island’s maestros spend their lives learning to handle. Women are not meant to work with glass, but Orsola Rosso flouts convention to save her family from ruin. She works in secret, knowing her creations must be perfect to be accepted by men. But perfection may take a lifetime. Skipping like a stone through the centuries, we follow Orsola as she hones her craft through war and plague, tragedy and triumph, love and loss. The beads she creates will adorn the necks of empresses and courtesans from Paris to Vienna – but will she ever earn the respect of those closest to her?

Historical fiction, time slips

4.  All the Golden Light by Siobhan O'Brien

1918, Belowla, south coast New South Wales. As the Great War grinds to an end, Adelaide Roberts accompanies her father to a rugged island off the south coast of New South Wales to deliver much-needed supplies. While loss and deprivation have decimated the country, Ada is determined to live a life of purpose and hope, and dreams of living independently. On the windswept rocky outcrop, she meets lighthouse keeper Emmett Huxley, a dark-eyed outsider haunted by his service in France, taking refuge from the damage of the war. 

Historical fiction, lighthouses, drug addiction, WWI

5. Down the Track by Stella Quinn

If you like some romance, a dinosaur dig in outback Queensland with a reluctant 12 year old in the mix, here's a light read to enjoy. Throw in a helicopter pilot and reluctant shearer who is now writing and the attraction grows.

Paeleontology, Queensland, drug smuggling, family tragedy, authorship, romance


This post first appeared on https://carmelgalvin.info

Tuesday, 24 September 2024

How to Scan to Searchable PDF

Scanning Documents to Keyword Searchable PDFs

Recently I was loaned a 1976 typewritten document comprising of stories told about family life in a small village in County Mayo, Ireland dating back to the 1850s. The Appendix contained valuable genealogical information related to the author's family. It also contained a summary of the surnames and population numbers of the tenants and their landholdings in the early 20th century compared to 1976.

To preserve the valuable historical data in this document for future generations before returning the paper file to the owner, I decided to scan it. I now await permission from the son of the author to share this document to an archival space.

Keyword Searchable PDFs allow users to quickly find specific text within a document, and avoid the loss of valuable information currently stored only on paper.

How often does one scan a document to find that the PDF generated is not searchable? Scans are digital images and often the PDF function just combines all the images into a PDF. Yes, there are a variety of tools that will read the text within an image, but if one has a document of many pages it is preferable to scan to a keyword searchable PDF

There are a variety of paid apps that one can use with tablets and phones but I looked within the software that is supplied with  two common brands of flatbed scanners. 

Canon 


Canon flatbed scanner

The Canon scanners have this feature. Choose the Document function. Once all the images are scanned, the Save As menu provides the prompt - Create a PDF file that supports keyword search.

From the Canon manual

Epson

The WF series of Epson printer/scanners also have this built in function. Instructions can be viewed here on pages 159-160.

Epson multifunction printer/scanner


Why settle for less when you are scanning documents?
  1. Searchable PDFs allow users to quickly find specific text within a document, saving time compared to manually browsing.
  2. Digitizing paper documents reduces physical storage needs, freeing up space and minimizing clutter. It preserves the paper copy in case of subsequent loss or damage.
  3. Searchable PDFs can be easily shared and annotated, making collaboration with others more straightforward. They are accessible to screen readers. 
  4. For genealogists and family historians, preserve those fragile documents while you can.
Check your scanner's software before looking for expensive alternatives.

This post first appeared on https://carmelgalvin.info

Wednesday, 19 June 2024

Smart tables for your family history



Think of a spreadsheet as a smart table for sorting and organising your accumulated data. Whether you're using Google Sheets, OpenOffice Calc, Microsoft Excel, Apple Numbers, or other programs, use the power of digital tables to manipulate your family history data.

10 uses

  1. Track certificates bought and/or ordered
  2. Timelines - for individuals and/or families
  3. Census data across the years
  4. Tracking DNA data matches / DNA contact list
  5. Land records
  6. Research plans
  7. Records downloaded from a particular dataset 
  8. An index of photos digitised
  9. Progress sheet of biographies/ blogposts/ reports written 
  10. Checklist of resources for a particular area/country

This is a compilation list, some of the best explanations of how and why to use a spreadsheet program for your family history data. 







This post first appeared on https://carmelgalvin.info

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