The Buzz...About Books

Just the Facts, Ma'am: Mystery Awards roundup

Autumn is a great time to be a fan of crime writing.  Five major awards have been announced over the past several weeks. 

The Barry Awards
Novel:
The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton
    Large Print
    eAudiobook

First Novel:
The Poacher's Son by Paul Doiron

British Crime Novel:
The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill

Paperback Original
Fever of the Bone by Val McDermid

Thriller:
Thirteen Hours by Deon Meyer
    Audiobook
    Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)

The Hammett Prize
Winner:
The Nearest Exit by Olen Steinhauer
    Audiobook
    Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)

Anthony Award
Novel:
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
    Large Print
    Audiobook
    eAudiobook

First Novel:
The Damage Done by Hilary Davidson

Paperback Original
Expiration Date by Duane Swierczynski

Critical Work
Agatha Chrisite's Secret Notebooks: Fifty Years of Mysteries in the Making by John Curran

Macavity Award
Novel
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
    Large Print
    Audiobook
    eAudiobook

Best First Mystery Novel:
Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva
    Large Print

Non Fiction
Agatha Chrisite's Secret Notebooks: Fifty Years of Mysteries in the Making by John Curran

Shamus Awards
Best First P.I. Novel:
In Search of Mercy by Michael Ayoob

Best Paperback Original P.I. Novel:
Asia Hand by Christopher Moore

The CWA Dagger Awards
Gold Dagger:
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
    Large Print
    eAudiobook
    eBook

The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger:
The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton
    Large Print
    eAudiobook

The John Creasey Dagger:
Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
    Large Print

International Dagger:
Three Seconds by Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström
    Large Print
    Audiobook
    eAudiobook

Non-Fiction Dagger:
The Killer of Little Shepherds by Douglas Starr

Governor General Literary Awards Children's Finalists

The Governor General's Literary Award celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2011.  This year, 68 finalists were selected from the 1684 books that were submitted for consideration.  The awards are given in 14 categories for English, French, adult and juvenile literature.  This is the list of finalists for the juvenile categories.

Children's Text (English)

Blink and Caution, Tim Wynne-Jones

From Then to Now: a Short History of the World, Christopher Moore

A Hare in the Elephant's Trunk, Jan L. Coates

No Ordinary Day, Deborah Ellis

This Dark Endeavour, Kenneth Oppel

Children's Illustrations(English)

Along a Long Road, illustrations by Frank Viva

Fishing with Gubby, illustrations by Kim La Fave

Migrant, illustrations by Isabelle Arsenault

Red Wagon, illustrations by Renata Liwska

Ten Birds by Cybèle Young

Children's Text (French)

Les aventures de Radisson. 1, L'enfer ne brûle pas, Martin Fournier

Enigmae.com. 3, L'orteil de Paros, Anne Bernard-Lenoir

Un massacre magnifique, Camille Bouchard

La saison des pluies, Mario Brassard

Sous le signe d'Exu. 1, Initiation, Pierre Marmiesse

Children's Illustrations(French)

Bill Chocottes: le héros qui avait peur, illustrations de Élisabeth Eudes-Pascal

Haiti, mon pays, illustrations de Rogé (Roger Girard)

Lili et les poilus, illustrations de Caroline Merola

Quelle pagaille! Illustrations de Sophie Casson

Tarantelle, illustrations de Shea Chang

Related Posts
Governor General's Literary Awards Finalists
Governor General's Awards Celebrate 75 Years of Literature

2011 ReLit Awards

ReLit winners Craig Francis Power (novel) Tony Burgess (short fiction) and Dani Couture (poetry) with ReLit Founder Kenneth J. Harvey

The winners of the ReLit Awards were announced on October 22, in Ottawa.  These awards were founded in 2000 by Newfoundland author Kenneth J. Harvey to celebrate independent Canadian publishing. 

The awards were presented in three categories.

 

Poetry:
Sweet by Dani Couture

 

 

 

Short Fiction:
Ravenna Gets by Tony Burgess

 

 

 

Fiction:
Blood Relatives by Craig Francis Power

 

 

Related Posts:
ReLit Award Nominees

A Spy in the House of Food

When the New York Times newspaper approached Ruth Reichl about becoming their new restaurant critic, she was already reviewing restaurants for the Los Angeles Times and was in no mood to make a change.

Her husband was supportive. 

"Why on earth would you want to work at the best paper in the world?"

The Times hires her and Reichl quickly discovers that every restaurant in New York has prepared for her arrival by putting a picture of her face on their staff bulletin board. So with the help of a theatre make-up artist she creates a well-to-do, but very dowdy, disguise for herself.

Reichl's account of the shabby treatment this unfashionable character gets at the fashionable restaurant Le Cirque is refreshingly scathing.

She returns to Le Cirque as herself, the reviewer for the New York Times, and her account of the splendid treatment she gets is just as scathing. She writes a hilarious review about both experiences , and postitive responces roll in from readers.

One reader praised her as "a spy in the house of food".

So begins Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, her memoir of reviewing restaurants in New York City, published in 2005.

Reichl is good company, never takes herself too seriously and seriously loves good food. I picked this up when I was in the mood for something light, urbane and hilarious, and I could hardly bear to put it down.

Also in Large Print.

Man Booker Awarded to Julian Barnes

Earlier today, the Man Booker prize was announced in London.  This year's winner is Julian Barnes for his novel The Sense of an Ending.  

This year the judges considered 138 novels before deciding on a 13 book longlist.  Six finalists were announced on September 6.  The shortlist has been widely criticized for including books that are outside of the literary mainstream.  In response, literary agent Andrew Kidd, one of the most vocal critics, announced the creation of a new rival award.  He stated that while the Man Booker Prize values "readabilty over artistic achievement" the Literature Prize will celebrate "quality and ambition". 

Man Booker Prize administrator Ion Trewin has denied that the award's standards have slipped replying that "what has happened is that the judges have identified previously unknown, or little known, authors. A lot of people find it very difficult to take if it means their much-loved literary darlings have not made it."

The shortlist included two debut novelists: Stephen Kelman for Pigeon English and A.D. Miller for Snowdrops.  Carol Birch, nominated for Jamrach's Menagerie, was longlisted for the award in 2003 for Turn Again Home.  Winner Julian Barnes is the best known author on the shortlist. 

Two Vancouver Island natives were shortlisted for the award this year.  The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt is a comic western novel about the lives of two murderous brothers.  Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan tells the story of a trumpet player who goes missing at the beginning of World War II and the impact of his disappearance on his bandmates. 

Related Posts:
Man Booker Prize Shortlist
Man Booker Prize Longlist

If you're interested in other literary awards, please check our Award Winners section.

A new book by a favourite author.... Awesome!

If you heard a squeal of delight the other day, that was just me getting my hands on the new - and long awaited - novel by my favourite author.  To me, that's Awesome!

My favourite  author is Sharon Kay Penman.  Her books are extremely well researched, but somehow she does not let that get in the way of a well told story.  Her characters are always fully drawn, very human and come to life in the imagination.  A fantastic author for anyone who enjoys both history and historical fiction.

Lionheart is her latest book about England's Plantagenets.  Although Sharon's books have a sequence, each can be read on their own.

Lionheart is the story of Richard I, known to history as Lionheart, starting just after Henry II was killed and Richard became King of England. Within a few months of gaining the throne,  Richard set off to the Holy Land, leaving his younger brother, Prince John, free to plot with the French King to take his crown.  Lucky for Richard, his mother was Eleanor of Aquitaine.  Newly released from captivity after Henry's death, she was more than capable of protecting Richard's interests while he was away on Crusade.

The book follows Richard through the Third Crusade -  the many battles among the Christians and the warfare with the Saracens, including with his most worthy opponent, the famous Saladin. 

If you enjoy historical fiction, I would recommend that you give one of her books a try.  You could start with Time and Chance, which covers the earlier years of the tempestuous relationship between the fascinating Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II.  My favourite is still Here Be Dragons, which is the story of Joanna, the illegitimate daughter of King John and wife of Llewelyn, Prince of Wales. It is the first book in her Welsh trilogy.

If you agree that a new book by a favourite author is awesome and would like to read about more awesome things, try Neil Pasricha's The Book of Awesome, The Book of (Even More) Awesome or place a hold on the upcoming The Book of (Holiday) Awesome.

The Book of Awesome is also available as an eBook.

75 Years of Excellence

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Governor General's Literary Awards.  The finalists for the 2011 prize was announced on Tuesday, October 11.  One notable name missing from the fiction shortlist is Michael Ondaatje, whose novel The Cat's Table has received much critical praise.  In fact, Ondaatje asked that his book not be submitted for consideration this year.  He stated that although the award "has been very important to me and I greatly respect it and what it has done for our literature" he believes that "I have received it many times and felt I should not enter a book again". 

Ondaatje has won the Governor General's award 5 times for both poetry and fiction. He was also a finalist in 1987 for his novel In the Skin of a Lion and in 1998 for Handwriting, a poetry collection.

1970: The Collected Works of Billy the Kid (poetry category)

1979: There's a Trick with a Knife I'm Learning to Do: Poems 1963-1978 (poetry category)

1992: The English Patient (fiction category)

2000: Anil's Ghost (fiction category)

2007 Divisadero (fiction category)

In the history of the award, there has been only one other 5-time winner. Hugh MacLennan was honoured for his work in both fiction and nonfiction.

1945: Two Solitudes (fiction category)

1948: The Precipice (fiction category)

1949: Cross-Country (nonfiction category)

1954: Thirty and Three (nonfiction category)

1959: The Watch that Ends the Night (fiction category)

Governor General's Literary Awards Finalists

The finalists for the 2011 Governor General's Literary Awards were announced earlier today.  The awards are presented 7 categories for both English and French literature.  Both adult and children's literature is honoured.  This is the list of nominees for the English adult awards.

Fiction

The Free World by David Bezmozgis

Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan

The Little Shadows by Marina Endicott

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

Touch by Alexi Zentner

Non-Fiction

The Damned: the Canadians at the Battle of Hong Kong and the POW Experience, 1941-1945 by Nathan M. Greenfield

Empire of the Beetle: How Human Folly and a Tiny Bug are Killing North America's Great Forests by Andrew Nikiforuk

The Measure of a Man: the Story of a Father, a Son and a Suit by J. J. Lee

Mordecai: The Life and Times by Charles Foran

Nation Maker: Sir John A. Macdonald: His Life, Our Times, Volume 2: 1867-1891 by Richard Gwyn

Poetry

Cosmographia: a Post-Lucretian Faux Micro-Epic by Michael Boughn

Discovery Passages by Garry Thomas Morse

Fieldnotes: a Forensic by Kate Eichhorn

Killdeer by Phil Hall

Origami Dove by Susan Musgrave

Drama

House of Many Tongues by Jonathan Garfinkel

Gas Girls by Donna-Michelle St. Bernard

If We Were Birds by Erin Shields

Lenin's Embalmers by Vern Thiessen

Minor Complications: Two Plays by Brendan Gall

Translation French to English

Judith Cowan for Meridian Line, translation of Origine des mèridiens by Paul Bélanger

David Scott Hamilton for Exit, translation of Paradis, clef en main by Nelly Arcan

Lazer Lederhendler for Apocalypse for Beginners, translation of Tarmac by Nicolas Dickner

Lazer Lederhendler for Dirty Feet, translation of Les pieds sales by Edem Awumey

Donald Winkler for Partita for Glenn Gould, translation of Partita pour Glenn Gould by Georges Leroux

The winners will be announced on November 15.

Related Posts:
Governor General's Literary Awards Children's Finalists
The Governor General's Awards Celebrate 75 Years of Literature

Book Clubbing at Bendale

Bendale Branch has run an Adult Afternoon Book Club for as long as anyone can remember.  It was in the inspired hands of Branch Head Sylvia Simpson until her retirement in January 2009, when staffer Hanna Malek took over.  Hanna brings wide book knowledge, spark and sparkle to the proceedings.  This dedicated group of amateur literary critics meet at 2:00 p.m. on the third Tuesday of the month, fueled by refreshments and conversation.


On Tuesday October 18, at 2:00 p.m., author Julie Kirkpatrick will present her new book The Camino Letters to the group.  This Ontario lawyer reduced her workload and set out on El Camino de Santiago pilgrimage with her teenaged daughter.  Her book is the intensely personal and honest account of this journey.

In response to the call for a book club held outside regular working hours, Hanna began the Adult Evening Book Club this fall.  This group meets the second Thursday of the month, from 6:30-8:00 p.m..  The first order of business was to select titles to discuss for the coming months.  This was done democratically, by secret ballot.  Attendance has been strong, but there is still lots of room for new members.

Please contact Bendale Branch at 416-396-8910 for information.

--thanks to Sandra and Hanna

Graveminder

Melissa Marr's new novel Graveminder, will captivate fantasy and horror fans alike. Rebekkah Barrow has tried to forget everything from her past, including the suicide of her sister. She left the small town of Claysville years ago and hoped to never return. However, with the sudden death of her grandmother, Maylene, Rebekkah must return to fulfill her duties at the funeral. Maylene taught her the many rituals, which must be followed at a funeral and Rebekkah is the only one who can perform these tasks.

Upon returning to serene Claysville, Rebekkah is greeted by her former boyfriend Byron, the undertaker, and is informed that her grandmother was actually murdered. Oddly, the police and town council do not seem concerned and the council simply explains that they will take care of everything. Rebekkah knew that Claysville was an eccentric small town, which follows strict burial customs, including not embalming the deceased, but she is now about to discover the many secrets that Claysville hides. "Death himself had made a bargain with Claysville, that the townsfolk knowingly accepted such a bargain in exchange for health and semisealed borders." After arriving in town, Rebekkah feels a strange pull to stay. The people of Claysville tend to live their whole lives there and if they do leave, they feel obliged to return.

Rebekkah will learn that following in Maylene's footsteps, she is now the Graveminder, who keeps the dead in their final place of rest. It is up to Rebekkah and Byron to hunt down the monster who killed Maylene.