The Buzz...About Books

Five Books About Ballet for Leap Day

We have an extra day this year and it deserves a book list.  I considered various themes (frogs, high jumpers, lizards) before settling on ballet because it is the most graceful leaping I can imagine.  These five novels will take you behind the scenes in this glamorous and complicated world.

Dancing for Degas by Kathryn Wagner
A young woman's desire to support her family by dancing in Paris may be derailed when she falls in love with artist Edgar Degas.

Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay
When former Bolshoi Ballet star Nina Revskaya decides to sell her jewellery collection, she believes that her connection to the past has been severed, however, one of the jewels may help a Russian professor solve the mystery of his own life.

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The True Memoirs of Little K by Adrienne Sharp
99-year-old Mathilde Kschessinska, former prima ballerina of the Russian Imperial Ballet, recalls her younger days as a dancer during the Romanov dynasty.

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Various Positions by Martha Schabas
This acclaimed debut novel tells the story of a young woman learning to cope with the beautiful and brutal world of professional ballet.

When We Danced on Water by Evan Fallenberg
Teo, a choreographer, and Vivi, a waitress, argue, and share long-buried secrets as their unorthodox relationship grows.

Staff members at your local branch can help you locate additional materials on ballet.

Winning Reads--Books that Inspired Oscar Nominated Films

Tonight's Academy Awards ceremony promises glitz, glamour and celebrities.  It's important to note that some of the motion picture magic has been inspired by literature.  This year a number of the movies nominated for Best Picture were based on books.

 

The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings.
Hemmings' novel inspired the movie about a family in crisis.
 

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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
A boy searches New York for answers after his father dies in the World Trade Center on 9/11.

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Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Kathryn Stockett's best-selling novel inspired the film about maids in Mississippi in the 1960s and the feisty woman who wanted to tell their story.
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The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
This award-winning children's novel about a boy living in a Paris train station was the source material for Hugo, a film by Martin Scorsese. 

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Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
Lewis' book about baseball manager Billy Beane's innovative and successful attempt to use computer analysis to draft players was the inspiration for Moneyball.

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War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
It's been a play and a movie, but it began as a children's book. The film has been nominated for best picture and best adapted screenplay. 

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Books and stories also inspired films nominated in other categories:

Albert Nobbs, the Glenn Close vehicle, was based on a short story called The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs by George Moore which can be found in The Bodley Head Book of Longer Short Stories, 1900-1974.

Rooney Mara is nominated for her role as Lizbeth Salander, a character created by Stieg Larsson in his novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling provided the story for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 2, the conclusion of the Harry Potter series.

In Darkness, nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, is based on Robert Marshall's non-fictional book In the Sewers of Lvov: the Last Sanctuary from the Holocaust.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John LeCarre provided the inspiration for the film of the same name.

Folk Song Comes to Life

Everyone at some point has heard the Kingston Trio's haunting folk song "Tom Dooley," about a man who is convicted of murder and sentenced to hang for his crime. In Sharyn McCrumb's novel, The Ballad of Tom Dooley, the story is retold with surprising results.

McCrumb researched historical documents and legal evidence of the murder and ensuing trial to write this book. The first shock of the novel is that the man, on which the legend is based, was actually named Tom Dula, and furthermore, McCrumb comes to the conclusion that he was innocent.

In 1866, the Civil War had just ended and men like Tom were returning home. When Tom returns to North Carolina, he finds his childhood sweetheart, Ann Melton, married not for love but stability. They begin a torrid affair, which is no secret from anyone in their small town. Instead of looking for work, Tom chooses to live with his mother, drinking and having trysts with multiple women including Ann's cousin, Laura Foster. Within months Laura is missing and Tom is the main suspect.

The story is narrated by Pauline Foster, another cousin of Ann's, and Zebulon Vance, Dula's lawyer and a former Confederate governor. Both narrators do not seem too trustworthy, but they do have interesting points of view. Pauline becomes the hired help at Ann's house just in-time to witness the now legendary events. Suffering from syphilis, Pauline is jealous of her beautiful cousin Ann and adds to the drama with tragic results.

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Books for Downton Abbey Fans

Downton Abbey, a British television show, has won critical acclaim and many fans.  The series is set in the Yorkshire country house of the Earl and Countess of Grantham and follows the lives of the Crawley family and their servants during the early part of the 20th century.

Do you find yourself longing for an aristocratic life in a country house complete with maids, butlers and cooks?  What is it really like inside those country houses?  These books may provide some insight.

The Big House: the Story of a Country House and its Family by Christopher Simon Sykes
Using family papers, Sykes traces the history of Sledmere, a country house in Yorkshire that has been in the Sykes family since the 18th century.

A Charmed Life: Growing Up in Macbeth's Castle by Liza Campbell
When her father became the twenty-fifth Thane of Cawdor, Liza Campbell and her siblings moved into a castle but their lives were complicated by their father's excesses.

Country Life: 100 Favourite Homes by Candida Lycett Green
Lycett Green profiles 100 country homes in the British Isles including examples from various architectural styles and anecdotes about their owners.

Inheritance: the Story of Knole and the Sackvilles by Robert Sackville-West
Knole House was built in the 15th century and since 1604 has been inhabited by thirteen generations of the Sackville family. In this book, the history of the house and the family are explored by the current Baron Sackville.

If you prefer immersing yourself in the Downton Abbey world, the library does have the first two seasons of the television show on DVD, and a companion book The World of Downton Abbey.

Downton Abbey, Season 1
Downton Abbey, Season 2

Hong Kong Stories

In preparation for my recent trip to Hong Kong, I called upon my favorite librarians and scoured the library catalogue to find books about Hong Kong, as I always do before an adventure. Here are my favs in case you’re lucky enough have a Hong Kong trip in the offing, or even if you just want to be an armchair traveler.

Naturally, I had to throw in some non-fiction to make sure I understood what exactly Hong Kong’s status as a Special Administrative Region of China meant. Jan Morris’s The World; Travels 1950-2000 gave me this context in only one chapter – and a whole lot more world history to boot. Not that I expected anything less from this world-known travel essayist. And of course along with all the delicious travel guides the Library has, from Lonely Planet to Rough Guide to Eyewitness imprints – all trip porn for me – I was well prepared on the non-fiction side.

Then I started on the classics set in early colonial Hong Kong, starting with James Clavell’s 1966 story of greed and power, Tai-Pan, Somerset Maugham’s The Painted Veil  and Fragrant Harbour by John Lanchester. Fragrant Harbour by John Lanchester (2002) was amongst those recommended to me but sadly it didn’t pass the first 50 pages test (there are so many fabulous books out there that if I don’t love a book within the first 50 pages, I don’t generally finish it). More of a boy book I think, it is the story of four intertwined lives in tumultuous colonial Hong Kong and an “epic novel of one of the world’s great cities.”

The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham (1925) was one of my favourites of the bunch. Young and somewhat foolish Kitty Fane marries for all the wrong reasons and then has an affair in 1920s Hong Kong. When her doctor husband finds out, he compels her to accompany him on a dangerous mission where she loses touch with her former society life and must reassess everything. The writing and characterization is quite beautiful and so evocative of early colonial Hong Kong life.

Adultery also appears as a theme in Janice K. Lee’s The Piano Teacher (2008) (available in multiple formats). The Piano Teacher started off slowly but ended up drawing me in – ex-pat Brit Will falls in love with Trudy Liang, a beautiful Eurasian social butterfly. But it’s the Second World War and the Japanese are invading – and each character deals with the horrors of war differently and separately. Ten years later, another young woman, Claire is hired to teach piano in a wealthy Chinese family – her enigmatic lover is tied to the family but she’s not sure how – the threads converge, pulling the story together oh so nicely.

Sisters coming of age was a popular theme in many of books I read including Shanghai Girls by Lisa See (21009). Shanghai Girls is the tale of two young sisters who learn that their father has gambled away all their wealth and they have been pretty much sold off as wives to American suitors. White Ghost Girls  by Alice Greenway (2006) recounts the story of two young American girls growing up in Mao’s tumultuous Cultural Revolution in a Hong Kong plagued by bombs and the Vietnamese war next door. And finally, Night of Many Dreams by Gail Tsukiyama (1998) is another sisters coming of age story, also set in Hong Kong just before the Second World War.

One writer I had admired but who I had not realized had Hong Kong roots showed up on the list of Hong Kong must-reads. Martin Booth’s Gweilo: Memories of a Hong Kong Childhood (2004) is an autobiographical account of his childhood in Hong Kong. Booth offers a rather unique perspective – that of a bright, inquisitive seven-year-old with blond hair – the apparent source of good luck to the Chinese.

So with all this preparation, I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Hong Kong – the incredible temples, gardens and ancient buildings, the food, the tram ride to Victoria Peak, the food, Hong Kong Wetland Park, the food – we even managed a long hike in Tai Tam Country Park (followed by more food). The Library is fantastic for preparing for any journey, real, virtual or only in one’s mind… or reliving those memories years later.

"The best books make me stupid."

Some books make us happy, some make us sad but broadcaster Mary Ito's favourite books make her "stupid".  She was kind enough to share a list of her best reads and the following introduction with us.

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The Best Books Make Me Stupid

I know there's a general belief out there that books make you smart.  But something strange happens to me that defies that notion.  I can't seem to function properly after reading a book that moves me, in a soul-shaking, mind-bending, chest-thumping kind of way.  Thank goodness there are only so many of these BMDs (books of mass destruction) because the better the book, the worse my condition.  It's been very hard on my family. 
 
Here are five outcomes (in ascending order, or descending depending on how you want to look at it), of what a great book can do:
 
1.  Feel deeply satisfied after reading it
2.  Must blab about it to anyone within a 100 miles (call it the 100 Mile Book Diet)
3.  The opposite effect - I'm rendered speechless
4.  Speechless AND prostrate
5.  I enter a coma-like state as a fog settles in my brain and disrupts all cognitive function.
 
Because of this precarious condition, I must be extremely careful NOT to read two coma-inducing books back to back.  This happened once unintentionally when I read Jon Lee Anderson's Che Guevara and then Blindness by Jose Saramago  immediately after.  I honestly can't remember much of Venice. (What did happen on that trip?) But that's where vacation pictures come in handy. The problem is (like a relationship) you never know what kind of effect it's going to have until you're deep into it, and then once it's got a hold of you (like a relationship), it's almost impossible to extricate yourself.   

Another time, we were vacationing in San Francisco and my husband had the misfortune of trying to talk to me immediately after I'd read The Elegance of the Hedgehog.  BIG mistake.  He asked me the most impossible question, something like, "where do you want to go today?"  It might just as well have been "what are the chances we'll have peace in the Middle East , and do you think Kim Jong Un's hairstyle will eventually morph into his father's?"  Eerie silence.   My husband looks at my daughter and asks "what's with your mother?"  She replies, "Dad!!! You KNOW she just finished reading that hedgehog book!!!"  True story.

These books left me at the very least deeply satisfied, and a few were coma-inducing. But no worries, I've recovered. You may not.

Book Buzz reads Little Bee

Book Buzz is Toronto Public Library's online book club.  Each month we concentrate on a specific book for discussion.  This month we're reading Little Bee by Chris Cleave--originally published under the title The Other Hand.

The novel tells the story of two women who are forever linked by an act of violence.

When Little Bee is released after spending two years in a British immigration detention centre she is uncertain how to build a future in Britain and she is still tormented by memories of her life in Nigeria.  She turns to the only English citizens she knows for help--Sarah and Andrew O'Rourke.

While vacationing in Nigeria, Sarah and Andrew encounter Little Bee and her sister Nkiruka as the girls flee from the soldiers who have destroyed their village.  Although Sarah and Andrew negotiate with the soldiers in an attempt to save the girls' lives, they leave Nigeria uncertain whether they have been successful.  The experience haunts the couple and is particularly traumatic for Andrew whose self-image has been shattered.

Inspired by author Chris Cleave's experience working in a refugee detention centre, the novel is compelling and heart-breaking.

Also this month:

Enter our Winter Contest for a chance to win one of our book prize packages!

What literary character would you like to have been?

Tell us and you may be a winner.

Contest closes February 29.

 

Join Book Buzz and join the discussion.

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Win Books from Book Buzz!

Win Books from Book Buzz!

Book Buzz is Toronto Public Library's virtual book club.  Like any other book club, we meet and discuss books.  The difference is that we meet on the Internet.  Our members read and discuss books at their own convenience.  Each month we have a discussion centred around a specific book.  Members can log in to our forum throughout the month and share their feelings about that month's book.  We also have a general forum where we discuss anything related to books and reading.  It's a wonderful place to get recommendations, share reviews and meet other booklovers.

Our annual Winter Contest is taking place this month.  Have you ever wanted to change places with a fictional character?  Tell us about it and win.  Each of our participants will be eligible to win one of our book prize packages.

It's easy to enter.  Simply register to become a Book Buzz member.  You'll find the Winter Contest folder on our main discussion forum page.

Five Books for Super Bowl Sunday

It's a big day for sports fans.  It always seems to me that the Super Bowl broadcast lasts for an entire weekend while the game itself is relatively brief.  If you get bored during the pre-pre-pre-game show or the post-post-post-game analysis, you might like to read one of these books about football.

That First Season: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set in on the Path to Glory  by John Eisenberg
Everyone loves a comeback story. In a single season, legendary coach Vince Lombardi took the Green Bay Packers from laughing stocks to champions.

The Glory Game: How the 1958 NFL Championship Game Changed Football Forever by Frank Gifford
Frank Gifford, MVP of the 1958 Championship Game, sometimes called "the best game ever", discusses the game and its impact on football.

The Making of the Super Bowl: The Inside Story of the World's Greatest Sporting Event by Don Weiss
Weiss, one of the founding fathers of the Super Bowl, describes the creation and history of the event.

Scoreboard, Baby: a Story of College Football, Crime and Complicity by Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry
Investigative reporters Armstrong and Perry discovered that behind the 2000 Rose Bowl winning season of the University of Washington Huskies lay a network of law enforcement officers, university administrators and citizens who ignored, excused and abetted the criminal behaviour of the team's players.

War Room: The Legacy of Bill Belichick and the Art of Building the Perfect Team by Michael Holley
Holley looks at the wide-spread influence of New England Patriots coach Belichick on other teams and on football in general.

A journey of a hundred feet...

One of the best things about working in a library is exchanging book recommendations with colleagues and customers.  My thanks to my co-worker Joanne for this recommendation!

The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C Morais is the fictional memoir of Hassan Haji, a three-star chef in Paris. Born above his grandfather's restaurant in Mumbai, Hassan and his family leave India after a terrible tragedy.   After moving around for several years, they finally settle in a small town in the French Alps and continue the family tradition by opening an Indian restaurant. 

Unfortunately, not everyone is happy with these new residents.  Madame Mallory is the owner and chef of Le Saule Pleureur, an inn and two-star restaurant which is located across the street from the Haji's new restaurant.   After seeing the impact of the new restaurant on her business and her community, she becomes irate and becomes determined to drive the Haji family away. 

The conflict between Chef Mallory and the Hassan's family soon escalates out of control.  To make amends, she offers to take Hassan as her apprentice to be trained as a French chef.  It is this hundred-foot journey from his family's restaurant to Le Saule Pleureur which will change Hassan's life forever.

While the Hundred-Foot Journey is fictional, it may inspire you to read a memoir or biography of a famous chef.  Here is a selection:

• Humble Pie by Gordon Ramsay
• Alice Waters & Chez Panisse by Thomas McNamee
• Kitchen Confidential : Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
• Blood, Bones, & Butter : the Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton
• Beaten, Seared, and Sauced : On Becoming a Chef at the Culinary Institute of America by Jonathan Dixon
• Michel Roux : A Life in the Kitchen by Michel Roux

 

For some suggestions of other novels that feature food, check out this post on the York Woods District Blog:

• Fiction for Foodies