The Buzz...About Books

Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted: Reading to Help Your Nothing Day

The Mary Tyler Moore Show almost didn't make it after all.  Jennifer Armstrong's Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted reveals that early audiences gave it a chilly reception. 36 years later, The Mary Tyler Moore Show is cited as setting the bar for television comedy and for women's roles on TV. Without Mary Richards, there would be no Liz Lemon. Throw your hat in the ring - reserve your copy today to get the scoop on the writers, the cast dynamics, Veal Prince Orloff and Chuckles the Clown. 

Armstrong speaks about her book. Read her interview. Advance reviews are glowing: Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly love it. Recall some fave characters here. According to the Huffington Post, the female cast members will reunite on an upcoming Hot in Cleveland episode - made bittersweet with Valerie Harper's recent announcement about her illness.

 

Further reading from MTM alumnae:

Oprah is a serious MTM fan. Watch this:

Mimzi, the MTM kitty......

A Quick Read With Charlie D

Looking for a fast, enjoyable read? Don't have time for the new trend of 800 page books? The Rapid Reads series might just be what you are looking for. These books are usually no longer than 100 pages. Stories include anything from mysteries, gang life to romance. If you prefer to read non-fiction, there are also books on a variety of subjects including the World Wars, finance and global warming.

Through this series, I discovered Gail Bowen's interesting character, Charlie D, who hosts a late-night radio program. His listeners are very involved in the call-in portion of the show and his regular callers tend to be outcasts, who feel deeply connected to Charlie. But Charlie also hears from listeners whose personal relationships with him go too far and can result in murder.

   

Love You to Death
Charlie discovers that his callers are being killed on by one. The police suspect that one of Charlie's fans is obsessed and are now depending on Charlie to bring the killer out of hiding before another murder occurs. Also available in eBook.

One Fine Day You're Gonna Die
An expert on death and dying is a guest on Charlie D's radio show. Things take a very dark turn when a caller threatens to kill himself, as well as the daughter of Charlie's guest. Also available in eBook.

The Shadow Killer
It's Father's Day and Charlie D is wrestling with memories of his estranged father, when a young caller shares his plan to murder his own father and the rest of his family. Can Charlie find the location of the caller? Time is running out, and surprisingly Charlie's father may be able to help.

To learn more about Rapid Reads visit their website.

Spotlight On: Helen Humphreys

Helen Humphreys is a Canadian author of poetry and award winning novels. She was born in Kingston-on-Thames, England, and now lives in Kingston, Ontario. Much of her work is based on or inspired by true historical events and key figures. Her writing is very approachable and reading her books allows you to experience these events as if you are right there in the action.

The Reinvention of Love (2011)

Charles Sainte-Beuve, a French journalist, befriends Victor Hugo, then a young writer just on the verge of fame. Hoping to draw knowledge and inspiration from Victor, Charles never suspects that he will be drawn into a life altering affair with Victor’s wife, Adèle. 
eBook
Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)

 

 

Coventry (2008)

The story of the World War II bombing of the British town of Coventry is told from the perspectives of firewatchers Harriet and Jeremy. Amid the burning city and carnage, they search for Jeremy’s mother and fight to survive.
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The Frozen Thames (2007)

A collection of forty stories based on actual events that occurred each time the River Thames froze solid, between 1142 and 1895.
eBook
Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)

 

 

Wild Dogs (2004)

Since their dogs ran away and joined a pack of wild dogs, a group of six strangers gather together by the woods, every evening to call their dogs back to them. A community is created as these strangers search to recover what they have lost. Winner of the 2005 Lambda Prize for fiction.
eBook
Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)

 

 

The Lost Garden (2002)

In 1941, horticulturist Gwen moves to the Devon countryside to instruct a group of girls in the Women’s Land Army to grow crops for the home front. There she meets two people who will change her life forever: a Canadian officer waiting to be posted to the front, and a woman whose fiancé is missing in action. Was selected as part of the 2003 Canada Reads.
eBook
Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)

 

Afterimage (2000)

Isabelle and Eldon Dashell’s marriage is already falling apart, when they hire Annie Phelan as a maid. Isabelle is fascinated by photography and Annie becomes her muse, creating further tensions in the Dashell’s already troubled marriage. Winner of the 2000 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.
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Leaving Earth (1997)

In 1933, two female pilots, Grace O'Gorman and Willa Briggs, attempt to break the world flight endurance record by circling the Toronto harbor for twenty-five days in a tiny biplane. Winner of the 1998 City of Toronto Book Award.
eBook

The Skinny on The Heavy: A Mother, A Daughter, A Diet

 The Heavy: A Mother, A Daughter, A Diet by Dara-Lynn Weiss is the latest parenting memoir causing controversy with supporters and critics eager to weigh in.

Weiss put her overweight daughter on a strict calorie-based diet which she policed vigorously and very, very publicly. So public, in fact, that Weiss, a free-lance writer, got her story published in last April's Vogue, with photographs of mother and daughter in designer duds, sipping tea. 

Now here's the thing: Bea is only seven years old.

A firestorm of outrage followed the Vogue article - with Weiss at its epicentre, and according to her - she remains 'stunned' by the negative reaction.  As with Amy Chua's The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Weiss' memoir of extreme parenting evokes strong feelings from parents, pundits, doctors, critics, and bloggers.

The alarming statistics on childhood obesity is creating front page news, and Weiss' supporters see her as courageously proactive in protecting her daughter's health.  Conversely, her critics have accused her of damaging Bea physically and emotionally. Jezebel, a feminist blog, spared nothing in its assessment of Weiss and her project.  

Critics also zero in on her public enforcement of Bea's diet (just ask the Starbucks barista who put whipped cream on Bea's hot chocolate without asking). Indeed, much of this memoir is Weiss defending her actions against her many critics.  

Listen to Weiss' CBC interview today on the Current. Read the coverage in the Toronto Star, the Globe, Huffington Post, New York Magazine, UK Times, and Slate.  Watch the coverage on CTV and on ABC below (click on the link to take you to YouTube, then click on the new tab to view).

  

The Heavy is also available in these formats:

• Audiobook
• eBook
• eAudiobook
• Talking Book (restricted to print disabled patrons)

 

Further Reading:

• Always the Fat Kid by Jacob Warren and K. Bryant Smalley
• Overcoming Childhood Obesity by Colleen Thompson and Ellen Shanley
• Combat Fat for Kids by James Villepigue
• Get a Healthy Weight for Your Child by Brian McCrindle

Related Posts:

• Year of The Tiger Mom
• Kid-Friendly Food: Nutrition for Children

 

Finally, on a lighter note: Internet cats and body image? 

 

 

 

A Discovery of Witches

If witches and vampires lived among us in the modern world what jobs would they take to fit into society? Well they would be historians, scientists and geneticists of course!

Diana Bishop is the descendant of a long line of witches; however, she has rebuked witchcraft and is determined to live her life as a normal historian scholar at Oxford. One day while studying in Oxford's Bodleian Library, she selects an alchemy book from the stacks, which she quickly discovers has been bewitched. She returns it, determined to have nothing to do with sorcery.

Unfortunately, the book is a palimpsest believed to document the origin of supernatural beings. It has been lost for centuries and now the underworld of daemons, witches and vampires descend on Oxford to regain the book and its power.

The first supernatural being to approach Diana is 1,500 year old vampire and geneticist Matthew Clairmont. Matthew warns her of what her discovery has set in motion and vows to protect her from the horde. As the supernatural begin to stalk and harass her, Diana must decide if she will use magic against them and take her first step towards the life she has been trying to avoid.

Also available in:
Large Print
Audiobook
eBook
eAudiobook

Take a Break From Your Family History

Researching you family tree has always been a popular activity. Learning stories that you never knew about relatives is fascinating and there is always the dream of discovering that you are related to a historical figure or someone famous. However, if your search has been disappointing and slow, here are a few genealogical novels and true stories to inspire you.

The Island by Victoria Hislop
Alexis travels to Crete to uncover information about her mother's past. Exploring her family's history reveals the story of her great-grandmother and a dark secret that brought tragedy to her family.

Family Secrets by Judith Henry Wall
After the death of their father, three sisters discover an old letter revealing that their paternal grandmother is not dead, as they were told. The sisters begin a journey to Montana to locate Hattie, the author of the letter.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
Fifty years after it was sent, a letter finally arrives at its destination. This letter sends Edie Burchill on a journey to learn about her mother's life as a teenager during World War II.
Also available in: Audiobook, eBook, Large Print

The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen
In one devastating night, Lindsey Rose loses the dream job that she had been working towards. Fleeing New York to her parents' home in Maryland, Lindsey stirs up a long buried family secret.

Aunty Dimity and the Village Witch by Nancy Atherton
Lori Shepherd begins assisting Amelia Thistle, a newcomer to the village of Finch, in her search to discover if a family diary is correct and Amelia is a descendant of the Mad Witch of Finch.
Also available in: Large Print

The Year of Finding Memory: A Memoir by Judy Fong Bates
After the death of her parents, author Judy Fong Bates returns to her ancestral home in China. Here she discovers many stories about her parents and their lives of which she was unaware.
Also available in: eBook, Talking Book (Restricted to print disabled patrons)

The Perfect Nazi: Uncovering My SS Grandfather's Secret Past and How Hitler Seduced a Generation by Martin P. Davidson
Discovering that his grandfather, who was originally believed to be a dentist in Berlin during the war, was in fact a Nazi, Davidson becomes determined to uncover his true identity.

A Book of Secrets: Illegitimate Daughters, Absent Fathers by Michael Holroyd
These tales reveal the lives of various women, who had connections to historical figures, yet history has all but forgotten these women, until now.

Well, Hi There: Happy 1982

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where were you in '82? For Jian Ghomeshi, host of CBC's hit radio show Q, it was Thornhill. In his funny, often self-deprecating memoir 1982, Ghomeshi recalls his experience as a teen of Iranian descent growing up in white suburbia, his efforts to fit in, and his music idols - in particular, David Bowie. Read about his book in the Star and on the CBC. Check out Ghomeshi's interview in the Huffington Post. He makes a compelling case for the significance of '82, just in case you think this golden year was all about the leg warmers and shoulder pads.

1982 was the year of Michael Jackson's Thriller, Madonna's first single, "Everybody" (has it really been 30 years?), Pac-Man and the Commodore 64 computer.

Here are some books that were making news in 1982:

Different Seasons by Stephen King.  His four novellas include Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption and The Body. Both were adapted for film: The Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me. Fun fact: While everyone recalls River Phoenix in Stand by Me, it was Wil Wheaton's starring role that sent him forth to Star Trek glory.

North and South by John Jakes. First in a trilogy about two buddies who find themselves on opposite sides of the American Civil War. The book is available to read at the Toronto Reference Library and you can borrow the television series starring Patrick Swayze.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Focused on the lives of black women in the southern U.S, this Pulitzer Prize winner continues to be in demand today.  It was later adapted for film, with Oprah making her screen debut.

Jane Fonda's Workout Book by Jane Fonda. Ok - she was all about the leg-warmers. Her seminal workout may no longer be available, but you can read her memoir, My Life So Far. 

In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters. A blockbuster business book. In 2001, a controversial article alleged that Peters' fact-checking was somewhat less than excellent.  You can borrow the 2006 edition in print and ebook.

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo.  A British children's book about the horrors of WW I through the experiences of Joey, a cavalry horse.  Who knew that decades later it would be a stage and screen hit? Steven Spielberg's 2011 War Horse is available to borrow on DVD. 

Bowie's ground-breaking video for Ashes to Ashes from his Scary Monsters album. It's still pretty darn cool:

 

 Below: Pac-Man and the Commodore 64.  All the rage in 1982. Retro cool in 2012. 

Further reading:  Retro Reads: That 70s Book

Reading Gangnam Style (강남스타일): South Korean Fiction in Translation

South Korean rapper Psy's music video Gangnam Style went viral last August with now over 7 million hits on YouTube. It has spawned hundreds of parodies and tributes and has brought Korean pop culture galloping (literally) front and center to a Western audience.

Of course, this is old news to the legions of North American K-Pop fans who have been dancing to South Korean groups for years. News to you? Here's a selection available from the library: First Album by Girls' Generation,  The First Album to Anyone by 2NE1, Mini4 by Bigbang, Wonder World by the Wonder Girls, Red: The 4th Single Album by After School, So Cool by Sistar and The Shinee World by Shinee (South Korea's One Direction). 

However, if your speed is more book club than night club, here's another great, if somewhat less bouncy, import worth checking out: recent South Korean fiction in translation. 

Please Look After Mom by Kyung Sook Shin.   A rural woman goes missing at a busy subway station in Seoul. Her children, all successful adults, and her husband frantically search for her while each is wracked with guilt about their relationships with the missing woman. Shin is a best-selling author in South Korea - and her book is getting great reviews in North America. This was our online book club's choice in May.

Black Flower by Young-Ha Kim.  Chronicles the hardships suffered by hundreds of Koreans who went to Mexico in 1905 to escape the impending invasion from Japan. Instead of finding a better life, they found a life of indentured servitude working in terrible conditions for wealthy landowners.

Tongue by Kyung Ran Jo. A cooking school teacher is devastated when her partner leaves her for an ex-model. The relationship between food and sex is explored in this psychological tale of infidelity and revenge.

The Old Garden by Hwang Sok-Yong.  A political prisoner is freed after 18 years in jail to find that the love of his life has died. He discovers her letters and journals and re-traces their life together.  Sok-Yong, a longtime dissident of the South Korean government, has himself been jailed as a political prisoner. 

Like your reads a little more graphic?  South Korean manhwa is challenging the dominance of Japanese manga. Here are some popular series available from the library.

 
   

• Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries by Hey-Jin Jeon
• Goong by Soohee Park
• Angel Diary by Yun Hee-Lee
• Banya by Kim Young-Oh

Finally - Gangnam Style comes to Canada - watch Stratford Festival cast members participate in a parody with the CBC's Peter Mansbridge. Enjoy!

How Well Do You Know Your Neighbours?

Alexander McCall Smith has already gained many fans with his bestselling series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and 44 Scotland Street. Now his fans will be delighted to discover a new series. Corduroy Mansions is the first book in the series and it began as an online novel in the episodic style of writing reminiscent of Charles Dickens. Just as Dickens' stories appeared chapter by chapter in newspapers during the 1800s, a chapter from Corduroy Mansions appeared online, each day over the course of 20 weeks.

Corduroy Mansions is the story of a group of residents living within a London apartment building of the same name. Throughout the novel we meet the various residents, their friends and families. The daily events of these residents are described with Smith's trademark charm and humour. The residents include William, a widowed wine merchant, who is plotting to force his lay-about son out of the house, by getting a dog. Freddie de la Hay is the dog, a pimlico terrier, who is a vegetarian, does not chase cats and prefers to wear a seat belt with riding in a car. Berthea Snark is writing her son's biography, in which she is determined to reveal all his flaws. Her son is Oedipus, a ruthless Member of Parliament. Art history student, Caroline, shares a flat with three other girls, and begins to suspect that her gay friend may actually be interested in dating women.

This novel can be found in the following formats:    

Large Print Audiobook                                                                                                                                   Talking Book (Restricted to print disabled patrons)  eBook                                                                                                                                   eAudiobook

To spend more time with the zany residents of Corduroy Mansions also check out:

Writing the Revolution by Michele Landsberg

 Why should Michele Landsberg's Writing the Revolution win the Toronto Book Award on October 11th? Let me tell you why:

To begin with, Writing the Revolution is a lively and unpretentious read. Composed mostly of articles selected from Landsberg's long career as a columnist for The Globe & Mail and The Toronto Star, Writing the Revolution is edited to follow the evolution of the feminist movement in North America in a neat and vivid arch.

You don't have to have stood as witness to the events Landsberg so courageously wrote about (i.e. you don't have to be middle aged) to get excited about this book, because Writing the Revolution does a good job of taking you there, exemplifying through Landsberg's own trajectory the world that was Canada in the 1950's through the 1980's.

It wasn't all that good, as it turns out. Much needed to change. The activist work of women like Florence Bird (first Chair of The Royal Commission on the Status of Women), Doris Anderson (ground-breaking Editor of Chatelaine magazine), Kay Macpherson (first woman elected to the House of Commons), Jane Doe (tireless activist for victims of rape), June Callwood, and so many more, did, in fact, constitute a revolution, a transformation of Canadian society.

Writing the Revolution is meaningful and important, not just because Michele Landsberg is a good writer willing to fight for space in the male-controlled media of the time, but because she herself was an active agent of the change she was chronicling.

Painterly in its writing, these selections are accompanied with a plethora of photographs (don't miss Michele Landsberg and Stephen Lewis' wedding photograph on page 69) which bring to life the excitement of an era that shaped who we are today.