The Buzz...About Books

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.
eBook

 

 

 

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.
eBook

 

 

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

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.

Governor General's Literary Award: English Adult Winners

The winners for the 2012 Governor General's Literary Awards were announced Tuesday. The awards are presented for adult and children's literature and both French and English categories are included. This is the list of winners and finalists in the English adult categories. The complete list of winners can be found on the Canada Council for the Arts website.

This year's winners are:

Fiction	Non-Fiction	Poetry	Drama

Fiction
The Purchase by Linda Spalding
• eBook

Non-Fiction
Leonardo and the Last Supper by Ross King
• eBook

Poetry
Monkey Ranch by Julie Bruck

Drama
It is Solved by Walking by Catherine Banks

 

Fiction Finalists

Dr. Brinkley's Tower by Robert Hough

The Headmaster's Wager by Vincent Lam

The Juliet Stories by Carrie Snyder

Siege 13 by Tamas Dobozy

Non-Fiction Finalists

Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis

The Pursuit of Perfection: a Life of Celia Franca by Carol Bishop-Gwyn

A Thousand Farewells: a Reporter's Journey from Refugee Camp to Arab Spring by Nahlah Ayed

What We Talk About When We Talk About War by Noah Richler

Poetry Finalists

Any Bright Horse by Lisa Pasold

Li'l Bastard by David McGimpsey

The New Measures by A.F. Moritz

Sailing to Babylon by James Pollock

Drama Finalists

Brothel #9 by Anusree Roy

Drama: Pilot Episode by Karen Hines

Lost: A Memoir by Cathy Ostlere and Dennis Garnhum

The Romeo Initiative by Trina Davies

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:

Governor General's Awards: Nominees for Adult English Categories

The finalists for the 2012 Governor General's Literary Awards were announced on October 2. The awards are presented for adult and children's literature and both French and English categories are included. This is the list of adult English finalists. The complete list of nominees can be found on the Canada Council for the Arts website.

Fiction

Dr. Brinkley's Tower by Robert Hough

The Headmaster's Wager by Vincent Lam

The Juliet Stories by Carrie Snyder

The Purchase by Linda Spalding

Siege 13 by Tamas Dobozy

Non-Fiction

Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis

Leonardo and the Last Supper by Ross King

The Pursuit of Perfection: a Life of Celia Franca by Carol Bishop-Gwyn

A Thousand Farewells: a Reporter's Journey from Refugee Camp to Arab Spring by Nahlah Ayed

What We Talk About When We Talk About War by Noah Richler

Poetry

Any Bright Horse by Lisa Pasold

Li'l Bastard by David McGimpsey

Monkey Ranch by Julie Bruck

The New Measures by A.F. Moritz

Sailing to Babylon by James Pollock

Drama

Brothel #9 by Anusree Roy

Drama: Pilot Episode by Karen Hines

It is Solved by Walking by Catherine Banks

Lost: A Memoir by Cathy Ostlere and Dennis Garnhum

The Romeo Initiative by Trina Davies

The winners will be announced on November 13.

School Daze: Fiction Picks

Whether you've headed back to school this week, or are blissfully detached from the back-to-school scramble, there's always space for a good book about student life. Check out some of these titles I picked up recently.

Fall by Colin McAdam

Fall is set mostly at a prestigious Canadian boarding school, and it serves as a quiet backdrop to the relationship between three pivotal characters: Noel, the quiet loner; Julius, the athletic golden-boy, and Julius' girlfriend, the beautiful Fallon (or Fall, for whom the novel is named). Suspense grows as the relationships, particularly between Noel and Julius, grow in strange and complicated ways. When Fall mysteriously disappears one day, we're left wondering just who is behind it all. This is both a sharply-plotted mystery and a well-written character study for the most part: Julius and Noel have distinct voices, while Fall is talked about more than anything else. This isn't a particularly fast read, but it's well-paced so you won't get bored.

Place Fall on hold.

 

Juno & Juliet by Julian Gough

When identical twin sisters, Juno and Juliet leave together for their first year at an Irish university, they're looking forward to exploring everything their time away can offer them. Naturally, this includes a lot more than books and class notes...

The story's narrator, Juliet, is convinced her sister is the more gorgeous and charming of the duo, and when boys begin to drop at Juno's feet, Juliet assures us it's not a surprise. Written in a conversational and lighthearted tone, Juliet shares her insights into post-secondary life ("I was disappointed by the university, and vice versa"), there is still room for some deeper understanding of life beyond highschool in this fun and fast read.

Place Juno & Juliet on hold.

 

Looking for Alaska by John Green

 John Green's Looking for Alaska is a modern-day classic - so if you haven't read it yet, you should.

When Miles heads from Florida to an Alabama boarding school to finish off his highschool career, he is in search of a "great perhaps". And find it he does: it appears in the form of Chip ("The Captain") his rough-around-the-edges roomate, and his best friend, the lovely, literate and slightly self-destructive Alaska Young. Miles (teasingly nicknamed Pudge for his thin physique)sets off on a whirlwind first year with school pranks, growing romantic entanglements, and finally, a sobering look at life and death.

Although this is a young adult book (and a multiple prize-winning one at that), I've had both teens and adults tell me how much they enjoyed this. Green writes smart and he never dumbs down his characters. The teens in the story are confused, persistent, lonely and brave - and all the emotions are rendered realistically and often, in memorable prose: after an encounter with Alaska, Pudge reflects while "collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.”

Place Looking for Alaska on hold.

 Have some other titles you'd recommend? Let us know in the comments!

 

Gutsy Women of the Future

Have you read all of the Hunger Games books and are looking for something new to read? Try Moira Young's debut novel, Blood Red Road. 

Saba is an 18 year old girl, living a secluded life with her father, twin brother Lugh and younger sister Emmi. Life is hard for this family, as the lake that they depend on for survival is drying up and their father refuses to move. Saba's mother died giving birth to Emmi and Saba continues to hold a grudge against her sister. Lugh is the only thing that Saba adores; although they are twins, he is everything that she is not, light haired, blue-eyed, kind and loving.

One day armed men on horseback arrive at the family shack, killing their father and kidnapping Lugh. As the men tie Lugh to a horse, Saba promises: "Wherever they take you, I swear I'll find you." This event will lead Saba and Emmi on an epic quest to find Lugh.

Without Lugh, Saba believes she is lost; she had always just been his shadow. Suddenly thrown into a vicious new world Saba realizes she is a fighter and most importantly a survivor. What began as a journey to free her brother may in fact change the world.

Ridley Scott already has plans to make this into a movie. The sequel, Rebel Heart will be published in October and is on order with the library. Place you holds now!

Also available: eBook

The Play's the Thing at Yorkville

There's a book club for everyone at Toronto Public Library.  If you've got a flair for the dramatic you might want to consider attending a meeting of the Yorkville branch Play-Reading Group.

The Play-Reading Group has been meeting at Yorkville Branch for over 20 years. The enthusiastic members gather regularly on Tuesday evenings (rain or shine, cold or warm) from 7-8:30 p.m.
The group read a variety of plays from the Branch's special Theatre Play Set Collection.

Everyone is welcome to join in. Take a part and read along!

For more information, please call the Yorkville Branch at 416-393-7660.