What's On at the Library

The eh List for Fall 2012: October and November

Here at 'eh List Central' we are keen to provide Toronto with the finest festival of Canadian letters anywhere in town. The fall 2012 list is pretty close to our model season: mystery, local flavour, literary titles, expert interviewers, some of the country's best mystery writers, great comedy... in all, a wide swath of Canadiana with enough variety to keep even the most critical minds happy.

In the last instalment of this blog, we looked at the September lineup. In this piece, we will look at the lineup for October and November. It's going to be a lot of fun!

Do you understand the American Empire and its hold on the world’s economy? Do you see it changing any time soon? Come out and hear a couple of experts who have studied the history and future of global capital, and who can explain it in language you will understand. Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin are the real deal and their new book will be a signal publication in the study of economics. Join us for the launch of their new book, The Making of Global Capitalism at the Toronto Reference Library, Oct. 4 at 7 pm.

Kamal Al-Solaylee is an openly gay Torontonian who hails from Yemen. As a child, his evident difference from other boys was a source of benign tenderness from his siblings and parents. As the Arab world witnessed a resurgence of religious fervour, his world, and his family, spiralled into intolerance and religious extremism. While he went abroad for education, his sisters traded in their bikinis for burkas and his brothers became intense in their devotion. There was no longer room for an openly gay man in the household or in the society. Al-Solaylee presents this memoir as an homage to his former Arab world: Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes. Join Al-Solaylee at North York Central Library auditorium on Oct. 17 at 7 pm.

 

Farzana Doctor’s newest novel, Six Metres of Pavement, tells the story of a father trying to come to grips with the tragedy of his baby daughter’s death and the guilt he feels for causing it. Finally, twenty years later, he begins to recover his life. Doctor is able to bring her reader into her visceral world, where we really care what happens. Join Farzana, TPL’s new Writer in Residence at 7 pm on Oct. 18 at Toronto Reference Library for a reading and discussion of this exciting new book.

When former Globe and Mail columnist Jan Wong suggested that there might have been a connection between Quebec nationalism and mass killings at Quebec educational facilities, all hell broke loose. Hate mail piled up in the mailroom. The editor-in-chief, who had personally vetted the story, immediately denounced it. The publisher excoriated one of his prize journalists. The Prime Minister wrote a damning letter to the editor. And Wong, for the first time in her life, suffered a mental collapse. Out of The Blue documents the issues, her clinical depression, her firing and the fallout.  This important book was in serious jeopardy of never seeing print. Lawyers threatened and almost everyone involved backed away from Wong and her story. Wong is an engaging and fearless speaker. These visits will be up-front and personal. Don’t miss Jan Wong at Barbara Frum library on October 22 and at Taylor Memorial on Oct. 23. (Don’t worry: Lunch will not be served.)

When Peter Robinson releases a new book, half of the population of the British Isles dawdles along to the bookshop to pick up a copy. They can’t wait for the story to appear on the tube. The successful TV series DCI Banks will have to wait to get the latest instalment on the screen, but you can meet the author at your local library. Canada produces its fair share of police procedurals, but Robinson’s are among the best. Watching the Dark, the twentieth and most recent DCI Banks novel, will keep you thoroughly engrossed in what is said to be the best of the Banks stories. Come and meet Peter, buy or borrow a book, and ask him when we get to see the series here in Canada! Join Peter Robinson at Norh York Central Library on Oct. 14 at 7pm, or at Northern District on Oct. 26 at 12:30 pm.

Imagine a world where the things we have taken for granted for a generation begin to disappear. Scott Fotheringham takes us to the backwoods of Nova Scotia where a man with a secret past slowly withdraws from a world where catastrophe lurks like a wolf in the night. The Rest is Silence, Fotheringham’s portrait of environmental apocalypse, calls for a real life expert to help us fathom the magnitude of the issues in the book. Award-winning author and environmental journalist Alanna Mitchell will speak with Fotheringham about the size and scope of disaster and about the suspension of belief which drives both this book and our continued roulette game with the Earth. Join us for this one-time event at Toronto Reference Library on Oct. 25 at 7 pm.

By all appearances, Canadian politics has taken a decided turn to the conservative end of the political spectrum. For some people, that’s a good thing. For Warren Kinsella, Prime Minister Jean Chretin’s former special assistant, it is not a good thing. Not by a country mile. In Fight The Right: A Manual for Surviving the Coming Conservative Apocalypse, he calls for liberals and progressives everywhere to dig in for the fight of their lives. This partisan author will not be treading on eggshells. If you want to know what outspoken Liberals and progressives are thinking, join us at Toronto Reference Library on Nov. 1 at 7 pm, and at Runnymede Library on November 8 at 7 pm.

This Just In: Award-winning author and journalist Noah Richler will join Warren at TRL for an on-stage interview. Richler's own newest title What We Talk About When WE Talk About War is a polemic which yearns for the Personian Era of Canadian and world poltics, when Kinsella's kind of guys were winning elections around the world. Tune in here for a meeting of progressive minds.

Terry Fallis is a very funny man. He probably thought it was funny that nobody would publish his first book, The Best Laid Plans. Until his self-published version started winning prizes.  Before the dust cleared, he had a multi-book deal with a major publishing house, and the prizes and accolades kept on coming. CBC Canada Reads declared The Best Laid Plans “The Essential Canadian Novel of the Decade.” The TV mini-series is underway, and Fallis produced first a sequel, The High Road, and now, Up and Down, a hilarious romp through Cigar Lake B.C and the International Space Station. This is a very funny book. It’s quintessentially Canadian, and unless you snap to attention at the first bars of the Star Spangled Banner, you will find this a fun book that will leave you smiling and cheering for Team Canuk. Terry is scheduled for one night only: Barbara Frum Branch, Nov. 7 at 7.

If you have ever wondered why cereal gets soggy when you go to answer the phone, or if your friends make prank calls to your ex-girlfriend, you will probably have some sympathy for Jonathan Goldstein, hapless host of CBC’s Wiretap. In his latest inquiry into life and the workings of the world, I’ll Seize the Day Tomorrow Goldstein laments his fleeting youth and his ponderous passage into the next stage of life. Join us for an unforgettable evening with Jonathan Goldstein at North York Central Library on November 7 at 7.

Things happen fast in Algonquin Bay. You would think this picturesque city on Lake Nipigon would be a sleepy northern town without much going on. And you would be dead wrong. Algonquin Bay, as created by Giles Blunt, is a very happening place with more gruesome murders and payback crime than the average crime-ridden big city. When a senator’s wife turns up dead, and a wandering wife disappears from a no-tell hotel, Inspector John Cardinal and Detective Lise Delorme are keenly aware of a pattern of frozen women. A floating ice island, a celebrity sex addict and a rogue Toronto cop populate Blunt’s newest novel, Until the Night. Join us for one appearance only at Northern District Branch on November 13 at 12:30 pm.

Our series concludes with a very powerful story by an emerging giant of Canadian fiction. Vincent Lam's The Headmaster's Wager takes place in Vietnam during the conflict which we in the West calls The Vietnam War. The war looks a lot different to Percival Chen, the Headmaster of Saigon's (ther former Ho Chi Minh City) most prestigious English acadamy. When his son's Chinese swagger attracts the attention of the Vietcong authorities, Percival requires all of his guile and influence to get his son out of danger. Join us for readings with this Giller Award winning author on Nov. 20 at Taylor Memorial and Nov. 28 at North York Central Library.

 

 

The eh List Author Series lineup for September

Here at 'eh List Central' we are keen to provide Toronto with the finest festival of Canadian letters anywhere in town. The fall 2012 list is pretty close to our model season: mystery, local flavour, literary titles, expert interviewers, some of the country's best mystery writers, great comedy... in all, a wide swath of Canadiana with enough variety to keep even the most critical minds happy.

There is a lot on offer, and so, I'm going to give it to you in three separate blogs. We'll start today with September.

The eh List for Fall: Author Visits in September

This fall, we are bringing a fantastic lineup of authors and books to libraries across town. We hope you enjoy our selection of some of the best books of the season and the authors who wrote them. Come on out and hear a short reading, ask some questions, and buy or borrow a copy of the book! Previews will be available in several branches. Check the website for specifics. http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/programs-and-classes/featured/eh-list.jsp 

The eh List returns to Taylor Memorial branch at Warden Ave. and Kingston Road, and we kick off the season  on Sept. 11 at 7 pm with Cordelia Strube’s newest novel, Milosz. This is a book with a cast of very quirky
 characters and more twists than a bowl of noodles.  Everything is not what it seems. Strube’s characters come to life in surprising ways, and they learn very deep and difficult lessons about life, love and how a son ought to be with his mother. Come and meet the author. Be prepared to laugh and cry.

  

Barbara Frum branch presents Edeet Ravel, back on The eh List with a new and poignant novel. Ravel will be with us on S
ptember 12 with The Cat, the story of a grieving mother and the burden which saves her life. Ravel will also visit Northern District library on Thursday, September 27 at 2 pm.

Katrina Onstad will visit Northern District on Sept. 18 with her hit novel, Everybody Has Everything, a heart-rending story of commitment and the challenge of instant parenthood. The novel asks tough questions about life, parenthood and the challenges we all face. Onstad will also visit Runnymede branch on October 11 at 7 pm.

Emma Donoghue is back. Following her major success with Room, she presents a collection of historical curiosities collected and presented as Astray. These short stories are polished little gems. Built on historical events and people, all of them reveal characters who have gone off track in some way.  Come and meet Emma Donoghue at the Appel Salon at The Toronto Reference Library on September 19th. Free tickets are required for all events in the Salon. Head here to get yours:  http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Em=1&Entt=RDM117307&R=117307

The Western Light is a wonderful tale spun by veteran CanLit scribbler Susan Swan. While this delightful coming-of-age story is a prequel to The Wives of Bath, it certainly stands on its own and may well enter the cannon of Canadian classics. Great characters, wonderful historical gems and enough mystery to keep you guessing, this is a terrific read from one of our national favourites. Join us for a reading and discussion between Swan and novelist Elizabeth Ruth at Toronto Reference Library on Sept. 27 at 7 pm.

 Coming in October: Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin; Kamal Al-Solaylee; Farzana Doctor; Jan Wong, Peter Robinson, Scott Fotheringham...

The eh List for April 2012: Some Great Expectations

The eh List for April 2012-02-21

There is so much going on in April, that I'm breaking this into sections. Here is what we have planned for the first couple of weeks of April, TPL's Keep Toronto Reading month.

Suzette Mayr visits Runnymede on April 3 at 7 pm with her powerfully sad and humorous  Monocerous, a heartbreaking look at the days and weeks following the suicide, in chapter one, of a gay teenager.  What follows isn’t a news report: it’s a careful, blow by blow deconstruction of the effects of the suicide as they ripple through the lives of the teachers, students and parents affected by the tragedy. A timely book rendered with care and intelligence.

Esi Edugyan’s latest book, Half-Blood Blues, imagines a possible history of jazz. A history which is very much like the history which we know, but which enjoys the music and myth of Hieronymus Falk, the most influential jazz man of them all. This fictional Falk was arrested in Nazi-occupied Paris and died shortly after being released from a concentration camp in Poland. One recording of his spectacular sound exists, barely, but it was enough to carry the myth of Falk to  the stratesphere where  Satchmo, Ellington and Parker hold center court.  Edugyan writes beautifully, catching the shimmer of the language of the 1930s’ Jazz Cats and Kittens, and the ethos of invention and creation among the musicians. Edugyan turned heads with her nominations for the Governor General’s Award, the Man Booker Award and the Giller Award, the latter of which she won, but crack the spine of this one and you will see why there is so much fuss.  You can meet Ms. Edugyan at North York Central Library on April 4 at 7 pm and at Toronto Reference Library at 12:30 on April 5. At TRL, she will be interviewed by novelist Susan Swan.

Canada’s most loved and hated politician may well be one man. In fact, many Canadians both loved and hated the same man at the same time. Pierre Trudeau was not someone you could feel neutral about; he infuriated as much as he made a nation proud to have him as a leader. The only point of agreement among Canadians is perhaps that he was enigmatic. Max and Monique Nemni pull back the covers from some of that ambiguity, but they also set some of it in concrete. Trudeau Transformed is a definitive book by people who left nothing to the imagination, and who investigated every possible lead in understanding him. Why did he consider himself a ‘Citizen of the World’? What did he mean by posting a note to this effect on his student dorm room door in Boston, and what were the factors leading up to his adoption of this position, when did he renounce it, and who might have spoken to him about it in between?  Surely this is too much information to know about most of us... but when the subject is a man whose opinions still inform much of Canadian politics 20 years after his death, the Nemnis give him the rigorous attention he deserves. Meet the Nemnis in either Official Language: In French at Northern District Library, April 17 at 7 pm and in English on April 18, 7 pm, North York Central Library.

 A World Elsewhere is Wayne Johnton’s latest. In it, Landish Druken, the son of a Newfoundland sealer forswears the rubber boots, the sow’ester and the fortune that goes along with owning a sealing dynasty. Using a thinly veiled Vanderbuilt family and their famous Biltmore castle as the central cast and set for the action, Johnston gives the reader an eye-opening ride through the lives of the exceptionally wealthy and their ‘help’.  As usual, Johnton gives us very readable text, and sets hilarious dialogue and clever language games above the heads and onto the lips of his odd and variable cast of characters. Meet Wayne Johnston at Northern District Library on April 18 at 12:30 noon.

 You could probably stump Holger Petersen. You could ask him for an appraisal of Hieronymus Falk’s devastating solo in the Hot Time Swingers only hit song; THAT might stump him. (Unless he is a Can Lit devotee, of course;  because Falk and the band and the song are fictions from Esi Edugyan’s novel Half-Blood Blues). But stumping Petersen on the subject of music, particularly ‘roots’ music, is going to be difficult without resorting to fiction. The founder of Stony Plain Records and host of CBC’s Saturday Night Blues has finally committed all that talk to paper. Talking Music includes interviews with some of his most important and intriguing musicians, including: Bonnie Raitt and Maria Muldar, Long John Baldry, Eric Burdon, Alan Lomax, Ike Turner,  Mavis Staples and Ry Cooder.  Meet Canada’s itinerant Bluesologist at S. Walter Stewart library on April 18 at 7 pm and on April 19 at Cedarbrae at 1 in the afternoon.

Nahlah Ayed is an international correspondent who has been based largely in the Middle East. Ayed reported for CBC news around the Middle East, and has been stationed in Amman, Baghdad, Beirut and now, covering the pro-democracy movement, she is based in Toronto. Ayed is from Winnipeg, a graduate of University of Manitoba, and has received accolades and awards for her reporting and investigations. Ayed will speak about her new book, A Thousand Farewells at the Toronto Reference Library on April 19, at 12:30.

Watch for more great eh List readings during April and May!

Another Story Bookshop is now our official eh List Bookseller. They will attend all events to sell the author's new works.

Dreaming of Books on a mid-winter night.

Today is Winter Solstace, the darkest day of the year. It is also the one with the greatest promise of light and spring and renewal. For Canadian book lovers, this is a message: There are Great Books coming with the light! And The eh List Author Series is going to light up your spring reading!  To whet your whistle, here are a few of the many fantastic programs we have coming up this spring.

We open the season with Esi Edugian and Half Blood Blues, her award-winning novel which has taken the country by storm. Esi's novel  was a finalist for the Man Booker, the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction, the Governor Genera's Literary Award for Fiction, and was finalist and winner of the Scotiabank Giller Prize for 2011. With all these accolades and a brand new baby, you can bet Esi wasn't keening to leave sunny Victoria to fly East in April, but, always a trooper, Esi will be with us on April 4 and 5. Watch for it. April 4, NYCL 7 pm. April 5, TRL, 12:30 pm.

Also in from Victoria, B.C., is author, poet, thinker and traveler Gary Geddes whose book Drink the Bitter Root; A Writer's Search for Justice and Redemption in Africa has taken him around the world to discuss his findings and his insights into African justice. In these days of omnibus crime bills and debates over restitution and retribution, it is simply a good time to reflect on justice as it is applied around the world. Come out to hear what Geddes has to add to the conversation.

 CBC's Middle East coverage is considered among the best available. Much of that is due to the extensive experience and knowledge of their senior correspondent, Nalah Ayed. Ayed will visit with her new book A  Thousand Farewells: A Reporter's Journey from Refugee Camp to the Arab Spring. Come and meet Nalah at Toronto Reference Library on April 19^th 12:30 pm.

If you are old enough to remember the sexual revolution, then you will want to read and hear from Michele Landsberg. In 'Writing The Revolution' Landsberg reprises some of her most salient articles from her 25 year stint as Canada's most visible feminist writer. If you are not old enough to remember reacting to her ground-breaking essays, here's your chance. But Landsberg isn't finished with activism; she may no longer be a part of your Toronto Star morning, but she and husband Steven Lewis are hardly sitting on their hands waiting for someone to ask them to dance.  She will be interviewed by Now Magazine's Susan G. Cole, May 3, 12:30 pm at Toronto Reference Library.

English Canadians don't get many opportunities to meet Michel Tremblay in Toronto. We are providing two such opportunities. One in either Official Language. Tremblay and his translator, Sheila Fischman will discuss the process and tribulations of translation, and will speak about his most recently translated novel, Crossing the Continent.  English: Wednesday, May 23, 7 pm at North York Central and French: Thursday, May 24, 7 pm at Northern District.

And speaking of solitudes, another great Quebecer will be discussed at NYCL on Wednesday, April 18 when Max and Monique Nemne will present the second volume in their exhaustive biography of Pierre Elliot Trudeau;  Trudeau Transformed: The Shaping of a Statesman 1944-1965.

Hoping this sneak preview will give you something other than sugar plums to dance in your seasonal heads, I'm Joseph Romain, and I'll be back very soon with some more highlights from the upcoming season.

Eh List Author Ken Sparling on CBC Canada Writes

Eh List author Ken Sparling joins in a discussion with writer and broadcaster Jonathan Goldstein about the relationship between writers and their editors, as part of a 16-part series about the writer/editor relationship, featured on the CBC’s Canada Writes website. Goldstein, whose radio show ‘Wiretap’ gets play on several networks across North America, boasts a substantial, if peculiar, audience. But it wasn’t always the case. Back when Goldstein’s mailbox was full of rejection letters, he met writer and editor Ken Sparling, who, as editor of Broken Pencil, spotted potential in Goldstein’s quirky scribblings.  Sparling’s attention was the only thing Goldstein needed to keep him at the keyboard. Good, bad, or indifferent, Sparling relentlessly and ruthlessly edited Goldstein’s pages, inspiring the young writer with every bold, red stroke of the editorial pen. It was a good thing for all of us that Sparling was able to see the wheat among the chaff and that he was able to encourage Goldstein to follow Faulkner’s advice and learn to ‘kill his darlings’ in order to give way to the fresh blooms which inevitably take their place.

Drop by CBC Canada Writes to see what Ken and Jonathan have to say about the process of turning scribbles into memorable text.  http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites

Join Ken Sparling on September 22 for an eh List appearance at Toronto Reference Library, where he will be interviewed by his editor, writer Derek McCormack.      

The eh List Author Series for Fall: September 2011 offerings.

The eh List for Fall 2011 is a fantastic line-up, featuring lots of what Torontonians love: mystery, literary works, poetry, and great interviews. The mandate of The eh List is to identify the Canadian authors who Torontonians are reading, and bring them to the library. You borrowed the book, now come and meet the author. The format of The eh List provides opportunities for book lovers to ask questions, buy a book, have it signed, and to hear the author’s own voice as she reads from and discusses her latest work. We’ve got some really great authors coming this fall. Here is the lowdown on September’s offerings:

Kicking off The eh List for Fall on September 8 we are pleased to present Randy Boyagoda, author of Beggar's Feast, who will be joined on the TRL Atrium stage for an interview with the novelist Lawrence Hill, whose own 'Book of Negroes’ continues to reach new audiences. Boyagoda’s newest is getting rave reviews in all the right places, and he’s being interviewed at Toronto’s premier literary venue. September 8, 7 pm.

 T.P.L.'s own Trillium Award shortlisted author Ken Sparling (Book) will join us on September 22; he will be interviewed by Derek McCormack, whose own books definitely push literary limits. This will be a key interview for Torontonians interested in the edges of literary publishing in Canada. Examine Ken’s poetic licence at the Toronto Reference Library at 7 pm.

Northern District Library’s September 14th (12:30 pm) program features novelist Helen Humpreys with her new novel The Reinvention of Love which features a cast of characters which includes Victor Hugo, his wife, Adele and her lover Charles Sainte-Beuve. Confused? Come and hear Helen talk about the novel and it’s inspirations.

Robert Rotenberg, author of The Guilty Plea will read at S. Walter Stewart branch on Sept. 28th. If you loved Old City Hall, you need to read The Guilty Plea. Detective Ari Greene is back with some of our favourite lawyers, coppers and quirky characters. Robert’s novels are full of great Toronto sights and sounds and smells. If you are looking for a flakey bakery, a secret lunch spot, or a great read, Robert provides access to a Toronto many of us don’t know.

First time novelist Martha Schabas tries out Various Positions at Barbara Frum library on September 15th at 7 pm. The eh List Author Series only showcases a few first timers per year; don’t miss this young, funny, vivid new writer or her poignant and engaging book.

Andrew J. Borkowski captures the flavour of Toronto’s Polish community in his collection of stories, Copernicus Avenue. If you flip the pages of this lovely volume, you can almost smell the sausage and pirogues… and you can certainly taste the flavours of exile. Meet Andrew at Runnymede branch on September 13th at 7 pm.

So join us at TPL and meet your favorite authors.

A Great List for Spring

The eh List Author Series is our premier showcase for new Canadian books; this season, The eh List features authors we know and love, authors who are emerging from the pack, and a few surprises.

 We love mysteries. Canadians not only read them passionately, we create them at quite a pace. This season we feature Gail Bowen, with her latest Joanne Kilbourn puzzle. Bowen, a fine writer from western Canada, makes her first appearance on the list with a tale of confused identities and forgotten histories. Giles Blunt is back with his newest Inspector Cardinal procedural, another great ramble through Algonquin Bay. And Peter Robinson, prolific and much lauded author of the DCI Banks television series, makes his first appearance  on The eh List (Interviewed by José Latour) with Bad Boy, his most recent Inspector Banks novel. With all these crime novels on the list, we thought it might be prudent to ask former Toronto mayor and social critic John Sewell to come and talk about his new book which takes a hard look at police and policing in Canada.

 Some first novels made the list this season: David Bezmozgis, whose short story collection Natasha and Other Storie rocked the Can Lit world, will be at the Appel Salon with his greatly anticipated The Free World; Sylvia Tyson,  best known as a powerful singer and songwriter, arrives on the fiction scene with a beautifully drawn family saga spanning many generations of musicians and thieves. She will be interviewed by columnist Cynthia MacDonald. Former Lieutenant Governor James Bartleman gives us a hard edged story about ‘the sixties scoop’, and the consequences for First Nations in northern Ontario. Danish-Canadian Anne Fortier, whose Juliet gives new life to the old story, will read from this book-club favourite and answer questions about its origin and future. This year’s Giller prize went to a first novelist, Johanna Skibsrud, for her powerful, and very readable literary work, The Sentimentalists. Johanna will make a special Saturday appearance at North York Central Library.

 Non-fiction titles on the list include The Night Shift, Dr. Brian Goldman’s collection of tales from the emergency room;  Nazneen Sheik gives us a memoir of love and longing in Morocco; and Michael Winter has penned a fictionalized account of a murder and subsequent trial in his provocative book, The Death of Donna Whalen.

 Haitian Canadian francophone Dany Laferriére, author of the classic How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired is coming to Toronto for two appearances: one in French, with his newest title, L’enigme du retour and one in English, with his recently translated post modern novel I Am A Japanese Writer. Laferriére was reluctant to make an appearance in English, and so we brought his long-time translator, David Homel, who will appear with Dany, and will also appear with his own newest novel, Midway.

 Alyssa York is back with a beautifully drawn portrait of life in the Don Valley; Sheila Heti comes to TRL with her new, philosophically driven novel How Should A Person Be?; Russell Smith goes Girl Crazy in his newest novel examining modern life; and master storyteller Antanas Silieka joins the list with an historical thriller, Underground, and will also interview André Alexis about Beauty and Sadness his new collection of stories and essays at The Reference Library.

 So come out and meet the author of your favourite book of the season! Bring your book for an autograph, bring your questions for the author, and bring a friend.

Chilling Tales at The eh List Author Series

Two authors with chilling stories visit The eh List Author Series next week, and you might just want to bring a friend along to the readings...

Robert J. Wiersema is a a newish Victoria, BC writer with a very disturbing tale to tell. Bedtime Story isn't exactly the sort of thing you want to read to your restless seven-year-old to help her sleep. In fact, after reading this book, you may NEVER want to read a bedtime story to a kid again! In this creepy tale, young David isn't a good reader, and has no interest in the new 'old book' his father gave him for his birthday. So, his dad takes things in hand and reads, each night, to David as a treat, to help him learn to love reading, and to help him sleep.

None of this works out the way anyone expects. While David struggles, trapped inside the story, his parents wrestle with the outside world to sort out what happened to their now-comatose son, and to do what they can to bring him back to the land of the living. What happens is delightfully creepy and proves to introduce new twists in a genre where new is very hard to manage.

If you haven't read Joy Fielding's novels, you might be surprised to find that they are pretty chilling, too. But don't expect any supernatural twists in her newest book, 'The Wild Zone'. The characters are disturbing enough in THIS world without having to cross over into any sort of otherworldly fantasy.

Three pals hang out at a Miami bar called The Wild Zone. When a new woman regularly turns up for weekday drinks, they make a bet on who will be the first to get past first base with her. Well, as we suspect, she isn't really the bunt-and-run type. In fact, baseball isn't even her favorite sport. The boys have caught a tigress by the tail and spend more time squabbling with each other than attending to the kitten who might just eat them before she saunters into right field.

It's a great story, with the requisit twists, turns and surprises which will keep you guessing right to the end.

You'll have to read the books to get the whole story, but you can meet the authors right now!

Weirsema will read at North York Central Library on Wednesday (Nov. 10 at 7 PM); while Joy Fielding holds court at S. Walter Stewart branch (Wed. Nov. 10 7 PM). They will read together at Toronto Reference Library on Thursday, Novemeber 11 at 7 PM.

The eh List: My Canada Includes Metis Fiddling

 

If you were not one of the nearly 350 who were at the Appel Salon for The eh List's Extraordinary Canadians event, you missed a fantastic evening.

Those in attendance were treated to John Ralston Saul and Joseph Boyden in easy - and very engaging discussion about some of Canada's most influential people, Louis Riel, Gabriel Dumont, Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine.

Saul, Canada's foremost public intellectual, and the editor of the Extraordinary Canadians series (Penguin) took up his pen and provided portraits of the men he argues developed Canada's national character of constitutional democracy, non-violent dispute settlement, public education and most of what we treasure as the hallmarks of our civil society. Saul makes a very good case for these men in particular, and he makes an excellent case for the study of Canadian history for the pleasure of it! And Saul is not just an armchair intellectual: he set about hiring some of the country's leading thinkers and writers to create a series of biographies of 20 of Canada's most extraordinary people.

A case in point is Joseph Boyden's biography of Riel and Dumont. Boyden is one of the country's foremost fiction writers and one of the strongest First Nations voices in modern times. His linked novels, Three Day Road and Through Black Spruce leave many Can Lit lovers breathlessly waiting for a third novel; meantime, we can read his Riel and Dumont biography. Boyden seemed to argue that the Riel Rebellion helped to develop our national conscience, and that the two (Dumont and Riel) provide a remarkable balance between European and First Nations traditions, which remain as enduring aspects of our national character. Boyden's easy charm and Hollywood smile gave him the run of the audience, who listened attentively, asked great questions and lined up for an hour to have books signed.

Bill Hamade and his crew in the Baldwin Room pulled together some fascinating artefacts about the evening subjects, including Baldwin's last - and very personal - wishes, his 'laptop' (portable desk) and Riel's manifesto. Hundreds peered into the display cases to witness Canadian history and biography up-front. All were intrigued.

Add to all this very heady Canadian evening Anne Lederman, one of the finest Metis fiddlers anywhere, and top it off with a short, impromptu, guy-at-the-public-microphone singing a piece of an aria from Harry Somers' opera 'Louis Riel', and you have a Perfect Night Out at the Bram and Bluma Appel Salon.

 

The eh List Features Canada’s Best Authors at Toronto Public Library

TORONTO (Thursday, September 2, 2010) - Toronto Public Library’s fall season of the popular eh List Author Series brings some of Canada’s best authors to library branches across the city. Held from September 16 to November 22, the library’s premier literary series involves writers from coast to coast reading from their latest books and taking questions from the audience.

 

The fall blockbuster list of authors includes literary luminaries such as Joseph Boyden, Will Ferguson, John Ralston Saul, Katherine Govier and Louise Penny, along with newer voices Robert J. Wiersema, Mark Sinnett, Sarah Elton and Micah Toub.

 

Thirty readings will be held at the following library branches: Toronto Reference Library, Deer Park Branch, North York Central Library, Barbara Frum Branch, Runnymede Branch, S. Walter Stewart Branch, and Taylor Memorial Branch. All programs feature readings and Q&A sessions, as well as book sales and signings. All are welcome, free of charge.

 

The eh List Author Series runs twice per year, spring and fall, and is partially supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.

 

For an up-to-date listing of information on events, please visit the Toronto Public Library website at www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/ehlist.

 

Toronto Public Library is the world's busiest urban public library system. Every year, more than 17.5 million people visit our 99 branches and borrow more than 31 million items. To learn more about Toronto Public Library, visit our website at torontopubliclibrary.ca or call Answerline at 416-393-7131.

 

-30-

 

Media Contact:

Joseph Roman, Communications Officer, 416-393-7048

jroman@torontopubliclibrary.ca