This time of year is lovely for travelling. The weather is still pleasant. You don't have to worry about winter storms as much as long as you don't go too far north. I haven't left town for awhile so I'm eager to get away but for now I'm doing all...
I don't know about you, but I'm finding the real world scary enough these days. This time of year I usually read and watch horror books and movies but in 2021 it just doesn't appeal to me. I still want to get into the spirit though, so here are some...
With a new movie adaptation coming out of Frank Herbert's Dune, there's no better time to celebrate it. Published in 1965, Dune has never been out of print and is regarded as one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time. It has taken many forms over the years,...
The Governor General's Literary Awards were created in 1936 by the country's 15th Governor General, John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir. Buchan was also an author best known for the adventure novel, The Thirty-Nine Steps. The awards are presented in 14 categories -- 7 in each of the official languages. The...
If you thought this post would be about playing cards or magic tricks, I'm afraid you've been misled. October 24-30, 2021 is Ace Week, formerly Asexual Awareness Week. It's "an international campaign dedicated to raising awareness and expanding education of asexuality." And since I'm asexual, I truly do have an...
What counts as a genre? The Oxford English Dictionary says it's a type of literary work characterized by a particular form, style, or purpose — which is pretty broad. Is poetry a genre? Aristotle says yes. How about Erotic Hockey Romance? We say yes. The fun thing about this category...
On October 5, at the Toronto Book Awards 2021 ceremony, Mayor John Tory praised Toronto's "endless supply of great stories". This sentiment was echoed by Kim Echlin as she accepted the award saying, "In Toronto, we keep working together to know each other's stories and to give each other safe...
The shortlist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize was announced on October 5, 2021. The prize was established in 1994 and named after literary journalist Doris Giller. Short story collections and novels are eligible for the award which is the most lucrative in Canada. The winner of the Giller receives $100,...
When I was a child I dreamed about becoming an ecologist even though I wasn't exactly sure what ecologists did. Fast forward some years later, my dream was to work in a library. Fast forward many years later, to today, and my dream has changed again. I guess that's the...
There are 100 libraries in Toronto and each branch has its own character, collection and community. Cookbooks are popular in most of the branches, even with the advent of online sources for recipes. Some older books have withstood the test of time being borrowed over and over, and in a...