New Book Thursdays

We receive books on many different subjects every week. Here's a sample of this week's new arrivals:

New Books this Week

Just a few of the new books in this week:

Happenings

Author Reading with Wayne Johnston
Wednesday, January 23. 7:30pm at the Town of East Gwillimbury Civic Centre

Johnston was born and raised in Newfoundland, where most of his novels are situated.
Among his work are award winning THE STORY OF BOBBY O’MALLEY (1986), THE DIVINE RYANS (1990) and THE COLONY OF UNREQUITED DREAMS (1998), which was identified by the Globe and Mail newspaper as one of the 100 most important Canadian books ever produced.
Wayne’s first work of non-fiction, a personal memoir of Newfoundland called BALTIMORE’S MANSION (1999), won the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction and was nominated for the 1999 Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction.
In his latest novel, THE CUSTODIAN OF PARADISE (2006), he resumes a story he began in COLONY, following Sheilagh Fielding, one of the most memorable and beloved characters in Canadian Fiction. It won the Drummer General’s Fiction Award and was a finalist for the Trillium Book Award.

Tickets may be purchased at the door and at both the Holland Landing and Mount Albert branches of the library: $10 ($8 for members). For more information, please call 905/836-8589 or write to egfriends@sympatico.ca.

What We're Reading This Month

In Sutton:

Leap of Faith: memoirs of an unexpected life by Queen Noor

A national best-seller on its first publication in 2003, Leap of Faith is the story of a young American woman who became wife and partner to an Arab monarch. In it, Queen Noor of Jordan provides a compelling portrait of her late husband King Hussein and his lifelong effort to bring peace to his wartorn region and an insider''s view of the growing gulf between the United States and the Arab nations. But most of all it is a love story--the intimate account of a woman who lost her heart to a king, and to his people.

Join us Tuesday, January 29th at 7:30pm to discuss Leap of Faith. Newcomers are always welcome!

Happenings

2007 Giller Prize Awarded Tonight



Canada's most lucrative literary prize is being awarded in a gala ceremony tonight. With a purse of $50,000 the Giller rivals the GGs for most coveted award among authors. Not lucky enough to be invited to the black-tie soiree? Curl up on the couch and watch the action live on Bravo! as well as on CTV. Seamus O’Regan will reprise his role as host of the broadcast.

Friday Trivia

Questions (card #284):

CH (Children's Literature) - What Margery Williams title character is brought to life by the nursery magic Fairy ?
CL (Classic Literature) - Whose 1952 novel Invisible Man has its hero proclaim: "I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me"?
NF (Non-fiction) - What 1993 tome was M. Scott Peck's second trek down his best-selling road?
BC (Book Club) - Whose novel Vida earned Abbie Hoffman's jibe: "This is not the fugutive life as I've observed it for more than six years?
AU (Author) - What grande dame of young-adult fiction is less well-known by her first two names, Susan Eloise?
BB (BookBag) - What Ian Frazier humor collection features a title essay that imagines a cartoon character's lawsuit over an unreliable rocket sled?

How did you do? See Comments for answers.

New Books

Every week Georgina Public Libraries receives dozens of new books. Here's a sample of what's new today. To place these on hold, get copies delivered to your branch, or see what else we have, visit our online catalogue. Don't know how to place your own holds? Call or send me an e-mail.

Happenings

Evergreen author Giles Blunt will be in East Gwillimbury tomorrow evening.

Meet him on Wed. Oct. 24, 2007 at 7:30 pm in Sharon at the Civic Centre. Tickets ($10, members $8) available at the libraries in Mount Albert and Holland Landing.

Hosted by the Friends of the East Gwillimbury Public Library, award-winning Canadian Blunt will read from his newest novel, By the Time You Read This, and others. This is a fantastic opportunity to be up close and personal with one of Canada's leading mystery writers.

Giles Blunt grew up in North Bay, Ontario which is thinly disguised as Algonquin Bay in his John Cardinal mystery series. Several of his novels have won awards: Forty Words for Sorrow (British Crime Writers’ Macallan Silver Dagger), The Delicate Storm (Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel), and Black Fly Season (one of Margaret Cannon’s Best Mysteries of the Year). The most recent By the Time You Read This is a Globe and Mail Best Book and a nominee for the Duncan Lawrie Dagger the biggest crime fiction award of the world. He has also written scripts for Law & Order, Street Legal and Night Heat.

Happenings

The International Festival of Authors begins this week at the Harbourfront Centre. Running from October 17 to 27 the IFOA is the highlight of the literary year in Canada. This is great opportunity to attend readings and rub elbows with favourites like Margaret Atwood, Ian Rankin, Isabelle Allende, Elizabeth Hay, Peter Robinson, and more!

The IFOA includes readings, interviews, lectures and round table discussions as well as public book signings and a festival bookstore. The IFOA also presents a number of special events including readings by Scotiabank Giller Prize and Governor General’s Literary Awards finalists, as well as the highly anticipated awarding of the Harbourfront Festival Prize.

Literary fans in Georgina, a drive down to the city might be in order!

Evergreen a Hit, Favourite a tie!

Wednesday night readers from all over Georgina gathered at the Peter Gzowski branch in Sutton to discuss the 10 Evergreen 2007 books, eat some yummy treats and take home some great prizes. Thank you to everyone who dropped in for the Party!

We'd like to thank our sponsors who graciously donated prizes: Canadian Tire, The Cookshop and Marketplace, Village Traditions, Apples of Gold, Swiss Chalet, The Stephen Leacock Theatre, Georgina Leisure Pool, Sutton Home Hardware, Gem Theatre, Confidente Spa and Salon, and The Simcoe Arms. Thank you!!

Congratulations to the winners of our grand prizes: Wendy Hardman of Pefferlaw, Bobbi Sabatini of Keswick and Tatiana Vernon of Jackson's Point.

Wednesday we also voted for our favourite Evergreen book. There was a tie between Absolute Honour and The Birth House.

Votes will be accepted until Thursday, October 25, so please contact me, or leave a comment with your choice, and it will be counted.

What I Read on Vacation...

What does a Librarian do on vacation? Well, read, of course! The Evergreen list provided great entertainment ideas to help pass many hours flying and waiting in airports. Here's what I read on vacation...

Dream Wheels by Richard Wagamese Joe Willie Wolfchild is about to become a World Champion rodeo cowboy when he is severely injured by a bull he is riding. As he comes to terms with the way his life has changed as a result of the injury, he is supported by his close family. Claire Hartley and her son Aiden have lived a nomadic life as Claire has moved from one unsuitable man to another. After Aiden is arrested as a result of a botched robbery, an Edmonton policeman helps them find a new beginning, but they both must still face their past and choose their futures for themselves. Ontario Library Association

A fantastic novel that's part Western, part family saga and all well-written!

Still Life is anything but still

If you like the intelligent mysteries of Ian Rankin, Peter Robinson or Anne Perry, but like the gentle style of Agatha Christie, Louise Penny is the author for you.

I liked Still Life so much that I had to rush out and read its sequel, Fatal Grace. I can only hope that there is soon more to come from this talented writer.

Here's a bit about Still Life:

The murder of a much loved and highly regarded woman in a small village in the Eastern Townships of Quebec brings Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec to the small village of Three Pines. As Gamache and his team investigate and discover whodunit, they meet a variety of the locals and learn that everyone in this picturesque village has a secret.

Reserve your copy of Still Life today! Since it's an Evergreen book, signing it out may win you a prize!

What We're Reading in Sutton...

Tuesday, September 25 7:30-8:30pm

Peter Gzowski Branch, Sutton (905) 722-5702

Join us to discuss The Way the Crow Flies, the second novel by award-winning Canadian author Ann-Marie MacDonald. It was first published by Knopf Canada in 2003, and went on to a finalist for the Giller Prize.

The plot of the novel revolves around a fictionalized version of the Steven Truscott case and is set for the most part at a real Royal Canadian Air Force station: RCAF Station Centralia.

At 720 pages long, it's not a light read, but it's well worth it. I have several copies available to borrow at the Sutton branch. Come in, e-mail me, or give me a call to reserve your copy.

My Favourite Evergreen So Far...

Cockeyed: A Memoir

Written by Ryan Knighton

This is a humorous, but thoughtful, memoir of a young man from British Columbia who is losing his sight. Part coming-of-age story, part travelogue, this book details Ryan Knighton’s adventures from his first driving experiences and relationships with girls to his college days in Vancouver and term teaching English in South Korea.

When most people would wave a red flag, retreat from society and label themselves "disabled", Knighton grabs his blindness by the horns and wrestles it into something comprehendible and manageable. One has to admire a guy who learns to drive, picks up women in a bar, and travels overseas, all while passing as sighted.

This memoir is at times heartwrenching, but overwhelmingly human and hilarious. Particularly funny is the passage where Knighton learns to walk with a white cane. Sound like a bad joke, but trust me- you'll laugh out loud. For more on Knighton's quirky style and fascinating life, check out his website: http://www.ryanknighton.com/

So this is my favourite Evergreen so far. I'm reading Still Life right now, and will report back next week.

What's your favourite Evergreen?

Evergreen 2007

Evergreen 2007 is here!! This summer reading program for adults was a great success last year, and we look forward to an even better summer in 2007.

The shortlist this year contains a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction. From period pieces to incredible personal stories, there is something here for everyone. For the complete book list, click here, or visit your local library.

Readers who sign out these books between now and October will receive a ballot for some great prizes. The ambitious among you who read at least half of the list will become eligible for a grand prize draw at the end. Everyone is welcome to vote for their favourite book. Votes will be tabulated all across Ontario, and the winning author will be presented with a lovely award from the Ontario Library Association. There will be a great wrap-up party in October, featuring food, and a few surprises! Happy Reading!!

Friday Book Lover's Trivia

Questions (card #131):

CH (Children's Literature) - What does Admiral Drake send to Mr. Popper from Antarctica, in a classic Richard and Florence Atwater tale?
CL (Classic Literature) - What saga by William Makepeace Thackeray features the clever social climber Becky Sharp?
NF (Non-fiction) - What former managing editor of Time magazine was the first Henry Kissinger biographer to gain access to the diplomat's private papers?
BC (Book Club) - What 1996 Mario Puzo opus features a powerful Mafia leader who wants to go legit?
AU (Author) - What 19-year-old harmonica whiz played Bob Dylan tunes across India, before publishing his first novel, Such a Long Journey?
BB (BookBag) - What bestseller has park ranger Anna Pigeon investigate a possible Klan murder in Mississippi?

How did you do? See Comments for answers.

Friday Book Lover's Trivia

Questions (card #278):

CH (Children's Literature) - What chatacter's Guide to Life was subtitled: How to Eat, Dress, Travel, Behave and Stay Six forever?
CL (Classic Literature) - Who satirized London literary society in Cakes and Ale, the tale of two writers researching a biography of the fictitious Edward Driffield?
NF (Non-Fiction) - What host of The View holds court in You Have to Stand for Something, or You'll Fall for Anything?
BC (Book Club) - Who landed his second book, You Shall Know Our Velocity!, on bestseller lists despite publishing it himself and keeping it off chain store shelves?
AU (Author) - Whose tattling Tinseltown tales led Vanity Fair to dub her "Hollywood's own Marcel Proust"?
BB (BookBag) - What Scottish author features Professor Doctor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld in Portuguese Irregular Verbs and The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs?

How did you do? See Comments for answers.

Tuesday Book Lover's Trivia

Questions (card #155):

CH (Children's Literature) - What Winnie-the-Pooh character doesn't show up until the sequel, The House at Pooh Corner- Eeyore, Owl or Tigger?
CL (Classic Literature) - What novel introduced Kingsley Amis' popular antihero Jim Dixon?NF (Non-fiction) - What continent, remade by a meteor strike 65 million years ago, did Tim Flammery dub The Eternal Frontier?
BC (Book Club) - What epic novella treats readers to the elemental life of 19th-century frontiersman Tristan Ludlow?
AU (Author) - What midwestern university counts novelist Saul Bellow as a permanent member of its Committee on Social Thought?
BB (BookBag) - What mystery scribe created septuagenarian sleuth Henrie O to change folks' views of older women?

How did you do? See Comments for answers.

Friday Book Lover's Trivia

Questions (card #129):

CH (Children's Literature) - Who teaches Charms at Hogwarts?
CL (Classic Literature) - What taboo B-word in George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion sparked a scandal on the London stage?
NF (Non-fiction) - What nation's military coup did author Thomas Hauser explore, in The Execution of Charles Horman, later published as Missing?
BC (Book Club) - What Gloria Naylor novel focuses on sea island matriarch Miranda day?
AU (Author) - What author of Sally Hemings sculped Africa Rising, a monument ot slave trade victims that graces the lobby of a Manhattan federal building?
BB (BookBag) - What science-fiction author invited others into his Known Space universe, to write stories documenting the Man-Kzin Wars?

How did you do? See Comments for answers.

Friday Book Lover's Trivia

Questions (card #347):

CH (Children's Literature) - What type of bird showed Mary Lennox where the rusty key to The Secret Garden was buried?
CL (Classic Literature) - What novel sees ambulance driver Lt. Frederick Henry escaping execution by jumping into the Tagliamento River?
NF (Non-fiction) - What 20th-century trustbuster got the royal treament in Edmund Morris' Theodore Rex?
BC (Book Club) - What Texas town did Woodrow Call and Augustus McCrae meet up in, before starting a cattle drive to Montana?
AU (Author) - Who had already penned Player Piano by the time he became one of Saab's first U.S. dealers?
BB (BookBag) - What comic included the classic stand-up routine "A Place for My Stuff" in his collection of cerebral scat called Braindroppings?

How did you do? See Comments for answers.