August 2010
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| "The Glass Rainbow"
by James Lee Burke Eighteenth in the series featuring Iberia, Louisiana deputy sheriff Dave Robicheaux. The following excerpts from the starred review in Publishers Weekly say it better than I could: "brilliant prose, prosaic situations that suddenly become mystic experiences, and a complex plot that repeatedly plumbs the depths of human depravity and the heights of nobility... the sights, smells, and sounds of the Louisiana bayous become sensory experiences in Burke's novels, and death is a constant presence that threatens to overhwlem his angels with tarnished wings." One of my favourite living American authors.
Hardcover LBN 667974 / ISBN 9781439128299 |
| "Void Of Course"
by Jim Carroll A collection of poetry from the author, poet, autobiographer and punk musician best known for The Basketball Diaries, which was made into a 1995 film of the same name starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Carroll. Died September 11, 2009 while at his desk working. His final novel, The Petting Zoo, will be published November 2010.
Hardcover LBN 694398 / ISBN 9780140589092 |
| "Nothing To Envy: Ordinary Lives In North Korea"
by Barbara Demick A look at North Korea through the lives of six defectors, where ordinary life became a parade of horrors in the 1990s. Former Seoul bureau chief and L.A. Times staffer Demick gives us a rare look at a country mostly unknown to us because of the media censorpship imposed by a repressive totalitarian regime.
Hardcover LBN 600061 / ISBN 9780385523905 |
| "Neon Angel: A Memoir Of A Runaway"
by Cherie Currie Cherie Currie, with her signature Bowie haircut and fishnet stockings, was the groundbreaking lead singer of '70s teenage all-girl rock band the Runaways, went on to a career as an actress, and currently works as a chainsaw wood carving artist. This memoir was the basis for the 2010 feature film The Runaways, starring Dakota Fanning and Twilight's Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett.
Hardcover LBN 674348 / ISBN 9780061961359 |
| "I'd Know You Anywhere"
by Laura Lippman A new stand alone novel of psychological manipulation that moves between past and present to explore the lasting effects of crime on a victim's life. The former Edgar-winning Baltimore Sun reporter continues to push the crime novel into literary fiction territory: I'd Know You Anywhere reads like Still Missing as written by Ian McEwan.
Hardcover LBN 675158 / ISBN 9780061706554 |
June 2010
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| "The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, And Andrew Weil Killed The Fifties And Ushered In A New Age For America"
by Don Lattin Fifty years after Timothy Leary took his first magic mushroom trip, we have this revealing account of four iconic and inter-connected personalities that helped define an era and usher in major cultural changes that affect us to this day. What a long, strange trip it's been.
Hardcover LBN 648094 |
| "The Swap"
by Antony Moore A brilliant black comedy/mystery/thriller, for people that enjoy tales of men behaving badly, such as Ian McEwan's Solaris.
Paperback LBN 609627 |
| "War"
by Sebastian Junger Brilliant old school war reporting from the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan in 2008.
Hardcover LBN 651844 |
| "Tour de Lance: The Extraordinary Story of Lance Armstrong's Fight to Reclaim the Tour de France"
by Bill Strickland Just in time for the Tour de France. The author of the brilliant Ten Points tells the story of Armstrong's 2009 comeback with a critical view mostly absent in North American sports journalism. Booklist called it "an irresistible account of a story that needed telling" in a starred review.
Hardcover LBN 668603 |
| "Dandy In The Underworld : An Unauthorised Autobiography"
by Sebastian Horsley A droll, acerbic, and gleefully outrageous autobiography by the U.K. artist best known for staging his own crucifixion; popular amongst Canadian listeners of CBC Radio's Q. Horsley died of a heroin overdose in June 2010.
Hardcover LBN 547963 |
May 2010
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| "The Best Laid Plans"
by Terry Fallis Canadian political satire from an insider, The Best Laid Plans is Waterloo Region's One Book One Community pick for 2010.
Hardcover LBN 579391 |
| "As Good As Gold: 1 Woman, 9 Sports, 10 Countries, And A 2-Year Quest"
by Kathryn Bertine A quixotic quest to make it to the 2008 Summer Olympics by any means necessary. While written with a great deal of humour, what separates this from other Plimpton-esque accounts is that the author, an elite triathlete, is an athlete first, and writer second. Her quest is, as one of her coaches points out, "doable" (as long as you're willing to Eat. Pray. Luge).
Hardcover LBN 579391 |
| "Murder City: Ciudad Juarez And The Global Economy's New Killing Fields"
by Charles Bowden Charles Bowden cries with the intensity and poetry of a Biblical prophet who can't turn off the visions that overwhelm him, of life on the ground in Ciudad Juarez.
Hardcover LBN 661865 |
| "Kenk: A Graphic Portrait"
by Richard Poplak A groundbreaking 256-page journalistic comic book detailing the life and times of Igor Kenk, "the world''s most prolific bicycle thief" (The New York Times and The Guardian). In Summer 2008, Kenk was arrested and nearly 3,000 bicycles were seized in one of the biggest news stories of the year. Built from more than 30 hours of never-before-seen intimate footage taken over the year leading up to his arrest, Kenk is a thought-provoking and surprisingly funny portrait of an outsize neighbourhood figure and a city in flux, both wracked by the forces of gentrification and by a burgeoning global environmental and economic crisis that promises to define our generation.
Hardcover LBN 678521 |
March 2010
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| "Bring On The Books For Everybody"
by Jim Collins An engaging assessment of the robust popular literary culture that has developed in North America in the past two decades. Fueled by Oprah's book club, Miramax film adaptations, superstore bookshops, and new technologies such as the Kindle digital reader, literary fiction has been transformed into best-selling, high-concept entertainment. A must for those that enjoy books about books and popular culture. Highly recommended for library tech services staff.
Hardcover LBN 673803 |
| "Empire Of Illusion"
by Chris Hedges Pulitzer prize–winner Chris Hedges charts the dramatic and disturbing rise of a post-literate society that craves fantasy, ecstasy, and illusion. Hedges argues that we now live in two societies: One, the minority, functions in a print-based, literate world, that can cope with complexity and can separate illusion from truth. The other, a growing majority, is retreating from a reality-based world into one of false certainty and magic. Wade Davis railed against the loss of cultural diversity in last month's pick, The Wayfinders. Here, Hedges rages against intellectual degradation no less effectively.
Hardcover LBN 635991 |
| "Lunatic Express"
by Carl Hoffman An aptly named traveller's tale around the world on the most dangerous conveyances possible. Looking for something different than an all-inclusive Sunquest holiday in Punta Cana? Try a bus trip through Afghanistan, or packed into third class on the worst ferries and trains in the world. Filled with the sort of statistics you have to read over and over to accept, like the dozens that die DAILY on Mumbai commuter trains. ViaRail never looked so good...
Hardcover LBN 651750 |
| "Solar"
by Ian McEwan Two books that have much in common in story, tone and craft, both revolving around the fumbling misadventures of narcississtic British males who have left their youth behind. McEwan's book is hysterically funny; Crace's the subtler and more nuanced of the two. Both are quietly brilliant.
Hardcover LBN 662967 |
| | "All That Follows"
by Jim Crace Hardcover LBN 651371 |
January 2010
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| | "The Wayfinders"
by Wade Davis In the 2009 Massey Lectures Series, the BC author and anthropoligist eloquently addresses the loss of cultural diversity: 50 percent of the 7,000 languages spoken around the world are expected to be extinct within our lifetimes. Davis takes us on a tour of indigenous cultures, describing the worldviews they represent and explaining the threat to mankind's survival and quality of life should we allow them to vanish. Beautifully written, I'll be listening to the audio version in my car next: this is worth more than just a single read through.
Hardcover LBN 636283 Audio LBN 647966 |
| "Where Men Win Glory"
by Jon Krakauer The story of Pat Tillman, who left a successful career in the NFL to fight in Afghanistan, where he was killed in 2004. Reviews I’ve seen from the U.S. have been unkind, but I feel they’ve misunderstood Krakauer’s portrait of a unique individual and his struggle to live an honorable life. Given that it concerns in part the wrongdoings of their own military and political system, it may be more difficult for an American audience to appreciate this book, which strikes me as a perfect complement to the author’s own Into the Wild, the chronicle of another iconoclast.
Hardcover LBN 596276 |
| | "Always Been There"
by Roseanne Cash In 1973, Rosanne Cash’s father gave her a list of 100 songs, many from the Southern tradition, that he felt a young musician had to know. Always Been There tells the inside story of the album that, more than thirty-five years later, resulted from “the list.” It paints an unforgettable portrait of Rosanne confronting music-making in the aftermath of serious brain surgery, her lifelong search for her legacy, and her unique creative partnerships. Don’t forget to listen to the resulting album, The List. (VRN 197903)
Hardcover LBN 636115 |
| November 2009 |
| | "Imperfect Birds"
by Anne Lamott As a huge fan of Lamott’s non-fiction, I approached this fictional tale of a mother-daughter relationship with trepidation. Sometimes you worry about losing an author that’s already won you over when you head into new territory. No worries here. While I still prefer her NF, this account of the mutual frustrations of a drug-using teenage daughter and her recovering alcoholic mother was a great read that captures the perils of parenthood and the precipice many teens teeter on while on the cusp of adulthood. A great book club choice.
Hardcover LBN 651302 |
| | "End Of My Addiction"
by Oliver Amiesen In this age of Oprah, addiction memoirs usually revel in tales of degradation and abuse, entertaining through a horror not our own, inspiring with redemption. This book is different. Eminent cardiologist Olivier Amiesen details his battles with alcohol without hyperbole and leads us through the research and self-medicating trials that have lead to a complete recovery. The End of My Addiction is both a memoir of Dr. Ameisen’s own struggle and a groundbreaking call to action—an urgent plea for research that can rescue millions from the scourge of addiction and spare their loved ones the collateral damage of the disease.
Hardcover LBN 553422 |
| | "Sleepless"
by Charlie Huston The author of the Henry Thompson trilogy presents a very believable Bladerunner-esque dystopian novel set in the summer of 2010 Los Angeles, where a mad-cow like pandemic causing sleeplessness has led to rapid societal chaos and collapse.
Hardcover LBN 651588 |
September 2009
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| "Methland"
by Nick Reding This four year study of how methamphetamine has affected a small American town goes far beyond insights into a particular drug. Author Nick Reding has adeptly shown, through the intersections of meth with local manufacturing, agriculture, commerce and character studies, the loss of a way of life in the U.S. heartland. Many of the same conditions unfortunately apply in small town rural Ontario. For readers of Tulia and A Civil Action.
Hardcover LBN 613633 |
| "Appetite For Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash Of The Record Industry In The Digital Age"
by Steve Knopper The title says it all except how great a job author Steve Knopper does of presenting the story with just the right amount of detail. A great read for music fans and library a/v selectors along with those interested in digital rights management, this book is an LBI in-house favorite with a waiting list to read it.
Hardcover LBN 578899 |
| "The Unit"
by Ninni Holmqvist This dystopian novel is science fiction for people that don’t read sci-fi; ditto feminist literature. It’s a haunting, chilling novel perfect for book clubs, albeit capable of consuming them. While comparisons could be made to A Handmaid’s Tale, this is for readers of Huxley and Orwell, which is to say everyone should read this book. Thanks to the Dewey Diva blog for this: http://deweydivas.blogspot.com/2009/06/are-you-headed-for-unit.html
Hardcover LBN 614963 |
| "Far North"
by Marcel Theroux Another dystopian novel, that rightfully belonged on an LBI bestseller list. While The Unit is set in a future so near as to be near seamless, Far North takes place in the sort of apocalyptic landscape we all fear the future holds but that we never see. This is more in line for readers of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and Jim Crace’s Pesthouse.
Hardcover LBN 641405 |
| "The Bicycle Diaries"
by David Byrne Former Talking Heads frontman Byrne travels the world with his bicycle and reports on music, urban planning, arts and culture, and riding. What surprised me was the wry, unaffected humour told without the ironic poses of his early music. This book has been attracting a lot of press pre-release in September from a variety of media and should circulate well with its broad appeal to different readerships.
Hardcover LBN 631600 |
| "Having Faith In The Polar Girls' Prison"
by Cathleen With A rare treatment of social problems in Canada’s far north told through fiction, this first novel helps to humanize the people that are too often only glimpsed through evening news reports.
Hardcover LBN 599750 |
July 2009
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| | "Why Your World Is About To Get A Whole Lot Smaller"
by Jeff Rubin This book is creating a lot of buzz right now, as former Chief Economist at CIBC World Markets author Jeff Rubin makes the publicity rounds. It was on our Spring bestseller list and most libraries have ordered it. Get your own hold in and read this well written, lucid and cogent forecast. Read this before your next household or career move or car purchase. As with Freakonomics there’s not a lot that’s new here, but rather the perspective at work along with the force and art of the argument being made.
Hardcover LBN 615258 |
| | "Born To Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, And The Greatest Race The World Has Never Seen"
by Christopher McDougall While I pick too many running books, they often seem like the drama series created for HBO (The Wire, True Blood); the best work out there. Born to Run introduces us to a cast of incredible characters, in running shoes, sandals, barefoot and pointy wing-tips exploring the limits of human endurance and our evolutionary past. For those who enjoy traveler’s and armchair adventurer’s tales, with a good dollop of science and history, although it’s as a series of character studies that this book really excels.
Hardcover LBN 613154 |
May 2009
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| "City Of Thieves"
by David Benioff The author of The 25th Hour tells the story of his grandfather’s experiences in Russia in World War II. This is easy to enjoy book-club fiction that should please a wide range of readers from fans of historical fiction, to those that appreciate character, action, setting, and storytelling, similar to Like Water for Elephants or The Book of Negroes.
Hardcover LBN 566660 |
| "Nine Lives: Death And Life In New Orleans"
by Dan Baum In nine profiles that cross age, race, and class lines from Hurricane Betsy in 1965 to Katrina 40 years later, Dan Baum has written a classic work of creative non-fiction. The city and times are brought to life so vividly that you feel as though you can smell and hear the city breathe. The characters are so well developed you’ll weep for their tragedies and cheer their successes as though they were your own family. This book is an epic achievement.
The award winning HBO documentary by Spike Lee, When the Levees Broke (VRN 136532) is the perfect A/V pairing with Nine Lives. I’ve never been a fan of Spike Lee but this finely balanced, even toned documentary is brilliant, albeit harrowing to watch.
Hardcover LBN 600056 |
| | "Yoga Inc."
by John Philp Finally, a yoga book that moves beyond asanas! John Philp takes a look at the business of yoga, the trends, personalities, fraudsters and misdeeds. This is an entertaining expose of an enormous industry that has managed to remain mostly unexamined. Note there is a film version currently on the festival circuit, not yet available on DVD. Get your downward dog on and read this book!Hardcover LBN 600124 |
| "Bits Of Me Are Falling Apart: How We Get Older And Why"
by William Leith Should I be offended that this book was sent to me, unsolicited, by the publisher rep? Perhaps, but I was too busy laughing at this droll and mordent memoir to worry about it. Note that while you may not be a 47 year-old male yourself, sooner or later, bits will be falling apart regardless. Reading this examination of the aging process will provide humourous insight into the process.Hardcover LBN 599942 |
| "One Square Inch Of Silence: One Man's Search For Natural Silence In A Noisy World"
by Gordon Hempton Natural silence is our most quickly disappearing resource. While sound ecologist Gordon Hempton does sound off like an obsessive nut at times, it’s worth remembering how people initially responded to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. While we take it for granted, uninterrupted natural silence is becoming increasingly rare, as this book makes shockingly clear. Leaving his home near Olympia National Park in Washington, Hempton travels cross-country by ’67 VW mini-bus to Washington D.C., where he meets with members of Congress, National Parks, and FAA officials, searching for silence along the way. A thought-provoking book on a subject that affects us all.Hardcover LBN 622479 |
February 2009
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| Anne Lamott Late last year, I discovered Anne Lamott via a book on cd, read by the author. Her deadpan, ironic, candid, and somewhat flaky delivery was as immediately recognizable as an old friend sitting at the kitchen table. Her non-fiction books on faith, that include thoughts on parenting, grief, friendship, aging, and politics, deal with such universal themes in such plain but heartfelt language that they are immediately accessible to anyone. Whether in audio or printed format, she's a blessing. |
| "Grace (Eventually)"
Hardcover : LBN 514806 Unabridged CD : LBN 514807 |
| "Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts On Faith"
Hardcover : LBN 178311 Paperback : LBN 223889 |
| "Plan B: Further Thoughts On Faith"
Hardcover : LBN 383212 Paperback : LBN 527667 Unabridged CD : LBN 383213 |
December 2008
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| "Life At These Speeds: A Novel"
by Jeremy Jackson Here's another "running" book hot on the heels of last month's Again to Carthage. Life at These Speeds, which I discovered through the great bibliophile's social networking/reader advisory site www.shelfari.com is an odd book that seems to strongly polarize readers who either love or hate it. Put me strongly in the former camp. While the book is rife with critical flaws that are easy to note, this strange riff on loss within a coming of age tale is something like Rule of the Bone crossed with The Sweet Hereafter and J.D. Salinger. An 8th grader survives by chance an accident that kills his school's track team and undergoes strange personality changes while becoming a championship athlete. Definite YA crossover appeal. Paperback : ISBN 0312313667 / 9780312313661
LBN # 375637 / Price $25.00 |
| "A Dog In A Hat: An American Bike Racer's Story Of Mud, Drugs, Blood, Betrayal, And Beauty In Belgium"
by Joe Parkin One of the first U.S. riders to move to Belgium for a career as a professional cyclist, Joe Parkin didn't once ride the Tour de France or win a major race. Possibly that fact, and certainly his blunt and humorous writing style, make this an above average memoir. While many of the names mentioned, and the stories of drug use, are now familiar, this is definitely a story from the fringes and far more engaging than any celebrity ghost written sports bio. YA crossover and reluctant reader appeal. Paperback : ISBN 1934030260 / 9781934030264
LBN # 581596 / Price $25.00 / Pub Date: August 2008 |
| "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running"
by Haruki Murakami From the author of The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, a serene little running memoir, the title paraphrasing Raymond Carver's best known work. Hardcover : ISBN 0385666276 / 9780385666275
LBN # 584872 / Price $27.95 / Pub Date: July 2008 |
| "Again To Carthage"
by John L. Parker, Jr. The author of the cult classic Once a Runner picks up where that novel left off. For readers of George Sheehan and John Brant, best read with your legs up a wall. Hardcover : ISBN 1891369776 / 9781891369773
LBN # 591480 / Price $29.00 / Pub Date: April 2008 |
| "Twilight"
by William Gay Southern Gothic so harsh and dark it makes Cormac McCarthy seem like Nicholas Sparks. Hardcover : ISBN 1596920580 / 9781596920583
LBN # 548476 / Price $33.00 |
October 2008
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| "Dead Man In Paradise"
by J.B. MacKinnon The co-author of The 100 Mile Diet explores his uncle's death in the Dominican Republic in this Charles Taylor Award winning traveller's tale/mystery/meditation on loss and history. Hardcover : ISBN 1553651383 / 9781553651383
LBN # 426578 / Price $22.95 |
| "Again To Carthage"
by John L. Parker, Jr. The author of the cult classic Once a Runner picks up where that novel left off. For readers of George Sheehan and John Brant, best read with your legs up a wall. Hardcover : ISBN 1891369776 / 9781891369773
LBN # 591480 / Price $29.00 / Pub Date: April 2008 |
September 2008
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| "Bicycling Beyond The Divide"
by Daryl Farmer The author retraces a bicycle trip made 20 years earlier from Colorado to B.C., down the Pacific Coast and across the Continental Divide while reflecting on the changes to both the physical as well as personal and cultural landscapes. Hardcover : ISBN 0803220340 / 9780803220348
LBN # 591528 / Price $29.95 / Pub Date: March 2008 |
| "I Have Fun Everywhere I Go: Savage Tales Of Pot, Porn, Punk Rock, Pro Wrestling, Talking Apes, Evil Bosses, Dirty Blues, American Heroes, And The Most Notorious Magazines In The World."
by Mike Edison The subtitle pretty much sums things up here. Something for the reluctant reader that usually doesn't go past the magazine aisle. Hardcover : ISBN 086547964X / 9780865479647
LBN # 562252 / Price $27.50 / Pub Date: May 2008 |
| "Water For Elephants"
by Sara Gruen This 2006 title by Canadian born and raised Gruen keeps garnering word of mouth praise. The trade paperback edition, shown here, is incredibly popular as a book club choice. Run away to the circus with this page turner set during the Great Depression. The HBO series Carnivale makes a nice A/V companion of sorts: VRN 104855 (Season One) and 129760 (Season Two). Hardcover : ISBN 0006391559 / 9780006391555
LBN # 557660 / Price $16.50 / Pub Date: June 2006 |
| "The Last Great Fight: The Extraordinary Tale Of Two Men And How One Fight Changed Their Lives"
by Joe Layden The events leading to, and aftermath of, the Mike Tyson-Buster Douglas fight. The heavyweight division has been in sad decline since the most surprising fight since Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) knocked out Sonny Liston when they first met. This is insightful, investigative sports journalism at its best. Hardcover : ISBN 0312353308 / 9780312353308
LBN # 556805 / Price $28.95 / Pub Date: October 2007 |
August 2008
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| "Off The Deep End: The Probably Insane Idea That I Could Swim My Way To Youth And Qualify For The Olympics At Age Forty-Five"
by Hodding W. Carter IV The quixotic quest of a 40-year-old working father to qualify for the Olympic trials leading up to the Beijing Olympics. Hardcover : ISBN 1565125649 / 9781565125643
LBN # 562840 / Price $24.95 / Pub Date: June 2008 |
| "Into Thick Air: Biking To The Bellybutton Of Six Continents"
by Jim Malusa While alpha dogs head for mountain peaks, biologist Malusa bikes to the lowest points on six continents. Don't hold your breath waiting for a Fodor's Gold Guide on Djibouti or the Turpan Depression: read this. Hardcover : ISBN 157805141X / 9781578051410
LBN # 561346 / Price $18.50 / Pub Date: May 2008 |
| "Paranoid Park"
by Blake Nelson YA Fiction for grades 7 up told in authentic teen speak by a 16-year-old narrator, a skater kid that becomes involved in a murder. The angst and ennui of dealing with the more common teen dilemmas of parental divorce and relationships are a constant backdrop in this page turner perfect for reluctant teen readers. Recently made into a movie by Gus Van Sant (VRN 178165) Hardcover : ISBN 0142411566 / 9780142411568
LBN # 498439 / Price $6.99 / Pub Date: February 2008 |
| "The Cactus Eaters: How I Lost My Mind--And Almost Found Myself--On the Pacific Crest Trail"
by Dan White Greenhorn misadventures hiking the Pacific Coast Trail from Mexico to Canada. A humourous traveller's tale. Hardcover : ISBN 0061376930 / 9780061376931
LBN # 562892 / Price $16.95 / Pub Date: May 2008 |
| "On A Wave: A Surfer Boyhood"
by Thad Ziolkowski A memoir of growing up and learning to surf in Florida, the author captures a child's perception and experience of the world perfectly. Exquisitely rendered. Catcher in the Rye on a board and better written. Hardcover : ISBN 087113845X / 9780871138453
LBN # 591532 / Price $24.95 / Pub Date: April 2002 |
| "The English Major"
by Jim Harrison Jim Harrison and Louise Erdrich strike me as being the two living American writers most deserving of a much wider readership. The English Major is the very accessible story of a sixty-something former teacher and farmer who heads out on a road trip after a bitter and sudden divorce. While I put this on our Fall Bestseller list, after reading an advance copy I'm adding it here in hopes of encouraging additional orders. Paperback : ISBN 0887842259 / 9780887842252
LBN # 584327 / Price $29.95 / Pub Date: September 2008 |
July 2008
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| "The Other"
by David Guterson Without having read him before, I'd dismissed David Guterson as a chick-lit writer until Maylin from Random House gave me an advance copy of The Other at CLA last week. A novel about alienation, idealism, and friendship set in the Pacific Northwest, it kept me indoors on a sunny day in Vancouver until I'd finished it and I can't give it a better endorsement than that. It presents two very different visions of what it means to live a good life in an engaging, not pendantic, way. Paperback : ISBN 0307263150 / 9780307263155
LBN # 566549 / Price $27.95 / Pub Date: June 2008 |
| "Warrior Girls: Protecting Our Daughters Against The Injury Epidemic In Women's Sports"
by Michael Sokolove From The Publisher: Warrior Girls exposes the downside of the women''s sports revolution that has evolved since Title IX: an injury epidemic that is easily ignored because we worry that it will threaten our daughters'' hard-won opportunities on the field. From teenage girls playing local soccer, basketball, lacrosse, volleyball, and other sports to women competing at the elite level, female athletes are suffering serious injuries at alarming rates. The numbers are frightening and irrefutable. Michael Sokolove gives us the most up-to-date research on girls and sports injuries. From Ron: This book is for parents, teachers, coaches and trainers. Great non-fiction gives you insights into unknown worlds -- Into Thin Air, The Perfect Storm, or John McPhee's Coming Into the Country. This book was every bit as compelling to me as those. Hardcover : ISBN 0743297555 / 9780743297554
LBN # 564795 / Price $28.99 / Pub Date: June 2008 |
| "Fatal Tide" By David Leach One of those books that deserved to be on the Bestseller List, Fatal Tide chronicles an adventure race on the Bay of Fundy that ended in the death of a novice kayaker. Leach, who teaches at the University of Victoria, takes a broad look at the history of extreme sports and research into physiology such as the study of hypothermia from the infamous experiments of the Nazis forward. Hardcover : ISBN 067006629X / 9780670066292
LBN # 555684 / Price $32.00 / Pub Date: March 2008 |
| "The Turnaround" By George Pelecanos
The tone of this novel set in Washington DC for the early 70s to the present day is a bit earnest, but that's the usual price of the nostalgia likely infecting author George Pelecanos. His "Drama City" backlist deserves wider reading, much like the Charm City stories of Laura Lippman, whose husband David Simon Pelecanos has worked with, writing stories for the popular HBO series The Wire. If this stand-alone tale interests you, go back and read the novels featuring Nick Stefanos and Derek Strange for more from this DC native son. Hardcover : ISBN 0316156477 / 9780316156479
LBN # 566912 / Price $28.99 / Pub Date: August 2008 |
June 2008
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| "Major: A Black Athlete, a White Era, and the Fight to Be the World's Fastest Human Being" By Todd Blaf A 100 years ago bicycle track racing was the most popular sporting event in the world, its best rider the black American Major Taylor. This book is for cycling buffs and historians, those that love a good biography or interested in the study of race relations. Hardcover : 978-0307236586 LBN : 554816 / Price $28.00 |
| "Final Theory: A Novel" By Mark Alpert This Dewey Diva pick is a thinking person's thriller filled with very accessible and credible science. A non-embarrassing beach read. Hardcover : 9781416572879 LBN : 566721 / Price $28.00 |
May 2008
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| "The Plague Of Doves"
by Louise Erdrich Set amongst the inter-married Ojibwe living in the off-reservation town of Pluto, North Dakota, this is another of Erdrich's magical realist stories of interconnected families and myths. One of my favourite living authors, this is her best work since The Master Butcher's Singing Club. Hardcover : ISBN 0060515120 / 9780060515126
LBN # 566553 / Price $29.95 / Pub Date: May 2008 |
| "The Push & The Pull"
by Darryl Whetter This book about a grad student bicycling from Halifax to Kingston came just in time to get me through what I hope is the last snowstorm of the season here in Southwestern Ontario. Bicycling fiction is usually written with about as much craft as bodice rippers but Darryl Whetter, a regular contributor to the Globe & Mail and CBC Radio Talking Books guest brings genuine literary ability to a story about relationships with parents, lovers, and dealing with loss. Occasionally prone to idiotic plot twists and unintentionally laughable scenes, this is not The Great Bicycling Novel (The Rider by Tim Krabbe still holds that honour) but still a great read. Whetter is also the author of A Sharp Tooth in the Fur. Paperback : ISBN 0864925077 / 9780864925077
LBN # 560932 / Price $21.95 / Pub Date: April 2008 |
April 2008
| |
| "The King of Lies"
by John Hart An above average murder mystery that succeeds through the unrelenting, harrowing character development of its main protagonist, an unambitious lawyer in a small North Carolina town. Hardcover : ISBN 031234161X / 9780312341619
LBN # 468038 / Price $29.95 |
March 2008
| |
| "In The Realm Of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction"
by Gabor Maté A sprawling, uneven, imaginative, original and passionate look at addiction in our society from Downtown East Side crackheads to more socially acceptable uncontrolled patterns of behaviour in our children, the middle and upper professional classes. Neuroscience, current events, social issues, biography and memoir are all a part of this strange but illuminating book that I truly believe belongs in every public library and deserves to be widely read. Hardcover : ISBN 0676977405 / 9780676977400
LBN # 537085 / Price $34.95 / Pub Date: February 2008 |
| "High Crimes: The Fate of Everest In An Age of Greed"
by Michael Kodas A personal and investigative look into the current extreme adventure-travel climbing scene. This is not the Everest of Mallory or Norgay but a new high altitude Wild West of lawless greed, soaring egos, grossly unqualified climbers, fraud and crimes with often fatal consequences. Read it with horror and disgust and never watch another Discovery Channel climbing documentary the same way again. Hardcover : ISBN 1401302734 / 9781401302733
LBN # 547964 / Price $28.95 / Pub Date: January 2008 |
February 2008
| |
| | Bowerman and the Men of Oregon: The Story of Oregon's Legendary Coach and Nike's Cofounder By Kenny Moore Bowerman and the Men of Oregon is a brilliant re-creation of a large, quintessentially American life. During his 24-year tenure as track coach at the University of Oregon, Bill Bowerman won four national team titles and his athletes set 13 world and 22 American records, most notably by distance runner Steve Prefontaine (subject of the film Without Limits, available on dvd VRN #76705 with the Bowerman role played by Donald Sutherland with obvious relish and glee). Bowerman also co-founded Nike, invented the waffle sole, helped usher in the running boom to non-athletes in the late 60s, and was the U.S. Track & Field Coach at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Two time Olympian Kenny Moore, who had been coached by Bowerman, has written a hugely captivating account that takes the reader from The Oregon Trail, through WWII, the drama of the Munich hostage taking, the rise of Nike, and even includes self styled guru Bhagwan Rajneesh's move to Oregon. It is truly a sprawling read for anyone that enjoys biography" ...Ron Stadnik Paperback : ISBN 1594867313 / 9781594867316
LBN # 531348 / Price: $20.95 |
| October 2007 | |
| “When I Was Cool: My Life at the Jack Kerouac School"
by Sam Kashner
As a teenager I idolized the Beat authors, as did author Sam Kashner. However, while I took my enthusiasms on the road with me, Kashner enrolled to become the first student at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in Boulder, Colorado. Jack had died with Ginsberg, Burroughs, Gregory Corso, and other notorious poets and literary madmen of the 50s, having become faculty members twenty odd years after the HOWL and Naked Lunch obscenity trials. This poignant coming of age story is also a hilarious look at what happens when we confront our heroes and see them revealed as flesh and blood human beings. As "On the Road" celebrates its 50th year in print this month, this is the perfect book to glimpse into the lives of what happened to the Beats themselves as they traded in their heroin and benzedrine for blood pressure medication and dentures." ...Ron Stadnik
Paperback : ISBN 006000567X / 9780060005672
LBN # 396999 / Price: $17.50 |
| July 2007 | |
| “Late Hector Kipling"
by David Thewlis
"This book is the most madly brilliant fiction I've read in ages, although likely not for everyone. This is, as you'd imagine, a book written by the character played by Thewlis in the film Naked. If that's a film you appreciate, this is for you, but if you only know Thewlis through such films as Seven Years in Tibet or Harry Potter, you'd best stay away. It's a wicked, cruel, biting, delicious work. Highly recommended for the twisted." ...Ron Stadnik
Paperback : ISBN 0143054007 / 9780143054009
LBN # 514469 / Price: $24.00 |
| June 2007 | |
| “Ten Points"
by Bill Strickland
"This book deserved to be in our Spring Bestseller list but I thought my personal hobbies might be affecting my judgement. Later, after reading an advance reader's copy, I realized that, much like Lance Armstrong's "It's Not About the Bike", this is not a book about bicycling. It's a "Lovely Bones" for men." ...Ron Stadnik
Hardcover : ISBN 1401302580 / 9781401302580
LBN # 512910 / Price: $29.95 |
| May 2007 |
| "May is a month to think of food, whether it's harvesting rhubarb and leeks in Vancouver, or planting the garden in Ontario; spring revolves around our body's instinctual need to feed. The following aren't practical gardening books, but might be called "foodspirational" as they document current and past eating habits and trends, providing insights into means of positive change. Reading these will change what's on your plate and how it got there." ....Ron Stadnik |
| “The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating"
by Alisa Smith & JB Mackinnon
Hardcover : ISBN 0679314822 / 9780679314820
LBN # : 503563 / Price: $32.95 |
| “The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals"
by Michael Pollan
Paperback : ISBN 0143038583 / 9780143038580
LBN # 528171 / Price: $20.00
|
| “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life"
by Barbara Kingsolver & Camille Kingsolver
Hardcover : ISBN 0060852550 / 9780060852559
LBN # 514721 / Price: $33.95 |
| “Alice Waters and Chez Panisse"
by Thomas McNamee
Hardcover : ISBN 1594201153 / 9781594201158
LBN # 503575 / Price: $35.00 |
Ron's Picks 
