“Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.” – Mark Twain
Bookstore
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Two iconic bookstores will be closing their doors in early 2014 in Toronto
It was announced recently that two iconic Chapters stores will be closing in Toronto: Chapters Runnymede and The World’s Biggest Book Store. The building where Chapters Runnymede is located used to be a movie theatre. It was built in 1927, and the exterior and interior have been preserved to house the bookstore. It is a beautiful place, and I remember spending many hours browsing the shelves and admiring the decor….
Oscar Wilde
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Did you know that Oscar Wilde…
… spent two years in a London prison for the charge of gross indecency and homosexual behavior? During his imprisonment, his health deteriorated because of the food or lack thereof, and because of the hard labor he had to do there. Once released, he went to live in France under the name Sebastian Melmoth. He died of cerebral meningitis three years later, on 30 November 1900. His remains are in…
Fiction
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The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
The Year of the Flood, the second book in the MaddAddam trilogy, came out 6 years after Oryx and Crake in 2009. It is not a sequel, but rather a companion to the first novel as it takes place on a concurrent time. Toby and Ren survived the epidemic that killed most of the human race. A series of flashbacks informs us that Toby was a therapist in a spa…
Award
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The 2013 Governor General’s Literary Awards
Yesterday, the 14 winners of the 2013 Governor General’s Literary Awards were announced. Eleanor Catton won the best English fiction for The Luminaries. She also won the 2013 Man Booker Prize earlier this year. So now I have no choice but to read her book! 🙂 The story seems very interesting though, so I’m sure I will enjoy The Luminaries. I will post a review later on. Here are all…
Andrew Pyper
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The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper
On Wednesday 30 October 2013, Andrew Pyper was in town to promote his latest book, The Demonologist. During the event, he read an excerpt and, astonishingly, he stopped at the exact same place where I had stopped reading only moments ago. Later on, he spoke about another coincidence: one night, his 5-year-old daughter had a nightmare about a boy dead in a river. This was the same night when the…
Lynn Coady
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Congratulations Lynn Coady!
Yesterday, Lynn Coady won the Scotiabank Giller Prize 2013 for her collection of short-stories called “Hellgoing”. In an emotional speech, she thanked her husband, her parents and her publisher. She also added that she was proud to be a Canadian writer, especially since authors were treated like movie stars in our country. About the book (from the publisher’s website, House of Anansi): With astonishing range and depth, Scotiabank Giller Prize winner…
Fiction
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Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
On 24 September 2013, Margaret Atwood came to Ottawa to present the last book in the MaddAddam Trilogy. The event took place at the Southminster United Church, and the place was packed, a testament to the author’s fame. Margaret Atwood, all dressed in black with a red and gold shawl, talked about the dystopian world she imagined in the MaddAddam Trilogy. The story came to her almost in its entirety…
Amanda Lindhout
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A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett
Amanda Lindhout, a Canadian freelance journalist, and Nigel Brennan, an Australian photographer, traveled to Somalia in the summer of 2008 to report on the war raging in this country. What should have been a one-week short trip turned into a 15-month nightmare when Amanda and Nigel were kidnapped by a group of rebels. This book tells Amanda’s harrowing and heartbreaking story. Deeply moving, it is very well written and manages…
Ernest Hemingway
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Ernest Hemingway Quotation
“Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.” – Ernest Hemingway