Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: My Lucky Life in and out of Show Business

My Lucky Life in and out of Show Business by Dick Van Dyke 2010

Legendary actor Dick Van Dyke’s memoir of his extraordinary life makes a fast and entertaining read. Who doesn’t remember his character Rob Petrie from the Dick Van Dyke show and Bert from Mary Poppins? These characters still entertain today just as they did in the 1960s.

His memoir traces his public and personal life from his first job at 17 as a part-time radio announcer for the local CBS radio station, to his ongoing projects in which he is currently involved. It doesn’t appear that he has any plans for retirement! Van Dyke also discusses his 36 year marriage to his wife Margie, his children and his 35-year relationship with Michelle Triola.

The library has this book available in a variety of formats; print, book on CD, and downloadable ebook and audiobook! Pick your favourite format and enjoy reading about one of North America’s favourite entertainers.

Fiction Pick of the Week: Good to a Fault

Good to a fault by Marina Endicott 2008

What’s the liability when an insurance agent drives into another car? Middle-aged and unhappy, Clara Purdy faces this issue when she drives her vehicle into the car belonging to the Gage family. Two parents, three children and one grandmother climb out of the vehicle. No one seems to be seriously hurt but when they reach the hospital the mother, Lorraine, is found to have late stage lymphoma.
Clara takes on the family. She opens her doors and takes in the children and grandmother while the husband departs. Clara’s quiet nine-to-five life is transformed into a chaotic round of meals, cleaning and visits to the hospital. Where does the responsibility end – and does she want it to?

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Island of the Lost

Island of the Lost by Joan Druett 2007

How well could you survive being shipwrecked on a deserted island? New Zealand maritime historian and writer Joan Druet re-creates not one, but 2 shipwrecks on the same island. In 1864, 2 sailing ships were wrecked by storms on the same island, 300 miles south of New Zealand. The survivors were separated by 20 miles of inhospitable terrain, so they were unaware of each other. Using the ship's logs, newspaper accounts from the time and the sailors' own diaries and memoirs, Druett has created a surprisingly gripping tale that will leave readers amazed at the resourcefulness of one crew and the total ineptitude of the other. She illustrates how each group coped with the hostile conditions and why their respective strategies succeeded or failed by allowing the details of each story to drive the narrative. This makes for an engrossing and spellbinding story. Well-researched and well-written, the author seamlessly weaves their respective stories together, keeping the reader compulsively turning the pages of this engrossing maritime survival saga.

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Curtains

Curtains: adventures of an undertaker-in-training by Tom Jokinen 2010

Can a book about funerals be funny? In Curtains : adventures of an undertaker-in-training, Tom Jokinen researches a grave subject with sensitivity and with humour. In his mid-forties, the author quit his job and apprenticed at a small, family-owned funeral parlour in Winnipeg. In the book, he describes procedures followed for either a burial or a cremation. He talks about industry trends and describes the rites followed by some of the mainstream religious groups: the Catholic, Methodist, Jewish and Amish. He talks of the impact on the industry of the book, The American Way of Death, written by Jessica Mitford in 1963 and how marketing techniques used by funeral directors changed as a result. He attended a conference for funeral directors in California and describes some of the unusual practices that take place there. Mr. Jokinen is an inquisitive person who examines all aspects of the industry and the beliefs surrounding life and death. Although some people may find some parts of the book somewhat disturbing, it is a very interesting and informative read. And, as mentioned at the beginning, his fresh, no-nonsense approach is entertaining and humorous.

Fiction Pick of the Week: The Disappeared

The Disappeared by Kim Echlin 2009

A love story that spans two countries and two cultures set during the genocide in Cambodia. Anne Greves first falls in love with Serey, a Cambodian exile, as a teenager in Montreal. Their intense relationship is put on hold when the Vietnamese enter Cambodia and the borders are reopened. Serey, who has been unable to contact anyone at home for years, returns to the horrors of Cambodia in search of his family. Anne thinks she sees Serey on a news report and travels to Phnom Penh hoping to find him. The realities of Pol Pot’s rule and the cruelty of the Khmer Rouge set the back drop for the reuniting of the lovers and the beginning of further tragedy.

Nominated for the 2009 Scotiabank Giller Prize!

Fiction Pick of the Week: Among the Mad

Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear (2009)

This installment in the Post-World War I mystery series finds female psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs witnessing a suicide on the streets of London. After being questioned by Scotland Yard, she’s recalled a few days later when her name is mentioned in a letter threatening escalating acts of terror if the government doesn’t extend help to veterans psychologically damaged during the war. Maisie faces her greatest challenge yet as she assists Scotland Yard in the investigation and comes face to face with the plight of those victimized by shell-shock (what we now call Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). At the same time, a friend is experiencing depression, and Maisie intervenes to save her from the outdated and barbaric treatments often prescribed in the early 1930s.

Jacqueline Winspear’s exhaustive research brings the period to life, and along with delivering a good, complex plot and richly drawn characters, she sheds light on issues we still struggle with today. Each of her novels focuses on a particular aspect of the aftermath of war (the changing role of women, poverty and unemployment in the wake of conflict, or the impact on family members left behind), an approach that will appeal to fans of the Second World War television series Foyle’s War or the mysteries of Charles Todd.

Fiction Pick of the Week: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson 2010

If you enjoy stories full of eccentric characters set in a cosy English village, then this debut novel by Helen Simonson is for you. Widower Major Pettigrew lives a quiet life valuing proper English things like honour, duty, decorum and a properly brewed cup of tea. His settled world becomes upset when he realizes he has certain feelings for Mrs. Ali, the local Pakistani shopkeeper, herself a widow.

Can village society, including the Major's spoiled yuppie son and Mrs. Ali's religious zealot nephew, accept this developing romance? This modern day comedy of manners is witty, very humourous and has an unforgettable character in Major Ernest Pettigrew.

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: The Wayfinders

The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World by Wade Davis 2009

This is the text of the 2009 Massey lectures, a project that, since 1961, has sponsored an annual cross-Canada series of lectures by a noted Canadian or international scholar, to explore the important ideas of our time. Over the past four decades, Massey lecturers have included John Kenneth Galbraith, Martin Luther King Jr., Noam Chomsky, Stephen Lewis, Ronald Wright and Margaret Atwood.

The 2009 Massey lecturer was Canadian Wade Davis, ethnographer, writer, photographer, filmmaker, and Explorer in Residence for the National Geographic Society, and “a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet and passionate defender of all life’s diversity”.

Beginning with an introduction to how humanity and its cultures emerged, spread and diversified, he takes us on a global tour ranging from the San Bushmen of the Kalahari to the seafaring people of Polynesia, through the Amazon, Tibet, North American and Australian aboriginal cultures and others. Throughout, he highlights the unique view each has of the relationship between humans and our planet, and how its knowledge of how to live in harmony with nature is indispensable to the modern world.

The Wayfinders brings together a lifetime of his research and thought to discuss the impending loss of at least half the world’s cultures, and with them the ancient wisdom that’s needed to confront the challenges the world faces today.

Fiction Pick of the Week: Say You're One of Them

Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan 2009

Oprah gave star status to this book-- excerpts of which were first published in The New Yorker’s Debut Fiction in 2005. It is not an easy book to read as the characters in every one of the five stories are about children in various parts of Africa who live in terrible circumstances. The real focus in all of the stories is the resilience of the children no matter how bleak the settings and relationships may be. If you can’t read the entire book, read at least one of these stories. Owem Akpan has listened to the voices of children and asks through his writing that we listen, too. Owem Akpan was born in Nigeria, became a Jesuit priest in 2003 and received his MFA from the University of Michigan in 2006.

Fiction Pick of the Week: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan C. Bradley 2009

It is hard to believe that this debut mystery author and winner of the British Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award so convincingly evokes the British manners and setting of the 1950s when the author , a Canadian, admits that he had "not set foot in England until 2007"!

More surprisingly, most of the sleuth work is done by one Flavia de Luce – a precocious eleven year old girl who has as much passion for chemistry as she does disdain for her two older sisters' tiresome preoccupations with all things feminine. That the author and his protagonist make use of their local library to do their research makes this cozy mystery all the easier to recommend! We cannot wait for the sequel!

Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Apples to Oysters

Apples to Oysters: a foodlover's tour of Canadian farms by Margaret Webb 2008

A sign in my grocery store reads, “If you have eaten today, thank a farmer.” Margaret Webb travels to 11 special farms across Canada to show us exactly why we should be appreciative and supportive of those who persevere in their quest to bring quality products to our tables. Webb stays with each family participating in their work, preparing food, sharing recipes and chronicling their stories, most of which are shared in the intimacy of the family meal time. Their journeys are so captivating and inspiring that the reader must remember that this is non-fiction—these are real people, not characters, struggling to establish and maintain high standards in the face of competition from huge agri-businesses. Webb’s wonderful sense of humour in relating these stories is balanced by her poignant personal reflections about her own experiences growing up on a farm near Barrie, Ontario. Apples to Oysters not only underscores the real challenges facing Canadian farmers, but it also offers intriguing information on Canada’s natural history, geography and on what happens when political, commercial and academic organizations try to meddle with Mother Nature. The next time you visit a grocery store or restaurant you will find yourself asking, “At what cost do we produce cheap food?” Nominated for OLA’s 2009 Evergreen Award.

Fiction Pick of the Week: American Savior

American Savior: a novel of divine politics by Roland Merullo 2008

If you enjoy political satire then you might want to read American Savior : novel of divine politics by Roland Merullo. Merullo has written three novels that deal
with the humourous side of religion and politics; the other titles are Breakfast with Buddha and Golfing with God. In American Savior Jesus has decided to come back down to earth to save the world again and has decided to do so by running for President of the United States. The story is told in the first person by a cynical TV. journalist Russ Thomas. Jesus has selected Russ to be his campaign manager. This novel is very funny and shows the interplay of politics and religion in the United States.

Fiction Pick of the Week: The Anatomy of Deception

Anatomy of Deception by Lawrence Goldstone 2007
This novel is an intriguing tale of historical suspense seamlessly weaving fact and fiction. It is a first work of fiction by Goldstone but he uses his extensive knowledge in the medical field to create a period medical suspense novel. The setting is 1889 Philadelphia featuring real-life characters William Osler, William Stewart Halstead, and Thomas Eakins. During a routine autopsy, young Doctor Ephraim Carroll, witnesses Williams Osler’s dismay when an open cooler reveals the cadaver of a young woman. The autopsy is quickly cancelled and the class is dismissed. After a series of events, Dr. Carroll becomes very suspicious and begins an investigation of his own. Secrets abound in the medical community of the nineteenth century. This is a novel for readers who enjoy Anne Perry or historical page turners.

Fiction Pick of the Week: The Cellist of Sarajevo

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Stephen Galloway 2008

A chilling read of the heartache of civil war and how it tears a city, Sarajevo, apart. Actual historical events related to the Siege of Sarajevo 1992-1996 are woven into this work of fiction by B.C. author Stephen Galloway. He writes about a cellist from the Sarajevo Symphony who, upon witnessing the mortar attack through his window that killed 22 residents queuing for bread during the height of the siege, vows to play Albinoni’s Adagio on his cello on the same spot that the killings occurred for 22 days - one day for each of the residents who were killed. Other characters such as Arrow, a female sniper charged to guard the cellist, Kenan, who has to dodge snipers to get water for his family, and Dragen, who works just to get a free meal, also contribute to this moving, harrowing description of war. Long-listed for the 2008 Giller Prize.

Tuesday's Pick: The September Society

The September Society by Charles Finch 2008

If you like a nice cozy British mystery, why not try The September Society by Charles Finch? The story opens with a frantic widow visiting sleuth Charles Lennox in the middle of the night because her son has not returned to his room at Oxford University for the last two days. Lady Annabelle does not want to go to the local police because she fears they will laugh at her. Lennox goes to Oxford and finds the following clues in the student’s room “a frayed piece of string about two feet long, … a half of a pulp fried tomato, a fountain pen, and lastly a card, which said on the front The September Society; he turned it and was surprised to discover on the back two pen lines one pink, one black, forming an x.”These clues are what Lennox has to work with to try and find out what happened to George Payson. A real page turner! Finch’s first novel that introduced his sleuth Lennox is entitled Beautiful Blue Death.

Tuesday's Pick

Reminiscent of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, V.S. Naipaul's A Bend in the River still resonates 30 years after its publication. Salim, the narrator, is an outsider from the African coast. Intending "to make something of himself", he buys a business selling dry goods in an unnamed African town on an unnamed river. The novel describes the next 12 years of his life in the centre of Africa. The author uses a number of African, Indian and European characters to paint a picture of African society as the country undergoes a political journey from the colonial past to a post-colonial society  Beyond them all looms "the Big Man", the demagogic dictator of the country.
    I didn't realize until I'd finished, that it was the all pervasive sense of terror, a sustained atmosphere that is both dream-like and threatening, that kept me reading. Each character is trapped in an irrational web of social turmoil, pending terror and corruption. Africa is presented as a place that resists understanding. Particularly timely now as the Congo once more spirals into chaos!

Monday's Pick!

Careless in Red by Elizabeth George

Reeling from a personal tragedy, Superintendent Thomas Lynley abandons his Scotland Yard job and embarks on a walking tour of Cornwall, where he is unwillingly drawn into working with local police to solve the murder of a young man. As the case unfolds, it becomes clear to Lynley that its roots lie in the very issue he is confronting himself –
whether to surrender to loss, or struggle to move on. As always, George provides a sophisticated plot combined with interesting and complex characters and thought-provoking ideas.

Also available in Large Print and Book on CD!

Monday's Pick!

Jill Taylor: My Stroke of Insight: a Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey  
Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: she had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions -- motion, speech, self-awareness -- shut down one by one. She studied her own stroke as it happened -- and has become a powerful voice for brain recovery. An astonishing story, and a MUST read.

Wednesday's Pick!

The Hindi Bindi Club by Monica Pradhan

This is a charming novel focusing on two different generations of Indian women. The older generation consists of three Indian born women, who became life long friends upon their immigration to the States, 40 years earlier. In turn, each of these women has daughters, who have become friends, and are now adults themselves. The story is told in turn by these 6 major characters, giving the reader personal insight and perspective into each of their life experiences. The book delves into cultural differences, stereotypes and century old traditions from the Indian culture. The reader learns a lot about Indian history and comes to understand some of the differences and conflicts that these immigrants face when confronted with North American morals and beliefs. The author even includes traditional Indian recipes throughout the novel, which gives us a real sense of authenticity. For readers who liked The Joy Luck Club or The Red Tent.

Wednesday's Pick!

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is the speculative fiction antidote for those suffering, possibly without knowing it, from reality fatigue. In ordinary fiction there are only so many ways to describe growing up that would be interesting for others to read.
This coming of age story is set sometime in Earth's not too distant future. Our solar system has been attacked by an alien civilization, nicknamed the Bugs. Having
narrowly repulsed 2 invasions, Earth has united together to repulse the inevitable third invasion. A school system is established to discover, test and train future battle commanders. Training is largely done through simulated computer games and mock battles in zero gravity. Individualism is sacrificed for the good of all society.
Alexander "Ender" Wiggins is recruited for Battle School at the age of 6. He is deliberately manipulated and kept isolated from all friends in the hope that he will develop, by age 11, into the military leader that Earth needs.
Since first published, Ender's Game has become a cult classic. It especially appeals to the isolated, the "school geeks" and the lovers of computer games. The next book in series is Speaker for the Dead.

This title is also available on Book on CD!

Sorry there was no posting on Monday, I took a long weekend. Check back on Saturday for another book review!