Book News Vol. 5 No. 35

BOOK NEWS

Virtual Festival
The latest recording in our recently launched series of archived events from Festivals-past featuring Kate Braid, Annabel Lyon and Thomas Trofimuk. Putting words in the mouths of great philosophers, explorers and musicians is no easy task. Find out how these three authors meet the challenge. http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/audio-archives

Twitter Contest
Win tickets to Festival events and untold fame and glory, just by tweeting! Details on our website, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/twittercontest.

Special Events

Alexander McCall Smith
The Cellist of Sarajevo author Steven Galloway talks with Alexander McCall Smith, bestselling author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency about his forthcoming book, Corduroy Mansions. Complete details on our website, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/mccallsmith. The National Post, quoting the Vancouver Sun, describes Alexander McCall Smith's Corduroy Mansions as cosy and comfortable—with maybe just the tiniest hint of cynicism. http://arts.nationalpost.com/2010/08/09/buy-it-or-skip-it-corduroy-mansions/.

John Vaillant
The author of the multi-award-winning The Golden Spruce will discuss his new book The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival, a gripping tale of man and nature in collision, that leads inexorably to a final showdown in a clearing deep in the Siberian forest. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/vaillant.

Alissa York and Richard Harvell
Please join us as Giller-shortlisted author Alissa York and debut novelist Richard Harvell read from their new works. Details at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/yorkharvell.


2010 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
The following authors will be attending the Festival in October or participating in special events in the fall.

More accolades for Gary Shteyngart's Super Sad True Love Story appeared in Sunday's NY Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/books/review/Wood-t.html?_r=1&nl=books&emc=booksupdateema3

An excerpt can be found here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/books/excerpt-super-sad-true-love-story.html?ref=review

"Dystopia is my middle name" is one of Shteyngart's responses to questions from Deborah Solomon in the NY Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/magazine/18fob-q4-t.html?ref=review

Boyd Tonkin interviews Emma Donoghue on the universal story in her latest novel.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/room-with-a-panoramic-view-how-emma-donoghues-latest-novel-aims-to-tell-a-universal-story-2044373.html

At the heart of the book is a kind of parable of the mother-child relationship, says Susanna Rustin.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/07/emma-donoghue-room-booker-review

"It's both hard to put down and profoundly affecting" writes Robert Collins about Donaghue's Room.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/07/critical-eye-book-reviews-roundup

Like one of the characters in her new collection Greedy Little Eyes, Billie Livingston may be a scavenger, but her stories are generous and wistful, writes Ryan Biggs in The Star.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/844588--greedy-little-eyes-stories-of-observance

David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is one of the books recommended in The Star's list of what Toronto's top minds are reading this summer.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/844850--what-toronto-s-top-minds-are-reading-this-summer

The graphic novel Good-bye Marianne by Irene N. Watts and illustrated by Kathryn Shoemaker, is adapted from a story book for young adults under the same name, reviewer Norman Ravinn writes: "Because of its artwork, it is the kind of book a reader might return to and muse over."
http://tinyurl.com/2earzh2

AWARDS & LISTS

A review of Rana Dasgupta's Commonwealth Writers' Prize-winning Solo informs us that The Telegraph (U.K.) has its own 20 under 40 list, which includes Dasgupta.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-solo-by-rana-dasgupta/article1664380/

NEWS & FEATURES

Tony Judt, one of America's leading intellectuals, died in New York last week of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). Perhaps the most detailed description of the impact of Judt's scholarship and writing on the history of the modern world is by his friend and colleague Geoffrey Wheatcroft, writing in the Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/08/tony-judt-obituary

The New York Review of Books has links to recent articles by Judt in the Review.
http://www.nybooks.com/

As a tribute, the Guardian has published one of Judt’s final essays.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/09/tony-judt-words-all-we-have-tribute

Robert McCrum achieves a rare interview with author Don De Lillo.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/08/don-delillo-mccrum-interview

The latest New Yorker includes a Q&A with Canadian author David Bezmozgis, one of its 20 under 40.
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2010/06/14/100614fi_fiction_20under40_qa_david-bezmozgis

His story The Train of Their Departure is included in the same issue.
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2010/08/09/100809fi_fiction_bezmozgis

Some find the 'chick-lit' label offensive: does 'light' have to mean 'stupid'?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/05/chick-lit-debate-michele-gorman

Nature on the brink is a hot theme for novels right now. The best might have been written in 1851.
http://thetyee.ca/Books/2010/07/28/EcoThrillers/

What happened to sex in the British novel? Andrew Motion, the former poet laureate, has a theory.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/01/sex-british-novel-chatterley

The Guardian interviews Howard Jacobson on being a comic writer (not a humorist). Jacobson's The Finkler Question is on the Booker Prize longlist.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/07/howard-jacobson-life-writing

PEI poet Tanya Davis has transformed her poem about combating loneliness into a song in a music video on YouTube. The video has had over 600,000 views.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2010/08/09/pei-youtube-video-hit-584.html

More than 1 million books were published in the U.S. last year, with "nontraditional" titles counting more than double the commercial titles.
http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/books-and-literature/article_a53f72cd-28df-5d1e-8f77-265422a378c3.html

The Awl has printed a list of the books that kids (including those not so young) are stealing these days.
http://www.theawl.com/2010/08/the-most-stolen-books-at-mcnally-jackson

BOOKS & WRITERS

Robin McKie names Merchants of Doubt his runaway contender for best science book of the year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/08/merchants-of-doubt-oreskes-conway

Sometimes Lydia Davis takes a word for a walk, writes Christopher Taylor in his review of her Collected Stories.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/07/collected-stories-lydia-davis-review

Adam Ross's Mr. Peanut is a tour de force of literary gamesmanship that never takes itself too seriously, writes Robert J. Wiersema.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/dead+woman+plate+peanuts/3371294/story.html

In his review, Scott Turow writes that "Adam Ross's daring first novel is a bleakly convincing portrayal of the eternal contest that often passes for a marriage."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/books/review/Turow-t.html?ref=bookreviews

Here is an excerpt:
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307270702&view=excerpt

A hardboiled detective tale, a fictional Parisian lawyer, and the Dreyfus Affair are three components that make Kate Taylor's A Man in Uniform a wonderful read.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/bookreviews/article/840999--a-man-in-uniform-the-dreyfus-affair-spurs-a-rollicking-novel

Mark Frutkin in the Globe adds that the novel is a bracing reminder that we dare not have blind faith in our leaders.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-a-man-in-uniform-by-kate-taylor/article1662940/

Nadine Gordimer's Telling Times: Writing and Living, 1954-2008 brings together 91 pieces of her non-fiction written over 55 years.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/index.html

The Washington Post reviews two books on advertising—The Age of Persuasion by CBC regulars Terry O'Reilly and Mike Tennant and Storytelling by French author Christian Salmon. No longer do storytelling and advertising share the same multimedia bed.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/30/AR2010073002548.html

Tim Congdon argues in the Times Literary Supplement that Niall Ferguson is wrong to put the banker Siegmund Warburg on a moral pedestal.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article7164546.ece

Booker-longlisted novel The Slap has been described as a 'modern masterpiece' and 'unbelievably misogynistic'. Christos Tsiolkas denies it's misogynistic, and is pleased it's making readers angry.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/07/the-slap-christos-tsiolkas

Toronto's Poet Laureate Dionne Brand's new collection of her work, Ossuaries, says reviewer Barbara Carey, offers only a glimmer of hopefulness.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/bookreviews/article/844523--ossuaries-dionne-brand-s-new-collection-ponders-the-fragile-fragile-promise-of-humanity

Wayne Grady finds Paul Greenberg's thesis in Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food to be compelling. We are doing the same thing to fish that we have done to mammals and birds.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-four-fish-the-future-of-the-last-wild-food-by-paul-greenberg/article1662788/

COMMUNITY EVENTS

SUNSHINE COAST FESTIVAL OF THE WRITTEN ARTS
Join Canada's longest-running summer gathering of Canadian writers and readers, featuring established literary stars and exciting new voices, with opportunities for writers and readers to mingle amidst Rockwood's heritage gardens. August 12-15, 2010. Tickets are now on sale by phoning 1-800-565-9631 or 604-885-9631. Details at www.writersfestival.ca.

US AND THE SIREN OF HOWE SOUND
The Shebeen Club presents a night in celebration of the recent publication of poet Heather Haley's Three Blocks West of Wonderland. Monday, August 16 at 7:00pm. Tickets $20 and include dinner and a drink. Shebeen Whisk(e)y House (behind 212 Carrall Street). More information at www.theshebeenclub.com.

PEN IN HAND
Monthly reading series, this week featuring Gisela Ruebsaat, Joy Huebert and Katrin Horowitz with their new book Pathways Not Posted. Monday, August 16 at 7:30pm. Serious Coffee (230 Cook Street, Victoria). For more information, email ainbinder.collins@gmail.com.

THE MAIN STREET MAGAZINE TOUR
The Magazine Association of B.C. presents a celebration of local arts, literary, and cultural magazines featuring readings by local poets Elizabeth Bachinsky and Jennica Harper, performances, and exhibits. August 19 at 6:00pm, free. Rhizome Cafe, 317 East Broadway. More information at www.mainstreetmagazinetour.ca.

SUMMER DREAMS AWARDS CEREMONY
Celebrate those in the writing community who deserve to be honoured. Friday, August 20 at 7:00pm. Jacana Gallery (2435 Granville Street).

SUMMER DREAMS LITERARY ARTS FESTIVAL
Annual one day event showcasing and celebrating the on-going literary events, programs and resources available to the community. Features Evelyn Lau, Brad Cran and many others. Saturday, August 21. Complete details here, http://sites.google.com/site/summerdreamsfest/home.

Upcoming

VANCOUVER THEN AND NOW
Launch of Francis Mansbridge's new book featuring a series of archival images juxtaposed with photos from the present. Thursday, August 26 at 7:00pm, free. City of Vancouver Archives, 1150 Chestnut Street. For more information, phone 604.323.7163.

JILL EDMONSON
Author reads from her new novel, Blood and Groom, part of the Castle Street Mysteries. Saturday, August 28 at 1:00pm. Indigo Marine Drive (1025 Marine Drive).

COMIX & STORIES
Vancouver Comiccon's annual event featuring independent, small-press, and alternative publishers, comics, artists, animators,
and zines. Guests include Emily Horne and Joey Comeau. Sunday, August 29 from 11am to 5pm. Tickets $4. Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street. For more information, visit www.vancouvercomiccon.com.

GARY GEDDES
Reading by the author from his latest book of poetry, Swimming Ginger. Monday, September 13 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen Room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information, phone 604-331-3603.

KATHY PAGE AND ALISSA YORK
Authors will be reading from their works. Saturday, September 18. Bolen Books (111 - 1644 Hillside Avenue, Victoria). For more information, visit www.kathypage.info or contact Bolen Books, (250) 595-4232.

SUSAN BOYD
Join the author as she reads from her book Hooked: Drug War Films in Britain, Canada and the United States. Wednesday, September 22 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information, phone 604-331-3738.

THE RAVEN'S GIFT
Author John Turk will read from his new book. Thursday, September 23 at 7:00pm. Banyen Books & Sound, 3608 4th Ave. West.

KOOTENAY BOOK WEEKEND
Discuss four books in small groups throughout the weekend. This year's books are The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry and our guest author, Anita Rau Badami's book Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? September 24-26, 2010, Nelson BC. Further information and registration forms can be found here, www.kootenaybookweekend.ca.

WORD ON THE STREET
Annual event dedicated to promoting reading and literacy throughout the community. Sunday, September 26 from 11am to 6pm. Library Square, Central Libray, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information, visit www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/vancouver.

EVOLVE: VAMPIRE STORIES OF THE NEW UNDEAD
Listen to Vancouver writers Mary Choo, Sandra Wickham and Celdae (Colleen) Anderson, 3 of 22 Canadian authors featured in this most unusual and compelling collection as they re-imagine the future of vampires. Monday, September 27 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information phone 604-331-3691.

MICHAEL NICHOLL YAHGULANAAS
Reading by the author of Red. Thursday, September 30 at 1:00pm, free. Lillooet Room (level 3), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver. More information at www.ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca.