Book News Vol. 8 No. 15

BOOK NEWS

Incite: An Exploration of Books and Ideas

Join us on Wednesday, May 29 as acclaimed writer and historian Conrad Black talks to Kirk LaPointe about his new book Flight of the Eagle, a strategic history of the United States. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite. Register here: http://conradblack.eventbrite.ca/.

Presented in partnership with Vancouver Public Library. Incite is sponsored by the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association and supported by the R.J. Nelson Family Foundation.

SPECIAL EVENTS

A Dram Come True!
Just one week to go until A Dram Come True and tickets are almost sold out! This is your last chance to take part in our fabulous scotch tasting fundraiser featuring over 30 whiskies at ten tasting bars. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society will be pouring from a selection of eight rare single cask whisky bottlings-an opportunity that is usually only available to members. We'll also be pouring from Macallan's new 1824 series, not yet available in BC. There will be many more exciting drams, delicious food, wine, spirits and a fabulous silent auction. Don't miss out, click here to get your tickets today. Event details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.

Jeannette Walls
Jeannette Walls' latest novel, The Silver Star, is a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world–a triumph of imagination and storytelling. Details:
http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jeannettewalls.

AWARDS & LISTS

Lydia Davis wins Man Booker International Prize.
http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/lydia-davis-wins-man-booker-international-prize-2013

Law professor AT Williams has won the Orwell book prize for political writing for his investigation into the killing of hotel receptionist Baha Mousa by British Army soldiers in Iraq. The judges said that A Very British Killing was "written in the spirit" of Orwell's journalism.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/15/orwell-prize-baha-mousa-at-williams

The Libris Awards shortlist includes Terry Fallis, Will Ferguson, Alice Munro, and Nancy Richler. Lifetime Achievement Awards have been presented to Alice Munro and Jack Rabinovitch.
http://www.storeconference.ca/libris

First-time author Kathy Para's novel Lucky has won Mother Tongue Publishing's second Search for the Great BC Novel Contest. Lucky is described as an unflinching novel set in the Middle East and Canada. Lucky will be published this fall by Mother Tongue Publishing.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Kathy+Para+Lucky+wins+Great+Novel+Contest/8405484/story.html

Observer writer Ed Vulliamy has won the Ryszard Kapuscinski award 2013 for his book Amexica: War Along the Borderline, which documents the US-Mexican drug wars.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/18/ed-vulliamy-ryszard-kapuscinski-award

Truth Like the Sun, Jim Lynch's third novel, like his first two novels, is set in western Washington. His first, The Highest Tide, won the Pacific Northwest Bookseller Award. The second novel, Border Songs won the Washington State Book Award.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Journalist+author+writes+about+what+fascinates/8405445/story.html

Richard Wagamese's Indian Horse is the winner of the annual First Nation Communities Read competition.
http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/awards/richard-wagamese-wins-first-nation-communities-read-competition/

The Independent Foreign Fiction prize goes to Gerbrand Bakker for The Detour.
www/guardian.c.uk./books/2013/may/21/independent-foreign-fiction-prize-gerbrand-bakker

YOUNG READERS

Caroline Adderson's Middle of Nowhere has won Adderson her second Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Award. Curtis has had stints in foster care, and he doesn't ever want to repeat them or have Artie forced into a similar situation. As the authorities move in on Curtis and Artie, the boys escape with a neighbour to an abandoned family cabin. For ages 9 to 12.
http://www.quillandquire.com/books_young/review.cfm?review_id=7638

Breakaway and Hockey Girl are two books aimed at girls who love hockey. Team captain Jessie, is challenged to lead by example, on and off the ice. Then the girls' ice time is cut because boys' teams always take first priority. Breakaway stands out as a sports story that focuses on a girls' team that's as respected as its male counterpart, says Suzanne Gardner. For ages 10+ and 14+.
http://www.quillandquire.com/books_young/review.cfm?review_id=7872

Animals speak volumes to those who know how to listen. Clearly, Patricia MacLachlan and her daughter, Emily, are among those who do. In Cat Talk, they give us a series of free-verse poems that provide an insight into the personalities of various felines—adopting the voices of specific cats and, in the process, depicting character traits that set those cats apart from others of their species. Poems are the cat's meow. Ages 4 to 104.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Kids+Poems+meow/8402937/story.html#ixzz2Tc8AkoBm

NEWS & FEATURES

Ireland's newest stamp features an entire short story written by Dublin teenager, Eoin Moore.
http://www.thejournal.ie/fighting-worlds-stamp-912325-May2013/

A charity auction of annotated first edition novels raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for English Pen. JK Rowling reveals that she invented quidditch in a Manchester hotel; Ian Rankin, that he originally planned to kill off Rebus at the inspector's first outing. Margaret Atwood, Nadine Gordimer, Philip Pullman, Tom Stoppard and Ian McEwan have also donated annotated first editions.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/17/book-auction-secrets-jk-rowling

How do you organise your books? Tate Britain has rearranged its paintings in chronological order–can that teach those of us with chaotic bookshelves anything? asks John Crace.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/shortcuts/2013/may/19/how-do-you-organise-your-books

The so-called "war on terror" has legitimised practices in the UK most commonly associated with totalitarian regimes. As Victoria Brittain portrays in Shadow Lives: The Forgotten Women of the War on Terror, all have a huge impact on the women and children who are drawn into this world where deprivation of civil rights is the norm, writes Yvonne Roberts.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/12/shadow-lives-victoria-brittain-review

The Library's Future is Not an Open Book, writes Julie V. Iovine. "The library today", said Michael Colford, the director of library services in Boston, "is more of a platform launching you in all different directions." It already offers an incomparable "experience," with plenty of "Inspiration for all New Yorkers" to spare.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324000704578386500193028168.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

There are strong echoes of Dickens in Lavanya Sankaran's The Hope Factory, writes Jessica Holland: one word is never used when five will do. Like Oliver Twist, the Hope Factory succeeds best as a portrait of a city. When Anand looks at the west, he sees "the stoic industry of their ancestors" dissolved into "whining, waffling plaint". It is, he reflects, "the mirror image of his own existence".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/19/hope-factory-lavanya-sankaran-review

Upfronts is a free, semi-annual, digital publication that features downloadable selections from new and upcoming Hamish Hamilton titles. The inaugural issue, released in winter 2013, features an exclusive preview of Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Joseph Boyden's forthcoming novel, The Orenda, as well as excerpts from new works by Colin McAdam, D.W. Wilson and Michael Winter.
http://www.hamishhamilton.ca/upfronts/

BOOKS & WRITERS

There is a gripping story at the heart of And the Mountains Echoed, writes Kim Hughes, the third and latest novel by Khaled Hosseini. In his new novel, Hosseini reminds readers why so many millions loved his earlier books.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/khaled-hosseini-returns-with-a-novel-that-embodies-afghan-storytelling/article11992247/

When her books were first published, the wrath of the Catholic Church and much of Ireland came down on the young shoulders of Edna O'Brien. Her books struck such a chord among readers they were burned. "I was considered something of a Jezebel because of my books," she writes in Country Girl, her memoir. Now 82, O'Brien, for the first time, recounts her life.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/05/16/country_girl_by_edna_obrien_review.html

There's a reason most organized religions encourage their followers to love their neighbours or heed some similar variation of The Golden Rule, writes Joel Yanofsky. Neighbours, it turns out, are not easy to love. Ru Freeman's new novel On Sal Mal Lane provides all the petty grievances, prejudices, and attractions for her characters' inevitable progress from youthful innocence to harsh grown-up reality.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Review+Close+neighbours+worlds+apart+Lane/8402942/story.html#ixzz2TxzxJ1j4

Australia's Qantas Airlines is promoting the announcement of its extended flight routes by commissioning a series of books that last exactly as long as each flight. Called "A Story For Every Journey," each one promises to take only as long as a specific flight to read, so that you'll finish just as the plane touches down.
http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-qantas-flight-length-books-20130521,0,5934762.story

COMMUNITY EVENTS

TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Aislinn Hunter and Daniela Elza. Thursday, May 23 at 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. All are welcome. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.

MEET THE AUTHOR: RICHARD WAGAMESE
Richard Wagamese discusses his 2013 Canada Reads novel Indian Horse. Thursday, May 23 at 7:00PM. Christianne's Lyceum. 3696 W. 8th Ave. $20 (includes refreshments). To reserve your space call 604.733.1356
or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com. More information at www.christiannehayward.com.

THE BIRDS & THE BEES
Bill Reid, Craig Keating, Diamond Almas, Emily Jubenvill, Justin Malialis, and Sonia Haynes share their tales of fresh starts, food, farming, and the buzz of spring in 10 minutes or less. Friday, May 24 at 7:00pm, free. North Vancouver City Library, 120 W. 14th, North Vancouver.

3RD ANNUAL VOGON POETRY SLAM AND VOG-OFF
To celebrate Towel Day and Douglas Adams, the absolutely worst poems in the universe are to be presented slam style at an evening gala. Saturday, May 25 at 1:00pm. Alice MacKay room, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at www.vpl.ca.

POETIC JUSTICE READING SERIES
Featuring Fran Bourassa, Wilhelmina Salmi, RC Weslowski, with host Sho Wiley. Sunday, May 26 at 3:00pm. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster. More information at poeticjustice.ca.

YOUTH POETRY SLAM
Event for poets between 12 and 22 years of age includes Jacob Gebrewold, Floyd VB, Mariah Dear, Andrew Warner, and Victoria Fraser. Monday, May 27 at 8:00pm. Tickets: $6/4. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.

FICTIONKNITSTA!
An evening with some of today's top Canadian women authors! "Expect gripping yarns, and purls of wisdom that may just leave you in stitches." The evening host will be Leanne Prian, author of Hoopla and Yarn Bombing. Readings by Cathy Ace, Gillian Campbell, Nicole Dixon, and Stella Harvey. Tuesday, May 28 at 7:30pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive.

JAY RUZESKY
Lecture and reading by the author of In Antarctica: An Amundsen Pilgrimage. Wednesday, May 29 at 7:00pm. Maritime Museum of BC, 28 Bastion Square, Victoria. More information at nightwoodeditions.com.

BOOK LAUNCH
Vancouver launch of The Red Album by Stephen Collis and Tuft by Kim Minkus. Thursday, May 30 at 7:30pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive.

Upcoming

CALL AND RESPONSE: THREE
Poets in Conversation. Join Anna Swanson, Bren Simmers and Ariel Gordon for a reading that celebrates a decade of friendship. Saturday, June 8th at 7:30 pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.

CHRISTINA JOHNSON-DEAN
Author will give an illustrated talk about the artist Ina D.D. Uhthoff, who was a driving force in the Victoria art scene of the mid-20th century. Sunday, June 9 at 4:00pm. Royal BC Museum, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria. More information at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca.

KELLEY ARMSTRONG
Meet the author of the Women of the Otherworld series for young people. Tuesday, June 11. Author reading at City Centre Library at 1:30pm; writing workshop for ages 12+ at Guildford Library at 4:30pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.

BC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY FAMILY HISTORY BOOK AWARDS
A Strawberry tea and the BCGS 2012 Family History Book Awards. Authors' talks. All interested in genealogy and family history are welcome to attend. Wednesday, June 11 at 7:30pm. Danish Lutheran Church, 6010 Kincaid Street, Burnaby. More information at www.bcgs.ca.

NOMADOS LAUNCH
Readings by Jen Currin, Christine Leclerc and Colin Smith. Wednesday, June 12 at 8:00pm. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.

THE WALKING READ
CWILL BC presents a costume gala to benefit the BC Children's Hospital Foundation. Friday, June 14 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $60. Richmond Open Road Lexus dealership, 5631 Parkwood Way, Richmond. More information at thewalkingread.com.