Book News Vol. 10 No. 36

BOOK NEWS

Avoid the crowds at the mall by doing your holiday shopping at writersfest.bc.ca! We've got gifts for everyone on your list.

Got a scotch lover in the family? A ticket to the 2016 A Dram Come True fundraiser makes a great gift. Earlybird tickets are on sale now, http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.

Introduce a friend to the Festival or treat a long-time festival goer by purchasing them a VWF gift certificate! Certificates can be used towards the purchase of tickets for the 2016 Festival. To purchase, please call 604-681-6330 ext. 0.

Finally, honour the altruist in the family by making a donation to the VWF, http://writersfest.bc.ca/donate in their name! Your donation will help us present the world's best authors in year-round events.

AWARDS & LISTS

What were the best books of 2015? Here's part one of The Guardian's list.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/ng-interactive/2015/nov/28/best-books-of-2015-part-one

How about the most overlooked books of the year? In this piece, Slate Book Review critics recommend "27 books you'd probably love if only you knew about them."
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2015/11/underrated_books_of_2015_overlooked_novels_collections_and_nonfiction_of.html

The New York Times has an end-of-year list too! Here's their take on the "100 Notable Books of 2015."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/06/books/review/100-notable-books-of-2015.html

YOUNG READERS

The King and The Sea is a "more elliptical version" of The Little Prince. It's comprised of a series of very short tales about a king "who has much to learn", and is "the kind of unexpectedly profound picture book that often prompts people to say, ‘That's more for adults than for kids.'"
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/25/books/review/its-sort-of-good-to-be-the-king.html

NEWS & FEATURES

Here's book curation gone to the extreme. "If making choices isn't your forte, you'll find that the perfect bookstore for you is located in Ginza, Tokyo. Morioka Shoten & Co. Ginza Branch is a store that stocks multiple copies of just one book per week."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/11/this-japanese-bookstore-stocks-just-one-book-per-week.html

Greek New Testament papyrus has been discovered on eBay. The fragment is believed to contain lines from the Gospel of John, dating from A.D. 250 to A.D. 350.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/21/books/greek-new-testament-papyrus-is-discovered-on-ebay.html

In order to encourage reading, Brazil's biggest pocket book publisher is selling a line of classic literature that also doubles as subway tickets. Unlike other similar projects, which have been short lived, São Paulo's Ticket Books project has been so successful it is becoming permanent and has even expanded to other major Brazilian cities.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/brazil-subway-reading-means-ticket-ride-180957393/#DiIRBEEsdLL4OIgE.99

What's it like running a bookstore in Islamabad? Here's an incredible story of the family that built "one of the biggest bookstores in the world, mostly selling books in English, in a country where that is a second language for most people."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/25/world/asia/a-storied-bookstore-and-its-late-oracle-leave-imprint-on-islamabad.html

Is it still possible to be a public intellectual? In this week's edition of the New York Times' Bookends, Pankaj Mishra and Alice Gregory discuss "the fate of the public intellectual in an age of specialization."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/books/review/is-it-still-possible-to-be-a-public-intellectual.html

BOOKS & WRITERS

Which three writers would Margaret Atwood invite to dinner? She answers that question, and more, in this interview with The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/books/review/margaret-atwood-by-the-book.html

In his "moving" memoir, Men of Action, Toronto writer Howard Akler explores his father's death. Even more specifically, the book is about "patrimony and the connection between fathers and sons" as well as "never being able to truly know a person you love."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-howard-akler-explores-his-fathers-death-in-his-moving-memoir-men-of-action/article27390621/

Straight Up, by Owen Gallagher, is "a playful and euphemistic poem about masculinity and the festering, phallic fear of sexual inadequacy." It's also the Guardian's poem of the week! Read it here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/nov/30/poem-of-the-week-straight-up-by-owen-gallagher

Both Jess Taylor's Pauls and Anthony Marra's The Tsar of Love and Techno are both linked short story collections. They "fall into a fairly established tradition, especially in Canada, where they trace their lineage back through Alice Munro's Who Do You Think You Are?"
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-anthony-marras-the-tsar-of-love-and-techno-and-jess-taylors-pauls-continue-the-tradition-of-linked-short-story-collections/article27390699/

Jeannette Winterson and Marlon James grew up worlds apart, and yet they're mutual admirers. In Winterson's words: "It's so nice to meet someone you know you can talk to." They interview each other here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/28/conversation-jeanette-winterson-marlon-james-interview

Here's an unlikely bestseller: a book about felling, chopping and burning trees. Norwegian Wood: Chopping, Stacking and Drying Wood the Scandinavian Way "captures the romance of the great outdoors, the nobility of the honest graft of wood chopping, and our close relationship with trees"...as well as being a "step-by-step guide to preparing your wood store."
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/how-a-book-about-norwegian-wood-has-become-a-global-hit-a6747431.html

COMMUNITY EVENTS

SFU WRITER'S STUDIO READING SERIES
The Writer's Studio at SFU presents Rachel Rose, Poet Laureate of the City of Vancouver. Thursday, Dec. 3 at 8:00 p.m. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.

CRIME WRITERS OF CANADA
Crime writers Cathy Ace. Allan J. Emerson and Don Hauka will do readings from their work, and answer questions about their experiences finding agents and publishers, online resources for writers, local writing groups, and writers' conventions. Thursday, December 3 at 7:00pm. Poirier branch, Coquitlam Public Library. More information at coqlibrary.ca.

NEW POETRY AND FICTION
Featuring Sandy Shreve, Kate Braid, Marilyn Bowering and Kath Curran. Monday, December 7 at 1:00pm. Talisman Books, 4605 Bedwell Harbour Road.

READ ME A STORY EXHIBITION
A multicultural showcase of 1,200 folktales and fairy tales from 120 countries. December 8-16, 2015, free. Roundhouse Community Centre, 183 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver. For complete details, visit readmeastory.ca.

STORY SLAM CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
Featuring Alexis Sugden, Emma Cooper, Jo Dworschak, John Cullen, Johnny Scoop, Mark Hughes, Marylee Stephenson, Ruth Wadge, Shlomo McPeake and Steve Elliott. Tuesday, December 8 at 8:00pm. Tickets: $10. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main St., Vancouver.

BERNADETTE CALONEGO
Author reads from her latest thriller Under Dark Waters. Wednesday, December 9 at 7:00pm, free. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.

VANCOUVER ISLAND WRITERS EVENT
Featuring Joy Guegler, Frank Moher, Jay Ruzesky, Sarah Segal, Robert Weirsema, and host Kathy Page. Wednesday, December 9 at 7:00pm, free. Library program room, Salt Spring Island Public Library. More information at 250-537-4666.

TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Annual Christmas Fundraiser for Children in Need, with music by Patsy Thompson and readings from The Revolving City Anthology (Anvil Press, 2015). Thursday, December 10th, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street.
Cash donations accepted at the door. More information: blnish_pandoras@yahoo.ca.

Upcoming

LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Featuring Chris Turnbull and Roger Farr. Wednesday, December 16 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Vancouver, Harbour Centre, 515 W. Hastings St., Vancouver. More information at 778-782-6930.