mark’s pick
September 2020 Staff Picks
Brenda’s Pick: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese This novel appeared over 10 years ago. Written by a doctor, the story follows the lives of identical twin boys, Shiva and Marion. Set in Ethiopia, the story has so many levels of family life, medicine and physicians, political unrest, coming of age, loyalties and love…but written…
February 2019 Staff Picks
Brenda’s Pick: My brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante This novel introduces the full depth of friendship that develops between two young girls born in Naples, Italy: Lila and Lenù. Growing up in an evolving neighbourhood with rivalries, poverty and family conflict puts down the roots for the three novels that follow. The Neapolitan novels give the full…
April 2018 Staff Picks
Brenda’s Picks – “I am not your negro” DVD by James Baldwin; Between the world and me by Ta-Nehisi Coates These two items provide a deep insight into racial politics in the US, the American identity and a personal glimpse into the lives of two men, one contemporary and the other who died almost 30 years ago. As…
October 2017 Staff Picks
Andrea’s Pick: Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs by Heather Lende How does an active athlete and newly published writer from tiny Haines, Alaska respond after a near-fatal bicycle accident with a truck? Lende charts her own experience of healing with faith, humour, and honesty. Each chapter reads like a short, reflective vignette,…
August 2017 Staff Picks
Becky’s Pick: Wild Robot by Peter Brown Can a robot learn to speak to animals? Can a robot experience the joy of new friends? Roz the robot, through her adventures with wild animals, explores what it is to be alive and what it means to love. Brenda’s Picks: Don’t let’s go to the dogs tonight by…
May 2017 Staff Picks
Angela’s Pick: Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons I found this book googling “If you like David Sedaris…” Published in 1932, it’s a comic parody of the “rural novels” of the time. I laughed out loud (repeatedly) at lines like, “The porridge gave an ominous, leering heave. . .” and “The thin wind sniveled among the…
January 2017 Staff Picks
Brenda’s Pick: Commonwealth by Ann Patchett I picked the right book to start the New Year…Commonwealth by Ann Patchett. This is her most recent story and it rolls along effortlessly from the first paragraph drawing the reader into the lives of her characters. The children of two families wind their way through childhood with back…
September 2016 Staff Picks
Brenda’s Pick: Isabella : the warrior queen by Kirstin Downey For anyone with an interest in history and specifically Spanish history, this book is a fascinating biography of Isabella of Castile, who became Queen of Spain. Her life-span, from the mid-1400’s to 1504 encompassed some of the most interesting and critical events in that part of the world.…
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