tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-346183422024-03-07T00:01:25.141-08:00HOW TO FURNISH A ROOMa pet blog for the employees of Words Worth Books, a perfectly appropriate use of company time
www.wordsworthbooks.comWords Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.comBlogger1223125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-87331409751578186052012-05-04T14:20:00.001-07:002012-05-04T14:20:19.468-07:00He Read/She Read<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the joys of working in a book store is the lively discussion that springs up around books!It's like going to a book club every day of our lives around here. So when I heard that Charlene was reading <b>Elizabeth Hay'</b>s <i>Alone in the Classroom, </i>new out in paperback this month, it occurred to me that since Dave read it when it was released in hardcover (and we had the author for an event) they might have very different takes on the book! And low! He Read/She Read was born!</div>
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<b>He Read...</b></div>
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New in paperback, Elizabeth Hay's novel <i>Alone in the Classroom</i> is perhaps her finest work to date. Set in Depression era prairie and a more contemporary Ottawa valley, the novel tells the story of two schoolteachers across generations that are united by the mysterious shards around two emotional triangles in different times of their lives.</div>
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The mercurial Parley Burns is suspected of abusing a young girl in one timeline and the disappearance of another young girl years later brings the main characters together in the person of Michael Graves, the older brother of one of the girls in question, and of a second teacher and principle narrator, the enigmatic Connie Flood. </div>
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At a time when too many novels hit one note very hard and wrap a backstory around it, Hay's emotional nuance and strong characterization throughout her novels are most welcome.</div>
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~David</div>
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<b>She Read...</b></div>
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I am a huge Elizabeth Hay fan!</div>
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I was swept away on hazy summer days by <i>A Student of Weather</i>, I spent crisp winter nights devouring <i>Late Nights on Air</i> and in the cool evenings of autumn I escaped to the silverscreen lit pages of <i>Garbo Laughs</i>. Which is why I was so delighted one warm spring day when the paperbacks of <i>Alone in the Classroom</i> with their fresh green covers arrived at the store.</div>
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From the opening paragraph, my intuition told me that this would be a very different ride from Hay's previous novels. An uncomfortable yet compelling read, I moved through the first one hundred pages in a dream-like state as if walking down a long corridor, opening door after door not quite finding what I was expecting. Then upon opening the last door, discovering an even more tragic scenario than I had imagined.</div>
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With character names like Parley Burns, Susan Graves and Connie Flood, Elizabeth Hay weaves tension and mystery into stories past and present as told through the voice of school teacher Connie Flood's niece whose admiration of her aunt blurs the boundary between their personal stories.</div>
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Hay intricately describes the settings for her story in the prairies of Saskatchewan and the rugged Ottawa Valley where berry picking is a common practice. This leads me to another character of sorts -- the chokecherry. Yes, this may seem odd but it repeatedly shows up as a witness to human frailty and its very name stuck with me page after page. I've never been a fan of this fruit but I think now I won't be so dismissive when we meet! Themes of loss, self-control and past-lives are balanced with the theme of love lost and found. Hay treats her characters with such tenderness as they fumble in and out of love that I couldn't help being drawn into their world despite its incredible tension.</div>
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As the rain clouds move in and the birds sing their song, I highly recommend you read this captivating novel by Elizabeth Hay. </div>
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~ Charlene</div>
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<br />Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-7094894901808421102012-04-19T12:26:00.001-07:002012-04-19T12:26:29.950-07:00"If Jodi Picoult has her finger on the zeitgeist, Shriver has her hands around its throat"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I've been an admirer of the American novelist Lionel Shriver since the publication of her seminal 2003 novel We Need to Talk About Kevin. The book is still a favourite and her subsequent books, So Much for That, her take on the U.S health care system, and Post Birthday World, an unflinching look at boredom and desire within a marriage, are rock solid.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Shriver's literary trajectory before Kevin, however, was spotty at best, and her publisher recently released a novel that she had in a drawer after her publisher at the time rejected the manuscript. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">It's been reworked a bit (new ending) Shriver's novel, the New Republic has come out to some pretty curious reviews.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">More on that in a moment.</span><br /><div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Edgar Kellogg is a drone of a corporate lawyer who has decided to try journalism as a way to re-invent himself.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">His youthful uncertainties are still very much a part of him and he ends up in a Poruguese backwater where a homegrown terrorist threat has sprouted. Kellogg has replaced the charismatic Barrington Sadler, who has disappeared and the threat of further violence is ever present.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Or is it?</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The New Republic is essentially a send up of journalists and of the vagaries of international intrigue. The book couldn't have come out when it was written, both for reasons relating to Shriver and to the state of the world; which she chronicles in a brief foreward.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The New Republic is a different animal than the aforementioned novels but worth reading simply because Lionel Shriver is a great storyteller. Reviews have been uneven, some noting that the book doesn't read like her later work, comes off as dated, etc. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This ignores the fact that artists develop over time and skill sets don't appear out of thin air. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Perhaps the admission that publishers took a pass on the manuscript prejediced some reviews, but again, that is hardly uncommon. More than twenty publishers rejected the first Harry Potter novel.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Some noted the book reads like an attempt at Graham Greene or employs the broad satire of an Evenyn Waugh. Perhaps so, but no one is howling that the Huner Games reads like a Lord of the Flies for our generation, or the much hyped Fifty Shades of Grey owes more than a bit to the early Anne Rice (minus any hint of editing apparently) but this is beside the point.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Shriver is a keeper, even when she's not at her best, and to quote the Washington Post book critic Ron Charles, "if Jodi Picoult has her finger on the zeitgeist, Shriver has her hands around its throat"</span></div>
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~Dave<br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br /></div>
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</div>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-79469630666683917102012-02-25T10:13:00.000-08:002012-02-27T09:12:39.704-08:00<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb8i39Rpp9fn3sykkpFBHXM8s8oa_brXZncg9_dMVDYGK99YvbaOQ5ngLktq14ZJbn7L6kbUlfmLe1EIU5JBq9acZzvx6Il0A1r2JuC55-uWX4Vs5C25aRmKcqQWvdCsedi6vECg/s1600/priceless.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb8i39Rpp9fn3sykkpFBHXM8s8oa_brXZncg9_dMVDYGK99YvbaOQ5ngLktq14ZJbn7L6kbUlfmLe1EIU5JBq9acZzvx6Il0A1r2JuC55-uWX4Vs5C25aRmKcqQWvdCsedi6vECg/s320/priceless.jpg" width="208" /></a>Join us at<b> KW Art Gallery on Wednesday March 7th </b>to hear Ex-FBI agent <b>Robert K. Wittman</b> speak about art crime! Doors open at 7:30, tickets $15 advance, $20 at the door.</div>
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<i>Priceless</i> opens with a bang and so begins a rollicking ride inside the world of art theft and the undercover rescue of the world's stolen treasures. I read Priceless practically overnight and have recounted many of its riveting scenes in my head ever since. It's a book that sinks it's teeth in and won't let go.</div>
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Robert Wittman worked as an FBI special agent for 20 years as the senior investigator of the Art Crime Team, at a time when there was very little interest in art theft recovery. The FBI were more concerned with responding to drug trafficking and there was the general perception of art theft as being a "victimless crime". Following his passion, and after a personal tragedy, Wittman persued art theft cases specifically, going undercover in the most dangerous of circumstances. His most notable case being the $500 million Gardner Museum theft in 1990, "the largest property crime in U.S. history". Multiple very well-known pieces of art history were stolen that night -- works by Degas, Rembrandt, Manet -- and the thieves were able to spend over an hour in the gallery, cutting paintings away from frames and leaving strange clues, before security showed up. After 16 years, and continual dead-end leads from the public, the case wound up on Wittman's desk. Along with one new, and very credible, clue.</div>
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Contained within the frame of the Gardner Museum case are the years that Wittman spent undercover solving thefts from galleries and museums across the world. And each riveting, well-paced story could be made into a film. Despite the seemingly harmless nature of the crime, art thieves are looking to make hundreds of thousands of dollars with their black market sale (In many cases this is a very small fraction of the piece's value), which can make a person desperate and dangerous. Wittman tells the most fantastic stories about the lengths these criminals can go, the types of people who are attracted to art theft, and how he collectively returned millions of dollars of irreplaceable art and antiquities to their rightful homes.</div>
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I was very impressed with the depth of insight and savvy that Robert shows during a case and I'm really looking forward to meeting him on March 7th. Priceless reads like a detective novel, while his insights into human nature and his knowledge about the art world is incredibly vast. He weaves a crime story, an introductory art appreciation lecture, and a personal memoir all-in-one. But chiefly entertains.</div>
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Priceless, indeed.</div>
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~Mandy</div>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-51702195401806110832012-01-20T09:49:00.001-08:002012-01-20T09:49:41.102-08:00Bronwyn and Dave: thumb war over Ava Lee!<br />
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<strong style="font-weight: bold;">The Wild Beasts of Wuhan</strong><br /><strong style="font-weight: bold;">~ Reviewed by Bronwyn</strong></div>
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Dave and I had a thumb war when the advance copy of <strong style="font-weight: bold;">Ian Hamilton's</strong> third mystery arrived. He won, but somehow I finagled the book away from him and read it over the holidays. To be honest, I really had no choice because I LOVE <strong style="font-weight: bold;">Ava Lee</strong>, Hamilton's smart, tough, and quirky character. For those who have not read the series (and you should!) Ava is a "forensic accountant" who follows the trail of big money. She has master manipulating skills to get the money back to her client, and when those don't work she relies on bak mei, an ancient martial art.</div>
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In <strong style="font-weight: bold;">The Wild Beasts of Wuhan</strong>, the third book in the series, Ava is hired by Wong Changxing, “The Emperor of Hubei” and one of the most powerful men in China, after he discovers that his collection of Fauvist paintings are in fact forgeries. Ava's search for the fraudulent art dealers takes her to Denmark, Dublin, London and New York. Just as in the previous books, Hamilton has every detail pitch perfect. After finishing Wild Beasts, I wished the fourth book was already available because I am desperate to know what happens next to Ava.</div>
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<strong style="font-weight: bold;">Red Means Run</strong><br /><strong style="font-weight: bold;">~ Reviewed by David</strong></div>
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Crime fiction is full of iconic leading men who have reconciled colourful pasts, but <strong style="font-weight: bold;">Brad Smith</strong> has a more relaxed and less obvious character in <strong style="font-weight: bold;">Virgil Cain</strong>.<br />He's has the wild past, but for now he's happy enough just running his upstate New York farm. When police confront him over the death of Mickey Dupree, a criminal attorney found with a gold club through his chest, Virgil finds himself in jail pretty quickly. To make things right, Virgil has to find the real killer. This means breaking out of jail. Things get weird after that...<br />Smith's publisher is billing <strong style="font-weight: bold;">Red Means Run</strong> as 'country noir' and that makes perfect sense, as the title recalls a Neil Young lyric and I think this is a book that the late Warren Zevon would have loved.</div>
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<strong style="font-weight: bold;">Brad Smith</strong> has had success with his previous books. He shares many similarities with his character Virgil. Both have had a lot of jobs, both are decidedly blue collar, and Virgil is very easy to get to know. I'm sure the same will be true with Brad when he comes to Waterloo on Feb. 1 to join another favourite crime guy around here, Ian Hamilton.</div>
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</div>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-47589573112851038402011-12-09T08:12:00.001-08:002011-12-14T09:36:18.197-08:00The Perfect Gift Pt.2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7WiecybXpRhe7qMzz6TMQ8MeWoW6A9CHa_qxTfZer3JFKt1QNgY7KjgoNqHntZqxnAQP0gOZm5CjY2kLlZR9jA5y7uNvX-OV7GoGsukg5RQEZm2JWMFScWGeDq0jS3lFo7uF3GA/s1600/Xmas-Adult-Books-Header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7WiecybXpRhe7qMzz6TMQ8MeWoW6A9CHa_qxTfZer3JFKt1QNgY7KjgoNqHntZqxnAQP0gOZm5CjY2kLlZR9jA5y7uNvX-OV7GoGsukg5RQEZm2JWMFScWGeDq0jS3lFo7uF3GA/s640/Xmas-Adult-Books-Header.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Got a Canoeing Fan on Your List?</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpdsWDkSP3f5idc1QB1s-fSCPBz18X-Twzq-YebUpXQZcU3HEhMgKAtdM5BRr1ctPBVBEtKTpNIDuq7zDfsTE-uk5mggB-J-d5-1BbHmnn92pHbzDcGaaunL-ya5W0AgMbKb_wtw/s1600/Coppermine.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpdsWDkSP3f5idc1QB1s-fSCPBz18X-Twzq-YebUpXQZcU3HEhMgKAtdM5BRr1ctPBVBEtKTpNIDuq7zDfsTE-uk5mggB-J-d5-1BbHmnn92pHbzDcGaaunL-ya5W0AgMbKb_wtw/s320/Coppermine.jpeg" width="202" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">Part epic adventure, part romance and part true-crime thriller, Coppermine is a dramatic, compelling, character-driven story set in 1917 in the extremes of Canada’s far north and the boom town of Edmonton. The story begins when two Catholic priests disappear in the remote Arctic region known as the Coppermine. North-West Mounted Police officer Jack Creed and Angituk McAndrew, a young Copper Inuit interpreter, are sent on a year-long odyssey to investigate the fate of the lost missionaries. On the banks of the Coppermine River, a few miles from the Arctic Ocean, they discover their mutilated remains. Two Inuit hunters are tracked and apprehended, and the four begin the arduous journey to Edmonton for the trial. The crowded, energetic city is a strange new world for the Inuit, and through their impressions as told to the press they become celebrities, while inside the courtroom the bizarre story of the killing of the priests unfolds. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Looking for Cutting-Edge Lit?</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4j0Gr5pM7makMxBB3WOcYr7mnATLXabdkFcrKeAIxyoNREq02ACcnn4PZ1u01qZqyfQ1xlcCepawQR1Ve92D6tvOFd0OjFj4IARxD7f784TNH4AgQQ9L8XW75ZImTCVOJ21aAg/s1600/Ghost+Lights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4j0Gr5pM7makMxBB3WOcYr7mnATLXabdkFcrKeAIxyoNREq02ACcnn4PZ1u01qZqyfQ1xlcCepawQR1Ve92D6tvOFd0OjFj4IARxD7f784TNH4AgQQ9L8XW75ZImTCVOJ21aAg/s320/Ghost+Lights.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Hal is a mild-mannered IRS bureaucrat who suspects that his wife is cheating with her younger, more virile coworker. At a drunken dinner party, Hal volunteers to fly to Belize in search of Susan's employer, T. the protagonist of Lydia Millet's much-lauded novel How the Dead Dream who has vanished in a tropical jungle, initiating a darkly humorous descent into strange and unpredictable terrain. Salon raved that Millet's "writing is always flawlessly beautiful, reaching for an experience that precedes language itself." In Ghost Lights, she combines her characteristic wit and a sharp eye for the weirdness that governs human (and nonhuman) interactions. With the scathing satire and tender honesty of Sam Lipsyte and a dark, quirky, absurdist style reminiscent of Joy Williams, Millet has created a comic, startling, and surprisingly philosophical story about idealism and disillusionment, home and not home, and the singular, heartbreaking devotion of parenthood.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>For Anyone who Loves Canada: </b></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFkPf7dB7JRQDAXzD7kXOy3ta62V05_BI66qeifBdPPYLDpsl3a-ACWGNsOs2y14ptVCArsn3tjZJ0P9IjEAVTol7B935EdWBK9LNG2Wv-dF24SLb9cloUPoWPz3nXlum3QJfHqA/s1600/Canadian+Pie.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFkPf7dB7JRQDAXzD7kXOy3ta62V05_BI66qeifBdPPYLDpsl3a-ACWGNsOs2y14ptVCArsn3tjZJ0P9IjEAVTol7B935EdWBK9LNG2Wv-dF24SLb9cloUPoWPz3nXlum3QJfHqA/s320/Canadian+Pie.jpeg" width="212" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Join Will Ferguson as he travels to Yukon in search of gold, to Quebec City in search of a lost love and to PEI in search of someone—anyone—who will criticize Almighty Anne.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> From his days as a space cadet at the CN Tower’s “Tour of the Universe” to his encounter with a pair of burly Canadian brothers playing semi-pro hockey in Japan. From essays “On Margaret Atwood, and Other Inanimate Objects” to an “Open Letter to Women, on Behalf of All Men.”</span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> From lessons of a mini-bar ninja to his misadventures working on the Vancouver Olympics Closing Ceremonies, penning monologues for the likes of William Shatner and Michael J. Fox, to his cross-Canada quest in search of Big-Assed Objects Beside the Highway, this is Will Ferguson at his high-flying best. </span></span>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-80423619337504695242011-12-06T08:36:00.001-08:002011-12-06T09:06:46.223-08:00Damned Nations by Samantha Nutt<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I just finished this the other night. I was riveted by Samantha's observations after providing hands-on care in some of the world's most violent places. She is the founder of War Child and has lots of experience to back up her intense opinions on war and aid. I was also impressed with her well thought-out solutions. Check out two interviews with her here: </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_dRgmzn3YL8" width="560"></iframe>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-81246746919459234902011-11-27T11:51:00.001-08:002011-11-29T08:47:23.294-08:00First Words: River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVvFY_LNlrQt_jD6tuCR9Lhwo8v9h3yoBpBWVYFvXimp5JTXeG0NI7swYgQV3A9X4xEl04tR5JKW2xKrjcP-K2bYWi5XnFYNOpa1vzJEMZPR2CgUYTWgS0OgDpE4OoJX-hUzmvg/s1600/First-Words-Header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="49" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigVvFY_LNlrQt_jD6tuCR9Lhwo8v9h3yoBpBWVYFvXimp5JTXeG0NI7swYgQV3A9X4xEl04tR5JKW2xKrjcP-K2bYWi5XnFYNOpa1vzJEMZPR2CgUYTWgS0OgDpE4OoJX-hUzmvg/s320/First-Words-Header.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRtVkFJsQwHyyREJ3d45KjCzUQFGYwRDzwEJ6tZQeSogkhNla5jyaGhgLPWSD8_chrt4sU-g-Jgt6ECRSin48H8d3qxJAg76qEHRXfVg1ARoYjMP-zVRU0qVM8XxMj-7Nmx9eSBQ/s1600/River+Smoke.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRtVkFJsQwHyyREJ3d45KjCzUQFGYwRDzwEJ6tZQeSogkhNla5jyaGhgLPWSD8_chrt4sU-g-Jgt6ECRSin48H8d3qxJAg76qEHRXfVg1ARoYjMP-zVRU0qVM8XxMj-7Nmx9eSBQ/s320/River+Smoke.jpeg" width="214" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>"Deeti's shrine was hidden in a cliff, in a far corner of Mauritis, where the island's eastern and southern shorelines collide to form the wind-whipped dome of the Morne Brabant. The site was a geological anomaly - a cave within a spur of limestone, hollowed out by wind and water - and there was nothing like it anywhere else on the mountain. Later Deeti would insist that it wasn't chance but destiny that led her to it - for the very existence of the place was unimaginable until you had stepped inside it.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> The Colver farm was across the bay and towards the end of Deeti's life, when her knees were stiff with arthritis, the climb up to the shrine was too much for her to undertake on her own: she wasn't able to make the trip unless she was carried up in her special pus-pus - a contraption that was part palki and part sedan chair. This meant that visits to the shrine had to be full-scale expeditions, requiring the attendance of a good number of the Colver menfolk, especially the younger and sturdier ones. </i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i> To assemble the whole clan - La Fami Colver, as they said in Kreol - was never easy since its members were widely scattered, within the island, and abroad. But the one time of year when everyone could be counted on to make a special effort was in mid-summer, during the Gran Vakans that preceded the New Year. The Fami would begin mobilizing in mid-December, and by the start of the holidays the whole clan would be on the march; accompanied by paltans of bonoys, belsers, bowjis, salas, sakubays, and other in-laws, the Colver phalanxes would converg on the farm in a giant pincur movement: some would come overland on ox-carts, from Curepipe and Quatre Borne, through the misted uplands; some would travel by boat, from Port Louis and Mahebourg, hugging the coast until they were in sight of the mist-veiled mipple of the Morne."</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In September 1838 a storm blows up on the Indian Ocean and the Ibis, a ship carrying a consignment of convicts and indentured laborers from Calcutta to Mauritius, is caught up in the whirlwind. When the seas settle, five men have disappeared - two lascars, two convicts and one of the passengers. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On the grand scale of an historical epic, <b><i>River of Smoke</i></b> follows its storm-tossed characters to the crowded harbors of China. There, despite efforts of the emperor to stop them, ships from Europe and India exchange their cargoes of opium for boxes tea, silk, porcelain and silver. Among them are Bahram Modi, a wealthy Parsi opium merchant out of Bombay, his estranged half-Chinese son Ah Fatt, the orphaned Paulette and a motley collection of others. All struggle to cope with their losses – and for some, unimaginable freedoms – in the alleys and crowded waterways of 19th century Canton. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">-Bronwyn </span></div>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-85608130917046759942011-11-27T11:50:00.001-08:002011-11-29T08:50:26.258-08:00Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1edGcCoZjTxK96eB2IeUEG_D5SWikwmAN-z5gFjzQLXaog5fwcsx1tw6R8dRHtOliPApvhkZOkZG-qpC3Pc0-ns2jdWvO2Y3-TLXvQv8-R-eC5PnfixpBCN3q3a_uxwNCFSZZ6Q/s1600/Sea+of+Poppies.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1edGcCoZjTxK96eB2IeUEG_D5SWikwmAN-z5gFjzQLXaog5fwcsx1tw6R8dRHtOliPApvhkZOkZG-qpC3Pc0-ns2jdWvO2Y3-TLXvQv8-R-eC5PnfixpBCN3q3a_uxwNCFSZZ6Q/s320/Sea+of+Poppies.jpeg" width="204" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Several Christmas's ago, I took a copy of <i>Cutting for Stone</i> home with me on Christmas Eve. My favourite memory of that holiday, is being curled up on my rocking chair with a cup of tea voraciously reading the novel. Since then, I have been on the lookout every Fall for my "Christmas Day Book" to continue the tradition. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I heard all the buzz about <b><i>Sea of Poppies</i></b> when it first arrived on the scene, but never gave it more than a glance. That is until the sequel, <b><i>A River of Smoke</i></b>, came into the store. I took one look at the beautiful blue cover and knew that I wanted to read this book on Boxing Day. Which naturally means, I need to read <i>Sea of Poppies</i> now! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The novel (which is actually part of a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">trilogy</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">) features a glorious cast of characters that come together on a magical boat, the Ibis, just before the Opium Wars took place in China. The ship's destination across the Indian Ocean, is to fight in China's </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">vicious nineteenth-century Opium Wars.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some of my favourite characters include: Deeti, a widow, along with her lover, who is escaping her brother-in-law's rage. Paulette is the orphaned daughter of a French biologist who can't find a way to fit in with the British colonists, Jodu is the Indian playmate that she grew up with. Zachary is a freed </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">mulatto American slave, now the second Captain after everyone died on the voyage to India. The diverse cast of Indians and Westerners each have an enchanting story to tell. Once they board the ship, they let go of their family ties and caste stereotypes and begin to see themselves as ship-brothers. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What I am enjoying most about this enchanting book is the different stories of the characters before they arrive on the boat, the various slang that they use, and the lush descriptions of the poppy fields by the Ganges river, the sea that has a life of it's own, and the backstreets of Calcutta and Canton. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For the person on your list who has everything:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjKq9w7Hf7TZkEwfsvQxtoR1JNCNKMC3rFRKvH-GqyIxps3OJS_59umLEatj8yBPM6tsS17t3I4Ko1vc2J2xQFajBlKm7NCZ5E-0_Z8Rwiw9OfIvHjahpgLRkvGKOWRcTyQjIJw/s1600/history+of+world.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjKq9w7Hf7TZkEwfsvQxtoR1JNCNKMC3rFRKvH-GqyIxps3OJS_59umLEatj8yBPM6tsS17t3I4Ko1vc2J2xQFajBlKm7NCZ5E-0_Z8Rwiw9OfIvHjahpgLRkvGKOWRcTyQjIJw/s320/history+of+world.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
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This book takes a dramatically original approach to the history of humanity, using objects which pervious civilizations have left behind, often accidentally, as prisms through which we can explore past worlds and the lives of themen and women who lived in them. The book's range is enormous: it begins with a chopping tool from Africa (one of the earliest surviving objects made from human hands) to a solar powered lamp and charger made in modern-day China. MacGregor (who is the director of the British Museum) shows how these objects were and still are significant. This is on of the most engrossing and unusual history books published in years. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie6ji8kqHTvRnGp5I4Of3euuI0Ly2sTc7e4DFase47d62NomnoByxJjx_hrVSmJBVtqVpYKObhxgJzCKrM-suFqrYIrfdhN3LZSMrL__riYMZZ_p89pDqKZHDXKI5V_NZSUEDBZQ/s1600/madmanbutcher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie6ji8kqHTvRnGp5I4Of3euuI0Ly2sTc7e4DFase47d62NomnoByxJjx_hrVSmJBVtqVpYKObhxgJzCKrM-suFqrYIrfdhN3LZSMrL__riYMZZ_p89pDqKZHDXKI5V_NZSUEDBZQ/s320/madmanbutcher.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">For the history buff on your list:</span><span id="div_tabber_rBSsMLeAZlbOy_wxP7kKOg_spanbody_0" style="display: block;">Award-winning
author Tim Cook turns his narrative powers to the conflict between two
towering Great War figures: Sir Arthur Currie, Canadian Corps commander
and a brilliant, morally brave general and innovator who overcame many
of the challenges of trench warfare, and Sir Sam Hughes, Canada’s war
minister who accused Currie of being a butcher, a callous murderer of
his own men. Set against the backdrop of Europe’s battlefields and
Canada’s political tumult, The Madman and the Butcher is a powerful
double biography that explores the nation’s discomfort with heroes, the
need to place blame, and the very public war of reputations that raged
on after the guns fell silent. Using newly uncovered sources, Cook
creates a haunting portrait of our greatest battlefield general and the
man who tried to destroy him.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVH0qtFG0mK6gH9jmG6G8ss5RmHx4rw4thmIrIPOBznMufI_Rb9LfteoIjJUbjwjaVBnTrZLKTeaDvntCqz7AkOJ_aV1rVvrLSm69mmDQeXb_8JRzKwJDWrs9KcOSiGkDf8GYgvg/s1600/magician+king.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQzWEaCibIIxg22RQy5r82GKlzsal_jMSCaff1RQAxfYvUKUzQwroxTu7U6XbWaHqGHdHCgXv1bdeCzjkYsl7-OHTiacU6txKaffEIiRdzIMfGXG95gvHQzijr07-IVDSBFlLLw/s1600/The+Magician+King.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQzWEaCibIIxg22RQy5r82GKlzsal_jMSCaff1RQAxfYvUKUzQwroxTu7U6XbWaHqGHdHCgXv1bdeCzjkYsl7-OHTiacU6txKaffEIiRdzIMfGXG95gvHQzijr07-IVDSBFlLLw/s320/The+Magician+King.jpeg" width="210" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVH0qtFG0mK6gH9jmG6G8ss5RmHx4rw4thmIrIPOBznMufI_Rb9LfteoIjJUbjwjaVBnTrZLKTeaDvntCqz7AkOJ_aV1rVvrLSm69mmDQeXb_8JRzKwJDWrs9KcOSiGkDf8GYgvg/s1600/magician+king.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-size: large;">For the grown-up Harry Potter fan: </span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVH0qtFG0mK6gH9jmG6G8ss5RmHx4rw4thmIrIPOBznMufI_Rb9LfteoIjJUbjwjaVBnTrZLKTeaDvntCqz7AkOJ_aV1rVvrLSm69mmDQeXb_8JRzKwJDWrs9KcOSiGkDf8GYgvg/s1600/magician+king.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"The
Magician King" is a grand voyage into the dark, glittering heart of
magic--an epic quest for the Harry Potter generation. It also introduces
Julia, a powerful new voice whose angry genius is thrilling. Once again
Grossman proves that he is the modern heir to C.S. Lewis, and the
cutting edge of literary fantasy.</span></span></a></span></div>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-23589853962026819092011-11-14T09:36:00.000-08:002011-11-14T12:29:25.020-08:00Jan Brett for Christmas!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMyah9eCZrzAVCN_C9O9t_LDxQ_OKvPzE-cKJofkawlvaQWHdqn95d9F-sk2H8gxJg7pWs8xTtAF4nmCwnWR9WHU8HR155GZBq1mbYbhLPqtobkd047s0vm5zLdiipn48Kr6Iw8A/s1600/Night+Before+Christmas.jpeg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 329px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMyah9eCZrzAVCN_C9O9t_LDxQ_OKvPzE-cKJofkawlvaQWHdqn95d9F-sk2H8gxJg7pWs8xTtAF4nmCwnWR9WHU8HR155GZBq1mbYbhLPqtobkd047s0vm5zLdiipn48Kr6Iw8A/s400/Night+Before+Christmas.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674951190649824562" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" lang="EN-CA" ><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Every year I look for a new Christmas book to share with my children. A book featuring magical illustrations that evoke a feeling of childhood innocence and an equally inviting story sharing the wonder of Christmas. It is now our family tradition to read this book before our kids get tucked into bed on Christmas Eve.<br /><br />This year I can not decide between two <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jan Brett</span> titles: <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The Night Before Christmas</span> (the 10th anniversary edition) and <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Home for Christmas</span>. Both are equally lovely and fit all my Christmas book requirements. I have always enjoyed sharing Jan Brett's picture books with children. Her art work is wonderfully detailed and always features smaller pictures in a border that tell another aspect of the story.<br /></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM-4Ny_qLO8dH_EAqm8L4cH1sCZCtxXEzt6AbY1VF-YLPwqwamsP0xweCC4-nFSyok3BP0ObmiXjAw0AzqqnthPxjxbQgl_ODgSASqTyIfIMgfAZvmfoDVCKX88uCJNnttdxFwxA/s1600/Home+for+Christmas.jpeg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 182px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM-4Ny_qLO8dH_EAqm8L4cH1sCZCtxXEzt6AbY1VF-YLPwqwamsP0xweCC4-nFSyok3BP0ObmiXjAw0AzqqnthPxjxbQgl_ODgSASqTyIfIMgfAZvmfoDVCKX88uCJNnttdxFwxA/s200/Home+for+Christmas.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674951064751419890" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" lang="EN-CA" ><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In her version of <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The Night Before Christmas</span>, two elves have hidden in Santa's sleigh and are watching Santa deliver gifts to all the homes. The side-bar illustrations of their captivated faces is precious and adds so much delight to Clement Moore's poem. The new version includes a DVD with music by the Boston Pops and narrated by Jim Dale.<br /><br />The inspiration for Jan's latest, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Home for Christmas</span>, came from a trip she took to Sweden. The pictures depict a Scandinavian landscape with many of the animals and traditional clothing she discovered there. Rollo is a naughty little troll who runs away from his family because he doesn't want to do his chores. He tries to find a new family by living with different animals. First he lives with an owl family, then some bears, and finally a herd of moose that he travels with at the beginning of winter. Rollo starts to miss his family - will he be able to find them before Christmas? The side-bar pictures in this case show what his family is doing while he is away from them.<br /></span></span></span><br /><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" lang="EN-CA" ><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Both of these are a delight and perfect for cozy cuddling on Christmas day - or before. We love them so much that we ended up creating a beautiful window to celebrate Jan Brett's work.<br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: right;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" lang="EN-CA" ><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">- Bronwyn </span></span></span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" lang="EN-CA" ><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" lang="EN-CA" ><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" lang="EN-CA" ><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzAJenmfPLwMxvHvhJIpqgnV8PTqrWwyO6_lK_bm8wueG1AsjCPi8D2c50u9ohyvRBYrZnSGtpzRYCDzrimarzsZUaBbUGugN4HJRFi_TkT4-u_Twvcx8bifdvTNVp7WZZs2sjRA/s1600/458110171%2540photo.JPG_photo.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzAJenmfPLwMxvHvhJIpqgnV8PTqrWwyO6_lK_bm8wueG1AsjCPi8D2c50u9ohyvRBYrZnSGtpzRYCDzrimarzsZUaBbUGugN4HJRFi_TkT4-u_Twvcx8bifdvTNVp7WZZs2sjRA/s320/458110171%2540photo.JPG_photo.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674950003940556306" border="0" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-8216605000222596492011-11-10T07:39:00.000-08:002011-11-10T14:52:14.672-08:00Mark McEwan's FABBRICA<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_i2e0fgIIusy1uEjyl6Xaz0kdYZoVeKcTRDkt5U7W_vj5pxCX6pSaBV_mMfrzHEaMFUW9ZgqXnC-gX2x2wCiBBaZ4RMigbdADbJD9ZKx98lAAOK2CMZIjQqDtftZHSNRqGp4CxA/s1600/Fabbrica.jpeg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 313px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_i2e0fgIIusy1uEjyl6Xaz0kdYZoVeKcTRDkt5U7W_vj5pxCX6pSaBV_mMfrzHEaMFUW9ZgqXnC-gX2x2wCiBBaZ4RMigbdADbJD9ZKx98lAAOK2CMZIjQqDtftZHSNRqGp4CxA/s400/Fabbrica.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673404970744253890" border="0" /></a><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">For a few years now, Words Worth has been teaming up with Uptown 21 in throwing our “Words Worth Eating” events. We have had several memorable evenings with a variety of notable cookbook authors. None of these have been as well received as the event we did with Mark McEwan last year. Mark is the owner of several excellent Toronto restaurants: North 44, One, Fabbrica, and the upscale food store McEwan. </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" > </span><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">It was delightful to spend not one but two evenings with the man and learn about his life in food and restaurant culture. He talked about his love for Italy – it’s his favourite cuisine and favorite place to escape his hectic life and have some downtime. So it doesn’t surprise me that his newest cookbook, Fabbrica, is a celebration of all of the Italian dishes that they serve up at this restaurant. </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" > </span><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">The book is gorgeous – I love the paper quality and almost every page features a full colour photo of the recipe. And each recipe has a short introduction about what inspired it. Here is a list of the recipes that I am looking forward to creating in the coming weeks:</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" > </span><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Pg. 32 Charred Octopus with Chickpeas</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" > </span><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Pg. 56 Stuffed Cherry Peppers</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" > </span><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Pg. 97 Pesto Pizza with Clams and Shrimp</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" > </span><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Pg. 136 Ricotta Gnocchi with Heirloom Tomato Sauce</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" > </span><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Pg. 157 Risotto with Sugar Pumpkin and Pancetta</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" > </span><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">And for dessert Pg. 245 Vanilla Panna Cotta with Streusel and Figs</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" > </span><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">MMMM…Yum! Bonne Appetite!</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> - Bronwyn </span> <br /></p>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-4627739843832112972011-11-01T11:52:00.000-07:002011-11-01T12:02:48.798-07:00First Words: A World Elsewhere by Wayne Johnston<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHWdphFu3Obg5obISlQ3N_aPgKqlEoK9RPjaw6wWvDO_tzfApWC0VAYWYkXGo6vviX44WhSXfyfa6eYOUDrq5laV8tZ1i4sQBGwGNI38mCAJB4yvTAqXY3-M86Nus1ldKU_V9BA/s1600/World+Elsewhere.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 276px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHWdphFu3Obg5obISlQ3N_aPgKqlEoK9RPjaw6wWvDO_tzfApWC0VAYWYkXGo6vviX44WhSXfyfa6eYOUDrq5laV8tZ1i4sQBGwGNI38mCAJB4yvTAqXY3-M86Nus1ldKU_V9BA/s400/World+Elsewhere.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670104668473460642" /></a><i>Lanish Druken lived in the two-room attic of a house near the end of Dark Marsh Road that was in no way remindful of any other place he'd ever lived. A mile away, in a twelve-room house, his father lived alone.</i><div><i><br /></i><div><i>Under the terms of what Landish called the Sartorial Charter, his father had let him keep his clothes but had otherwise disowned him. When he was too hungry and sober to sleep, he walked the edge of the marsh in the dark, smoking the last of his cigars, following the road to where it narrowed to a path that led into the woods.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>He had gone to Princeton, where father-made men spent father-made fortunes. Now they were back home, learning the modern form of alchemy, the transmutation of sums of money into greater sums of money. He'd told them that this was, at best, all they would ever accomplish. "Whereas," he'd said, "I will write a book that will put in their places everyone who has ever lived. It may take me as long as a month, but I will not falter." </i><i>It was five years since he'd made the boast and he'd yet to write a word that he could resist the urge to burn."</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><div>Beloved author <b>Wayne Johnston</b> returns with this sweeping tale of ambition, remorse and hope. <b><i>A Wo</i></b><b><i>rld Elsewhere</i></b> is an astounding work of literature with all the hallmarks of <b>Wayne Johnston's</b> much-loved and acclaimed novels: outsiders yearning for acceptance, dreams that threaten to overpower their makers, and romance in the unlikeliest of places. The beating heart of this story is the touching relationship between a father and his adopted son. This sweeping </div><div>tale is set in St. John's, Princeton and North Carolina at the close of the 19th century.</div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0_I4xXO67zW8O5RE3pS2d6QqVD3liiTFoP6YZ40EwdSFivariKFPP_JRuP1ASt3iyytydkkMZMNobJzweenT7B3A_0VvjWUUyfkMbbm412ULrcHJwgjvTOuhYglYO_WgquruRg/s320/RAN-Wayne%252C-Anita%252C-Ami-Poster.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670104290439493090" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 320px; " /></div><div><br /></div><div>Landish Druken is a formidable figure: tall with a mass of curls, broader than most doorways, </div><div>quick-witted and sharp-tongued. As a student at Princeton, he is befriended by Padgett "Van" Vanderluyden, son of the wealthiest man in America. But when Van betrays Landish, causing his expulsion from Princeton, Landish renounces him. Destitute, he returns to St. John's and nightly he starts his novel, only to burn the pages. The widow of one of his father's first mate, lost at sea, asks Landish to adopt her son. Landish and Deacon quickly fall into a relationship that, </div><div>though not supported by the comforts of home, is strong in its shared intimacy. When financial burdens threaten to overpower them, Landish sees little choice but to ask Van for assistance. Van, now ensconced at a mansion, Vanderland in North Carolina, sends them tickets. The father and son learn the truth behind Van's self-constructed life and cement their commitment to one another. </div></div></div>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-1183727116180101252011-10-26T10:43:00.000-07:002011-10-26T10:53:48.165-07:0020 Writerly Questions for… Ami McKay<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRo4lggNo_CWStIynEf-snBhieNP9A-nHHYlc7F_BVzh-RY7XzvuX0Mu-ILtmHK6E3JHtbCJMBkZHa_kxsyWRJY-3dPIhTkZdFFP479IstRdQsM-e6xlyuRnJGdxuLw6nX-9LDoA/s1600/RAN-Wayne%252C-Anita%252C-Ami-Poster.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 207px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRo4lggNo_CWStIynEf-snBhieNP9A-nHHYlc7F_BVzh-RY7XzvuX0Mu-ILtmHK6E3JHtbCJMBkZHa_kxsyWRJY-3dPIhTkZdFFP479IstRdQsM-e6xlyuRnJGdxuLw6nX-9LDoA/s320/RAN-Wayne%252C-Anita%252C-Ami-Poster.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667860552431577730" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">Ami McKay's work has aired on </span><st1:stockticker><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">CBC</span></st1:stockticker><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial"> radio's <i>Maritime Magazine</i>, <i>This Morning</i>, <i>OutFront</i>, and <i>The Sunday Edition</i>. Her documentary, <i>Daughter of Family G</i>, won an Excellence in Journalism Meallion at the 2003 Atlantic Journalism Awarsd. When she moved with her family to </span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">Scots Bay</span></st1:city><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">, </span><st1:state><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family: Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">Nova Scotia</span></st1:state></st1:place><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">, she learned that their new home was once known as the birth house. It inspired her to write the bestseller, <b>The Birth House</b>. Her latest book is <b>The Virgin Cure.<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" > <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">How would you summarize your book in one sentence? </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">A Dickens meets Wharton meets the Brothers Grimm tale in which a girl on the streets of 1870's </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">New York</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial"> struggles to beat the odds.</span></p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; "><b><span style="font-family: Georgia; ">How long did it take you to write this book? </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: small; ">Three years (altho</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: small; ">ugh quite a lot of that time was devoted to research.)</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">Where is your favorite place to write? </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; "><span style="font-family: Georgia; ">In the loft of my barn in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-family: Georgia; ">Nova Scotia</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-family: Georgia; ">.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">How do you choose your characters’ names?</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" > <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; ">I collect names from archives and gravestones and then mix and match them to suit the story.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">How many drafts do you go through? </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; ">Too many to count.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">If there was one book you wish you had written what would it be? </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; ">I can't think of a book I'd like to have written word for word, but the premise of Nabokv's "The Real Life of Sebastian Knight" is absolutely brilliant and I wish I'd thought of it first.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">If your book were to become a movie, who would you like to see star in it? </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">A yet to be discovered actress as Moth, and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Dr. Sadie.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" > <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">What’s your favourite city in the world? </span></b></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; ">NYC</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" > <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">If you could talk to any writer living or dead who would it be, and what would you ask? </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">Shakespeare. "Did you, or didn't you?"</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" > <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind? </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; ">As I'm working on a novel, I create a playlist for the story and characters. The playlist for <em><span style="font-family: Georgia; ">The Virgin Cure</span></em>has a lot of music from the time period on it - mostly Civil War era songs and Stephen Foster tunes, like "Slumber My Darling" and "Hard Times Come Again No More."</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">Who is the first person who gets to you read your manuscript? </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; ">My husband.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">Do you have a guilty pleasure read? </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; ">Not really. I don't think reading should bring on guilt. I can read just about anything and get something from it - the manual for a computer game or even the back of a cereal box can suck me in, bringing on all kinds of questions. Someone, somewhere took the time to write that copy and I often wonder what that person's life is like. Do they believe in the product? Do they use it, eat it, consume it, etc.? Do they enjoy their work?</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" > <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">What’s on your nightstand right now? </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; "><em><span style="font-family: Georgia; ">The Immortal Life of Hennrietta Lacks</span></em><span style="font-family: Georgia; "> by Rebecca Skloot</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "><b><span style="font-family: Georgia; ">What is the first book you remember reading?</span> </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" > <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; "><em><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">The </span></em><st1:place><st1:placename><em><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">Secret</span></em></st1:placename><em><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial"> </span></em><st1:placetype><em><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">Garden</span></em></st1:placetype></st1:place><em><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">.</span></em></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" > <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">Did you always want to be a writer? </span></b></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; ">No, between the ages of 5-15, I thought I'd end up singing on a Broadway stage. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" > <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">What do you drink or eat while you write? </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; ">Green tea, popcorn, clementines, raw almonds and dark chocolate. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" > <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">Typewriter, laptop, or pen & paper? </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; ">I always begin with a fountain pen on paper, then I type what's on those pages into my laptop so I can move things around and edit the story.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">What did you do immediately after hearing that you were being published for the very first time? </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">I stood in the middle of my kitchen and jumped up and down. Then I called my mom.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" > <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">How do you decide which narrative point of view to write from? </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; ">I make an initial decision knowing that it may not be the right one and start writing. As the story unfolds, I try writing a portion of it (usually the first few pages) from different points of view. Then I read a few pages of each version out loud to see which one feels the strongest and has the best cadence.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small; "><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Georgia;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">What is the best gift someone could give a writer? </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; ">Patience. Knowing that the person I love most in the world has the patience to deal with my being distracted, (day in and day out) by the world I'm building on the page means everything to me.</span></span></p>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-24458202728729722092011-10-24T08:25:00.000-07:002011-10-24T10:47:36.579-07:00Tell It To The Trees<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIxtA9KBJd5L42M6qogq45yqUEmZQtWLykY_ANmCqoXlBxDi8EaV5dkKMJdiR0NNWbhB2MTk__hgsY6zs0ttiD_hOru6KFM5kfouPVdRMIJroytR5PJfgGK8-1dC5LKv3s-OUOg/s1600/Wayne%2525205.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 271px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667089516503970930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIxtA9KBJd5L42M6qogq45yqUEmZQtWLykY_ANmCqoXlBxDi8EaV5dkKMJdiR0NNWbhB2MTk__hgsY6zs0ttiD_hOru6KFM5kfouPVdRMIJroytR5PJfgGK8-1dC5LKv3s-OUOg/s400/Wayne%2525205.jpg" /></a>Thanks to <strong>Anita Rau Badami's</strong> newest novel, I have a dirty house! Instead of cleaning up this weekend, I was stuck to the couch madly reading <strong><em>Tell it to the Trees</em></strong>. I have been a big fan of Badami's since her first novel, <em>Tamarind Mem</em>. Her previous (and timely) work, <em>Can You Hear the Nightbird Call?</em> was a book that both Dave and I share as one of our favourites. So I have eagerly been waiting to cracking open her new one.</div><div><br /><div>What I enjoy most about Badami's writing style is that she does not seem to be afraid to tackle the big subjects using real characters with cracks and crevices in their personalities. <em>Tell it to the Trees</em> continues in the same vein. The Dharma family is a second or third generation immigrant family originally from southern India. The now dead grandfather, J.D., moved his family to a remote community in the backwoods of B.C., much to the chagrin of his unhappy wife, Akka, and son, Vikram. J.D. supposedly dies in a drunken stupor in a snowstorm. This sets the scene for the family's unhappiness. Vikram is now a man with two children: Varsha from his first (and also dead) wife Helen, and Hemant. He is currently married to Suman, who he met in India. </div><div><br /><div>Suman is clearly depressed and desperate. Vikram is both physically and verbally abusive of her and the children. She tries her best to please him but of course nothing is every good enough. Her only support is in Akka, her mother-in-law, who encourages her to leave but can not do much else to help as she suffers from unknown medical conditions. </div><div><br /><div>Varsha is thirteen years old. Her mother Helen died in a car accident when she was younger and she desperately wants to make sure that Suman will not "abondon" her either. She manipulates both Suman and Hemant but also clearly loves them. </div><br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheThchFfHq2V9JXmR0Nf4vWlLQEwsKiU_T0lvEMKUOI78C-kEnvLcn1HyQyNiFwTgi9rhFcbL3psjZMrRKZn-ogMiufxZTjaU3Lbj3ewuw9-7EhRgB2N-1hrU9uYpgl6nw-eD3ig/s320/RAN-Wayne%252C-Anita%252C-Ami-Poster.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 207px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667089022640393522" border="0" alt="" /><div>The family continues to stumble their way around each other, doing their best to avoid or deflect Vikram's rages and violence. Until Anu enters the picture. Anu is also Indian but has lived a much more modern and liberal lifestyle. She rents the cottage so that she can take some time to write, something she has always wanted to do. Anu is a breath of fresh air for the family. She brings the support and modern voice that Suman craves. She also recognizes Varsha for the troubled 13 year-old that she is.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>The novel opens to police searching the family's backyard for Anu's remains, after she went missing in a snowstorm. Anymore details and I will give to much of the story away. Suffice to say that Badami has done an excellent job of exploring some very tough issues: learned behaviour in children, abusive families, issues that occur when living in a remote community, and the trouble with family secrets. I have lots of questions that I am looking forward to asking Badami about this novel when she comes to Waterloo on November 16th. For more information on her event with us click <a href="http://www.wordsworthbooks.com/Wayne%20Anita%20Ami.htm">HERE</a>.</div><br /><div align="right">- Bronwyn</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/860UdIpLdYU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></div></div></div></div>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-91828656151249004902011-10-17T12:48:00.000-07:002011-10-17T14:25:30.904-07:00The Virgin Cure<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbnRqM5KF6f8HfTcM_uDdFFqZ9hv26Z0qlKRFnTK29FkhdkXVN9duatHzyizlPXeOwK318kUFvEdsA1MqU1ueMaeo3Lp7JSUUgLOYDHH0duN9jFxqvcP8kr6VHzabVrW9dC0lKmw/s1600/Virgin+Cure.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 273px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbnRqM5KF6f8HfTcM_uDdFFqZ9hv26Z0qlKRFnTK29FkhdkXVN9duatHzyizlPXeOwK318kUFvEdsA1MqU1ueMaeo3Lp7JSUUgLOYDHH0duN9jFxqvcP8kr6VHzabVrW9dC0lKmw/s400/Virgin+Cure.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664575338692111250" /></a><div>Like many Canadian women, I adored <b>Ami McKay's</b> first book, <b><i>The Birth House</i></b>, immensely. So (also like said Canadian women), I have been waiting with bated breath to see what yarn Ami would spin next. Her newest book, <b>The Virgin Cure</b>, releases next week on October 25th, but I got to crack open an advance copy last week.</div><div><br /><div>The novel takes place in the tenement housing on the Lower East Side of Manhattan during the early 1870's. Moth is a <i>"girl from the lowest part of Chrystie Street, born to a </i><i>slum-house mystic, and the man who broke her heart." </i>The summer that Moth turns 12, her mother sells her to a wealthy woman as her companion. Moth thinks that she may have it made as the carriage takes her away from the squalor and poverty that is Chrystie street and pulls her closer to the wealth of the Upper West Side. However Mrs. Wentworth deflates Moth's hopes of a better life with the first of many beatings and bizarre punishments. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>After fleeing from the indentured servitude, Moth ends up in the wild world of Bowery. She discovers a world of pickpockets, beggars, sideshow freaks and prostitutes. Eventually she is taken in by Miss Everett, the owner of a brothel called "The Infant School." Again Moth is attracted to a warm bed, a full belly, and the promise of a better life. Through her new friendship with Dr. Sadie, a female physician that takes care of the brothel's girls, Moth begins to question the world around her. At the same time she begins to hear rumours of a "virgin cure", for men to rid themselves of syphilis. </div><div><br /></div><div>I found Moth's resilience and determination to live a life that she could call her own admirable and inspiring. Her journey through New York's underbelly of the time kept me reading long after I should have turned out the light. McKay has created a well-rounded character who is both strong and innocent, wise and hopeful. </div><div><br /></div><div>Dr. Sadie's character is based on McKay's great-great-great-grandmother, one of the few female doctors during that time period. Dr. Sadie (both in the book and in life) cared for city's poor and</div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FAxFhsPLQMviCs4obj7KDticLI5CEibD0DyxEcV-IsupYYWCRFWtiIZCaXXqf0-JkSiUgYXerZtstzRByhWKfxRM2gYA4AINtP7xMVNOUPRnYNOLDuBCX-4li_LS6yZWH4lpRQ/s320/RAN-Wayne%252C-Anita%252C-Ami-Poster.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664572219062807474" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 320px; " /><div>destitute children. Her character in the novel shows a strong woman who did not let her education or wealthier background stand in the way of her determination to offer physical and psychological care to poor women and children. She tries in many different ways to convince Moth to give up her life in the brothel. It seems that Moth was the child she never had. </div><div><br /></div><div>Another aspect of the novel that I appreciated, was little tidbits and sidebars throughout the book that explain the customs of the day. For example: an advertisement for Dr. Godfrey's cordial, instructions for hair work crafting, descriptions of a lady's gown, and so on. This was something that McKay used in <i>The Birth House</i> as well. It brings the time period to life in a memorable way. </div><div><br /></div><div>I am looking forward to asking McKay if she collects this information while doing her research for the book, or if she makes them up as she is writing the novel. To that end McKay will be joined by Wayne Johnston and Anita Rau Badami for one of our final fall events at the Princess Cinema on November 16th. Click<b> <a href="http://www.wordsworthbooks.com/Wayne%20Anita%20Ami.htm">HERE</a></b> for more information. </div><div style="text-align: right;">-Bronwyn</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1A62OgYyENg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-54312006981840352672011-10-17T07:00:00.000-07:002011-10-17T09:35:39.614-07:00Brian Francis is one to watch...<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJWO3660zcmWC6CtGd6g_p8z2_OfRQoNqLDQRp9NvDw-e8g3jfYiXKzsAlqva0v8BVCPyrsPqRyNdeQFUJPe0P34n0eBsKRfqTkh5o-_cYbjKnJamjuoi1bkKPm1a626yFWGjQw/s1600/Natural%252520Order.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 269px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664499985044723602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJWO3660zcmWC6CtGd6g_p8z2_OfRQoNqLDQRp9NvDw-e8g3jfYiXKzsAlqva0v8BVCPyrsPqRyNdeQFUJPe0P34n0eBsKRfqTkh5o-_cYbjKnJamjuoi1bkKPm1a626yFWGjQw/s400/Natural%252520Order.jpg" /></a> <span id="ucPreviewMsg_lblMessage" class="PreviewMsgText visualIEFloatFix">After a huge hit with his first novel <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Fruit</span>, <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Brian Francis</span> has set a high bar with <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Natural Order</span> and he clears it effortlessly. This novel is a generational tale set in small town Ontario, where as a young girl, Joyce has fallen for Freddy a neighbourhood boy who stands out for his love of Broadway and his effusive personality. In today's world Freddy would get on about as well as anyone, however in the 1950's he couldn't reveal who he was and leaves Balsden, Ontario as soon as he can.<br /><br />As an elderly woman in a nursing home, Joyce is forced (by a secret in Freddy's past) to come to terms with her son John who more recently has died after a "sudden illness" in 1980's Toronto. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHLzf82_uEJ65w-e2KrIUQJFrpoiNUg16WdkkdtMn7tdslAmo820bG7gRwCeRBqudaXseTytsQhzpLXwofiaUuBkINisqJ9QN7ba3YEop0x1jnNtlbaZSUR02AssRQGSrmiPe-bw/s1600/RAN-Marina%252C-Brian-Poster.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 207px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664500201485680754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHLzf82_uEJ65w-e2KrIUQJFrpoiNUg16WdkkdtMn7tdslAmo820bG7gRwCeRBqudaXseTytsQhzpLXwofiaUuBkINisqJ9QN7ba3YEop0x1jnNtlbaZSUR02AssRQGSrmiPe-bw/s320/RAN-Marina%252C-Brian-Poster.jpg" /></a>This forces Joyce to traverse her unexamined early life, and the circumstances of both her childhood friend and her son, each who have struggled as gay men in different and less easier times.<br /><br />The triumph in Natural Order is the interior character of Joyce, who while in her 80's has had to square attitudes born of her time with the reality that time is running out. While befriending a gay volunteer in her nursing home, Joyce's character and the novel reveal how one person who believes herself a failure reconciles her life with those she loved.<br /><br />Natural Order in wonderfully nuanced and Francis makes sure that every character bears the weight of their time. It would have been easy to make any main character in Natural Order a sociopolitical stalking horse, but the author took the harder road here, and Natural Order succeeds because of it. This is a solid and assured second effort from a writer to watch.</span><br /><br /><div align="right">- David</div><br /><br /><div align="left"><strong>Brian Francis</strong> and <strong>Marina Endicott</strong> will be at the store for a free event on November 3rd, starting at 7pm. For more information click <strong><a href="http://www.wordsworthbooks.com/Marina%20Endicott.htm">HERE</a></strong>. </div></div>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-59739669917697325402011-10-14T18:17:00.001-07:002011-10-14T18:55:26.310-07:00Words Worth Eating with Nan Forler & Peter Etril SnyderOur <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.wordsworthbooks.com/Nan%20Forler.htm">Words Worth Eating event series</a> are some of our favourite events to organize and partake in. We love working with Nick and Nat at Uptown 21. The food is always incredible and the atmosphere is so much fun. We celebrated the release of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Winterberries and Apple Blossoms</span> on October 12th with Nan Forler and Peter Etril Snyder. If these pictures whet your appetite, then call the restaurant to reserve seating. We are doing the event all over again on November 23rd! You can reach Uptown 21 at 519-883-1100. There are only a handful of seats left.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpO7lPl8Vma3pWJYQG-cVI2xhpgcL57_aSybbOLtm7W_c0kfTL1RpwbDc6n4qxWJX2TgZTch0mEk59aBxt46VTESln_Jff_XGvjtGTepiY_rbvFLjjndNEzrifFA2wzBXGKYV7w/s1600/Books+on+Display.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpO7lPl8Vma3pWJYQG-cVI2xhpgcL57_aSybbOLtm7W_c0kfTL1RpwbDc6n4qxWJX2TgZTch0mEk59aBxt46VTESln_Jff_XGvjtGTepiY_rbvFLjjndNEzrifFA2wzBXGKYV7w/s320/Books+on+Display.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663524023549269362" border="0" /></a>Copies of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Winterberries & Apple Blossoms</span> on display.<br />Each ticket includes a copy of the book.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdGVqedQcFke4r_RSkU0uGR7zRBuW3bEnTgdoeXb6nGWCdRRmHdQsiZGln5sF8zZttNS4sY63r0oe3HH8DsnCvu1_xQY7MPZOKjgdhwb9Oj4DMbf5dv77aivMp8-NkOu8BREd0g/s1600/Salad.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdGVqedQcFke4r_RSkU0uGR7zRBuW3bEnTgdoeXb6nGWCdRRmHdQsiZGln5sF8zZttNS4sY63r0oe3HH8DsnCvu1_xQY7MPZOKjgdhwb9Oj4DMbf5dv77aivMp8-NkOu8BREd0g/s320/Salad.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663522669305494706" border="0" /></a>The first course - an amazing salad that gave one patron "an out-of-this-world-experience"!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9gS86zxfVr70AAIjjKWHRdqMsYgX3jPRWU-RuA0c8IGdd1yCZKKDIAbecGPmRf2VJiETK-bp1Vo3GChF0dZNbaK7OmA2PGXkl868vR-dPuIvLF6AVqPMN3Ks6RD2RzyDrWIj7CA/s1600/Author+%2526+Illustrator.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9gS86zxfVr70AAIjjKWHRdqMsYgX3jPRWU-RuA0c8IGdd1yCZKKDIAbecGPmRf2VJiETK-bp1Vo3GChF0dZNbaK7OmA2PGXkl868vR-dPuIvLF6AVqPMN3Ks6RD2RzyDrWIj7CA/s320/Author+%2526+Illustrator.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663522595346634930" border="0" /></a>Acclaimed children's author, Nan Forler<br />with illustrator and celebrated painter, Peter Etril Snyder.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyyXNecbF8YBBH2JhFT9aIA0JbT1UP6oOf2JH_Bu99t3DD2V6fBc1j9nWQFSQOdiPPFdtV89ASeVvKO99x2sXmtuySltZSIuuDlRuoKAAhYgWL5g9jj0eQEM4bsUQljvBwkyWThg/s1600/Soup.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyyXNecbF8YBBH2JhFT9aIA0JbT1UP6oOf2JH_Bu99t3DD2V6fBc1j9nWQFSQOdiPPFdtV89ASeVvKO99x2sXmtuySltZSIuuDlRuoKAAhYgWL5g9jj0eQEM4bsUQljvBwkyWThg/s320/Soup.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663522496025929730" border="0" /></a>Pumpkin soup with pickled beet garnish - delicious!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5DxzSdJLiX2sUAYjtWotktLs5YfzNWFlRvxWKl9FWaVjtiH4BFXiK-EnqWXyVZOdRy0S8sLV_QY3oV0Ttf35DmR2tsqc9JK1KrlO9lgJqg-NPYpPsXMovZJpH8hnuVfsQiD3eA/s1600/Author+table.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5DxzSdJLiX2sUAYjtWotktLs5YfzNWFlRvxWKl9FWaVjtiH4BFXiK-EnqWXyVZOdRy0S8sLV_QY3oV0Ttf35DmR2tsqc9JK1KrlO9lgJqg-NPYpPsXMovZJpH8hnuVfsQiD3eA/s320/Author+table.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663522400272893570" border="0" /></a>Everyone enjoying the food and company.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURIY5q9uUnEjR_tnzTSnU8e5LqzN4wmlj3QkVOXR9NRzjwEGwTHBgVXgZmsZpXiNdBQto2IYN2U0bSqJnT4Nz_DNadqsXdJ_F_G9KhR5Cft_A6IJ67CmBeob5cXUgCNgHajI9HQ/s1600/Main+Course.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURIY5q9uUnEjR_tnzTSnU8e5LqzN4wmlj3QkVOXR9NRzjwEGwTHBgVXgZmsZpXiNdBQto2IYN2U0bSqJnT4Nz_DNadqsXdJ_F_G9KhR5Cft_A6IJ67CmBeob5cXUgCNgHajI9HQ/s320/Main+Course.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663522301636340786" border="0" /></a>Main course of pork shanks, warm potato salad and Nick's award-winning sauerkraut.<br />The menu was inspired by the traditional Mennonite culture depicted in the book.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRw7Iym-P9F3MeldETPNxF2-lYrqVncUh_n_D3mPKnjyLzUQVY9olhWI4-Y2HkbJ8J2SN6qGd0lhl__NAdV-Wdq90ZefCKrEi_PB3u1eLoiD0s-4-8M8JQh_f45-D_e1MHlSVSHA/s1600/Dessert.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRw7Iym-P9F3MeldETPNxF2-lYrqVncUh_n_D3mPKnjyLzUQVY9olhWI4-Y2HkbJ8J2SN6qGd0lhl__NAdV-Wdq90ZefCKrEi_PB3u1eLoiD0s-4-8M8JQh_f45-D_e1MHlSVSHA/s320/Dessert.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663522205071594626" border="0" /></a>And the grande finale: Apple pie and Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp.<br />Nick froze summer strawberries and rhubarb back in June in preparation for this event.<br />The desserts were from recipes included in <span style="font-weight: bold;">Winterberries and Apple Blossoms</span>.<br /></div>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-39999000853486181092011-10-12T11:56:00.000-07:002011-10-12T12:22:39.908-07:00First Words: The Little Shadows by Marina Endicott<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qkoJFSwGKQbnIOXb6_SosqB_3Ro3EtUO5GkJQnXZ7CF3cOjZ2zNk5bRWCe6XwXH8hW44mrAYzoYUgTIxqRY4kdY2x3-lB9_7-GeyEion4rdzYNkqRglVzi5mKqHCEDhqK5AY1A/s1600/Marina1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 135px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qkoJFSwGKQbnIOXb6_SosqB_3Ro3EtUO5GkJQnXZ7CF3cOjZ2zNk5bRWCe6XwXH8hW44mrAYzoYUgTIxqRY4kdY2x3-lB9_7-GeyEion4rdzYNkqRglVzi5mKqHCEDhqK5AY1A/s200/Marina1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662686015215664498" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>A summer evening. Moths dance in the lights outside the opera house. </i></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>A girl in a white dress slides into a seat on the aisle beside her father. The hall is crowded, many standing at the back. Ladies exclaim over the playbill while men, heads bent together, talk about the war. An older, greying soldier sits with his kind-faced wife. Her big black boot tucks out of sight behind his leg. </i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>The curtain sways, curling along its bottom edge in a velvet wave, swept not by wind or the weight of the moon but by a company assembling backstage. </i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>In the enfolding darkness of the wings, Aurora reaches out her hand on one side to find Clover's thin one; on the other Bella's small and strong. Their warm clasps stills her trembling. </i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>Silver-shelled footlights snap a scalloped arc of light onto the main curtain. Fresh red velvet: crimson lake, bright blood, the colour of love. Murmurs cease as the violins come creaking into tune, their mild excitable cacophony resolving into sense and meaning, into A, the one note they all seek. In the audience, silence falls. The cessation of visiting, the folding of programmes, the last adjustment to the seats. </i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>Tips of shoes show beneath the bobble-fringe - a quiet rumpus, that must be the girls.</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia; "><i><br />The band master taps his stand.</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i> </i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>It is about to start.</i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><i>Breath in --</i></span></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQoZPoFHMIwGhVXaUHAHKTbGGTz28JMDkBL_4h4s-boAFx9wOg9A2uAGf-oTIKvUsZnWZk_r4RiEwD57_a_QmL-EmDcVaRDmSfeOHnHvM7QgyJtef24wV_WMjCfggnR5ydDf9y7w/s400/RAN-Marina%252C-Brian-Poster.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662685909427206610" style="float: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 259px; height: 400px; " /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(64, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: medium; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(64, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: medium; ">The Little Shadows revolves around three sisters in the world of vaudeville before and during the First World War: </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(64, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: medium; ">Aurora, the eldest and most beautiful, who is sixteen when the book opens; </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(64, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: medium; ">thoughtful Clover, a year younger; and the youngest sister, joyous headstrong sprite Bella. The girls, overseen by their fond but barely coping Mama, set out to make their living as a singing act after the untimely death of their father. They begin with little besides youth and hope, but Marina Endicott’s genius is to show how the three girls slowly and steadily evolve into true artists even as they navigate their way to adulthood among a cast of extraordinary characters – some of them charming charlatans, some of them unpredictable eccentrics, and</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(64, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: medium; "> some of them just ordinary-seeming humans with magical gifts.<br /><br />With her gorgeous prose and extraordinary insight, Endicott lures us onto the brightly lit stage and then into the little shadows that lurk behind the curtain, and reveals how the art of vaudeville -- in all its variety, madness, melodrama, hilarity and sorrow -- echoes the art of life itself.</span></div>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-88732131274496921472011-10-11T07:41:00.000-07:002011-10-11T09:18:27.393-07:00Kid Reviewed: The Popularity Papers by Amy Ignatow<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5b63D5qayot6fFho6wfx4sCM4jODnz2K6Ltnbbqr2sglkeQRA8VeM-yNzHK8EADR5ozaq-ll7rc1OGhhcOWh8sHAjFU93vkanz-MSFcrj2q1EqLk8IohJds5clYki3EiANGmzdw/s1600/Popularity+Papers.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5b63D5qayot6fFho6wfx4sCM4jODnz2K6Ltnbbqr2sglkeQRA8VeM-yNzHK8EADR5ozaq-ll7rc1OGhhcOWh8sHAjFU93vkanz-MSFcrj2q1EqLk8IohJds5clYki3EiANGmzdw/s400/Popularity+Papers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662264118642536082" border="0" /></a><br />This book is about two girls, Julie Graham-Chang and Lydia Goldblatt, who are planning to start Juniour High as popular girls. They start observing the other girls in their 5th grade class and begin experimenting to find the key to being at the top of the social order.<br /><br />First they try to dye Lydia's hair. Unfortunately they use bleach instead of hair dye and Lydia <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLP1ck0hj8jZkAlCkrGPYjsBnUdQU6Z5oBQYLjvrpyMsyjQg1nZtEX8pGRiDyhqPUPT0TZ3alraNh-hgQFmSBS-UrKPUNjkfgkzwSypMMcXWFIFqJKySQzXzeFJaSU7W52neaqsw/s1600/Makilda.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 142px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLP1ck0hj8jZkAlCkrGPYjsBnUdQU6Z5oBQYLjvrpyMsyjQg1nZtEX8pGRiDyhqPUPT0TZ3alraNh-hgQFmSBS-UrKPUNjkfgkzwSypMMcXWFIFqJKySQzXzeFJaSU7W52neaqsw/s200/Makilda.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662266261480355682" border="0" /></a>ends up getting a bald spot. She has to keep using her other hair to cover up the bald spot. They also try dressing fancy, but are informed by their teacher that they are dressed inappropriately. You should read this to see the other ways that they try to become popular.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">This book made me feel happy because it was very funny. I am excited to read the other books in this series because this book made me laugh. I also loved the illustrations - the book is designed like a graphic novel with notes back and forth between the two friends. It felt like a scrapbook and a diary at the same time. This book is soooo good!<br /></div><div style="text-align: right;">- by Makilda Addico<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:85%;">If you know a child that would like to review a kid's book for us, please email <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="bronwyn@wordsworthbooks.com">Bronwyn</a> or <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="erica@wordsworthbooks.com">Erica</a>. </span><br /></div></div>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-32877677781466956442011-10-03T13:09:00.000-07:002011-10-03T13:34:42.783-07:00Best Crime Writers Around...<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span">Words Worth Books is delighted to welcom</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; ">e to </span></span><st1:city><st1:place><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; ">Waterloo</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; "> two veteran Canadian crime writers who after nurturing classic mystery series for years, have turned to standalone work, each with truly fine results.</span></span><span style="color: black; "> <span class="apple-style-span"><b>Peter Robinson</b> and <b>Maureen Jennings</b> have put aside their beloved signature characters for the moment (<i>Alan Banks</i> and <i>William Murdoch</i>, respectively) </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span">and have penned a couple of great books.</span></span></div> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXdKKIB2mBA4y-v2gstjfS8t4LI2tSYTBYxtZtJjrdv-ZDnDsFSA5GpuOtA3v0eBLU3kZELc28zZ48FtnDgog5qf43BzrdjQwc6m0Vr7XJ-nnlBbXfdCPBrOFTLIHTSIlcbFAKA/s200/Season+of+Darkness.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 134px; height: 200px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659363622752010610" /><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; "><span class="apple-style-span">Maureen Jennings' <b><i>Season of Darkness</i></b> opens with the murder of a British land girl in 1940. It was the job of land girls to arrange to cultivate every possible part of </span></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; ">England</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; "> during the war. Elsie Bates has been left for dead on a country road, shot by a German Luger.</span></span><span style="color: black; "><br /></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; ">Britain</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; "> is recovering from the defeat at </span></span><st1:city><st1:place><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; ">Dunkirk</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; "> and dark days are upon her. The small town deputy inspector Tom Tyler has a serious crime on his hands and his job is com</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span">plicated by a scared populace, a German internment camp nearby and the arrival of an old lover from the Continent.</span></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; "><span class="apple-style-span" >Peter Robinson has put together a beauty of a novel. </span></span></span></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi74oyQiJKD8Si41k1MWGVYdDzIUFB5ssKkBBTioei_l6dLWho454zhECMRlAYrmlmclVJsmerrZXljdJjI155_qjbrjEiB5BYNzPuQkKWerTD0lsuw_vho4Y9NigrH2szP_yWlSw/s200/Before+the+Poison.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659363726478528306" style="float: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px; " /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span style="color: black; "><span class="apple-style-span">This tale of obsession also has roots in World War Two.</span> <span class="apple-style-span"><b><i>Before the Poison</i></b> tells of </span></span><st1:city><st1:place><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; ">Hollywood</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; "> film score veteran </span></span><st1:personname><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; ">Chris</span></span></st1:personname><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; "> Lo</span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; " ></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; ">we, who returns to his native </span></span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; ">England</span></span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; "> after the death of his beloved wife. He wants only to grieve privately and work on music he considers more worthy. He buys a isolated </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; ">house outside </span></span><st1:place><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; ">Yorkshire</span></span></st1:place><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; "> and becomes interested in a former inhabitant of the house who decades earlier, was put to death for the murder of her husband. </span></span><st1:personname><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; ">Chris</span></span></st1:personname><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; "> becomes interested in Grace Fox's story and the more he finds out, the more convinced he becomes that </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span">she was innocent of the murder. Threads of his own life abound and Robinson weaves everything together seamlessly.</span></span></div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="apple-style-span" >Along with bestseller <b>Linwoood Barclay</b>, we promise an evening of unparalleled talent at the shop on Tuesday, October 18.</span></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8XCKTxbTtg49nb5rA5vpucHtwlJnKKwYM3CaE_kRg3VDI3zM7BbanwzdZ-sjbJ0lvzaWOCaGQIeussLpK-MY4jP8xCNkSyJlHAi3oGXb4CAePhvCAUnZu2VQwotHOlMr7x-K2ZQ/s400/Mystery-Night--Poster.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659364991035550242" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 253px; " /></span><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jLW08f2c2_Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-58860190128747715162011-10-03T12:55:00.000-07:002011-10-03T13:03:53.691-07:00A Serious Case of Medium-ness!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_HjHmOy_raX2X9wN1rLlXsp6vNuIpL2bYu3xsuIWQg908tuVXHVbUtT3uLG-Zyx8FeNk5gu57vCSg0FASFKmFP3F69nmM1imfdEbbwCi0VjxYYBBRtj37_VyR-323Eb_JQkiFQ/s1600/Magnificent+12.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_HjHmOy_raX2X9wN1rLlXsp6vNuIpL2bYu3xsuIWQg908tuVXHVbUtT3uLG-Zyx8FeNk5gu57vCSg0FASFKmFP3F69nmM1imfdEbbwCi0VjxYYBBRtj37_VyR-323Eb_JQkiFQ/s320/Magnificent+12.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659358706824042930" /></a><br /><div><b>The Magnificent 12: The Call by Michael Grant</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Mack MacAvoy suffers from a serious case of medium-ness. He has medium grades, medium looks, medium parents, and a medium school with a severe side of the bullies. Mack’s favourite hobby is to provoke bullies and then flee from them. This is surprising considering his long list of fears and phobias. </div><div><br /></div><div>And then one day things change for Mack and he will never be medium again! A three-thousand-year-old man, Grimluk, appears to tell Mack that he is one of the Magnificent 12. It is up to Mack to track down eleven other 12 year olds to stop the evil force that is going to eat up the world. Mack must battle the wicked Princess Ereskigal… </div><div><br /></div><div>This series will have boys (and parents) laughing at Mack’s hilarious escapades and quest. In some ways this book reminded me of early Gordon Korman books that I read in grade 5, however Mack is a character and in a situation that is totally original. Good for a laugh and especially good for reluctant boy readers. </div><div style="text-align: right;">- Bronwyn</div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-48590533287478382402011-09-29T08:33:00.000-07:002011-09-29T14:57:28.734-07:00The Bust DIY Guide to Life<div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUkqxZQ8Qz7q9wZPKDujZHipRiddMPAoXC6Z0PCNCbZmjx6gLnQJHm8YKGNhl_GdIwpc24L4FKHPeiCKBgoXSgEP0ExCaE0BVeTepZXyTlxL4NrYuvFHcmd19eQCnwrnHLQjxYg/s1600/BUST+DIY.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 291px; display: block; height: 400px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657807593055306562" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSUkqxZQ8Qz7q9wZPKDujZHipRiddMPAoXC6Z0PCNCbZmjx6gLnQJHm8YKGNhl_GdIwpc24L4FKHPeiCKBgoXSgEP0ExCaE0BVeTepZXyTlxL4NrYuvFHcmd19eQCnwrnHLQjxYg/s400/BUST+DIY.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">I remember when I was about 9 years old or so, I found a copy of a Girl <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Guides</span> compendium </span></span>that had belonged to my Aunt Connie when she was a girl. The book was a thick hardcover that covered many topics such as: how to play hopscotch properly (there is a method!), how to knit, when to start wearing makeup, how to clean your home. I was enthralled with the tips and ideas inside that could lead me from girlhood to being a young woman.<br /><br />I felt the same sense of enthrallment when I discovered <span style="font-weight: bold;">Debbie <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Stoller's</span></span> most <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">recent</span> book, <span style="font-style: italic;"><strong>The BUST <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">DIY</span> Guide to Life</strong></span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Stoller</span> is the editor of <em>BUST</em> magazine and the author of the Stitch 'N Bitch series of knitting and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">crotcheting</span> books. I have been reading BUST magazine since it was a quarterly zine printed on newspaper. The magazine is a new wave feminist mix of politics, funny interviews, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">DIY</span> fashion, and tongue-in-cheek humour.<br /><br />Just like the magazine this <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">DIY</span> guide runs the with the same <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">humorous</span> language. It's an updated Girl Guide compendium for the modern times AND the modern gal! Covering everything from funky home decorating and sewing clothes, to making your own <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">deodorant</span> and doing up a 50's style <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">bouffant</span>, to living on a budget and cleaning your home with homemade environmentally friendly cleaners. It even includes a tutorial on how to ride a skateboard - which I can assure you was not included in the Girl Guide book I used to have. </div><br />Here are some of the things I am planning on trying out in the coming months:<br />- Making <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Tye</span>-dyed tights (this project I will be doing with my two daughters)<br />- Create ear-muffs (with my headphones inside!)<br />- Have a fizzy bath bomb creating party<br />- And paper <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">mache</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">pinata</span> from scratch for one of my kid's birthday parties<br /><div style="text-align: right;">- <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Bronwyn</span><br /></div>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-29239380946545264862011-09-28T14:26:00.000-07:002011-09-29T13:52:05.952-07:00First Words: Our Daily Bread by Lauren Davis<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeyWiVnfLW-K89b7mcZlYdXIrc4K0ZH_Wv2vkLLtWWHfYVnKKsCl5qgkVyxJpdqemLIhWDcEuRg8iRu4H84X-YfG-rPYT4gqNmVr35lkdX-YscE1HmfwLeAL1CxwYOkrA4wmoNIA/s1600/ODB%252Bcover%252Bfinal.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 214px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657525307118087970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeyWiVnfLW-K89b7mcZlYdXIrc4K0ZH_Wv2vkLLtWWHfYVnKKsCl5qgkVyxJpdqemLIhWDcEuRg8iRu4H84X-YfG-rPYT4gqNmVr35lkdX-YscE1HmfwLeAL1CxwYOkrA4wmoNIA/s320/ODB%252Bcover%252Bfinal.jpg" /></a></div><i><span style="WHITE-SPACE: pre" class="Apple-tab-span"></span>"Near the top of North Mountain a tumbledown shed leaned against an old lightening-struck oak at the edge of a raggedy field. Inside Albert Erkskine bent over a sprouting box and gently, methodically, planted the marijuana seeds he'd soaked last night. He placed each one half an inch deep in the soil-filled paper cups, pushing the seed down with his index finger</i><i>, the nail black-rimmed. The air, hazy with dust motes, smelled of warm moldy earth mixed with the fertilizer he used in the sprouting mix. The seeds had been perfect, virile and had given off a good solid crack when he'd tested them on a hot frying pan. Once the seeds were settled in their nest of humus, soil, and fertilizer, he'd water them and leave them in the locked shed under a grow-light fueled by a small generator. Later, in a couple of weeks, he'd plant the seedlings out in the field. In the meantime he'd prepare the field with hydrated lime and a little water soluble nitrogen fertilizer.</i> <br /><div><i><span style="WHITE-SPACE: pre" class="Apple-tab-span"></span></i></div><br /><div><i><span style="WHITE-SPACE: pre" class="Apple-tab-span"></span>Growing a good cash crop of marijuana took smarts and Albert was well aware of how smart he was. He knew, too, the power of his physical presence. He would have been called handsome in another place, with the cleft of his chin, and the furious shine in his brown eyes. Even as a whip-thin, lock-jawed boy there had been something about Albert, some flash of sinewy grace." </i></div><i></i><br /><div><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><i><br /></i></div><br /><div><i><span style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-STYLE: normal; COLOR: rgb(64,0,0)font-family:georgia;font-size:medium;" class="Apple-style-span" >What moral ambiguities result when we view our neighbors as “The Others,” as “those people”? This is the conflict between the Erskine Clan, long-shunned by the people of Gideon, who live in secrecy and isolation on North Mountain, and whose bootlegging enterprises are expanding into methamphetamine production and the God-fearing townspeople</span></i></div><i></i><br /><div><i><span style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-STYLE: normal; COLOR: rgb(64,0,0)font-family:georgia;font-size:medium;" class="Apple-style-span" >of nearby Gideon. For generations the clan’s children have suffered unspeakable acts of rape, child abuse, incest, and psychological torture. The intolerant, self-righteous Gideonites decline to intervene, believing their neighbors to be beyond salvation. “That’s the mountain,” they say. “What do you expect from those people?” Yet in both groups nearly everyone has a secret and nothing is as it seems.<br /><br />Twenty-one-year old Albert Erskine dreams of a better life and explains to a new teenage friend from the town, Bobby Evans, the meaning of the “man’s code” on the mountain: “You keep your secrets to yourself and you keep your weaknesses a secret and your hurts a secret and your dreams you bury double deep.” Bobby’s eight-year-old sister, Ivy, suffers incessant bullying by her classmates. Her father, Tom Evans, a well-liked local</span></i></div><i></i><br /><div><i><span style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(255,255,255); FONT-STYLE: normal; COLOR: rgb(64,0,0)font-family:georgia;font-size:medium;" class="Apple-style-span" >bread delivery man, struggles to keep his troubled marriage together. As rumors and innuendo about the Evans family spread, Ivy seeks refuge in Dorothy Carlisle, an independent-minded widow who runs a local antique store. When Albert ventures down from the mountain and seizes on the Evans' family crisis as an opportunity to strengthen his friendship with Ivy's brother Bobby, it sets in motion a chain of events which can only result in unexpected and dire results.</span></i></div><br /><div><i><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 398px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657528487074551218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh50ECOPhMNLa2AQPHojskqMWM-Z-rwdbvCWrEkxiHA90G_SpWuoelqRb3hZLJJWWy7pkN_kx7XUrSKvXP9Rsoi0QTqR7anXudkb0hVJyDe5IP0odIqMzs1iWJJmtKfSGNPsmeDKw/s400/Lauren-B-Davis-Poster.jpg" /></i></div></div>Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-59008484343565535562011-09-21T13:12:00.000-07:002011-09-21T13:12:02.009-07:00Winterberries & Apple Blossoms<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkw_Y00TKmapoqXmR0VzWeoGT35X6JuRMQVR14j5xX7tCJEJ9cy7RPmRmFmGnArYIuH4qXAX_tAxX4a7Rp5RoY-H363OBTnI54_Cj8tiY6pDgWkunFVACDn7bJX_Dotn8Xk6uaNQ/s1600/Nan+Fo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkw_Y00TKmapoqXmR0VzWeoGT35X6JuRMQVR14j5xX7tCJEJ9cy7RPmRmFmGnArYIuH4qXAX_tAxX4a7Rp5RoY-H363OBTnI54_Cj8tiY6pDgWkunFVACDn7bJX_Dotn8Xk6uaNQ/s320/Nan+Fo2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Naomi is a young girl who has been raised in the Old Order Mennonite community. She lives a simple life with few modern conveniences or posessions. Naomi spends her time helping her parents on their farm, playing with her siblings or going to her one room school. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This lovely book is a glimpse into a year of Naomi's peaceful, simple life. Each month of the year features a wonderful poem perfectly complimented by Peter Etril Snyder's lovely illustrations. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the winter, Naomi is included in a quilting bee for the first time, and she discovers treasures in the general store. March brings the promise of maple syrup in the sugar bush. Spring brings the hard work of clearing the fields and learning to ride a bike. Summer promises homemade ice cream and baseball games. Autumn brings with it apple picking and selling at a road-side stand. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the back of the book, there is a recipe for each month featuring seasonal ingrediants. These are child-friendly and easy to make. I'm looking forward to make vanilla ice cream in a can with my kids. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This book is a lovely keepsake, and would make a great Christmas gift. Nan's poetry is evocative and charming and Peter is the perfect pick as the illustrator.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- Bronwyn</span></div>
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Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34618342.post-12967387512434436312011-09-21T12:36:00.000-07:002011-09-21T12:39:42.045-07:00Linwood Barclay does it again...<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #400000;"><span id="div_tabber_fL1Fm1B4rfHpmy8IDjJSxw_spanbody_0" style="display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HnA2otGYaWvGIiudai4EzGnLp6xSFj8aMdAr8yyNZ6CHisZTM6vZgaSehJX9ORsFrKGGPZYtvDe1BG4SK_xiPW82-ch2uk6vUjfjxpNFMMpoPCwB__TDIk6R8YuMBciCR0yiGA/s1600/Myster3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0HnA2otGYaWvGIiudai4EzGnLp6xSFj8aMdAr8yyNZ6CHisZTM6vZgaSehJX9ORsFrKGGPZYtvDe1BG4SK_xiPW82-ch2uk6vUjfjxpNFMMpoPCwB__TDIk6R8YuMBciCR0yiGA/s320/Myster3.jpg" width="210" /></a></span><span id="div_tabber_fL1Fm1B4rfHpmy8IDjJSxw_spanbody_0" style="display: block;"><span id="div_tabber_fL1Fm1B4rfHpmy8IDjJSxw_spanbody_0" style="display: block;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Admittedly I am not the biggest mystery fan in the store - I leave that department to David. However, a few years ago we hosted <b>Linwood Barclay</b> after his book, <b><i>No Time for Goodbye</i></b>, was released, and since then I've been hooked on anything he writes. </span></span><span id="div_tabber_fL1Fm1B4rfHpmy8IDjJSxw_spanbody_0" style="display: block;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span><span id="div_tabber_fL1Fm1B4rfHpmy8IDjJSxw_spanbody_0" style="display: block;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What I enjoy most about Linwood's style is his ability to take what looks like an ordinary accident (in this novel's case) and pokes holes into it, creating domestic suspense. His pacing is superb and you can't help but keeping turning the pages to find out what happens next. I also love how he takes common everyday dilema's along with the poltics of the times to build his stories. </span></span><span id="div_tabber_fL1Fm1B4rfHpmy8IDjJSxw_spanbody_0" style="display: block;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span><span id="div_tabber_fL1Fm1B4rfHpmy8IDjJSxw_spanbody_0" style="display: block;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In <b><i>The Accident,</i></b> it is the new normal of tough economic times in small town USA suberbia. Glen Garber, a local blue collar contracter, is watching his business falter and shake with the earthquake of the housing crisis. His wife Sheila is taking a night course to better her chances of getting a higher-paying job. The book opens when she is late coming home from her course. Glen is waiting for her, while their eight-year-old daughter is sleeping. Turns out Sheila parked her car on an off ramp and killed not only herself, but two other people. The police say she was drunk but Glen KNOWS that she would never do something like this. As their daughter is bullied by her classmates about her mother being a drunk driver, Glen discovers that his wife (and many of their neighbors) may have been involved in more creative measures to help make ends meet. </span></span><span id="div_tabber_fL1Fm1B4rfHpmy8IDjJSxw_spanbody_0" style="display: block;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span><span id="div_tabber_fL1Fm1B4rfHpmy8IDjJSxw_spanbody_0" style="display: block;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1HuXUhKQeXuTU-H0mFwztgdUMKMwNIrPBndgeKhklbENAX_Jywl4FY5_fKcTNjE52zJABxJV1lmanL6TV_X_DCdFjSV2aSF_rm-ZfmwH0q5I8LSVUQUgXddgFgIFzymOIXkp_Q/s1600/Mystery-Night--Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1HuXUhKQeXuTU-H0mFwztgdUMKMwNIrPBndgeKhklbENAX_Jywl4FY5_fKcTNjE52zJABxJV1lmanL6TV_X_DCdFjSV2aSF_rm-ZfmwH0q5I8LSVUQUgXddgFgIFzymOIXkp_Q/s400/Mystery-Night--Poster.jpg" width="400" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As the twists and turns build, Glen must question everyone he has known in his community to find the truth. The surprise ending left me shocked at who was really responsible for his wife's demise. (Just be aware of knock-off designer goods!) Linwood has written another nail-biting page-turner again!</span></span><span id="div_tabber_fL1Fm1B4rfHpmy8IDjJSxw_spanbody_0" style="display: block;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span><span id="div_tabber_fL1Fm1B4rfHpmy8IDjJSxw_spanbody_0" style="display: block; text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- Bronwyn</span></span></span><span id="div_tabber_fL1Fm1B4rfHpmy8IDjJSxw_spanbody_0" style="display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span id="div_tabber_fL1Fm1B4rfHpmy8IDjJSxw_spanbody_0" style="display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span id="div_tabber_fL1Fm1B4rfHpmy8IDjJSxw_spanbody_0" style="display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
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Words Worth Blogs!http://www.blogger.com/profile/13203541992033159617noreply@blogger.com0