laurie’s book company

Laurie’s Book Reviews -- Global First News, 2010/2011

For more than 10 years now, I have my early morning coffee with the News First crew at Global TV as we discuss books for young and old alike. Here are some of my recent choices (if you want a more complete list of my Global Choices, click here.) And for more of my “faves” be sure to check out my weekly CBC reviews and Laurie’s Picks.

February 2 -- The Fathomless Fire, Thomas Wharton

One of my favourite authors is Edmonton's own Thomas Wharton, author of three terrific adult books -- Icefields, Salamander & Logogryph. This University of Alberta English professor's most recent works are wonderful young adult fantasy books, the first two of Wharton’s Perilous Realm Trilogy. The first was SHADOW OF MALABRON and the second -- just released after a three year wait -- is THE FATHOMLESS FIRE. Wharton is all about story and indeed, the Perilous Realm, where teenager Will Lightfoot finds himself, is where all stories begin. In the town of Fable the inhabitants are threatened by Malbron the Night King because he wants to turn all stories into his own, an evil tale of power. Thus the classic struggle begins with a cache of characters trying to help Will return home and fight off Malabron. I'm not a young adult or much of a reader of fantasy either, but with Wharton's wonderful use as story as a character, this imaginative tale had me laughing and flipping the pages to see what was going to happen.

January 19 -- The Cure for Everything, Timothy Caulfield

Today I'd like to talk about The Cure for Everything! Untangling the Twisted Messages About Health, Fitness & Happiness by Timothy Caulfield. He is a professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta, as well as research director of the Health Law & Science Policy Group looking at such issues as stem cell research, genomes and ethics in medicine. In this book he sets out to debunk the bad science in fitness & diet fads and explore through experts and research what REALLY works. He trains with a Hollywood fitness guru, has his spit genetically tested, and employs his own dietary team to help figure out what he's eating right and wrong. The results are fascinating and his light-hearted writing makes this book really accessible.

January 12 -- When you Wish Upon a Star, Judy Collins and Once Upon a Time, the End, Geoffrey Kloske

January 5 -- CBC Canada Reads 2012

This year the annual CBC Canada Reads take a different turn and is featuring the following five books of non-fiction.

The Game, Ken Dryden
The Tiger, John Vaillant
Something Fierce, Carmen Aguirre
On a Cold Road, Dave Bidini
Prisoner of Tehran, Marina Nemat

We’ll look at all five books over the next few weeks, starting today with

Carmen Aguirre’s riveting work, SOMETHING FIERCE: MEMOIRS OF A REVOLUTIONARY DAUGHTER.

When Carmen Aguirre was six, she and her family were among the many Chileans who fled to Canada as refugees from the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, which overthrew Chile's democratically elected government of Salvador Allende in 1973. Five years later, her mother decided to join the Chilean resistance movement in South America, and she moved back to Bolivia, bringing her Carmen and her younger sister along with her. SOMETHING FIERCE is Aguirre's memoir of growing up living a double life, torn between her dedication to the cause and a teenage girl's normal preoccupations of boys and pop music. There's both drama and humour in the stories of her harrowing adolescence and young adulthood.

December 22 -- Goodnite iPad and Tadeo’s Search for Circles

December 15 -- Great Holiday GIfts for Kids

December 8 -- Pop-up Books

November 10 -- Georges Laraque, Georges Laraque

During his 12-year career in the National Hockey League, Georges Laraque was one of the most feared enforcers in the game. But off-ice, this talented tough guy has put his muscle behind a wide range of social causes, from relief efforts in Haiti to animal welfare.

Georges announced his retirement from the NHL in June 2010. Over the course of his career, he played with the Edmonton Oilers, the Phoenix Coyotes, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Montreal Canadiens. His robust style of play endeared him to hometown fans and earned him respect from hockey observers, including Sports Illustrated magazine, which hailed him as the number one enforcer in the league in 2008.

A committed social activist, Georges has supported Haiti relief efforts, and has acted as spokesperson for such charities and causes as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). He is also an outspoken vegan and a passionate environmentalist, focusing on issues of sustainability. Last year, he added politics to his resumé, as the Green Party's deputy leader.

November 3 -- The Virgin Cure, Ami McKay

From the author of the international best selling novel The Birth House comes THE VIRGIN CURE, the story of 12-year-old Moth, the daughter of a heartless gypsy fortune teller, and her attempts to navigate the mean streets of Manhattan’s Lower East Side around the Bowery in 1871. Moth is introduced to readers by Dr. Sadie, a female physician who tends to prostitutes and the poor (and is based on the author’s great-great-grandmother); she explains in a letter that the proceeding story is Moth’s own and in her words. And that world is seething with evil women: the unlucky child is sold by her “slum house mystic” mother to wealthy Mrs. Wentworth, who’s so wicked she makes Mommy Dearest look like a fairy godmother. Moth escapes from her, only to end up in Miss Everett’s “Infant School,” a chilling brothel that certifies its girls as virgo intacto to gentlemen with the deepest pockets and highest bids. A tough, fascinating read.

September 29 -- The Circle Game, Joni Mitchell & Brian Deines

This is a truly wonderful collaboration between Canada’s iconic Joni Mitchell and award-winning illustrator Brian Deines. THE CIRCLE GAME tells the story of the life of a young boy, as he explores the world, and comes to know something of himself. It follows him from childhood to maturity, with lyrics from The Circle Game, first performed by Buffy Saint Marie but destined to become one of Joni Mitchell's greatest hits. Deine’s illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. A book for every age!

“And the seasons, they go round and round...”

September 22 -- Freddy’s War, Judy Shultz

Today I am going to talk about a novel by well-known Edmonton writer Judy Schultz. Best known for her food columns for years, Judy has published 10 books on travel, history and food. Now her first novel, FREEDY’S WAR has been published and I must say, it is a page-turner. Beginning in Edmonton in 1924 we follow young Freddy McKee from being an ignored child to being "adopted" by a kind next door neighbor and her friend Yip Lee, owner of the local Chinese restaurant. At 17 Freddy signs up for war and within 6 weeks of landing in Hong Kong he is taken prisoner and remains so for the next four years. His return home is marked by his finding his war buddy's widow and daughter and a mysterious Chinese woman named Su Li, all of whom have to deal with Freddy's trauma from the war. Brutal and violent in parts, honestly human and loving in others, this is a great novel about first-hand experience of war. Well done Judy!

September 15 -- Sisters Brothers, Patrick deWitt & The Antagonist, Lynn Coady

Two terrific books by fine young Canadian authors to recommend today:

THE ANTAGONIST: Against his will and his nature, the hulking Gordon Rankin ("Rank") is cast as an enforcer, a goon -- by his classmates, his hockey coaches, and especially his own "tiny, angry" father, Gordon Senior. Rank gamely lives up to his role -- until tragedy strikes, using Rank as its blunt instrument. Escaping the only way he can, Rank disappears. But almost twenty years later he discovers that an old, trusted friend -- the only person to whom he has ever confessed his sins -- has published a novel mirroring Rank's life. The betrayal cuts to the deepest heart of him, and Rank will finally have to confront the tragic true story from which he's spent his whole life running away.

With the deep compassion, deft touch, and irreverent humour that have made her one of Canada's best-loved novelists, Lynn Coady delves deeply into the ways we sanction and stoke male violence, giving us a large-hearted, often hilarious portrait of a man tearing himself apart in order to put himself back together.

THE SISTERS BROTHERS: A young novelist from the West coast named Patrick DeWitt

written one of the best westerns I have ever read - THE SISTERS BROTHERS. Narrated by Eli Sisters we are taken to the Wild West of the 1850-s and follow the boys from Oregon to San Francisco through small towns, brothels, bars etc. They are notorious hired killers and are on their way to off a new target of the Commodore, their ruthless employer. Thing is, this is startlingly violent, hilariously funny, action-packed and really really good! Think of True Grit, the Coen brothers and maybe Woody Allen all rolled into one genre-defying novel. There are two "intermissions" and Eli's philosophical musings and use of the language are wonderful.

September 8 -- Moo, Matthew Van Fleet

MOO is the latest wonderfully interactive book by Matthew Van Fleet. Never before has a barnyard menagerie of cows, sheep, horses, ducks, goats, chickens, and pigs gotten together so happily to play! With lots of pettable textures, surprise flaps, a duck that quacks, and a cow you can milk, toddlers can learn to identify farm animals while they have hours and hours of fun! Matthew’s books have sold more than 4 million copies and he is loved by babies, toddlers, and by their parents and teachers too! MOO features five irresistible textures, four gatefold pop-ups, two tab mechanics, one squeaker, and dozens of farmyard friends. This farmyard fun fest is sure to be a bedtime, school time, storytime, and anytime favourite!

August 18 -- Rules of Civility, Amor Towles

This debut novel is garnering all kinds of great reviews and is being compared to the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald (no pressure there!). RULES OF CIVILITY by Amor Towles takes place in New York in 193; it is hugely atmospheric and a wonderful social commentary about America between the Wars. The main character is Katey Kontent, daughter of Russian Immigrants who works in a legal steno pool, who is thrown into the upper echelons of society when she and her girlfriend Eve meet Tinker Grey at a jazz bar on New Year's Eve. A handsome banker, Tinker takes the girls out on the town but when a car accident derails their relationship, Katey finds herself immersed in the publishing industry at Conde Nast and rubbing elbows with the wealthy. Beautifully written, atmospheric and with a main character not soon forgotten, it was a great book.

August 4 -- The O’Briens, Peter Behrens

THE O'BRIENS is the latest offering from author Peter Behrens who wrote one of my favourite novels THE LAW OF DREAMS (won the GG for fiction). In that story, which he loosely based on one of his ancestors, we learn all about the Irish Potato Famine and how the oprhaned lived and died, and one in particular who immigrates to Canada. In his new book we go forward two generations and the story begins in Quebec in the early 1900's, Spanning over 60 years, two world wars and the building of the Canadian railroad, this is an epic story of family, survival and the birth of a nation. Great read!

July 28 -- Two Great New Kids Books!

July 21 -- The Map of Time, Felix Palma

Today I am going to talk about THE MAP OF TIME by Spanish author Felix Palma, published into several languages world-wide. This is a novel that defies genres --

it's a Victorian mystery, a love story, science fiction focusing on time travel and just a great summer read! Told in three parts by a somewhat annoying and omnipotent narrator, the first focuses on a young wealthy man who wants to travel back in time to save his prostitute/lover from being murdered by Jack the Ripper. The second involves a young woman who wants to escape the stifling Victorian life and travels to the future where she falls in love. The novel includes characters both real and imagines -- HG Wells, Bram Stoker and the Elephant Man all appear but it is HG Wells at the centre of the book who must face what time travel would really do to us and whether or not it's good or bad. In the third part Wells finds himself in a time warp where the authors of the great science fiction of the time are in danger of being murdered and this is the most mysterious part of the book. Great stuff for a getaway!

July 14 -- The Psychopath Test, Jon Ronson

Today's book is by Jon Ronson, author of MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS -- an inquiry into the US military's use of the supernatural to create "Warrior Monks". His new book, THE PSYCHOPATH TEST, is subtitled "A Journey Through the Madness Industry" and is a highly enjoyable and quite funny look at psychopaths. Sure, we're aware of the ones locked away, but using Canadian Dr.Robert Hare's "Psychopath Test", Ronson wonders if some of the top people in power also have these traits -- and oh yes, they do! So he goes out and interviews the CEO of Sunbeam; a young man who faked being insane to avoid a jail sentence; and a CEO in jail for mortgage fraud, and indeed, the same traits are very prevalent. Also, he finds the same traits in many of the psychiatrists he interviews -- so what's going on here? An interesting look at "madness".

July 7 -- The Hypnotist, Lars Kepler

Well, I sat up late the other night to finish the newest "Swedish thriller" -- since Stieg Larsson's "Millennium Trilogy" everyone wants to be the next Scandinavian best-selling author. THE HYPNOTIST by Lars Kepler (a pseudonym for a wife-husband team) was a huge hit in 2009 and has just been released here. WOW - blood and gore, revenge, abuse and psychotics - who could ask for more? Written in short chapters that refuse to let you put the book down, it begins with the gruesome slaughter of a family with the exception of their son Josef who is in a coma. Detective Joona Linn fears for the life of the missing eldest sister and agrees to have the boy hypnotized. Enter Dr. Erik Maria Bark, a tortured man who gave up his craft 10 years ago and reluctantly he hypnotizes Josef, only to have what he says shock them all. Then horrible things start happening to him and his family and the twists and turns can make a reader dizzy. I really enjoyed this book and anyone who loves a good mystery will as well.

June 30 -- Celebrating Canada

With the Canada Day weekend upon us, here are three books that celebrate our city, province and country in very different ways.

Heart of the City, The Wild Rose Ramblers Walking Guide
Will the Real Alberta Please Stand Up?
Gordon Lightfoot’s Canadian Railroad Trilogy

June 9 -- The Sisters Brothers, Patrick deWitt

A young novelist from the West coast named Patrick DeWitt

May 26 -- Caleb’s Crossing, Geraldine Brooks

Today I want to talk about Geraldine Brooks's new novel CALEB'S CROSSING. Brooks wrote an amazing book about Islamic women in 1994 (she covered the Middle East for the Wall Street Journal for 6 years), won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel "March" about the American Civil War, and authored one of my favourite books "People of the Book" about a rare book - the Sarajevo Haggadah and the Muslims, Jews & Christians who protected it for over 500 years. Keen on historical detail, Brooks is now writing about Caleb, the first native American to graduate from Harvard College - in 1665! Narrated by a young woman whose Calvinist father sees Caleb as a first step to "taming the heathens" and written in "period language" Brooks once again captures an historical event and shows how it still has meaning today.

May 19 -- Incidents in the Life of Markus Paul, David Adams Richards

Today's book is by one of my favourite Canadian authors David Adams Richards, a writer who has won and/or been nominated for almost everything.

His new novel, INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF MARKUS PAUL, is set in New Brunswick beginning in 1985. It starts off with the death of a young Miqmac named Hector Penniac in the hold of a Dutch ship and the white man accused of his death. Richards then plummets us into a story about truth and lies, justice and punishment as he takes us inside the world of a First Nations band. Their chief is the aged and wise Amos Paul who instantly recognizes a need for revenge is not necessarily based on facts and it is at his side his grandson Markus observes how one incident can become explosive for an entire community. Brilliantly written with an omnipotent narrator, this is one of his best.

May 5 -- Press Here, Hervé Tullet

Here is a book that will provide some of the most eager page turns you’ve ever seen? PRESS HERE, from the wildly creative French author/illustrator Hervé Tullet, has that ability. Simple in appearance, genius in execution.

It all starts with a yellow dot and an invitation from an unseen narrator, “Press here and turn the page.” The reader obliges, only to discover that their innocent act has made another yellow dot appear. Press again and a third comes to life. Then things start getting wild. Rub the dots, they change colour. Tap them five times, more appear. Shake the book, they scramble. Tilt the book, they slide. And don’t even ask what clapping does. After a raucous climax, the book ends where it began – with a yellow dot and an invitation, “Want to do it all over again?” Sure to go down as one of my favourite picture books of 2011!

April 28 -- The Radleys, Matt Haig

Today's book is a delightful and hilarious vampire novel called THE RADLEYS by Matt Haig. In the quiet town of Bishopshire lives a normal family. Peter Radley is the town doctor, his wife Helen is involved in local clubs, and the two teenage children Clara and Rowan seem kind of normal although bullied at school over their weird pale skin and rashes. When a horrific act of violence takes place, the Radleys have to come clean with their children - they are indeed vampires, albeit "abstainers" they are still vampires.

Written in short choppy chapters from all points of view, this is a fine addition to a slug of very bad vampire books.

April 21 -- The Help, Kathryn Stockett

Today's book is THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett. A national bestseller, it has just been released in paperback and I must say, it was quite the page-turner.

The place is Jackson, Mississippi in 1962 and we have three main characters. Aibileen is raising her 17th white child and finding it harder to take with each one. They all love her unconditionally while she raises them and Mother is at the cotillion, yet she knows they'll eventually take their parent's views - blacks are meant to be segregated. Minny is younger and has 5 kids of her own and a big mouth that always seems to get her fired but now she's working for a new white lady who has more secrets than Minny can figure out - and should she? Into the fray comes 23 year-old white socialite "Skeeter" who has just returned from college only to find her beloved maid Constantine has disappeared. Not like her married friends with children and maids, Skeeter convinces the maids to tell her their stories -- what it's like to work for white people and how they are treated -- for a book she wants to write. Heart breaking and funny at times, Stockett returns us to the days of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and it really works.

April 14 -- Irma Voth, Miriam Toews

Miriam Toews has a new novel out called IRMA VOTH. You may recall Toews from her lovely novel called "A Complicated Kindness" about a 15 year-old Mennonite girl named Nomi. In her latest book, Toews goes back to her roots with the Mennonites. Irma Voth is a 19 year-old girl living on a Mennonite community in Mexico who has already married a Mexcian and been deserted by him as quickly as their "courtship". Still scorned by her father she hooks up with a film crew that causes all kinds of consequences. Toews is both funny and tragic in this great new book.

April 7 -- Good Reads and a celebration of Adult Learners Week

April 7th is the start of Adult Learners Week and I want to talk about Good Reads, a series of books intended to assist adults learning to read. The ABC Life Literacy website is a terrific source of information and inspiration for al of us who love reading. Check it out!

March 31 -- Fall from Grace, Wayne Arthurson

Today I am going to talk about local author Wayne Arthurson's new novel FALL FROM GRACE. Wayne scored a two book deal with American publisher Forge and he's being called one to watch in the world of mysteries. Set in the "exotic locale" of Edmonton, FALL FROM GRACE introduces us to Leo Desrocher, a conflicted character who is a recovering gambler who finds that robbing banks replaces that urge. Having once lost everything and been living on the streets, he's been given a second chance with the Edmonton Journal as a reporter. He is allowed into a crime scene by a homicide detective where he discovers that the victim is an aboriginal prostitute. As he starts researching both her life and the number of bodies found in fields outside of Edmonton, he becomes worried that the Edmonton Police Service may be involved and that he may be the next victim. Great stuff!

March 24 -- The Brain that Changes Itself, Norman Doidge

Today I am going to talk about THE BRAIN THAT CHANGES ITSELF by Dr. Norman Doidge of Columbia & the University of Toronto. Usually I run screaming from the self-help section but this book was wonderful. Sub-titled "Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Science" it is almost a history of psychology/psychoanalysis and what we think we know about the brain. Always thought to work like a machine with very localized skills, research now shows that the brain has "plasticity" and can "rewire" itself if it loses a function. Featuring stories from all around the world with leading scientists and their patients, this book could give a hole new spin to the power of positive thinking. Highly readable and quite mind-boggling!

March 17 -- Scaredy Squirrel, Melanie Watt

How can anyone resist the wonderful, madcap adventures of Melanie Watt’s Scaredy Squirrel. Whether he is at the beach, out in the night, having a birthday party or just generally being his adorable goofy self, Scaredy is a squirrel for all ages as he acknowledges, confronts and ultimately conquers his fears!

March 10 -- Gut Instinct, Hans J Dys

GUT INSTINCT by Hans J Dys is a ten year long effort to tell the story of Dr. Charles Allard, one of Edmonton's most brilliant entrepreneurs, founder of ITV and Allarco Developments. Dys worked for Allard and the book came from a one hour show he produced back in 1992. With the help of the Allard family, this book is also enlightening on the history of Edmonton.

February 24 -- My Little Pink Princess Purse & My Little Red Toolbox

February 17 -- A Red Herring Without Mustard, Alan Bradley

Yippee!! The third installment in the 'Flavia deLuce" mysteries came out last week, A RED HERRING WITHOUT MUSTARD. These cozy mysteries by a retired Canadian teacher Alan Bradley are a huge international success that feature the unlikeliest detective ever - 11 year-old Flavia. Set in a small English village right after WW2, Flavia's encounter with a fortuneteller sees her tent set on fire so Flavia invites her to bring her gypsy caravan to her estate. When she finds her badly beaten other strange events begin to occur that point to an unsolved mystery from a decade earlier. Bradley’s books are not only well written mysteries, but this novel gives us a closer look at Flavia, the girl who misses her mother (and her philatelist father who pays her no attention), hates being abused by her older sisters and is driven to do the right thing. Great stuff!

If you’ve somehow missed the earlier Flavia books, the first in the series is THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE; Bradley followed that up with THE WEED THAT STRING’S THE HANGMAN’S BAG.

February 3 -- Still Alice, Lisa Genova

Today I am going to talk about STILL ALICE by Lisa Genova.

This is a remarkable novel about Alzheimer's Disease and its effect on everyone involved. Alice Howland is an accomplished psychology professor at Harvard with a loving husband and three grown children all pursuing their own lives. At age 50 she is diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's and the book is her description of her spiraling life. Both heartbreaking and funny, it tackles a subject most of us probably don't want to read about with great characters and wonderful writing.

January 27 -- Mark Twain and Cleopatra

This week’s focus is two bestsellers -- both biographies of long-dead people.

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARK TWAIN (Volume 1) is 760 pages long, published by the University of California Press and the demand for it is huge! Twain wrote half a million words in a ten-foot high manuscript that he requested not be published until 100 years after his death - 2010! Classic and unafraid and unabridged thoughts from the master.

CLEOPATRA: A LIFE by Edmonton’s own Stacy Schiff sold out one month after publication. This Pulitzer Prize winning biographer (Vera: Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov) turns her keen eye to the Egyptian Queen who has been thought of as a ruthless seductress for 2,000 years and paints a new portrait of a very powerful and politically astute woman. So she killed her brother and sister - everyone was doing it back then. And her two loves - Caesar and Marc Antony were the only men she had children with and lost them both (murder and suicide). Quite the life, quite the book!

January 20 -- The Lake of Dreams, Kim Edwards

Today's book is the long-awaited and just released novel by Kim Edwards,

THE LAKE OF DREAMS. Edwards hit it big in 2006 with a novel called THE MEMORY KEEPER'S DAUGHTER about a doctor who in 1964 gives up a Down's Syndrome

daughter and lies to his family about it, saying she died. It was a great read and this follow-up novel is no disappointment!

Lucy Jarrett is at a crossroads in her life, unemployed and living in Japan with her partner Yoshi. When her mother has a car accident she decides to return to the family's sprawling lakeside home where her father drowned 10 years earlier. Upon finding a stash of old letters and catalogues she becomes interested in her family history, only to lead her places she'd never expect. Great, poetic writing with wonderfully believable characters, Edwards’ new book is very good.

January 13 -- Hibernation Station and My Mommy Hung the Moon

January 6 -- Atlantic, Simon Winchester

I'll be in today talking about Simon Winchester's latest offering ATLANTIC: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories. One of my favorite non-fiction authors turns his roaming eye to a biography of the Atlantic Ocean, from its geological origins 370 millions years ago to the people who populated and explored her, World War II battles and modern ecological issues, Winchester is never afraid to tackle any topic.

December 23 -- Canada’s National Parks: A Celebration

Canada’s National Parks: A Celebration is indeed that -- a commemorative book celebrating the 125th Anniversary of Parks Canada. Featuring more than 200 pages of colour photographs, this impressive hardcover captures the essence of each of Canada’s national parks – all 42 of them – bringing together in one volume the work of some of the country’s most respected contemporary landscape photographers, accompanied by locator maps, concise descriptions of each park, and some memorable historic images of park visitors over the last century.

December 16 -- The Year Without Santa Claus, P Whitely and A Creature was Stirring, Carter Goodrich

December 9 -- At Home, Bill Bryson and A Child’s Christmas in Wales

November 18 -- Room, Emma Donoghue

I have a GREAT novel to talk about today! Written by Canadian Emma Donoghue, it's simply called Room and is told through the eyes of 5 year-old Jack who lives with his Ma in an eleven square foot room. The reader comes to learn that Ma has been imprisoned for 7 years, nabbed off the street at 19 and forced to live in a garden shed. Horrific subject matter and yet a book that is both heartbreaking and somehow tenderly hopeful. No grisly details on Donoghue's part, just amazing writing that makes the book impossible to put down. The relationship mother and son have forged is amazing given the circumstances (he is SO adorable!) but what happens when they are suddenly faced with reality makes up most of the story. Unforgettable and nominated for the Booker, Giller, Governor General's and Roger's Trust Awards for fiction this Fall.

November 4 -- Zero and One, Kathryn Otoshi

October 28 -- Halloween for every age!

October 21 -- Exile, Diana Gabaldon and The Ultimate Book of Everyday Science, Jay Ingram

October 14 -- Alberta Encore, Barbara Dacks

For 14 years, Legacy magazine was a love letter to Alberta’s arts, culture and heritage. Founding Legacy publisher and editor Barb Dacks launched the publication in the midst of a successful journalism career. The magazine wrapped up a year ago, but is pleased to now offer a commemorative coffee table book that selects favourite essays, photos and features.

September 30 -- The newest adventures of some of our favourite characters!

September 23 -- Defiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven

Ross King writes fabulous books about art. Originally from Saskatchewan, Ross now lives in Oxford and has written 4 art history titles. Brunelleschi's Dome is the story of the building of the dome on a cathedral in Florence -- built in the early 1500's and still the largest domed structure in the world. Next came Michelanglo & The Pope's Ceiling an examination of the tenuous situation between the Pope and the artist while he was painting the Sistine Chapel. King’s third work, The Judgement of Paris, examined the rise of Impressionism and the poor reaction of the public.

Now, King returns home to Canada with his new book Defiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven. With the same attention to detail, both historical and personal, King looks at the birth of a Canadian art movement and its influences. If art reflects our history, nobody puts it into perspective like this author. Published in association with the McMichael Gallery, this book is probably the most interesting look at our country's most famous artists -- it's a great read!

September 16 -- The Ape House, Sara Gruen

Today’s book is The Ape House by Sara Gruen, who wrote the wonderful book Water for Elephants. Obviously an animal lover, Gruen moves from the circus to a Lab studying the language skills of a family of bonobo apes. When they are set free by a radical animal liberation group the events that unfold make us question our relationship with animals and each other. A fascinating read.

September 9 -- Quinoa 365, Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming

Keen what? Pronounced 'keen wah', Quinoa is a frequently and relatively unknown superfood - containing a perfect balance of all eight essential amino acids. It is gluten-free and a great source of protein. Nothing else packs a punch of nutrition quite like quinoa. Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood shows you how to add quinoa to all your favorite foods! Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming share their collection of recipes in this incredibly popular cookbook. "We eat it because it's so nutritious and works with all of our favorite recipes!"

September 2 -- Gordon Lightfoot’s Canadian Railroad Trilogy, illustrated by

Ian Wallace & Heads, by Matthew Van Fleet

August 26 -- The Rabbit Problem, by Emily Gravett & the Suzanne Collins’ Series:

The Hunger Games; Catching Fire and, just released, Mockingjay

August 19 -- Little Bee, by Colum McCann

Well, I’m back from my annual fishing trip in the Arctic and eager to talk about this week’s book -- LITTLE BEE, by British author Chris Cleave. A clever marketing ploy by the publisher asks the reader not to tell anyone what this book is about and

I promise I won't give away the pivotal piece of the plot, but it is a fine read. "Little Bee" is a refugee from Nigeria who has spent the last two years in detention in England. At 16 she is set free and the only connection she has is a journalist and his wife she met on the beach in Nigeria previously. Many allusions to the horrors that befell her are made, as well as her tenuous relationship with the couple. When she locates them many turns of events both tragic and laugh out loud funny occur but this is a book about globalization, belonging in a world that no longer exists and how people manage unspeakable acts over which they have no control.

August 5 -- It’s a Book, by Lane Smith & Porcupine’s Problem: A True Story for the Curious Learner, by Michelle and Denver Suttie

July 29 -- Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann

Today's book is called LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN by Colum McCann, a young Irish writer who won the National Book Award for this compelling novel. It all begins with a high-wire

artist crossing between the World Trade Towers 110 floors up in 1974 (McCann based this part of the novel on fact). Below, spectators don't know what to make of it, is he a jumper or a daredevil? This is a common thread that holds the multitude of stories taking place below. Two Irish brothers living in the Bronx, a group of mothers who lost their sons in Viet Nam, a "family" of prostitutes whose children will carry the story. Unbelievably gripping storytelling and stories that both make you laugh and cry. Even in the Big Apple, people's paths will cross inextricably and McCann does a superb job of making his characters come alive.

July 22 -- Roslyn Rutabaga and the Biggest Hole on Earth!, by Marie-Louise Gay

& The Cat’s Pajamas, by Wallace Edwards

laurie’s book company

weekly book reviews -- Global News First