My desire is to get the reader, well, first of all to read it. That story [“The Bottom of the Harbor”] was hard to write because I had to wonder how long can I keep developing it before the reader’s going to get tired of this. Here and there, as
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wmtc: what i’m reading: salt sugar fat by michael moss
Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss is an excellent addition to a bookshelf that includes works by Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, Marian Nestle and others who write about the health of our food and the un-health of the industrial food system. Moss lifts the
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: three books by richard ford
I’ve been meaning to read Richard Ford for years – actually, for decades. Both the 1986 novel The Sportswriter and 1995’s follow-up Independence Day have been languishing on The List since they were published. When Canada came out in 2012, and reviews made me want to read it, it was time to dig up those
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the golden compass by philip pullman
The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, has been on my to-read list since it was first published in the mid-1990s. Although I generally don’t read fantasy fiction, after reading an outstanding review in The New York Times Book Review, I was very intrigued. Thanks to the Teen Book Club I facilitate
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: stuff: compulsive hoarding and the meaning of things
Hoarding is a hot topic these days, and often approached through a lurid, sensational lens – eccentric recluses and their hoards of junk are exposed for public entertainment. You’ll find none of that in Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by psychologists Randy O. Frost and Gail Steketee. Instead,
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the death of santini, by pat conroy
Readers over a certain age may remember Pat Conroy as the author of “The Great Santini,” the novel and later, a movie for which he wrote the screenplay. The movie starred Robert Duvall as an aggressive, bullying father; the son was played by Michael O’Keefe. Conroy is probably best known
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: four classic graphic novels for adults who think they don’t like graphic novels
Despite the increased attention given to graphic novels in recent years, many readers don’t consider graphic novels when thinking about what to read next. In this “what i’m reading” post, I highlight four graphic novels considered classics of the form. At least three of these books are included on high
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: lost memory of skin by russell banks
Lost Memory of Skin, Russell Banks’ 2011 novel, begins with an impossible paradox. A group of men are living in an encampment under a highway. It is, in fact, the only place they can live. Each of them has been convicted of some crime involving sex. The state, in a
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: this changes everything by naomi klein, one of the most important books you’ll ever read
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate, by Naomi Klein, is incredibly difficult to write about. I’ve been putting sticky notes beside important paragraphs as I read, and my copy now looks like an art project, bristling with coloured paper squares. I can say without exaggeration that this is one
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: swamplandia! by karen russell
Swamplandia! caught me by surprise. At first, Karen Russell’s debut novel seemed like a quirky family story, a strange and somewhat sad tale told with great wit and humour. Then it deepened, became (possibly) supernatural – or is that just the fantasy of a troubled girl? Then it quickened, and became
Continue readingwmtc: dispatches from the community of readers’ advisors: r.a. in a day 2014
Last week I attended “R.A. in a Day,” an annual one-day mini-conference on readers’ advisory – that is, finding books for readers. It happens that the manager of my own “Readers’ Den” department is one of the principal hosts of the conference, and the Mississauga Library was well-represented in the
Continue readingwmtc: rtod
Revolutionary thought of the day: Hunger isn’t about the amount of food around. It’s about being able to afford and control that food. After all, the U.S. has more food than it knows what to do with, and still 50 million people are food insecure. Raj Patel, author of Stuffed
Continue readingwmtc: rotd: this changes everything
Revolutionary thought of the day: …if there is a reason for social movements to exist, it is not to accept dominant values as fixed and unchangeable but to offer other ways to live – to wage, and win, a battle of cultural worldviews. That means laying out a vision of
Continue readingwmtc: coming full circle: my sixth-grade obsession meets my teen book club
Continuing on the young-adult fiction theme, it’s been about six months since I blathered about my absolute favourite part of my job: teen book club. Our monthly gathering is still going strong, a small but dedicated group of young readers who love books, and love to talk about books. My
Continue readingwmtc: the so-called "y.a. debate" rages on, but doesn’t a debate have two sides?
In June of this year, Slate ran a now-infamous piece called “Against YA,” in which Ruth Graham argued that adults shouldn’t read young-adult fiction, and should be embarrassed if they do. A flood of posts and essays were written in response; my own response is here. In the short term, as far
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: how i live now, excellent (youth) novel by meg rosoff
Last year, I wrote about an excellent, unusual youth novel called There Is No Dog, by Meg Rosoff. I recently read the author’s 2004 debut novel, How I Live Now, and I’m here to lay down a flat-out rave review. Most of How I Live Now is told from the
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the juggler’s children by carolyn abraham
Unlike most people I know, I have little or no interest in my family’s genealogy. I know the general outlines of my family background – where some of my forebears hailed from, and where they settled and what work they did when they emigrated to North America – and that’s
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: indian horse by richard wagamese, a must-read, especially for canadians
Indian Horse, by Richard Wagamese, is a hauntingly beautiful novel about an Ojibway boy’s journey into manhood. It was the Readers’ Choice winner of the 2013 Canada Reads, CBC Radio’s book promotion program. But if you’re like me and don’t listen to the radio, you may have missed it. Don’t miss
Continue readingwmtc: "humility is the foundation of all learning"
My grandmother had always referred to the universe as the Great Mystery. “What does it mean?” I asked her once. “It means all things.” “I don’t understand.” She took my hand and sat me down on a rock at the water’s edge. “We need mystery,” she said, “Creator in her
Continue readingwmtc: libraries and ebooks: a good fit, but a very bad deal, or why library users should just say no to ebooks
Do you ever borrow ebooks from your public library? Do you have any idea how your library adds ebooks to its collection, or at what cost? The number of library customers who borrow ebooks is growing all the time. How many of them, I wonder, are aware of how their
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