Culture Days Start Today!

WHAT IS CULTURE DAYS?

Culture Days is a national festival of arts.  Culture Days is a three-day event this weekend, and it features hundreds of FREE PUBLIC ACTIVITIES around the province.  There are more than 70 different activities to participate in throughout Stratford and Perth County (Stratford Library is hosting 4!).  The bulk of activities in Stratford will be held at Factory 163.

Stratford and Perth County are among the top 10 communities participating, with higher per-capita participation than Toronto, according Stratford/Perth organizers.  Stratford is punching above its weight, according to Mayor Dan.  Just think about how many artists, poets, actors, musicians, writers, etc. you know in your own circle of friends, neighbours and family.

Culture Days @your library   

Friday Sept. 28 at 2pm - Reading and Book Signing
Stratford resident, retired CBC documentary producer and author Bill Whitehead will read from his new book Words to Live By – a  collection of anecdotes about the wonders of language and the traps that threaten its users.  Free in the Library Auditorium

Saturday Sept. 29, 10am - 2pm - Handmade Culture: show and sale of Stratford’s Craft, Culture & Creativity
Come browse local artist's wares (pottery, jewellery  clothing, children’s items) and perhaps start your holiday shopping!  Cash or cheque for purchases.  Free admission in the Library Auditorium.  http://handmadeculture.blogspot.ca/

Saturday Sept. 29  1:30 to 4pm - Human Library 
 In the Human Library, the books you check out are real people, willing to share their unique perspectives, cultural histories and experiences. Instead of reading a book, you have a conversation.  Online Dating, Roller Derby, 50 Shades of Fun or A Passion for Lego -  complete titles and “dust jackets” for our human books can be found here: http://goo.gl/h4QLp   Don’t be disappointed, call the Library to reserve your book for up to ½ hour, or drop in at the Factory on Saturday afternoon.  Free at Factory 163, 163 King Street, Stratford. 

Saturday Sept. 29, 10:00am - 5:00pm - Paper Trails  Using a variety of media (paper rolls, ribbon, fabric), Paper Trails Storytelling will attempt to capture our collective voices in a continuous thread of a story with a single question: "What does culture mean to you?"   Free at Stratford Library on Saturday. Also Saturday and Sunday at Factory 163.

For a complete listing :  http://www.culturedays.ca/en  Keyword search Stratford or your municipality.

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Shelf Life [adult]

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn 
@SPL: FIC Flynn

Let me preface this review by stating that I know I’m late to this party. I do. But now that I’m here, I really do not want you to miss it. Have you read Gone Girl yet? No? Holy cats, people, you must get on it, and here’s why:

Nick and Amy Dunne have it all – living in a Manhattan brownstone, handsome Nick works as a writer for a highbrow magazine, and beautiful Amy is the benefactor of an empire of children’s books created by her parents in her image.

The Dunnes met in the cutest of cute meets, their dialogue is witty, their sex life is charged and adventurous. Having become accustomed to living in the charmed lap of luxury, they are doubly surprised when the financial meltdown claims Nick’s job and Amy’s trust fund. Listless, with no work to tie them to Manhattan, Nick proposes they move back to his native Missouri to look after his ailing parents.

Things take a very dark turn in Missouri; the marriage flounders, and Amy goes missing the morning of their fifth anniversary. The scene initially suggests a struggle with an intruder, but police soon determine the struggle scene is staged. Traces of blood – a lot of blood – are found in another location. Very soon, it is assumed that Amy is dead, and Nick is the prime suspect.

Flynn weaves a dark, deft tale of psychological terror, juxtaposing Amy’s diary entries leading to her disappearance with chapters detailing the minutiae of Nick’s life and mind under the microscope of police and media. Flynn has a gift for building characters’ psychological profiles so completely that readers feel they know exactly what comes next because they really know the people in the story.

But you don’t know the people in the story, not like you think you do; and when the whole novel turns a dime-tight twist halfway through, your sense of sick dread is amplified knowing things are much darker, weirder and more complex than you ever thought.

Gone Girl is a masterpiece among psychological thrillers that will keep you awake all night. Bring snacks. You aren’t going to want to get up for anything once you get reading.

This review appeared in The Stratford Gazette on September 27th, 2012. Written by Shauna Thomas, Librarian.

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Shelf Life [kids]

Eat Your Math Homework: Recipes for Hungry Minds, By Ann McCallum, 46 pages.
@ SPL: J 510.78 McC

Kids won’t need to look any further than this book for some tasty recipes that combine food, facts, fun  and yes, math as well.

Author Ann McCallum invites readers to put on their thinking caps and their aprons to make some fascinating – and edible – snacks such as Fraction Chips, Variable Pizza Pi, Probability Trail Mix, Tangram Cookies, Tessellating Two-Colour Brownies and others.

With the clear directions and explanations, “math appeteasers” and mixed-media illustrations that accompany each recipe, the finished food creations will tickle both taste buds and brain cells. Young cooks will have learned some useful math principles and concepts in a fun, non-stressful way.

Where and how we use these math principles in everyday life is explained. (For example, we use fractions and the Pi Principle when we cut a pizza into equal pieces, and we use variability if we experiment with different toppings on that pizza.)

A glossary, index and summary of relevant math facts complete this book of mouth-watering recipes. And although parental help isn’t a required ingredient, families would enjoy preparing and eating these snacks together.

Young chefs will discover a new equation with this book in hand: “Math + Food = YUM!”

** Recommended for ages nine to 12.

Mathemagic! Number Tricks, By Lynda Colgan, 40 pages.
@ SPL: J 793.74 Col

Math can be fun and even magical for young magicians and their audiences with the ideas for clever tricks provided in Lynda Colgan’s Mathemagic!
The math tricks are not intimidating and they vary in their skill requirements. Some are quick and easy to learn, while others will require more skill to perform. Step-by-step instructions and clear explanations of relevant mathematical concepts are accompanied by illustrations on how each trick should be executed. The book has a light-hearted look and tone.

The reasons why the tricks are (or should be) successful are also explained.

Concepts addressed in Mathemagic include multiplication, division, prime factors, the binary number system, the “nine principle,” and the “ten-complement.”

Audiences will be impressed with the computational skills and abilities displayed by young magicians in such feats as Mummy Math, Digital Wizardry, Calculator Magic, Boney Math, card tricks and even fortune telling. Young conjurers will be impressed with their newfound magic skills and math abilities  and what child doesn’t have an interest in magic?

So here’s another equation:  “Math + Magic = Lots of Fun”!

Author Lynda Colgan is a Scarborough-area mathematics teacher and a collaborator with “The Prime Radicals,” a children’s television program about math.

** Recommended for ages nine to 12.

What’s the common denominator of these two math books? It’s simply that kids will be more motivated to learn just about anything – math included – when they’re having fun at the same time.

These reviews appeared in The Stratford Gazette on September 27th, 2012. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian.

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DIY - Find the Perfect Next Book

You sit back with that wonderful glow and satisfactory pause after having experienced a great book. Then it hits you - you've finished the book, the last page has been turned. Now what? How can you find another book you'll like just as much?

Believe it or not it is possible. You're always welcome to ask for assistance at the reference desk - we love helping people find the perfect book! However, you can also try some DIY (Do It Yourself) book hunting.

Here is a list of databases and websites to guide you towards your next great read.

NoveList
This database allows readers to search for their favourite authors or titles, and find others of similar interest.  Users can browse theme-oriented book lists at every reading level through Explore Fiction, and look for outstanding titles in Best Fiction. There are many ways to generate searches on this database. I usually search something vague in the "Search for..." bar at the top, and using the limiters on the right and left-hand side columns, fine tune my searches. You can limit your search by age suitability, year published, award winners, genre, writing style, location, tone and much more. There is also a NoveList designed for kids, NoveList K-8. This is a great resource for helping your children talk about the books they've read and getting them excited about reading and literacy.

Fantastic Fiction
This is a UK site that allows users to search by author or book title to discover reading-related information. I use this all the time to find comprehensive lists of book series in the correct order (especially for series with multiple publication dates). Try searching the author of a book you've enjoyed in the past and read a short bio, forthcoming titles, awards, links to their websites, and author recommendations. The bottom of each author page includes a section on "Visitors to this page also looked at these authors". I find that following the links here can help me discover new authors and series I never knew existed.

BiblioCommons
This is our interactive library catalogue at the Stratford Public Library. Here you can find information about new titles added to our collection, award winners, staff picks, read reviews from users all over the world and participate in the discussion comments. For most items, on the right-hand side there is a section called, "Similar Titles", that automatically searches our collection for books that may be of interest to you. Don't forget to share your opinions on BiblioCommons by starring, commenting, or tagging items so that others can benefit. Best of all is that you're not limited to books, you have the same options for searching and sharing about audio visual materials too.

iDreamBooks
Like what rottentomatoes.com does for films, iDreamBooks aggregates book reviews by critics to help you discover the very best of what's coming out each week. Rather than rummaging through a bunch of websites and papers to find reviews published on different dates iDreamBooks has put all the reviews for one title in one location. The site is organized by genre and has preselected over 40 genre topics including  fiction, non-fiction, bios, romance, mystery, travel, erotica and nature. There is also the option to search by title, author. The major drawback to this site is that it focuses on the most popular titles and authors in the United States and tends to ignore CanLit novelists such as Susan Swan and Emma Donoghue despite their significance over the border. 

GoodReads
GoodReads tagline, "Meet your next favourite book", sounds promising. This site has really picked up steam the last few years as it continued to integrate social software in order to connect users with other readers and authors. Accounts are free and can be used to track your reading history. Using the star system users can rate the title and add them to individually designed shelves (for example, I have one for CanLit). Once you've added some titles GoodReads will begin generating recommendations based off your reading history. I have found some real gems this way. 

What Should I Read Next?
Very straightforward site - type in an author or book you've enjoyed and you will immediately receive a list of books. When you click for more information or to buy the book it links to Amazon, but of course we know you would just check for the book in the library catalogue.

There are also a bunch of interesting infographics available online such as this one from First Book - Denver Metro.

If you have other suggestions please join in the conversation by leaving a comment.

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Shelf Life [adult]

The Pigeon Pie Mystery, by Julia Stuart
@SPL: FIC Stuar

Having had his land and treasures seized by the English Crown, His highness the Maharaja of Prindur had moved to England, married an Englishwoman, and produced a little girl, Her Highness Princess Alexandrina (otherwise known as Mink). Still a little girl when her beloved mother dies, Mink is a grown up when her father dies under a scandalous cloud.

Abandoned by the man who was supposed to marry her, and left virtually penniless by her father’s extravagant lifestyle, her Majesty Queen Victoria takes pity on the young woman and gives her a home in the apartments of Hampton Court Palace. For those who remember Julia Stuart’s first book, which was set in the Tower of London, The Pigeon Pie Mystery’s Hampton Court Palace has just as many odd-duck characters who find themselves thrown together in a less-than-traditional living arrangement.

There is the lovely Countess, with a taste for sherry and thriftiness who refuses to throw off mourning for a husband long-gone; the doctor who assumed his courtly neighbours would be prompt in paying bills (they aren’t); the paranoid gatekeeper Mrs. Boots who hates chilly weather, gossips even as she condemns it and swears she sees monkeys in red pants; and Pooki, Mink’s determined and devoted lady-in-waiting who wants nothing more for her mistress than to settle down with a man who truly loves her.

Things get a little sticky for Mink and Pooki when the odious resident General croaks at the annual Easter picnic – after eating a pigeon pie produced by Pooki. After the most inept inquest imaginable, the General is found to have died of arsenic poisoning, and the police point the finger at Pooki. Since Inspector Guppy has the brains of his name, Mink is determined not to lose her too, and with the flair of a royal she delves into the secret lives off all the residents of Hampton Court.

Because although the residents may be high born and formerly rich, even the haughtiest hearts are human, vulnerable, and as Mink learns, desperate to find peace and happiness. The Pigeon Pie Mystery is Julia Stuart’s second novel, just as rich in historical details and a must for anyone who loves the dry humour of British comedies with quirky characters.

This review appeared in The Stratford Gazette on September 20th, 2012. Written by Robyn Godfrey, Librarian.

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Shelf Life [kids]

The Hueys in the New Jumper, By Oliver Jeffers, 28 pages.
@ SPL: JP Jeffe

The thing about the Hueys (and there were many of them) was that they were all the same. They looked the same. They thought the same. They did the same things, and they wore the same clothes. Then, one day, Rupert Huey knitted himself a new jumper (sweater) in a unique design and colour. He wore it everywhere. The Hueys (most of them) were horrified. Rupert stood out like a sore thumb in his new jumper! Didn’t he know that the Hueys prided themselves in being all the same?

Gillespie Huey, however, thought that being different was intriguing and he knit himself a new sweater, just like Rupert’s. This way, he would be different too. When the other Hueys saw Rupert and Gillespie together, both in their new sweaters, they didn’t think that Rupert looked so strange anymore. Now they wanted to be different too. Each began to knit an outfit identical to Rupert’s. Before long, they were all different, and no one was the same anymore. Or were they? Then, one day, Rupert decided to wear a unique hat.

British author/illustrator Oliver Jeffers’ newest picture book for children is deceptive. At first glance, it’s a simple and amusing story. However, it’s also a rather sophisticated little fable which uses subtle plays on words and logic (plus illustrations of stick people which are both simple and expressive) to present a message about individuality.

** Recommended for ages four to eight.

Neville, By Norton Juster, 30 pages.
@ SPL: JP Juste

“Nobody had asked him about moving. They’d just told him. So now he had a new house where he’d never feel at home. And a new school where nobody knew him. And, of course, there were no friends. That was the worst part, no friends.”

After a long car trip, a boy and his parents have finally reached their new home. The boy’s mother sends him out into the neighbourhood to meet some children. After walking slowly for about a block, the boy takes a deep breath and begins to call out a mysterious name: “NEVILLE, NEVILLE.” Soon, he’s joined by lots of curious children who help him to call, all the while wondering who “Neville” is and where he could be. The children start to ask the boy questions: “Does Neville have brothers? Sisters? Pets?” “Is he nice?” “Does he play ball?” “Would he come to sleepovers?” “Does he like to read?”

As the boy answers their questions, the children all decide that they would like Neville very much if they could find him. For quite some time, they look for him without success. Then they resolve to meet with the boy the next morning at the same place to look again. No longer lonely, the boy returns home and greets his mother – and only then does the reader learn Neville’s true identity.

Norton Juster’s clever and reassuring story makes good usage of illustration and colour to enhance its message. As the boy meets more and more children and feels less lonely, the stark white houses of his new neighbourhood become much more colourful and friendly-looking.

** Recommended for ages four to seven.

These reviews appeared in The Stratford Gazette on September 20th, 2012. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian.

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Changes to Hotmail

Some of you may have already experienced the changeover but if you haven't don't worry - it sounds scarier than it actually is! Microsoft is replacing Hotmail with Outlook. Everyone will eventually be changed over to the new interface but if you'd like to get it now open a new tab and sign into your Hotmail account. While keeping the Hotmail tab open return to this tab and click HERE.  Voila, welcome to your new Outlook account! Time to take a look around!

What stays the same?

#1 - The mail you have in your Hotmail account - no emails are lost or added during the change. Your folders, drafts, and contacts etc. stay the same. Phew!

#2 - Your email address. If you're using an @hotmail.com address now you can keep it - although new addresses will be @outlook.com. However, if you'd like a new ID that is also possible and you can make the switch while the contents in your old account remain the exact same.

What will change?

#1. Like Gmail that combines other templates such as calendars, Google docs, collaborative sharing options, etc., Microsoft is initiating their own versions of these features. There are four main tabs: MAIL, PEOPLE, CALENDAR, SKYDRIVE (includes 7GB of cloud-based storage - see blog on cloud computing).

#2. According to Outlook's marketing, they'll be offering "the best spam protection in the industry" - I'll believe it when I DON'T see it!

#3. The new address book offers direct contact with popular social media pages such as Facebook, Linkedin, Gmail, and Twitter to easily import contacts.

#4. Passwords are limited to 16 characters... just a heads up!

My Two Cents...

The interface is pretty awesome, very user friendly! Composing new messages (New + at the top) simply requires you to click and type to fill in the fields (just as before), but easier on the eyes! Contacts can be found on the left hand side and do not require you to go to another page making them very readable and perfect for browsing and reviewing who you've included in the "To" field.

If you had been using Messenger it is still there (top right with the smiley face)!

My favourite part of Outlook? Whitespace instead of junky advertisements! Although you may see text-based advertisements there should be fewer than you previously experienced and these will be less intrusive.

The Toronto Public Library also has some fabulous information on their website that includes video tutorials!

As of now I can still access my Hotmail account using the old interface... but why would I? I'm sold on the new one already! Easy!

If you are having trouble getting started with the new look please come into the library and we can get you rolling!

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Shelf Life [kids]

Stay: The True Story of Ten Dogs, by Michaela Muntean, 40 pages.
@ SPL: J 636.708

“Our best selves are sometimes hidden. But what if someone saw us, truly saw us, and believed in the wonders waiting inside of us?”

When Luciano Anastasini fell 50 feet from a high wire, his days as a circus acrobat were over. Wishing to stay with the circus, he devised a new act involving some performing four-legged friends: dogs. Not just any dogs would do. Having himself been given a second chance with the circus, Luciano wanted to do the same for his new partners … so he went looking for dogs that no one else wanted.

It wasn’t difficult to find 10 of them – all of them scruffy, and all of them unwanted. In each, Luciano could see intelligence, energy, determination and many other positive qualities, whereas other people could only see faults and problems.

“No one’s perfect,” he told the dogs, and they went to work. Luciano studied the10 dogs and built his new act around their natural talents and abilities. He believed in them and he worked around their weaknesses. Gradually, he gained their trust and love as they trained together for long hours. In turn, Luciano loved them and treated them with kindness and patience.

The result was a new act that was fast-paced, clever and funny. Audiences loved it, and the dogs loved performing. “Luciano Anastasini and his Pound Puppies” became a star act and was hired by the biggest circuses in the business. The new stars crisscrossed the country, performing in show after show. Circuses and animals are favourite topics with kids, and this heart-warming, happy, true-life story, featuring plenty of eye-catching photos of the dogs, and an introduction by Kate DiCamillo (author of Because of Winn-Dixie), will be a sure hit.

** Recommended for ages five to nine.

Cat Found, by Ingrid Lee, 159 pages.
@ SPL: J FIC Lee

In the town of Clydesdale where Billy Reddick lives, there are too many stray cats. The local animal shelter is full. Many people, including his father, are tired of the noisy cat fights each night and want to get rid of the cats. Some, including a few of Billy’s classmates, have started to treat the cats cruelly, chasing them or throwing sticks and stones at them.

When Billy finds a small, starving, badly-injured stray, he knows he must help her. Smuggling her into his bedroom (at the opposite end of the house from that of his busy, preoccupied parents), he installs her at the very back of his closet and names her “Conga.” As Conga gradually recovers and becomes more mobile, Billy must work harder to keep her presence in the house a secret. He sneaks food to her and lets her out through his bedroom window.

Fortunately, she is a quiet cat. When Billy discovers that Conga is about to have kittens, things become even more complicated. Billy’s love for Conga and her kittens eventually gives him the courage to show others in his town the importance of treating abandoned animals with kindness and empathy.

With his efforts and those of others including his father, some truly wonderful things happen in Clydesdale, such as a comfortable new “Cat Haven” … just in time for Christmas! This tough but tender story by Canadian author Ingrid Lee would likely appeal to fans of Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s popular children’s story, Shiloh.

** Recommended for ages eight to 12.

These reviews appeared in The Stratford Gazette on September 13th, 2012. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian.

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Shelf Life [adult]

Adventures In Your Own Backyard, by Patrick Watson
@SPL: CD 13 Watso 

Indie rock enthusiasts may remember that Patrick Watson took home the Polaris in 2007 for Close to Paradise. Up against indie heavyweights like the Arcade Fire, Feist, Joel Plaskett and the Dears, Patrick Watson’s sophomore album took the prize. With just one album released in the intervening five years, fans will happy to hear Adventures In Your Own Backyard is well worth the wait.

It’s one of very few albums these days with an effective sonic thesis determining the tone of the entire work. Some critics have complained Adventures lacks palpable hits and hooks, and while they aren’t wrong, I feel the album is stronger for it. Having too many ear-worm tracks with their own distinctive feel would likely have detracted from the incredible whole Patrick Watson created.

The first track, “Lighthouse,” is a melancholy, elegiac miniature symphony that perfectly sets the nostalgic tone the album is meant to achieve. Delicate piano and gentle, soaring falsetto build with perfect pacing to waves of soaring horns and strings. After breaking the listener open on the first track, Adventures mellows into gentler, pretty songs that still capture buttery sepia sunshine and a sense of letting go. At the halfway point, “Morning Sheets” adds a lingering, sensual layer – reminiscent of Antony and the Johnsons’ yearning smoulder – to the album’s sound.

The new theme gives the total album something different from other music rooted in longing for lost youth; Adventures is a celebration of creating new life as well, and of the nostalgia we experience as we watch our children discover the world for the first time. Listeners who find themselves impatient with a lack of candy-coated hooks and hit tracks in the first half of the album will likely have an easier go once they get to “Morning Sheets,” as the intensity of Adventures’ soundscape builds toward the album’s last three tracks.

With “Noisy Sunday” and the eponymous “Adventures In Your Own Backyard,” the tension mounting through the album finally breaks loose, reprising themes established in the symphonic first track. The emotional energy expends itself by the end of the second last track, with “Swimming Pools,” the final track, providing a sad, tender afterglow that ties the whole album up flawlessly.

Adventures In Your Own Backyard perfectly encapsulates the sweet melancholy of the moment we simultaneously relinquish our own youth and find it reborn in those around us.

This review appeared in The Stratford Gazette on September 13th, 2012. Written by Shauna Thomas, Librarian.

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Shelf Life [kids]

The Fabled Fifth Graders of Aesop Elementary School, By Candace Fleming, 170 pages.
@ SPL: J FIC Flemi

Take a class of fifth graders, all of whom have been described by their former teachers as “high energy” and “rambunctious” (sometimes words are simply inadequate….), and add an inspiring teacher, some unusual but very talented class pets (singing guinea pigs) and an extraordinary classroom (complete with a collection of shrunken heads). The result is Mr. Jupiter’s (fabled) Grade 5 class at Aesop Elementary School.

Mr. Jupiter, himself quite an individual, is the only teacher who dares to teach this class of fifth-graders. Not only does he teach them, however, he inspires them too! Mr. Jupiter loves to teach, and he knows that his students have all sorts of hidden talents and strengths. (He’s confident that some of these talents and attributes will actually reveal themselves someday!)

While Mr. Jupiter’s curriculum and methods of teaching are quite unusual, to say the least, they are quite successful with his equally unusual students. The fifth graders are quite proud of their classroom … from the Lunuganga pig masks decorating one corner of the room, to the shrunken head collection in another corner and the Egyptian sarcophagus in yet another corner … and the skull of poor Mrs. Yorick sitting on Mr. Jupiter’s desk.

Yes, everything is extraordinary and nothing is ordinary in the Grade 5 classroom at Aesop Elementary School! Readers will chuckle and guffaw as they join in the antics and silliness of these fifth-graders (who are definitely in “a class of their own”), as revealed in these hilarious “fables” – each complete with a moral.

** Recommended for ages 8 to 11.

The Detention Club, By David Yoo, 299 pages.
@ SPL: J FIC Yoo

From the expressive picture on the front cover – which portrays the glum faces of the five Detention Club members – to the story’s end, David Yoo’s latest book is a rollicking, laugh-out-loud portrayal of sixth grade as experienced by Peter Lee and his best friend, Drew. It’s September, and the two boys are finding the adjustment to their new school, Fenwick Middle School, to be rather difficult. Most of their former classmates have gone to a different school.

Fenwick is full of strange faces, and Peter and Drew aren’t even in the same class. For some reason, they’re being labelled by their new classmates as “nerds” and are even being picked on by a couple of boys. Peter’s having trouble keeping up with his schoolwork (for the first time in his life), and he’s not getting along with his older sister, Sunny.

To complicate the situation, someone is snitching things from both students and teachers at Fenwick. Then Peter has a serious (and entirely preventable) “mishap” with a science experiment and is given a detention every day for a whole month! Now Peter is a part of an “elite” school club: the Detention Club! As the month passes, the members of the Detention Club decide to discover the identity of the school thief.

As they work together, their search leads from one suspect to another … and from one comical surprise to another. The Detention Club is a thoroughly entertaining tale with some very worthwhile messages about friendship, honesty, sibling rivalry and peer pressure.

** Recommended for ages 8 to 12.

These reviews appeared in The Stratford Gazette on September 6th, 2012. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian.

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Shelf Life [adult]

Albert of Adelaide, by Howard L Anderson@SPL: FIC Ander

Outback Australia is not a setting one would expect for a first novel by a defense attorney from New Mexico. Nor would one expect the main protagonist to be that enigma of the mammalian world, a platypus. Named Albert. Albert escapes the water tank at the Adelaide Zoo which magnified the faces that stared at him for 14 hours a day through green algae. He hops a train heading deep into the heart of the Outback in search of Old Australia, “the place where things haven’t changed and Australia is like it used to be,” the place about which the zoo animals had whispered reverently and wistfully.

A lone little platypus a long way from a river is bound to need friends, and the first he comes upon is an old wombat named Jack, who has never heard of Old Australia. For him there is just survival, and he takes Albert under his paw, gives him some clothes and teaches him about money. In Jack’s Australia, wallabies are evil, bandicoots are drunks, and dingoes are untamed, respected and respect those that fight well and with honour. Albert is told of the legendary Muldoon, who might help him find the Australia he seeks, and meets up with a creature just as odd in the Outback as he is himself, a raccoon from San Francisco.

But as easily as he makes friends the little platypus also makes enemies, distrusted for his strange looks, luck and fierce fighting. He becomes wanted for murders he did not commit, and though deaths do occur as a result of his poisonous spurs, those make his reputation. As Albert battles prejudice and possums he becomes an animal he barely recognizes yet remains loyal to his friends, and true to his dream of freedom.

Albert of Adelaide has all the adventure of Huckleberry Finn, a little bit of the melancholy of Paradise Lost, resembles Watership Down in its allegories (and animals), and has a hint of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It is delightful surprise of a read, and a thoroughly enjoyable first novel. That just happens to star a platypus. Named Albert.

This review appeared in The Stratford Gazette on September 6th, 2012. Written by Robyn Godfrey, Librarian.

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2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize

Drumroll...! The list Canadians and readers of great books around the world have been waiting for... the 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize Longlist!

See the list in BiblioCommons!

Marjorie Celona for her novel Y, published by Hamish Hamilton Canada

Lauren B. Davis for her novel Our Daily Bread, published by HarperCollins Canada

Cary Fagan for his short story collection My Life Among the Apes, published by Cormorant Books

Will Ferguson for his novel 419, published by Viking Canada

Robert Hough for his novel Dr. Brinkley’s Tower, published by House of Anansi Press

Billie Livingston for her novel One Good Hustle, published by Random House Canada

Annabel Lyon for her novel The Sweet Girl, published by Random House Canada

Alix Ohlin for her novel Inside, published by House of Anansi Press

Katrina Onstad for her novel Everybody Has Everything, published by McClelland & Stewart/Emblem

CS Richardson for his novel The Emperor of Paris, published by Doubleday Canada

Nancy Richler for her novel The Imposter Bride, published by HarperCollins Canada

Kim Thúy for her novel Ru, translated by Sheila Fischman, published by Random House Canada

Russell Wangersky for his short story collection Whirl Away, published by Thomas Allen Publishers

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