Fall for Stratford Culture

I suppose I'm what you'd call an outside to Stratford, despite working in town for over a year. A friend who I hadn't seen in a long time recently met me here for lunch and laughed at the sheer luck I'd had - a job in Stratford! For us, the dream of Stratford was all about the culture. The theatre, the art, the music, the scenery, the culinary delicacies, the unique shops and street performers. Here's just a snip-it of what we can celebrate this fall in our beautiful and lively city.

Gather by the Avon
A new book of stories collected by author Lindsay Kroes. All contributors are Stratford residents between the ages of 70 and 98. Check out a copy from the Library.

Poetry Stratford
Up and running again for the fall season, Poetry Stratford dives in with an Open Mike September 12, a poetry reading by Phil Hall on September 18 and the annual James Reaney Memorial Lecture October 20. Details on their webpage.

Books Clubs
There are many clubs around town. To highlight two that meet at the Library we have the Good Book Group  who discuss what I would call literature and there is also SUPE Club for those of you who enjoy a little paranormal romance.

Savour Stratford
A culinary festival full of farmers, artisans, chefs, musicians and so much more. September 20-22. View the full schedule of events and register for tastings and seminars on their website.

Culture Days 
We'll be there! September 27, 28, 29. Included in the nonstop events over three days is the Human Library. If you have a story to share contact us now to get involved. Here is where you can learn about Culture Days, and this is all about the Human Library.

2014 Playbill
That's right - the news is out. Will the 2014 playbill help you survive winter? See what's coming our way on The Bard and the Boards blog.

Stratford Authors
This group has a blog and hosts local events to create connections between authors and readers in Stratford. 

Trent Severn
Even though Stratford Summer Music has come to a close local talent is never far away. Internationally recognized Trent Severn will be in town September 5 at Factory 163. Find out what's new with the group.

Oh, and let's not forget all the end-of-season sales picking up in the shops. Dangerous lunch breaks. For more events don't forget to visit our website: www.stratford.library.on.ca/events.htm.
We really are lucky to have so much at our doorsteps. Now, dig in!

Read More

Mission, Vision, Values and Strategic Directions

Earlier this year, our library board passed our new Mission, Vision Values & Strategic Directions.  The library board and staff developed this plan from working with all the feedback provided by the Stratford community in our community engagement process.  
SPL staff are very excited to be moving forward in fulfilling this mission and making your library the best library it can be in its current space. 

Mission Statement
An equitable, safe and welcoming environment where anyone can explore, learn, create and connect. 

Vision Statement
We’re here for you...
The library is a vibrant community hub and favourite destination where personable, knowledgeable and progressive staff, provide innovative and interactive programs and services to anyone.
Or you can take us with you...
With robust technology and engaging on-line spaces, the library transforms community life by inspiring and enabling literacy, curiosity, creativity and change. 
To refresh your spirit...
The library is essential to community life because of its deeply inclusive and collaborative approach to making this a better place to live.

Values
We are committed to:

• intellectual freedom, and access to knowledge for all;
• treating everyone with dignity, respect, courtesy and compassion;
• providing quality service without bias;
• encouraging innovation and personal development;
• recognizing and valuing the contributions of volunteers;
• appreciating and responding to the diversity of our community. 

Strategic Directions 

• Provide Leadership in Establishing a Community Technology Commons
• Create a Culture of Continuous Improvement & Community Collaboration
• Launch a Re-branding Campaign
• Address Facility Needs 

For more information about our Strategic Plan, please visit our website or read more on our blog.

Read More

Shelf Life [adult]

Cadillac Couches by Sophie B Watson

@SPL: FIC Watso

Given the hirsute tsunami of beards, plaid flannel and Doc Martens in all the hip coffee shops lately, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that nostalgia for the late 90s and early aughts has finally arrived in literature. Do I sound beleaguered? Don’t believe it for a second. As an early-breaking member of Generation Y, I am thrilled to death to be wallowing in my own nostalgia for a change. Does it make me feel old? Hell yes. Does it bring back the warm happies, thinking about hemp macramé-bedecked drum jams uninterrupted by cell phones? Sure does! Bring it on.

And Ms Watson does. Cadillac Couches is a pitch-perfect slice of hipster life at the end of the twentieth century. Best friends Annie and Isobel are stuck in a post-university rut in Edmonton. Isobel is unemployed, but pretty enough to make a go of it socially anyway. Annie works part time at a restaurant while her heart recovers from her last breakup, and watches a sea of dazzled men fall face-first into Isobel’s lap. To break the monotony, they head to the Edmonton Folk Festival and hatch a plan – they’ll road-trip east to see Hawksley Workman perform in Montreal, after which Annie and Isobel will pretend to be journalists, and Hawksley will fall madly in love mid-interview. With Annie. Hopefully.

Like any good road trip, this novel is all about the atmosphere and journey, with the destination presenting a nice excuse for the rest of the shenanigans. The plot is contrived and the writing can be a little awkward, but it winds up lending the characters’ contrived awkwardness a certain authenticity. At any rate, these minor faults don’t get in the way of a good party. The girls even manage to catch an Ani DiFranco concert on the way through Manitoba. Watson is absolutely committed to immersing her readers in the happy rebellion of the indie music revolution that hit as Napster freed the bootleg and spread indie to the masses. Each chapter includes its own playlist, and the book ends off with a set list that’ll leave you yearning for drum circles and hacky sack, if you were ever into that sort of thing.

Does Annie meet Hawksley? Does he fall swooningly in love with her garage-rock charms? You’ll just have to read the book. And as for the indie rock that blossomed lo those fifteen years ago? As a well-meaning young fan yelled to Hayden at this year’s Hillside Festival, “you’re aging gracefully!”

Sigh.

This review appears in The Stratford Gazette. Written by Shauna Thomas, Librarian.

Read More

Shelf Life [kids]

The Day My Mom Came to Kindergarten by Maureen Fergus and Mike Lowery, 30 pages.
@ SPL: JP Fergu

For a young kindergarten student, the day on which her mother accompanied her to school for the first time was memorable, to say the least!

Her mother was so excited at visiting her daughter’s school that she barged into the front of the line ahead of other students, forgot to remove her (very) muddy shoes in the classroom, shouted her answers out to the teacher’s questions without raising her hand, talked while the teacher was reading aloud during storytime, dropped crumbs everywhere during snack time …and neglected to clean them up. How very embarrassing for her daughter! Really ... had her mother no idea of how to act away from home?

Perhaps the worst moment of the day was when her mother swung on the jungle ropes in gym class when the class was supposed to be playing beanbag tag.

It was fortunate that the teacher, Mrs. Beaudry, was so understanding, having no doubt witnessed the first-time visits of many over-excited parents over the years. “Once your mom gets used to the way we do things, I’m sure she’ll learn how to express her thoughts and feelings in more appropriate ways,” she told the little girl.

Her teacher was right. After a few hours, her mother had learned how to use her indoor voice, listen during storytime, take turns with others and clean up any messes.

Complete with hilarious illustrations, Maureen Fergus’ role-reversal story is an entertaining way for children to learn about classroom behaviour and misbehaviour.

** Recommended for ages 4 to 7 years.

Sea Monster’s First Day by Kate Messner, 30 pages.

@ SPL:  JP Messn

On his first day of school, Ernest the Sea Monster tried so hard to fit in.  He followed all of the Sea School rules.  He kept his flippers to himself;  did not eat the minnows, blow bubbles or pinch, and he tried his very best to play fairly.  However, each time Ernest tried to join in games with the other sea students, something went wrong.

When he asked for a turn on the sea swings or on the jungle gym, the other students swam away.  When he tried to introduce himself to another student, he or she swam away. 

The problem was that Ernest, being a sea monster, was so much larger than everyone else. Perhaps the other students were just a little afraid of him.

As the day went on, however, the other students became accustomed to his big size.  As the class learned songs and stories and then took a short field trip, they all had fun together.  By the end of the day, Ernest had made many new friends, and he was excited about returning to school the next day.

Ernest’s story will help young children cope with being a new student, reassuring them that even big sea monsters might feel nervous about their first day of school.  The engaging comic-style illustrations reinforce the positive tone of this story with its message about trying new things and making new friends.   

The Stratford Public Library has many other stories for young children who are about to start school.     

** Recommended for ages 3 to 6 years. 

This review appears in The Stratford Gazette. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian.

Read More

Hello, OverDrive 3.0

Launches August 20 - For EPUB ebook and MP3 audiobook formats only

Patrons who already use OverDrive will be prompted to update the App on August 20. From this date forward, anyone downloading the app will be downloading the newest 3.0 version.

What’s new?

• Immediate Reading
• Menu Options and Locations
• OverDrive ONE
• Guidance and Help

Immediate Reading

Open the app and go immediately back to where you were last reading or listening.

Menu Options and Locations

• Swipe left from anywhere in the app to view the Home Menu (contains features such as the Bookshelf)
• Bookshelf display looks like the ADE display and includes cover art. Tap and hold on a cover to view three options: Delete, Return, and Share (on social media – Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads and email)
• Swipe right to view the Book Menu (table of contents, summary, bookmarks (bookmarks can now be renamed for personalization)
• Tapping the center of the screen returns users to their full screen reading/listening experience

Variable Song Playback for audiobooks ONLY on iOS located in the bottom menu. Allows users to choose the speed at which audiobooks are read aloud.

OverDrive ONE

In beta with OMC 3.0. Allows users to sync bookmarks, reading positions, and library sites visited across multiple devices.  Go to Learn More to do just that!

Guidance and Help

• Guidance screens appear as a transparent blue overlay and provide instructions for new users to get acquainted with the app and learn basic navigation technique
• In-app help allows users to troubleshoot without having to visit a browser

OMC 3.0 is available for Apple products with iOS 6 or newer and OS products using OS 4.0 or newer.

Read More

Featured Evergreen™ Title: The Western Light

The Western Light

Susan Swan
FIC Swan

Susan Swan’s best-selling Wives of Bath was published nearly 20 years ago; in this novel, she brings back her main character, Mary Beatrice Bradford – Mouse for short – as a child.

Mouse’s world is constrained by a number of factors: her mother is dead, her father – the admired country doctor – is emotionally distant, her housekeeper Sal is prejudiced and narrow, and her grandmother and aunt, Big Louie and Little Louie, the only life-affirming presences in her life, live in another city.

Enter Gentleman John Pilkie, the former NHL star who’s transferred to the mental hospital in Madoc's Landing, where he is to serve out his life-sentence for the murder of his wife and daughter. John becomes a point of fascination for young Mary, who looks to him for the attention she does not receive from her father.

He, in turn, is kind to her – but the kindness is misunderstood.

Watch the video book trailer – Projections of Georgian Bay with Susan Swan poetically sharing highlights of her book.

Or, read and listen to Shelagh Rogers discussing this book with Susan Swan earlier this year.

www.cbc.ca/thenextchapter/episode/2013/02/25/shelaghs-extended-conversation-with-susan-swan/

If you were intrigued by the intersection of psychiatry and health care while reading this novel, you can explore the fascinating history of other Ontario institutions online – try these:

Toronto’s Provincial Lunatic Asylum (Now CAMH)
Hamilton Asylum for the Insane (Currently the Centre for Mountain Health Services)
Whitby Psychiatric Hospital (now part of Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences)
Rockwood Asylum, 1878 – 1905: For the Criminally Insane (Kingston)

Don’t forget, if you read this book as part of SPL’s STARR Summer Reading program, you can claim 2 stamps on your Rewards Card, and also be eligible to vote during Ontario Public Library Week, October 20-26, to choose the winner of the Evergreen™ Award!

Find this book in our library catalogue

Find other nominated titles on the Evergreen™ Award shortlist in our library catalogue

Read More

And the Photo Contest Winners are...

We received some beautiful photos of the library in our recent photo contest and it was difficult to choose our favourites! Here are the top three (in no particular order). 

by Bill Chan

by Sylvie Tafts

by Will Bailey

In September the photos will be on display at the library and they (along with some of our other entries) will be used in our new website which is set to launch Fall 2013. Thank you everyone who entered!

Read More

Shelf Life [adult]

Cuckoo’s Calling By Robert Galbraith, AKA J.K. Rowling

@SPL: FIC Galbr

Unless you have been taking an extended tech and media vacation this summer, you will have heard that J.K. Rowling – author of the über-successful Harry Potter series - was outed as the true name behind Cuckoo’s Calling, using pseudonym Robert Galbraith. As any high-powered author would do, she sued the law firm that leaked her identity for a six-figure sum and then donated it, plus proceeds from the sale of the novel for the next three years, to The Soldier’s Charity, an organization that supports veterans and their families in Great Britain. She did this as a thank-you for those in the military who helped her with her research, leading her to create one of the most hard-boiled detectives to hit pages since Sam Spade, Cormoran Strike (how could he not be hard-boiled with a name like that?). A wounded veteran with an infamous set of rock parents, Strike grew up with his half-sister in care of his aunt and uncle. He joined the military as an investigator, went to Afghanistan and came back missing part of a leg (but is far too proud to admit it to those who don’t know him), and opens a detective agency. Unfortunately he has some hard luck with women and alcohol, until he literally runs into (and nearly knocks to her death) fresh-faced, and newly engaged Robin Ellacott, recently arrived in London from Yorkshire, who is assigned as his new temporary office worker. Robin, secretly thrilled to be working for a PI, by far the most efficient tem Strike has ever been assigned, and she proves herself both resourceful and intrepid as Strike gets his first big case – a model falls to her death and three months later her brother shows up, asking Strike to prove it was murder and not suicide. Strike is no hack – he is thoughtful, driven and methodical – much like his creator, Rowling. She slowly unveils the threads of the mystery with great care, precision, a host of fully-formed characters, more than a few red herrings and loads of wit. In fact, it is a far better book than Rowling’s last non-Potter novel, Casual Vacancy, and leaves the reader wanting to know more about Cormoran Strike. Let us hope that being outed as Robert Galbraith does not keep JK Rowling from creating further mysteries for him to solve. Cuckoo’s Calling is a first rate mystery, no matter who the author really is.  Reserve a copy at http://spl.bibliocommons.comunder the tag Shelf Life Reviewed.

This review appears in The Stratford Gazette on August 15, 2013. Written by Robyn Godfrey, Librarian.

Read More

Shelf Life [kids]

The Great Escape, by Megan Rix, 210 pages.

@ SPL:  J FIC Rix

    

In the dark days of World War II, many children in the city of London, England were evacuated to the countryside for safety. Such was the case with Robert and Lucy Edwards, who were sent across the country to stay with their grandmother on a farm in Devon. Their parents were away, serving with the war effort.  As a pilot, Mr. Edwards was in the thick of Britain’s Battle of the Sky, and Mrs. Edwards was a nurse on a floating hospital in the English Channel.

    

Three family members were left behind in London – two dogs and a cat.

    

The family would have never abandoned their beloved pets intentionally, but in an unfortunate series of mix-ups, the trio did not end up where they were supposed to be.  Eventually, they ended up at a shelter to be put down.

      

Sensing danger, the animals managed to slip away from the shelter, but this was only the beginning of their “great escape”.

    

The dogs, Rose and Buster, and Tiger, the cat, set out on a long journey out of the city and across England to Devon, where Rose had once lived on a farm. They persevered through hunger, illness, misfortune and danger, eventually reaching the very place where Lucy and Robert were staying.

    

As the story unfolds, readers will enjoy discovering the personalities of the brave and intrepid pets: Rose, an intelligent and faithful collie; Buster, a spirited Jack Russell, and Tiger, a feisty white and ginger tom cat.

    

This heartwarming tale, somewhat similar to Sheila Burnford’s The Incredible Journey, will charm those who enjoy animal and/or adventure stories.

** Recommended for ages 8 to 12 years.  

My Dog is a Hero by Anita Ganeri, 96 pages.

@ SPL: J 636.7 Gan

    

Some working dogs have amazing jobs, and some have even become heroes.

    

Dogs can be valuable members of emergency services, helping to locate trapped and injured people in disaster zones with their keen sense of smell. Did you know that a German Shepherd, Trakr, found the last person to be pulled out alive from the rubble of the World Trade Center after the 9/11 disaster?  Nearly one hundred search dogs helped to look for survivors in the huge area of concrete and metal debris. Trakr and his handler were later presented with the prestigious Extraordinary Service to Humanity Award by the United Nations.

    

Other search dogs help to locate missing hikers and climbers in remote areas, people trapped in snow after an avalanche and people buried in the debris of a rock slide or a mud slide. Trained to save lives and brave the most dangerous situations, these animals work as combat dogs and explosives detector dogs with soldiers, as water rescue dogs, and as tracking dogs with the police.

    

Canines also work as guide and assistance dogs for people who are visually or physically impaired.

      

Which dog breed has the keenest sense of smell? The bloodhound is three times better at recognizing scents than other breeds and can actually pick out a scent from a mixture of thousands!

    

Sometimes ordinary family dogs perform extraordinary acts, even risking their own lives to protect or save members of their human families. For example, owners have been awakened and alerted to house fires by their dogs.

    

From rescue dogs to guide dogs to beloved family pets, Anita Ganeri’s book, which includes lots of colourful real-life photos of canines in action, shows us just how very special and talented dogs can be!

** Recommended for ages 8 to 12 years.

This review appears in The Stratford Gazette on August 15, 2013. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian.

Read More

Evergreen™ Featured Title: The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak

The Winter Palace

Eva Stachniak
FIC Stach

From award-winning author Eva Stachniak comes this passionate novel that tells the epic story of Catherine the Great’s improbable rise to power—as seen through the ever-watchful eyes of Varvara, an all-but-invisible servant close to the throne. A slender young princess from Zerbst named Sophie is a playful teenager destined to become the indomitable Catherine the Great. Sophie’s destiny at court is to marry the Empress’s nephew, but she has loftier, more dangerous ambitions. What Sophie needs is an insider at court, a loyal pair of eyes and ears who knows the traps, the conspiracies, and the treacheries that surround her. Varvara will become Sophie’s confidante—and together the two young women will rise to the pinnacle of absolute power.

Eva Stachniak presented an hour long reading and chat about this book at the Halifax Public Library last year:

If this book piqued your interest in Russian history, check out some of the items that the library holds on Catherine the Great.

If you would like to know more about the Winter Palace and the Hermitage, visit  virtually at their amazing website! You can see rooms of the Winter Palace as well as the massive amount of art that the Hermitage holds. You might also want to check out the  stunning DVD Russian Ark, a visual journey through the Hermitage and Russian history.

Don’t forget, if you read this book as part of SPL’s STARR Summer Reading program, you can claim 2 stamps on your Rewards Card, and also be eligible to vote during Ontario Public Library Week, October 20-26, to choose the winner of the Evergreen™ Award!

Find this book in our library catalogue

Find other nominated titles on the Evergreen™ Award shortlist in our library catalogue

Read More

Shelf Life [kids]

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George, 225 pages.
@ SPL:  J FIC Georg
   
Castle Glower was a most unusual castle and was, in fact, alive. It had a mind of its own, too. No one ever knew what it would do next.

    

Every Tuesday brought evidence of this truth. New rooms, closets and turrets would appear in the castle, or old rooms would disappear – or both.  Sometimes new passageways, stairways, wings or even towers appeared or disappeared.

It was fortunate that the Castle Glower approved of its inhabitants, the king and his family, because the castle often caused unwelcome occupants or visitors to become helplessly lost by suddenly growing new passageways which could lead them anywhere – or nowhere at all. Such visitors, frustrated beyond endurance by hours or days of wandering, would flee immediately when finally released by the castle. 

Eleven-year-old Princess Celie loved living in the huge castle and never tired of exploring and mapping the ever-changing twists and turns of her home.

Celie’s knowledge of the castle and its secret passageways proved to be invaluable when the king and queen, on a two-week visit to another city, were ambushed and were missing for a long time. The castle, Princess Celie, her brother and her sister worked together successfully to defend the realm and its people from the sinister Prince Khelsh, who was plotting to imprison the royal family and add their kingdom to his own.

Readers will have lots of fun with this intriguing, fast-paced fantasy novel by Jessica Day George.

** Recommended for ages 8 to 11 years.

No Pirates Allowed! Said Library Lou by Rhonda Gowler Green, 32 pages.

@ SPL:  JP Green

One day the peace and calm of the Seabreezy Library were shattered when Big Pirate Pete and his parrot, Igor, stormed through the door. “Whar be the treasure? X marks this spot! We’ll dig up the loot an’ steal all that ye’ve got!”

Readers trembled and hid behind bookshelves. Only Library Lou had the bravery to reprimand the noisy pirate, and only when he spoke in a quieter, more polite voice did she allow him to stay in the library.

Then she agreed to help him find the library treasure.

Her first request for the smelly pirate was that he return home to take a bath and change his stinky clothes. He did.

The following day, Library Lou began to teach Pirate Pete the “code” necessary to find the treasure. She taught him the letters of the alphabet and how to form words with those letters. She taught him how to sound out words and how to read them.

Pirate Pete practiced faithfully every evening. He read Dr. Seuss’s books, the Frog and Toad books, and Treasure Island. He read about the sea, dinosaurs, insects, Mars and electric guitars – and he found that he enjoyed reading so much that he almost forgot about the treasure … almost!

One evening, Pirate Pete suddenly realized what the library’s “treasure” really was, and he realized that Library Lou had already helped him to find it.

The very next day, Pirate Pete and his parrot, Igor, went to the library to thank Library Lou … and to borrow some more treasure! 

This entertaining story of a spunky librarian and a rowdy pirate is told in rhyming text and illustrated with colourful, expressive art.

** Recommended for ages 4 to 7 years. 

This review appears in The Stratford Gazette on August 8, 2013. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian.

Read More

Shelf Life [adult]

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

@SPL: FIC Gaima

Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a fairy tale for adults in the best possible sense. It’s incredibly lightweight – at only 178 pages, Gaiman has stripped down his prose and left a spare, stunning myth that can be read in one stop on the beach blanket. Indeed, you may find you need the sunbeams – if this dark, bewitching tale doesn’t send a shiver down your spine, you likely have no pulse.

The book opens with an unnamed man returning to his childhood home after the death of a family member. In his grief, he’s drawn to the farm of a childhood friend named Lettie Hempstock. He winds up seated next to a pond they called the ocean, lost in childhood memories.

He had been a shy, quiet child who loved to read and had few friends. Soon after he turned seven, a boarder living in the narrator’s home took his own life. After discovering the body, the narrator is comforted by the Hempstocks, a family of remarkable women who live at the end of his lane.

Gaiman has created something special with the Hempstocks. Though they’re plainly supernatural, Gaiman makes no effort to explain what they are beyond imbuing them with spiritual elements from the Maiden/Mother/Crone trinity found in neopagan mythology. This lack of explanation makes them all the more powerful – as Gaiman well knows, a story’s real power lies in the unknown.

The narrator begins to bond with 11-year-old Lettie Hempstock. She keeps his company as a series of strange events unfold, all seemingly related to the suicide of the opal miner who boarded with the narrator’s family. Lettie takes the narrator on an errand to banish the being causing the trouble. This errand alone contains all the creepy beauty and wild atmosphere Gaiman’s known for, but it’s just the beginning. The being follows the unnamed young protagonist back home and manifests itself as an evil nanny named Ursula Monkton. She dedicates herself to trapping and enslaving the young boy.

Gaiman lets the story of an evil nanny tormenting the painfully young abandoned narrator unfold as simply as any children’s tale. This makes the powerful, luminous spirituality of the tale’s final showdown all the more profound. The only words to capture the dark beauty and wonder of the final pages of The Ocean at the End of the Lane are the ones Gaiman has already used, so you’ll just have to read it yourself. You won’t regret it – this is hands-down the most moving book I’ve read this year. Like any fairy tale, it’s a fiction for the ages, meant for telling the truth.

This review appears in The Stratford Gazette on August 8, 2013. Written by Shauna Thomas, Librarian.

Read More

Evergreen™ Featured Title: Intolerable by Kamal Al-Solaylee

Intolerable

Kamal Al-Solaylee
070.92 AlSol

As always, Shelagh Rogers is a wonderful interviewer, and has an extended conversation with Kamal Al-Solaylee over at The Next Chapter. Listen in to this 30 minute chat for more discussion of this book.

In the 1960s, Kamal Al-Solaylee’s father was one of the wealthiest property owners in Aden, in the south of Yemen, but when the country shrugged off its colonial roots, his properties were confiscated, and the family was forced to leave.

As a gay man living in an intolerant country, Al-Solaylee escaped first to England and eventually to Canada, where he became a prominent journalist and academic.

Intolerable is part memoir of an Arab family caught in the turmoil of Middle Eastern politics over six decades, part personal coming-out narrative and part cultural analysis. This is a story of the modern Middle East that we think we know so much about.

Kamal Al-Solaylee was a nominee for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Non-Fiction in 2012, and spoke about a particular passage in his book in the National Post at that time, and why it was his ‘favourite part’.

Watch Al-Solaylee speak to Xtra about his book:

Don’t forget, if you read this book as part of SPL’s STARR Summer Reading program, you can claim 2 stamps on your Rewards Card, and also be eligible to vote during Ontario Public Library Week, October 20-26, to choose the winner of the Evergreen™ Award!

Find this book in the library catalogue

Find the other nominees on the Evergreen Shortlist

Read More

Library Closed August 5

Just a friendly reminder that the Library will be closed Monday August 5 for the Civic Holiday.

We will reopen Tuesday August 6 at 10am

While our doors may be locked you can still access digital materials including items from downloadLibrary and Zinio 36/24/7. Read on!

Read More

Shelf Life [adult]

Red Joan By Jennie Rooney

@SPL: FIC Roone

In the days before World War II the shadow of communism took a back seat to the more imminent threats of Fascism in the form of the Nazis – those who believed in Communism were thrown for a loop when Stalin sided with Hitler, but in the decade following the war it was Communism the world feared. 80-year-old Joan, living in Kent, is not surprised when agents from MI5 finally show up at her door. She is resigned but also desperate to protect her son, a high-ranking judge, from the truth of her past – she had indeed passed state secrets along to the Soviet Union. Joan’s story gradually unfolds in flashbacks to her days at pre-World-War II Cambridge, meeting people like Leo, her first love, and his glamorous cousin Sonya, who expressed the kind of idealism that became dangerous, and eventually spawned some of the most notorious Communist spies of the Cold War. Leo gets deported to Canada, far from the horrors of the Blitz, and Joan begins work for the “Metals Research Facility” at Cambridge (which, under the Official Secrets Act, was something entirely different). While quite intelligent and fiercely independent – she never joins the Communist Party – Joan turns out to be a poor judge of character, trusting those she definitely should not, while only slowly coming to trust those she should – a constant dilemma when one has chosen to betray one’s country.  It is not the only dilemma Joan faces, and the ethical questions the novel raises makes Red Joan a great pick for any book club discussion. Jennie Rooney was inspired to write Red Joan after learning about the exploits of the “granny spy” Melita Norwood who passed British nuclear secrets to the Russians during the Cold War. While Norwood remained an unapologetically staunch supporter of Communism her whole life, Joan believes her motives stem from the political climate of the times – whether she is correct in this, you the reader get to decide.  Find Red Joan and other titles reviewed in this column at www.spl.bibliocommons.com under the tag Shelf Life Reviewed.

This review appears in The Stratford Gazette on August 1, 2013. Written by Robyn Godfrey, Librarian.

Read More

Shelf Life [kids]

No Safety in Numbers by Dayna Lorentz, 263 pages

@ SPL:  YA FIC Loren   

    

At first, the teens thought that being trapped in a mall with lots of free restaurant food was rather fun.

    

Later, the fun and novelty wore off. 

    

And later still, the quarantine became a scene of desperation and panic. 

    

Four teens – two girls and two boys – are among the thousands of people suddenly quarantined in a huge, busy three-level shopping mall when a biological bomb is discovered in an air duct. Most have no idea why security and the police are preventing everyone from leaving or entering. A total communications blackout is in effect.

    

No Safety in Numbers is the account of the week-long mall lockdown, told from the alternating points of view of four teens, Marco, Lexi, Shay and Ryan.

    

As the story begins, each teen is preoccupied with personal issues. Very soon, these issues are forced well into the background as the confusion in the mall grows. People are looking for information and asking questions – but there are no answers.  Many are trying, unsuccessfully, to make phone calls. Some try to escape, but none succeed.

    

As the days pass, the confusion turns to fear and violence as food grows scarce, people fall sick with a mysterious illness and some even die.  Riots occur, and when hazmat crews show up, there is mass panic. The four teens try to help others, but in the end, they must simply try to survive.   

    

Dayna Lorentz’s gripping novel envisions what can happen when “regular people are faced with impossible choices”, when fear and the instinct for survival seem to trump logical and compassionate behavior in many people. In others, including the four teens, the crisis brings out the best.  Readers will ask themselves “Could this situation happen in my community, and if it did, how would I react?”

    

There is little resolution at the end of this novel (which is somewhat similar to The Lord of the Flies and Contagion) but it will be followed by a soon-to-be-published sequel, No Easy Way Out.

** Recommended for ages 13 years and up (some mature content and language)

The Raft by S.A. Bodeen, 231 pages

@ SPL:  YA FIC Bodee

    

In this intensely compelling story, 15-year-old Robie is returning home on a small cargo plane which goes down over the Pacific Ocean during an unexpected storm. After being pulled onto a small life raft by the only other survivor, Max, the two are in desperate straits.  Max has suffered a serious concussion and isn’t always conscious.  They have no drinking water, no food except a bag of Skittles, and there is no land anywhere in sight. What they do have is a flimsy, leaking raft and a dangerous tiger shark which is following them. 

    

Robie and Max hold very little hope of being rescued.  Because Robie hadn’t told anyone of her last-minute change of plans, no one knows that she was on the cargo flight. No one will be looking for her, and even if they did, how would they find her?  Robie and Max are in the middle of nowhere.

    

This is an excellent survival story. The well-developed plot, with its unexpected twist, will keep a tight grip on readers right to the bittersweet conclusion of the story.  Robie is a likeable, resourceful and realistic protagonist who, understandably, makes some mistakes. In the end, she is saved as much by her own mental strength as by the circumstances that finally, after many days, lead to her rescue.      

** Recommended for ages 12 to 15 years.

This review appears in The Stratford Gazette on August 1, 2013. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian.

Read More