The February Light, by Catherine Gillier

The last days of February are upon us now.  Hearts have been given away to lovers, and dark evenings have given way to longer afternoons of sunshine.  Here at the library, the light is revealing some titles that have been on the shelves for a few months and are waiting for the opportunity to open their covers to more patrons.

Michael Ondaatje’s book THE CAT’S TABLE is a moving novel that takes place on a ship as it makes its way through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean Sea.  The time is the early 1950s, and at mealtimes, an eleven year old boy is placed at the “Cat’s Table” with grown-ups and two other boys.  The magical and forbidden discoveries of childhood come to the boys as they find themselves immersed in the stories of the adults around them.  What is the burden of this understanding as their lives unfold into adulthood?

SAY YOU’RE ONE OF THEM is a book of stories.  Each of the stories is told from the perspective of a child.  The young characters maintain innocence in the face of corruption and pain.  Family poverty, religious conflict, family dynamics, war-torn spaces all come together to form tragic tales.  Through the eyes of children, the author is able to find small traces of beauty and goodness among the ruins.

Julie Colvin has written a book called A CURE FOR EMMA that raises awareness of the serious nature of Type 1 diabetes.  The disease demands a constant vigilance and determination on the part of diabetics and their families.  This book is a meaningful chronicle which may shed light on the disease, and facilitate the advancement of a cure.  Colvin writes with openness, humour and a maternal power that takes the reader on a journey inside the reality of Type 1 diabetes and its seriousness.

IN THE FIELD by Claire Tacon is a novel that draws the reader into Nova Scotia.  Ellie Lucan left her small village to get a PhD in earth sciences.  But she finds herself going back to her hometown after she loses her job.  She is confronted with the prejudices of a small town and the squalor of her sick mother’s house.  This is an unsentimental portrait of community that is able to absorb the reader in the ordinariness of complicated life.

So as February draws to a close, make a nice hot cup of tea and settle back in the reading chair.  Travel on a ship and learn of the stories of adults.  Keep the small traces of beauty and goodness alive in your heart even in tragic times.  Become aware of the seriousness of childhood Type 1 diabetes and the strength of parental love.  Hike across the fields in Nova Scotia and touch the earth.

Come to the library.  Open the door to so much more.

Reviews from our Readers from the Snow Much Fun Winter Reading Club

Finding It: and Satisfying My Hunger for Life Without Opening the Fridge

By: Valerie Bertinelli

A story about a 49 year old woman who has been acting since the age of twelve and has always struggled with her weight.  Valerie decides to lose 40 lbs through the Jenny Craig weight loss system.  She loses the weight and goes on to be a spokesman for Jenny Craig. Valerie also tells of her 20-year unhappy marriage with rock star Eddie Van Halen.  She speaks of her only child Wolfie.  Valerie goes on to marry again and tells of some of the struggles of a blended family.

Submitted by:  Ethel St. Jean

Walter Gretzky:  On Family, Hockey and Healing

By: Walter Gretzky

This is one of the best books I’ve read.  This was a man who grew up on a farm in Brantford, ON.  Walter and his wife raised five beautiful children including the great Wayne Gretzky. Walter tells about his recovery from a serious stroke.  Following his recovery he went onto helping others by telling his story.  He hopes to encourage others to overcome their struggles following a stroke.

Submitted by:  Ethel St. Jean

The Meeting Place

By: Janette Oke and T. Davis Bunn

There are many wonderful adventures for both French settlers and separated English settlers. Then the torturous separations of two close friendships as the French were transported elsewhere.

Submitted by:  Gloria Fairen

The Birthright (sequel to The Sacred Shore)

By:  Janette Oke and T. Davis Bunn

Daughters re-united with birth parents, friendships renewed.  Stories of love, young and old alike and prayerful throughout.  Adventures across the ocean.

Submitted by:  Gloria Fairen

The Sacred Shore

By:  Janette Oke and T. Davis Bunn

The continuing saga of those French Acadians uprooted from their villages and landed in foreign lands.  Two decades go by with adventures of teenage love.  A parent’s sibling reunited after decades apart.  Epics of horrendous storms while journeying across the ocean.  Prayerful throughout.

Submitted by:  Gloria Fairen

The Distant Beacon (sequel to The Birthright)

By:  Janette Oke and T. Davis Bunn

So many adventures, loves sorrows and unknown heritage revealed.  Cautious travelling through a country over taken.  Retreating, disappointments and conflict.  Loves triumphant turns of events and prayerful throughout.

Submitted by:  Gloria Fairen

The Tender Years (A Prairie Legacy #1)

By:  Janette Oke

It was wonderful to read more about Marty and Clark Davies’ lives in the Love Comes Softly series and now twenty years later.  This is indeed a Prairie Legacy.  Three more sequels.  Prayerful throughout.

Submitted by:  Gloria Fairen

A Quiet Strength

By:  Janette Oke

Such a loving, compassionate story and within it a very touching story about a terrified toddler.

The Christmas scenes are powerful and through the eyes of a child.

Prayerful throughout.

Submitted by:  Gloria Fairen

The Beloved Land (Song of Acadia series #5)

By:  Janette Oke and T. Davis Bunn

This book and all books in the series are high adventure.  A time in history we can only imagine.  A very well written novel that gives us an insight into trials experienced during the American Revolution.  Prayerful throughout.

Submitted by:  Gloria Fairen

Ankylosaurus

By: Rupert Matthews

This is a book about a dinosaur that lived a long, long time ago.  Its name is Ankylosaurus.  Ankylosaurus lived on high land and hills, and there was a lot of food for Ankylosaurus.  Ankylosaurus had a bony tail club at the end of its tail.  On its back it had a bony armor to keep Ankylosaurus safe from danger like the Tyrannosaurus rex.  The Ankylosaurus swings its tail and it helps Ankylosaurus escape.  I have 15 dinosaurs, that is why I borrowed this book.  I really like dinosaurs because they look interesting.

Submitted by:  Hayley Dyck

Patch

By:  Kristin Earhart

Patch loves living in her stable.  She does not like jumping any more.  She loves riding in the woods with Lauren her owner.  Patch met a new horse at the stable.  Her name is Gold Charm.  Gold Charm is very beautiful.  Lauren met the owner of Gold Charm too.  The new girl’s name is Sara.  Sara loved to show off her horse a lot.  Lauren goes in the woods all the time.  The new girl Sara wanted to come too.  They went into the woods.  The new girl did not like the woods at all.  Gold Charm jumped over a broken tree that had fallen down.  Gold Charm got scared and she started to run.  Lauren and Patch raced after them.  When Patch and Lauren caught up to them, Gold Charm quieted down.  Then they were able to get out of the woods.  Sara was so happy she got out of the woods.  Then the horses were grazing together.  The Lauren asked “Can we be friends too”?

Submitted by:  Samantha Dyck

Taking The Reins (A Canterwood Crest  book)

By:  Jessica Burkhart

I loved this book so much I read it twice!  My favourite characters were Sasha Silver and, of course, Charm.  I liked when Sasha made the advanced riding team because I can relate to her.  This is one of my favourite horse books.  One of my least favourite parts of the book was when Sasha went to her first big show and won second place.  Overall this was a very good book and I highly recommend it.  When you are finished reading the first one there are lots of other great books in this series.

Submitted by:  Kayla Matte

Tarzan: The Greystoke Legacy

By:  Andy Briggs

I love the book because it was telling that the jungle is being cut down by lumber barons and it was up to Tarzan to save his home, the jungle, as he is the king of the jungle.  He met Jane and Jane tried to take him to civilization.  Tarzan said that he lives in the jungle.  It was exciting, I couldn’t put it down.

Submitted by:  Aaron Paraskevopoulos

Pray For Silence

By:  Linda Castillo

In this new author’s Amish mystery series, it returns to the small town of Painter’s Mill where Sheriff Kate Burkholder again strives to solve the seemingly questionable suicide/murder of a seven member Amish family, the Planks. While economic times are poor, could an Amish father have killed his entire family and then committed suicide? Kate and her friend/lover state agent John Tomasetti work together to fit the pieces of the puzzle together before someone targets Kate for a grisly murder and hides the secrets of a high priced pornography ring involving several respected community members. While Linda Castillo has only written three books, once you begin this series you will be hooked.  Start with her first novel Sworn to Silence and you will love her series.

Submitted by:  Carolyn Gilbert

Reflection

By:  Diane Chamberlain

This prolific author again has written a multi-faceted novel of unselfishness, unfulfilled love and betrayal by a whole town. How does a small town learn to forgive a young woman for the death of three children and learn to move on to heal once closely kept secrets are revealed? Banned from visiting her grandmother Helen Huber, will Rachel Huber learn her secrets and help her find a lost love and why Helen stayed in a marriage of convenience all those years? Will Rachel herself reconnect with her childhood friend Michael, a local minister or will the town’s expectations keep them apart? Chamberlain skillfully intertwines all of her characters and plots to end in a fulfilling and unexpected climax.

Submitted by:  Carolyn Gilbert

Only Time Will Tell

By:  Jeffrey Archer

This book is set in England in the years just prior to the Second World War.  In true Archer style the narrative is gripping with many twists; the more unlikely being the path down which Archer likes to meander in order to connect all characters.  The only disappointment with this book is that it is the first of a series so it will probably be awhile before the second book is released and in the library for borrowing purposes.

Submitted by:  Sylvia Siemens

The Good Sister

By:  Drusila Campbell

Campbell writes a gripping narrative putting a human face on postpartum depression.  The story unravels in the present and past format as past memories and experiences are used to explain the present day events.  The book does an excellent job of holding ones attention and teaching through exploring the interactions and emotions of the characters in the story.  By the end of the story Campbell has masterfully left the reader with sympathy for each one of the characters leaving mental illness as the only antagonist.

Submitted by:  Sylvia Siemens

The Hunger Games

By:  Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games is a great novel!  It has romance, action and adventure.  My favourite part is when they reveal Katniss’ costume and everyone likes it.

Submitted by:  William Pypher

Catching Fire

By:  Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire is a good book.  It has romance and some action, but other than that it’s just an “in the middle” of two books book.  I didn’t have a favourite part.

Submitted by:  William Pypher

Mockingjay

By:  Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay is an excellent novel.  It has romance, action, adventure, sadness, happiness, and suspense.  My favourite part is when the main character (Katniss) is thought to be dead, but she’s actually alive.

Submitted by:  William Pypher

Maggie

Par:  Daniel Lessard

Livre captivant et très facile a lire.  Intrigues entre le maire du village et le cure de la paroisse qui nous rapelle des faits vécu.  J’ai beaucoup aimer.

Submitted by:  C. Gauthier

Une nuit sur la mer

Par:  Patricia MacDonald

Suspense assure, se lit très bien.  Une mere qui cherche la veritere qui cherche la verité sur la mort de sa fille.  Ce termine bien.

Submitted by:  C. Gauthier

A Song I Knew By Heart

By:  Bret Lott

I can’t believe this book was written by a man.  It touched me deeply and evoked plenty of emotion.  He put words to feelings I’m sure everyone who has lost someone has felt.  A book about the heart, forgiveness and moving forward.

Submitted by: Brenda Haskins

The Time of My Life

By:  Cecelia Ahern

I found this book good to read:  It was like a drama and a mystery in one.  I am still not sure who or what “life” was or meant in this book.  If life was in her head or actually a real person, trying to get her to live her life without lying and get back on the right path.  I found it to be a book about a person who was giving up on herself because of her break-up with her boyfriend.  I liked the book, it was interesting to me.  It was about daily life and what can happen to a person’s life if you don’t take responsibility for yourself and start giving up and lying to others and yourself; How a person really feels inside, not putting on a pretense, that everything is fine, when it isn’t.

Submitted by:  Joyce Mercier

An Introduction to Viking Mythology

By: John Grant

This is an interesting choice for the reader interested in the mythology of the Norse people of Northern Europe.  The book is informative but the introduction of the book is more about the author’s thoughts about the northern people of that time, simply a bias and opinion is formed when not familiar with the rest of this “Viking” culture.  The word Viking means to raid or plunder, the rest of the culture was not as harsh as these pirates of ancient times, so in short I say pay little mind to the introduction because the rest of the book is quite fascinating. The illustrations are done in such a way as to inspire the imagination, and are sure to be a favourite of yours as it too is a favourite of mine.  Other books liken to this one are Beowulf, Elder Edda, Poetic Edd. Thank you hungry readers.

Submitted by:  Mike Zavitz

Le Passage: From Scott Street to Timbuktu

By:  Bernadette Meunier

For someone that didn’t know Bernadette it is a good book.  It talks about her beginning.  She was born in the early 1930s and was raised poor as everybody else during those years.  She married in 1947 and raised her family.  She raised four kids.  She worked 28 years at Northern Telephone Ltd.  After her kids were gone she travelled with her husband, friends and sister.  Then with her friend Don she travelled all over the world.  Bernadette was a kind lady, full of life.  She had a good life like she said and she also  liked music.  She was always smiling.

Submitted by:  Francoise Lachapelle

My Sister’s Keeper

By:  Jodi Picoult

As usual this book was better and different than the movie.  Despite its serious overtone the characters are relatable in every way.  With each chapter being told by a different character I quickly found myself whisked along.

Submitted by:  Brenda Haskins

Home Again

By:  Kristin Hannah

This is a story about a girl who is a rebellious teenager whose mother is a brilliant cardiologist and a friend of two men who are brothers, one a priest a dear friend to both, the other, unknown to the daughter, is her talented, movie star father.  It turns out her father becomes very ill, ends up needing a heart and sent to the hospital where the mother is caring for him.  The priest brother is in a fatal car accident and his brother becomes the recipient of the priest’s (his brother’s) heart.  Eventually, the family gets together, the mother and the movie star brother marry and the story has a beautiful ending between several interesting incidents, with the daughter, then the mother with the father.  A good read.

Submitted by:  Arden McNamara

The Girls They Left Behind

By:  Lillian Harry

This is the first book I have read by Lillian Harry.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  The details of the war in Britain give you real insight into the everyday lives of the people who had to live through it.  From the young men who had to leave their sweethearts behind, to parents and even young roughians who went about looting the bombed out buildings.

Submitted by:  Molly Blais

The Short Forever

By:  Stuart Woods

Set in London, England, this novel by Stuart Woods is packed with intrigue and drama.  While the story unfolds quickly and is exciting the ensuing twists and turns keep the reader on his toes.  A much longer book than many of Stuart Woods’ usual stories, it ends with a “bang”.

Submitted by:  Ruth Shepherdson

Snow Much Fun!, By Alison McCorkle

Our Winter Reading Club “Snow Much Fun” was a huge success with over 170 registered participants!  We happily handed out dozens of bags of snowman poop (really yummy white treats) when our reading club members submitted book reviews to us when they returned their library books.

This month-long reading club came to an end yesterday.  All the numbers from the laminated snowman bookmarks that each participant received when they registered went into our fish bowl and one number was drawn.  That lucky number was 226 and it belongs to the bookmark given to Roy Sutton.  So Roy is the lucky winner of the gorgeous “Snow Much Fun” prize basket that has been on display in the New Liskeard branch for the past few weeks.  CONGRATULATIONS ROY!!!

Congratulations to all our “Snow Much Fun” members as a lot of great books were borrowed, read and enjoyed in the past month.  Thank you all for taking part.

For all who have submitted book reviews, keep checking this Blog as some of our favourites should be posted here soon.

Charles Dickens, by Sue Culhane

On February 7, 1812, one of the world’s finest writers was born. Charles Dickens was born in a tiny terraced house in Landport, England, the second of seven children. As a child he was very sickly and suffered from “spasms” which recurred at times of stress throughout his life.

Dickens relied very heavily on his own experiences, the characters that influenced his life and also on the society of the time in his books.  For example, one of his best known characters –Mr. Micawber of the book “David Copperfield”—is based on his own father. John Dickens was charming, kind hearted and generous but like Mr. Micawber was incapable of managing his money. Because of this Dickens lived in great poverty for much of his young life. His father was eventually incarcerated in a debtors’ prison. Although Charles was boarded outside the prison he visited everyday and in his later writing was highly critical of the government of the day for its treatment of poor and homeless. Because of his own experiences as a child be became a vocal crusader on behalf of poor, abandoned and abused children.

Despite this criticism of the government he was embraced and at his death Queen Victoria wrote in her diary:  “Charles Dickens is a very great loss. He had a large loving mind and the strongest sympathy with the poorer classes.”

Charles Dickens was a man of contrasts. Although he condemned the power of money throughout his fiction he never lost the drive to accumulate wealth and when he died he left a fortune that would amount to about $7,000,000. He often ignored his own children but was totally unselfish in his championship of the poor children he encountered.

This complexity of character serves to make his writing beloved by many, but his own life also makes interesting reading. Here at the Haileybury Branch of the Temiskaming Shores Public Library there are many of Dickens’ best loved books and nonfiction material about the man himself. In addition, a fictionalized novel by Gaynor Arnold called “Girl in a Blue Dress” provides a very entertaining and insightful look into this great writer.

Happy birthday, Charles Dickens!

Reginald Hill, by Sue Culhane

On January 12^th 2012 the prolific English writer, Reginald Hill, died at the age of 75. Hill was best known for his more than 20 crime novels featuring Andrew Dalziel and Peter Pascoe but he also wrote more than 30 other novels. The BBC created a TV series based on these characters which portrayed very vividly this mismatched pair! The first novel in the series, “The Clubbable Woman” was published in 1970.

Before devoting himself to full time writing Hill was an English teacher and his literary background is very evident in his novels that employ a variety of literary techniques and are a source of great pleasure to his many fans. The second book in the series, “An Advancement of Learning” derives its title from the philosophical tome of Francis Bacon (1561-1626) and each chapter includes a quote from this book which is relevant to the action in that particular chapter. Although probably not of the standard of his later novels this book emphasizes the difference between the two main characters. The setting of the book – a college – is a very comfortable background for the University educated Pascoe while emphasizing the brashness and vulgarity of Dalziel.

In “On Beulah Height” published in 1998, Hill uses a writing technique in which the story is seen through the eyes of more than a dozen characters including Pascoe’s daughter who experiences a brush with death.  Surprisingly, perhaps, this technique does not distract the reader but adds depth to the fabric of the novel.

Reginald Hill was for many readers one of the greatest in his genre and his books give pleasure on many levels, the plot, the strong characters and the literary allusions. It is possible to read the books as simply a good mystery but also for the fine writing.

For his many fans the death of Reginald Hill is a cause of great sadness.

Travel Through the Pages of a Book by Catherine Gillier

The calendar has turned another page and swept us all into the month of February.  Here at the library, pages are turning too.  Inside some new books on the shelf, they are making quite a commotion.

THE FREE WORLD by David Bezmozgis is a novel that is thought-provoking and wonderfully uplifting.  It is the summer of 1978.  Soviet Jews have escaped to freedom through a crack in the Iron Curtain.  Among the people who have landed in Italy are members of the Krasnonsky family.  Is there promise or peril for their new life in the West?  The author has written a multi-layered drama of ambivalence and excitement.  His musical prose will take the reader on an unflinching journey.

Sheila Fischman has translated a book by Kim Thuy entitled RU.  In Vietnamese, Ru means lullaby.  In French, Ru is a small stream.  Written with clarity, wit and understanding, this book takes the reader from wealth in Saigon to poverty in a refugee camp in Malaysia, and on to a new beginning in Quebec.  This flowing stream from history to memory, from past to present, celebrates all the complexities of life.

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES is a novel that travels from the cobbled streets of Oxford to a small town in upstate New York.  It takes the reader through a 1500-year history from the Crusades to the American Revolution.  With the touch of a great storyteller, the author has created a collusion of magic and science, and a synthesis of magic and history.  Deborah Harkness, the author, sets a fantastical underworld stirring when one of her characters finds an ancient book of magic in the course of her research at Oxford’s Bodleian Library.  What will be the consequences?

C.W. Gortner has written a novel called THE LAST QUEEN.  It is the story of Juana of Castile, the daughter of Spain’s Isabel and Ferdinand.  Royal secrets and Court manipulation twist through this tale of emotional and political tensions.  Readers will find a colourful drama in this gripping story of the Renaissance, the Tudors and Spain.

WEST OF WAWA by Lisa de Nikolits is a journey towards self-realization that features a vulnerable, fearless and funny woman named Benny.  She is on the run from a failed marriage, unhealthy food, and pretty much life in general.  The author writes with a sense of immediacy and freshness that pulls the reader into the story and shows how a life can turn from emptiness to one of fulfillment.

So as you step into the month of February, warm yourself with a cup of tea and a good book.  Follow the journey of Soviet Jews as they make a new life in the West.  Flow along through history from Vietnam to Quebec.  Connect with magic and the closely guarded secrets of an enchanted world.  Travel to Spain to share in the drama of monarchy.  Find yourself as you journey across Canada.

As the pages of the calendar continue to turn, lose yourself between the covers of a book and travel where the words on the page take you.

Come to the library.  Open the door to so much more.

SNOW MUCH FUN Winter Reading Club, By Alison McCorkle

Happy 2012 to you all!  As I’m writing this, I just realized that it is January 25^th, so that in turn reminds me that Christmas was a month ago!  So hard to believe, time just flies!!

To help make these somewhat dark and dreary, not to mention cold and slippery, winter days not seem so long, the Temiskaming Shores Public Library has a great program happening right now.  The SNOW MUCH FUN Winter Reading Club is in full swing and it is very easy for you to join in on the fun.  This reading club is open to readers of all ages and you can read (and write if you choose to) in either English or French.

Unlike a book club, the reading club allows you, the reader, to read whatever you choose and you don’t have to get together with others to discuss the (same) book you’ve all just read.

A reading club is a lot more informal and you only have to share your thoughts and feelings about the book if you want to.

With our SNOW MUCH FUN Winter Reading Club all you have to do is borrow a library book and register for the club.  When you register you will be given a lovely, laminated, snowman bookmark (our little gift to you).  Staff will let you know at that time, that if you choose to submit to the library a brief review of the book, we will display it in the library (no names revealed, so don’t be shy) and some of our favourite submissions will be posted on our blog.  In the New Liskeard branch we will even give you a little treat to eat to say thanks for your review.  These reviews serve a purpose.  Book reviews are a source of reader’s advisory.  I’m sure you’ve wondered what other readers have thought of books you are thinking of reading.  Is it worth your while to borrow this book or have most people who have read it been disappointed???  Well by people writing and submitting their book reviews and library staff displaying them, people will get an idea, a feel for whether or not they think a certain book will be to their liking.

The SNOW MUCH FUN Winter Reading Club is only going to last a month, so pop into the library and register now.  The club ends on February 17^th, 2012 and there will be a draw for a prize.   Each of the laminated snowman bookmarks that we give to participants is numbered.  These numbers will go into a hat and one lucky number will be drawn at each of the Temiskaming Shores Public Library branches.

With all the great books your public library has in its collection there are bound to be a few for you to enjoy and help you get through this cold, icy, winter month.  It isn’t every day that we reward you in such a tangible way for being great readers and loyal library patrons.  Come on in and register for the SNOW MUCH FUN Winter Reading Club and enjoy the gifts of great stories and a possible prize!!  Good Luck to all participants and stay warm cuddling up with a great book.