NVCL’s Fresh Picks — June 2013

When you’ve got something new, it’s nice when someone notices.  A fabulous new bag can be made more fabulous by an appreciative audience – the same can be said of new books.  From now on, we’d like a chance to show off some of the newest additions to our collections, our Fresh Picks.  Here are some of the most exciting new books we’ve very recently added to our shelves:

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes*

What makes it exciting?  A time travelling serial killer who seeks out girls he perceives as having ‘vital energy.’  It’s graphic, yet thrilling.  In the New York Times, Janet Maslin raves that it’s a “strong contender for the role of this summer’s universal beach read.”

Taipei by Tao Lin*

What makes it exciting?  The sparkly cover may be the only thing about this book that screams excitement, but there’s a certain allure to reading about the heartless ennui of youth.

TransAtlantic by Colum McCann*

What makes it exciting?  McCann’s Let the Great World Spin won the 2009 National Book Award and the 2011 IMPAC Dublin award (it’s the award chosen by public libraries, so I follow it).  I’m eager to see how his newest compares – it’s a sprawling interconnected narrative perfect for fans of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas.

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay*

What makes it exciting?  The sense of mystery.  Nastya Kashnikov’s life is in ruins.  She finds herself drawn to Josh Bennett, a boy who has lost everything.  The mystery of how Nastya became broken is parceled out in this immensely readable first novel.

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

What makes it exciting?  The premise is intriguing. Kirkus raves that this story of a woman grieving the loss of her sister (who happens to be a chimpanzee) is “technically and intellectually complex, while emotionally gripping.”

*Thanks to NetGalley for providing promotional copies of these titles.

–Patricia

My Favourite Fabulous Fictional Fathers

(now with 33% more alliteration)

Father’s Day is coming soon.  (I’m just putting that out there so anyone who needs to do any shopping can get on it.)  In celebration of that special day when my Mr. Right shall be served croissant and freshly ground coffee in bed while enjoying “alone time” cuddling with his favourite people, here are some of my favourite fictional fathers; people who know that it’s not just “mother” that is a verb meaning to treat a person with great kindness and love and to try  to protect them from anything dangerous or difficult,” it’s “father” too  (Thanks to http://dictionary.cambridge.org for the definition.)

Charles Ingalls in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie series

Who didn’t love Pa when they were growing up? He was strong, understanding, and fair.  Plus he always knew how to make his little Half Pint feel loved.

Atticus Finch in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird

It’s hard to imagine a list of awesome fathers without Atticus on it.  He’s a role model who teaches by example that his children should stand up for what they believe in.

T.S. Garp in John Irving’s The World According to Garp

One of the most beautiful thing about this memorable novel is Garp’s protective love for his children and his desire to keep them safe from all the dangers of the world.

Will in Nick Hornby’s About a Boy

A 36-year old boy becomes a man when he befriends Marcus, a bullied child.

Dave in David Eggers’  A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

The title says it all really.  Dave becomes the parent of his little brother Toph after they lose both parents to cancer.

Have a favourite fictional father of your own?  Add it in the comments below.

–Patricia

Take a Survey and Enter to Win a Kobo eReader!

Take our Adult Arts and Culture Programming Survey and enter to win a Kobo eReader!

We are gathering feedback on our current events and programming, as well as ideas for future ones, and we need your input.

Take the online survey here, or visit the library to fill out a print version, from now until June 21^st. The prize drawing will take place on June 28^th.

Thanks for your help!

–Heidi

Binge Reading/Watching

I did it.  I binged watched Season 4 of Arrested Development.  The whole thing.  In three days (and I’m a working mama with three kids).  Now that it’s done I want more.  More dysfunctional families!  More disturbing sexual humour!  More of the beautiful sadness between Michael and George Michael.  A lot more GOB!  Just plain more.  And I can’t have it, because there isn’t any more.  Not yet.  Spending time online reading other people’s reviews of S4 is satisfying to a point, but it doesn’t compare with the enthralled glee of puzzling out the dizzying web of jokes for myself.  So what do I read or watch or whatever now?  What do you read, if you’re in the same spot?

I’m thinking the answer is something completely and totally different.  Something not set in California, something not funny, something that bears no resemblance to Arrested Development as all. (Cue Prince singing Nothing Compares 2 U).

 

I’m thinking you read Dan Brown’s Inferno.

It’s the S4 of the Robert Langdon books.  It’s set in Florence Italy.  It’s about a successful professor of symbology (note to self:  must Google and find out if that’s a real job; it sounds cool).  And, thanks to 3-page chapters that unfailingly end in cliff hangers, it is perfect for binge-reading.

So, in the interest of better blogging, that’s what I read.  And again I’m stuck wanting more.  More sinister conspiracies.  More is-that-for- real art history.  Just plain more.  So what do I read or watch or whatever now?  What do you read, if you’re in the same spot?

I’m thinking the answer is something completely and totally different.  I’m urging you to abandon readalikes like Steve Berry and Robert Massello for the moment.  (Cue Prince singing Nothing Compares 2 U).

I’m thinking you re-read Bret Easton Ellis’ first novel, Less Than Zero.

Okay, so no we’re back to California.  The families are once again dysfunctional.  The stories are sick and borderline unbelievable.  We’re basically reading Arrested Development in an alternate universe.  With a lot less laughter.  Throw in Imperial Bedrooms, which catches up with the characters 20+ years on and we’re back to the newest incarnation of AD in an alternate universe.  Plus, Imperial Bedrooms is very meta.

So, in the interest of better blogging that’s what I binge read.

Now, if I could only figure what to read next.

–Patricia

Heidi’s Summer Beach Read Picks

It’s getting to be that time of year… the time when it’s completely acceptable to read books that are probably not going to win any literary prizes. That’s right — I’m talking beach reads.

Here’s what I’m looking forward to getting sandy and sunscreen-stained this summer:

The Shining Girls, by Lauren Beukes

Described as The Time Traveler’s Wife meets The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and lauded by the NYT‘s Janet Maslin as “a strong contender for the role of this summer’s universal beach read,” this is the story of a time-traveling serial killer who is impossible to trace–until one of his victims survives. (June 4)

The Curiosity, by Stephen Kiernan

This time, The Time Traveler’s Wife meets Michael Crichton in this novel about a man, frozen in the Arctic ice for more than a century, who awakens in the present day. (July 9)

The Engagements, by J. Courtney Sullivan

From the author of Maine (a past favourite beach read of mine) comes this new story spanning nearly a hundred years featuring four wholly unique marriages. (June 11)

Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan

A supposedly hilarious novel about three super-rich, pedigreed Chinese families and the gossip, backbiting, and scheming that occurs when the heir to one of the most massive fortunes in Asia brings home his ABC (American-born Chinese) girlfriend to the wedding of the season. (June 11)

Kiss Me First, by Lottie Moggach

A chilling and intense story of a solitary young woman drawn into an online world run by a charismatic web guru who entices her into impersonating a glamorous but desperate woman. (July 9)

 

Adulting: How to Become a Grown-up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps, by Kelly Williams Brown

Cheeky vignettes on the process of becoming a grownup? The perfect addition to real aloud to friends over sundowners in Tofino. (Out now)

What are your picks for beach-reading season?

–Heidi

Read This, Watch That: Books Coming to the Small Screen

A while back a TV show called 666 Park Avenue was cancelled.  I don’t know anyone who watched it besides me, but I was gripped from the word go.  It was a modern day horror story (LOVE horror) set in Manhattan (LOVE Manhattan) and based on a book (LOVE books).  Since it’s been gone I’ve tried other shows like Hemlock Grove, a Gothic werewolf soap opera based on a book, but nothing’s really caught my interest.

There’s not much time to wait now until the much much much anticipated return of Arrested Development (coming to NetFlix May 26), but after those 15 episodes have been devoured, I want to have something visual to look forward to.

Fortunately there’s some hope on the horizon.  New shows coming soon that promise much.  I bring them to your attention now, in case you are like me and need to read the book first. (Are you?  Let us know in the comments below…)

Under the Dome by Stephen King (coming to CBS in June)

The town of Chester’s Mill (in Maine, naturally) is sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field in this epic horror/drama.

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman (coming to NetFlix July 11)

This memoir takes us inside life at a Connecticut women’s prison.  The show will be a comedy-drama and is created by Jenji Kohan, of Weeds fame (LOVED Weeds).

About a Boy by Nick Hornby (coming to NBC this fall)

The coming of age of a well-to-do manchild.  I don’t know whether to hold out much hope for this one: One of my favourite books (which was made into one of my favourite movies) being turned into a sitcom (not one of my favourite formats) starring Minnie Driver (not one of my favourite actresses).

American Gods by Neil Gaiman (coming to HBO, release date TBA)

Kirkus raves, “A magical mystery tour through the mythologies of all cultures, a unique and moving love story-and another winner for the phenomenally gifted, consummately reader-friendly Gaiman.”  I can hardly wait.

–Patricia

Hugh Howey’s Wool

People read for all kinds of reasons. Normally, I tend to read books with complex characters I can relate to, or books that evoke a distinct time and place. On occasion, however, my life whirlwinds into a heady state of chaotic to-do lists, intense event-hosting responsibilities and a million and one little details to get right. When that happens, I just want to escape into a book.

Hugh Howey’s self-published phenomena Wool satisfied this need perfectly when I was deep in the midst of North Shore Writers Festival and panel planning for the British Columbia Library Association’s 2013 conference. Howey’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi tale is set far in the future, when the Earth’s air is fatally poisenous and all known humanity lives permanently underground in a massive,  air-sealed silo.

I can’t tell you how therapeutic it was to get on the bus after a long, crazy day and just sink into this fantastic novel. It’s the kind reading experience where the world around you falls away and you need to be careful not to miss your stop because you are so absorbed in  its fascinating universe and gripping plot.

Thank you, Hugh Howey, for giving me the needed reprieve from my crazy life during those two weeks!

For more escapist fiction, see my Bibliocommons list here.

And for more on the exhilarating moxie Hugh Howey has brought to the publishing world, check out this WSJ article.

–Heidi