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It's December now and there's no getting away from the seasonal cheer and holiday shopping so we face it head on.
We share some of our December traditions, their favourite seasonal music and movies. And because we can't play it in the episode, head to YouTube and have a listen and watch of Chris de Burgh playing A Spaceman Came a Travelling. The Rankin and Bass animated collection of films get their annual mention, along with other classics like Die Hard, Home Alone and It's a Wonderful Life.
We also cover a few board games which would make nice gifts for groups of friends or family to play while visiting, including Angry Birds, Crib Wars, Pandemic, Anomia and Catan.
Which leads us to writing in books, whether they are meant to be written in, like The 52 Lists, or Wreck This Journal, or not, like that new hardcover book you received as a gift from your grandmother. Do you do it?
You've gotten this far in listening, or at least in reading, so now I can tell you that we have two gift certificates to give away this month. We have one $25 gift certificate to The Bookshelf and one $25 gift certificate to Miijida. We will draw two winners from the entries.
And to enter all you need to do is head to our iTunes page and give us a rating and review! Then grab a screenshot of that baby and email us at podcast@bookshelf.ca and let us know your name and phone number.
Follow the Bookshelf on Twitter and Facebook. Stay up to date on what's happening around the store at http://bookshelf.ca and join the weekly newsletter.
Theme music from the Free Music Archive, by The Underscore Orkestra
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
STAFF PICKS: BEST OF 2015
by Rachel Cusk
An alienated female writer comes to Greece to teach a writing class. Not only does she spin enchanting lucid prose but she also meets a cast of characters that show what fools we humans be! This philosophical novel with a very European feel made the Giller shortlist.
by Andre Alexis
Alexis, in his writerly power as God, has given a few dogs the characteristics of humans while retaining their dog-like senses. This novel has been described as thin and yet epic, much like Greek myths. We engage with his characters and super-charged senses of smell and overwhelming desires for either domination or submission. You'd be surprised at how directly his characters woof their talk about the human condition. Quite a feat for Alexis!
by Ian Brown
Did I really need to read a book about a sixty-year-old guy who wanted to be 40? This is what I thought when the book came in, but because Ian Brown had written such a heart opening book called the Boy in the Moon about his severely disabled son, I decided to give it a try. Brown writes in such a conversational way that it is relaxing to read, even though some of his "hang-ups" drove me crazy (like is he still attractive to women...particularly young women?), I was moved by the breadth of his knowledge. His reading life has made him the thoughtful man he is!
by Bill Bryson
The Daily Telegraph describes this as splendid and claims it is the best travel book of the year. Its subtitle is More Notes from a Small Island, banking on the fact that Notes from a Small Island has been the bestselling travel book ever. But that was 20 years ago and with this latest wandering of the British psyche and geography, Bryson gives us the best and worst of Britain today.
A colouring book for historians and nature enthusiasts, the plates that you are asked to colour were crafted in the 18th and 19th centuries. Of course, this is when there were no cameras, just the naked eye and pen or pencil. They are stunning and you can style them your with your own colour interpretation. Check out our great selection of colouring utensils!
by Bob Rae
If you were disturbed by the state of Canadian politics under Stephen Harper, this book will affirm that you had every right to be! It offers prescriptions to get Canada back on track on a community, national and international level. A very refreshing look at the future of Canadian politics. Essential reading for politicos.
by Pema Chödrön
Ah, the power of Pema. You could finish this book in the bath or savour it over the year. Fail, is actually a commencement lecture on ones best possible relationship with failure. Very readable and very relevant.
by James Marlon
You will never listen to certain Marley songs the same way again. A bumping multi-narrative ranging from gangsters, to Cuban revolutionaries and ghosts. James has recreated the time leading up to and after the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in 1976. Winner of the Man Booker Award! A difficult read but incredibly compelling and creative.
by Isabel Allende
This is a story with many threads – Japanese internment during the second World War, the impossibility of family, aging, well worn secrets and death. Allende has the knack of making something seemingly improbable a great read.
by Randall Munroe
Munroe, author of What If? enlightens us this time with a series of simple blueprints of everything from nuclear reactors to the big flat rocks that we live on. A great book for nerdy people of all ages!
by Daniel Krauss
Zebulon Finch is a small-time hoodlum living a self-involved, violent life in turn-of-the-century Michigan. After he is murdered by an unknown assailant, it would appear that Zeb's unscrupulous existence has ended, until he finds himself mysteriously resurrected. This excellently-paced horror novel is the first of a two-part epic, following the teenaged criminal through several decades of American history as he tries to solve the puzzle of his murder, and discover the purpose of his unexpected revival.
by Tony DiTerlizzi
The Star War franchise has spawned its share of book titles over the years, but this stands as the most definitive children's book focusing on the first three films. Tony DiTerlizzi's text perfectly captures the excitement of the action sequences, and skillfully incorporates the most famous catchphrases from the movies. An excellent intro for soon-to-be fans and their already-there parents.
by Kira Vermond
Guelph writer Kira Vermond has won the Norma Fleck award for this thought-provoking picture book exploring the historical path of human civilization. Curious kids will love the often-silly illustrations, which complement informative text on the influence of everything from cultural shifts to climate change.
by Kevin Sylvester
12-year-old Christopher and his young crew members are sent to the planet Perses to mine rare minerals for a resource-deficient Earth. After the crew lose contact with their home planet, they must band together for survival; frightening circumstances that are made worse when Perses suddenly comes under attack by an unknown assailant. Excellent actio12-year old Christopher and his young crew members are sent to the planet Perses to mine rare minerals for a resource-deficient Earth. After the crew lose contact with their home planet, they must band together for survival; frightening circumstances that are made worse when Perses suddenly comes under attack by an unknown assailant. Excellent action-adventure for 10-14 year-olds. n-adventure for 10-14 year-olds.
by Kyo Maclear
After being sent for a time-out, a small boy finds himself caught up in an unassuming, but life-changing, book. The "good little book" quickly becomes the boy's constant companion, until the day that the treasured tome goes missing. A heartwarming depiction all of the wonderful ways that reading can shape our lives.
by Clifford Jackman
Though it might seem surprising to anyone taking a passing glance as it as a "genre" book, no one who's read Clifford Jackman's "The Winter Family" was surprised when it was long-listed for The Giller Prize, short-listed for the Governor General's Award, and is now starting to pop up on everyone's year's best lists. About a "family" of outlaws/mercenaries in the twilight of Manifest Destiny, Jackman's novel isn't just gory gritlit, but amounts to a studied look at how lawlessness begets law, and what happens to the agents of change once they're no longer needed.
by Kevin Hardcastle
The fringe grittiness of "Debris" – shotguns and fistfights and lawns strewn with debris and detritus – will likely be the dominant talking point with Kevin Hardcastle's first collection. Yet the refinement and delicacy of the seeing and telling that goes on makes for a stoic beauty that's the real success here, is what seriously sets the work apart from whatever generic comparisons it will inevitably attract. Harcastle's characters are not simply brutish dumb misfits, but men (mostly) and women driven by love and loyalty and duty in such a clear, unconflicted way that conflict is inevitable and intense. You'd be hard-pressed to find stories this loving, hurt, and alive in anything else coming out lately.
ed Joe Hill
The most far out thing about this collection is that it's the first time the Best American series has tackled Science Fiction and Fantasy. This flagship installment, edited by Joe Hill (son of Stephen King), displays the strength and merit of once-marginalized genres that are now beginning to dominate literature. As with the other Best American series, this one's a great introduction to your new favourite authors, the majority of which happen to be women here.
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