March 3, 2014

What We’re Watching: Coast

I recently borrowed the BBC’s award-winning documentary, Coast.  This multi-desk set takes viewers on a magical journey around with coast of the UK and Ireland.

Archaeologist and author, Neil Oliver, is the main narrator on the journey.  He works with a small team of experts in a variety of fields as we explore the history and geography of the coast, its people, industry and inventions.  It was terrific to see places I’ve visited myself, from an entirely new perspective.

With each episode I learned more and was treated to more (and more!) spectacular aerial footage. It would be difficult to pick just one or two favourites.  There is an accompanying book full of photos but the series far surpasses it, although I would say the book is worth a browse.

The series was an award-winner, and it’s easy to see why.

- – Sandi H.

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February 20, 2014

What We’re Reading: That Woman

That Woman: the life of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor  by Anna Sebba

The story of the abdication of the King to marry his love Wallis Simpson is well known.  As a teenager I thought the story sounded terrifically  romantic – a king giving up his throne for love. Sigh.  However, since those starry-eyed days of my youth my opinion on the subject has changed considerably.

In That Woman the author does a thorough job of leading the reader through Wallis’ childhood and first two marriages. It was during Wallis’  second marriage to Ernest Simpson that she met and became close to Prince Edward. Was she seeking notoriety and wealth?  Perhaps. Was Edward being selfish for putting love ahead of his responsibilities to his family and country? Although it does seem that both Wallis and Edward got their heart’s desire, was it enough?  Read the book and see if you think it was.

- – Christine B.

 

 

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February 10, 2014

What We’re Reading: The President’s Hat

The President’s Hat by Antoine Laurain

Can a hat belonging to a powerful political figure have magical properties?  Can merely wearing such a  hat change a person’s life? This is the premise, on a lighthearted level, of The President’s Hat.

When France’s President, Francois Mitterrand, leaves his chapeau behind in a brasserie, it is picked up by admirer, accountant Daniel Mercier.   Donning the hat, Mercier immediately feels more confident and ready to take on the world.  Well, at least in his small corner of it.  Then Mercier loses the hat.

Its next temporary owner, a young woman with aspirations of becoming a great writer, also feels the power of the hat.  Is it the hat that inspires her to make a life-changing decision, or just a coincidence?  The she too loses the hat.

The novel follows the hat as it travels from person to person, altering lives along the way.  I read The President’s Hat in one sitting on a quiet weekend.  I thoroughly enjoyed its charm and gentle wit.  Although the ending was perfect, I was certainly sorry to see the story come to a close.

- – Sandi H.

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February 4, 2014

What We’re Reading: Peking to Paris

Peking to Paris: life and love on a short drive halfway around the world by Dina Bennett

Dina Bennett, a nervous traveler who often suffers from motion sickness in the car, agrees to embark on an 8000-mile trek with her husband.  The journey will take them from The Great Wall of China to Paris, France (via Mongolia, great expanses of Russia, and Europe) in their classic car, a 1940 LaSalle coupe nicknamed Roxanne.

Dina’s husband will act as driver and mechanic, while Dina must come to grips with being the navigator for both their regular driving and mandatory time trials.  Hard enough in foreign climes without factoring in having to read copious notes in the car when one is prone to car sickness.

The race lasts 35 days and Dina takes us along for the ride, through mishaps, nerve-wrecking encounters with authorities, sandstorms, unique meals, breakdowns and some very uncomfortable overnights.

It was an entertaining book, although a little slow at the start when the couple are in the planning stages of this venture.  Once they arrive in China, the pace picks up and I can say I thoroughly enjoyed every mile.  Peking to Paris is interesting and humorous, and a book that I’d most certainly recommend.

- – Sandi H.

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January 16, 2014

2014 Winter Featured Titles

This winter, WPL’s Featured Titles offer a real  mix of recent fiction and non-fiction titles we think you’ll enjoy, from historical fiction to bio-thriller to sports memoir.

We hope everyone finds something to pique their interest here. Please click on the image below to view a full-sized version of the list.  Happy winter reading!2014 Winter Featured Titles

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January 13, 2014

What We’re Reading: My Story

Looking at the photo of Elizabeth Smart on the cover of the book, I’m struck by how gentle she looks, like maybe a strong wind might blow her over. But in actual fact there is plenty of steel in this young woman.

You might remember hearing the name Elizabeth Smart. Eleven years ago, when she was just 14, she was abducted at knifepoint from the bedroom of her Salt Lake City home. She was held captive for 9 months by her abductor, a religious fanatic/nutcase, and his wife before being rescued.

During those 9 months she was raped every single day and kept tethered to a tree. She was often hungry and at times desperately thirsty.

Despite being terrified beyond words, Elizabeth quickly came to a decision: she meant to survive and she would do whatever that took. In fact, it was a trick of hers that directly led to her rescue.

After her terrible ordeal, it would be understandable if Elizabeth pretty much became a basket case.  Instead she built herself a strong, stable life: she finished high school, graduated from university, started a foundation to prevent crimes against children, and just recently got married.

In the book, Elizabeth reflects on what helped her to survive the abduction and then move on afterwards.  Key to moving on, she says, was advice given to her by her Mom on the very day she was rescued. I thought the advice was very powerful too – you can check it out for yourself in the book.

I’m enormously impressed by Elizabeth Smart. I think she  is one strong, courageous, resilient young woman.

- – Penny D.

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January 9, 2014

What We’re Reading: The Deception of Livvy Higgs

 

A now elderly Livvy Higgs is troubled by a series of heart attacks and between episodes is swept into the past by the undertow of family relationships fraught with partial truths and outright lies.  Why is it that her mean-spirited father has an unspoken and powerful alliance with her grandmother Creed, though they detest each other?  What happened on the fateful night of a shipwreck that sank her grandmother’s ship and lost lives.  Set on the West coast of Newfoundland in French settlement of Sables d’Or, the cultural tensions between French and English and Irish are played out in Livvy’s young world.  She feels at home with the Louis family who are kind to her mother but are hated by her father.  Mrs. Louis takes her in and looks out for her right to the end but it is her grandson Henri that Livvy is really fascinated with.  As the family secrets are unspooled, the present day Livvy is brought round from her spells to find her neighbor Gen feeding the cats and getting her groceries.  As it turns out Gen has secrets too.

- – Alannah D.

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December 28, 2013

Too many books . . . too little time

In the back of my Reading Log is a list of books that I want to read. This list grows exponentially in comparison to the rate I read them. In fact, some of the titles have been on the list since my university days. I tell myself that “one day” I will read them.  In fact, I own a number of these titles and they sit patiently on my shelves waiting to be enjoyed.  Any recommendations for which one I should read first?

Guns of August by B. Tuchman (have read parts of it but never from cover-to-cover)

Couples by J. Updike

Blood of the Lamb by P. DeVries

Knowledge of Angels by J. Walsh

Devils for a Change by W. Perriam

Master Georgie by B. Bainbridge

Secret History by D. Tart

Lambs of God by M. Day

Golden Thread by A. Copeland

Modern Mephistophilis by L.M. Alcott

Wild Girl by M. Roberts

In the Beauty of the Lilies by J. Updike

Double Hook by S. Watson

What the Body Remembers by S. Bauldwin

Power and Glory by G. Greene

Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Wartime Lies by L. Begley

Dubliners by J. Joyce

Pale Horse, Pale Rider by K. Porter

Journey through the Night by A. DeVries

Eddie’s Bastard by W. Kowalski

Tapestry of War by S. Gwyn

Belonging by N. Thaylor

Mrs. Kimble by J. Hough

American Pastoral by P. Roth

Eyre Affair by J. Fford

The Bible: A Bioggraphy by K. Armstrong

Crank by E. Hopkins

Bronze Horseman by P. Simmons

The Knitting Club by K. Jacobs

And on the Surface Die by L. Allin

Asking for Trouble by L. Young

Heretic’s Daughter by K. Kent

Necessary as Blood by D. Crombie

This Thing of Darkness by B. Fradkin

Anna Karenina by L. Tolstoy

The Long Goodbye by R. Chandler

The Big Sleep by R. Chandler

Things Fall Apart by C. Achebe

Middlemarch by G. Eliot

Howard’s End by E.M. Forester

Crime and Punishment

The Hours by M. Cunningham

Tender is the Night

The Sun Also Rises

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

The Bolter by F. Osborne

Hideous Kinky by E. Freud

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

The Alienist by C. Carr

The Devil in the White City

Dirty Girls Social Club by A. Rodriguez

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

The March by E. L. Doctorow

The Child in Time by I. McEwan

The Daughter of Time by J. Tey

Postcards by A. Proulx

Lottery by P. Wood

Turn of Mind by A. LaPlante

The Best of Everything by R. Jaffe

Wolf Hall by H. Mantel

Slouching twards Bethlehem by J. Didion

Lonely Polygamist by B. Udall

My Antonia by W. Cather

Moment of Truth by L. Scottoline

The Deception of Livvy Higgs by D. Morrissey

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by H. Murakami

David & Goliath by M. Gladwell

Zealot by R. Aslan

 

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December 19, 2013

What We’re Reading: some Christmas favorites

Christmas with Rosamunde Pilcher by Rosamunde Pilcher

I purchased this beautiful book when it came out in 1998 and read through it every Christmas.   The book follows Pilcher’s family as they prepare for and celebrate the holidays in traditional Scottish fashion. There are lovely photos, recipes, and, as a bonus, a short story titled “Miss Cameron at Christmas”.

 

The Christmas Tree by Julie Salamon

This is the story of an orphan named Anna who moves to a convent as a small child.  Anna discovers a small fir tree which, as they grow together over the years, encourages in her a strong love of nature.  As an elderly woman, Anna (now Sister Anthony) has to make a tough decision about the tree…leave it in the forest where will surely die in an upcoming “storm of the century” or allow it to be  harvested and taken to New York, where it will stand in Rockefeller Centre at Christmas.

- – Sandi H.

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December 16, 2013

What We’re Reading: books about polygamy

This is a little far out, but lately I have been reading about polygamy and the Fundamental Church of Latter Day Saints.

Awhile back I picked up Becoming Sister Wives, in which Kody Brown and his four wives (Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn) tell their story.  You might have heard of them, they used to have a reality show on TV.

You might call the Browns the “nice” face of polygamy.   In the book they come across as basically decent and well-intentioned; there was none of this child bride stuff and no one getting married without their consent.  I wondered, was their lifestyle really so bad?

Just now I am reading two other books that depict a much uglier reality:  The Witness Wore Red by Rebecca Musser (currently in the New Book display) and Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall (2007).  The authors are sisters.

Raised in Utah, the two sisters and their twelve siblings were taught (brainwashed, if you prefer) to have absolute, unquestioned obedience to church teachings and to church leaders. Similarly, wives were expected to be totally obedient to husbands.  At one point in her book, Rebecca Musser says if she had been told to drink cyanide-laced punch (as in Jonestown, Guyana in 1978), she would have done so without question.  Too chilling for words.

At age 14, Elissa was forced to marry her 19 year-old first cousin, someone who she detested.  Reading the account of her marriage (if you could call it that) is heartbreaking.

As for Rebecca, at age 19 she was forced to marry the head of the church, the Prophet.  This was considered a great honour to her and her family. Only thing is the Prophet already had 18 wives and was 85 years old.

Eventually, Elissa and Rebecca started to ask questions about their faith. When they decided to leave behind the church, I was cheering them on all the way.

- – Penny D.

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