Nerd Spotting

Have you ever tried to catch a nerd? There are many different kinds and they can be quite elusive. They run amok online, but disguise themselves as regular folk on the street. Luckily, the experts at BookNet Canada have put together this handy infographic for amateur Nerd Spotters:

Fierce Reads Tour Hits Toronto!

 The Fierce Read Tours has one stop in Canada on June 19th. Gennifer Albin, author of Crewel will be at Indigo-Yorkdale along with Leigh Bardugo, Jessica Brody, Emmy Laybourne, Anna Banks. To learn more about the tour, you can go to their Facebook Page

Hilarious Game of Thrones Placements

Courtesy of Vancouver's Black Bond Books!

 

Calling All Authors and Illustrators!

The Canadian Children's Book Centre is looking for authors and/or illustrators with new children’s books being released in the period from Spring 2013 to Spring 2014 who are interested in touring schools, libraries, bookstores and community centres, outside of their home province, during TD Canadian Children’s Book Week 2014. The next Book Week tour will run from Saturday, May 3 to Saturday, May 10, 2014.

The deadline for applications is Tuesday, June 25, 2013.

 Authors and illustrators who are interested in touring should visit the Book Week website under ‘Information for Artists’ (http://www.bookweek.ca/information-artists) for complete application details and to download the application form.

TD Canadian Children's Book Week is a wonderful opportunity for authors and illustrators to promote their work to young readers across the country. The authors and illustrators who are chosen to tour for Book Week will be invited to give readings and/or workshops in schools, libraries, community centres and bookstores in the province/territory they are assigned to tour.

All travel, accommodation and meal expenses for each author and illustrator are covered by the Canadian Children's Book Centre. A per diem of $65.00 per day is allowed for meals.

Authors and illustrators will be paid $150.00 (plus GST or HST, if applicable) per school reading. There are usually 10 to 14 school readings given during the tour.

 The Canadian Children's Book Centre also receives funding from the Canada Council to pay for four public readings per author and illustrator. The authors and illustrators will be paid $250.00 for each Canada Council public reading (plus applicable taxes).

 For complete application information, please visit http://www.bookweek.ca/information-artists.

 If you have any questions, please contact me at 416.975.0010 x 227or shannon@bookcentre.ca.

Malcom Gladwell: " a problem that was never a problem in the first place"

I'm just back from BEA...and man was New York hot! I didn't get a chance to hear Malcolm Gladwell speak but PW gave a synopsis of his interview by Brad Stone.
Below is the excerpt from PW:

Malcolm Gladwell was interviewed by Brad Stone at BEA's IDPF Digital Book conference on Wednesday, billed as a conversation about the future of digital publishing but more a discussion of his forthcoming book DAVID AND GOLIATH: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants--and a selection of at least some misfit ideas.

Gladwell's main thought on digital publishing is that people should be able to buy a book’s content and receive it in every format, from print to digital to audio. Not only did he have little guidance, but he showed little regard for the digerati in the audience: "People involved in the digital world always like to pretend they’ve invented more than a process. They want to believe it's a way of life or a philosophy, as if they're Schopenhauer. The only people who are good for the book business are people who produce great books. Amazon is just a place where people can find books. Amazon has 'solved' a problem that was never a problem in the first place."

Nor does he like the solution itself, suggesting unlimited selection is a problem. "You do not want everything you want, that's terrifying. You don't want a restaurant with a menu with 10 pages, you want three choices. The best experience as a consumer is someplace intimate and manageable, where someone with taste has given some consideration to what's being sold--like a good bookstore."

And Gladwell has no desire to communicate with readers except through the media he already uses. He does not Tweet, for example, and said, "It's weird for me as someone who writes for a living, that you would come home at night and write."  He suggested "that would be assuming that the more of me the better, but not everyone wants more of me."

Another controversial swipe was aimed at the New York Public Library's main branch: "The massive money sink of a mausoleum on 42 Street should be sold to support all the branch libraries." Gladwell supports libraries and their primary mission: "Libraries are also safe havens for people who are not from privileged backgrounds, who do not have access to books and where there is no quiet space to work."

But in his view, "the New York Public Library should be focused on keeping small libraries open, on its branches all over the city." He said, "Every time I turn around, there's some new extravagant renovation going on in the main building. Why?" (His distaste for property expenditures extends to colleges, too: "Students are funding mechanisms for the construction of new real estate.")

 

James Patterson Speaks Out

This came out a while back and I have been meaning to post it. James Patterson took out ads in the NYT + Publisher's Weekly encouraging the US government  Click to read his interview in PW + Salon.

It's Coming!!! Ender's Game...the movie

What an amazing cast! We were all very excited to get this trailer. For more inf on the movie and the book you can go to the Tor website.  
OK now back to work...

Sherman Alexie addresses censorship

Love Sherman Alexie!  Here he is on the subject of censorship. 
By the way, my favourite all time movie?  Smoke Signals.  The movie is based on a short story in Sherman Alexie's collection Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.  Check out his most recent collection, Blasphemy.

Customers Say the Darndest Things!

Customer: I’ve forgotten my glasses, could you read the beginning of this book to me to see if I like it?

Customer: What books could I buy to make guests look at my bookshelf and think: ‘Wow, that guy’s intelligent’?

You can check out more of these hilarious conversations at Parade. These are taken from the book (natch!) Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores.

Property

When I was first presented Property: The True Story of a Polygamous Wife at sales conference, I couldn't believe that this was happening in Ontario and I had never heard about it before. Carol Christie has written her life married to the leader of the church and the years of abuse she went through at his and his son’s hands. As a woman who lived in fear and isolation for decades in an alleged cult, she wants the government to shut down the “church” and save those who still live there – including her youngest son. For more information on the movement to STOP polygamy go to www.stoppolygamy.com.

Best Bookstores on CNN!

Author Hilary Davidson, gave a shout out to her fave bookstores on CNN including our own Ben McNally Books and La Maison Anglaise. Here's what she said about Ben's store:

Ben McNally Books: Toronto

If I could give an award for the most beautiful bookstore in North America, this one in Toronto's Financial District would win. With its soaring ceiling, elegant chandeliers, slender columns and leather wing chairs, Ben McNally looks like an idyllic private club for book lovers. Some dedicated bookworms have even tied the knot in the store. Beautiful as it is, the shop's biggest strength is its charming staff, who are adept at sussing out any visitor's interests and recommending what to read next. Seductive as their home base is, they also sponsor readings and events around the city.

To see her other faves go here!

My Favourite PICTURE Book of the Season

It's soooooooo hard to choose but here it is. IN THE TREE HOUSE is set on backdrop of the night of the Eastern Seaboard blackout and is the story of two brothers growing up; one faster than the other. Sara Ellis gave it a starred review in Quill and Quire and had these lovely word's to say...so it's not just me!!!

“In the Tree House by Andrew Larsen demonstrates another potential for the picture book, that of a parallel story enacted in the illustrations (ably provided here by Dušan Petričić). In a few perfect words, Larsen captures the idyllic nature of that summer. The turning point of the story is a blackout. I've never seen a picture book that so perfectly captures the pleasure of such an event. Larsen's text is full of delights, simple sensory details that capture a mood. To these crisply written words, Petričić brings his own rich dimension of narrative and character.”

A Guide to Responsible Digital Reading

One of the arguments for ebooks is that they are more environmentally friendly...I don't think that this is totally accurate. New Society Publishers has put together a Guide to Responsible Digital Reading. For more info click here.

Canadian Crime Authors Southwestern Ontario Crime Spree

Author Hilary Davidson

Four Canadian crime authors are joining forces this month to visit libraries in seven Southwestern Ontario towns — Woodstock,Orangeville, Cambridge, Guelph, Brantford, Thornbury, and Orillia — for a literary crime spree. The Crime Tour authors are Hilary Davidson, Ian Hamilton, Robert Rotenberg, and Robin Spano. All four are relatively fresh faces on the crime-fiction scene, though they have 15 novels (count them!) published amongst them over the past four years. This is the second time Davidson, Hamilton, and Spano have toured together. In June 2012, they visited a series of libraries in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland, from Vancouver to Squamish, with novelist Deryn Collier. Since Collier was unable to travel this year, the trio will bejoined by Toronto-based Rotenberg. “We are all writers who rage on the page,” says Robin Spano. “But we are really friendly in real life. Whether you're an aspiring writer looking for inspiration or you love books and are intrigued by what goes into their creation, we hope you'll come away having learned something.”
The Events: Thursday, May 9,2013, Woodstock, ON, 2pm Woodstock Art Gallery / sponsored by Woodstock Public Library 449 Dundas St., Woodstock, ON, N4S 1C2 519-539-6761 This event is free and open to the public.
Thursday, May 9,2013, Orangeville, ON, 7pm Centre Fellowship 375 Hansen Blvd., Orangeville, ON, L9W 0C2 519-942-9421 Tickets are $10 with proceeds going to the University Women Scholarship Fund.
Friday, May 10, 2013, Cambridge, ON, 9:30am Clemens Mill Library 50 Saginaw Parkway, Cambridge, ON, N1T 1W2 519-740-6294 This event is free and open to the public
Friday, May 10, 2013, Guelph, ON, 1pm Guelph Public Library 100 Norfolk Street, Guelph, ON, N1H 4J6 519-824-6220 This event is free and open to the public.
Friday, May 10, 2013, Brantford, ON, 4:30pm Brantford Public Library 173 Colborne Street, Brantford, ON, N3T 2G8 519-756-2220 This event is free and open to the public.
Saturday, May 11,2013, Thornbury, ON, 1pm L.E. Shore Memorial Library 173 Bruce Street South, Thornbury, ON, N0H 2P0 519-599-3681 This event is free and open to the public.
Sunday, May 12, 2013,Orillia, ON, 1pm “Murder and Mayhem on Mother’s Day at Manticore” Manticore Books 103 Mississauga Street,Orillia, ON, L3V 1V6 705-326-7776 This event is free and open to the public.

BEST POSTER EVER!!!!!!

Vader and Son has been a huge hit everywhere. The sequel Vader's Little Princess has just been released. To commemorate Chronicle has come out with is awesome poster. To download a copy go here!

CBC Bookies!

Now here is a hilarious awards list...
The Overlookie Bookie Award for Most Underrated Canadian Book: Cosmo by Spencer Gordon
The Brangelina Award for Most Attractive Book Cover: The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus
The Ron MacLean Award for Most Hilarious Canadian Book: Up and Down by Terry  Fallis
and drumroll please.....Best Canadian Book: The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny...YAY!
For the complete list go here. 

New Lousie Penny!

A couple of years ago I borrowed all of the Inspector Gamache books out of my library and spent the summer reading them. Her last book The Beautiful Mystery was, in my opinion, her best to date. I am very excited that her new book How the Light Gets In has been announced and will be releasing August 27th, 2013. A nice back story about the new book is that Louise approached Leonard Cohen to buy the rights to use the lyric from Anthem for her title. Cohen refused and said she could have it for free. At the time Cohen had started to tour again because his manager had absconded with all his wealth-he needed the money. He is thanked in the acknowledgements. Nice Karma.