The 2008 Scotiabank Giller Prize finalists are:
Joseph Boyden for his novel Through Black Spruce, published by Viking Canada
Anthony De Sa for his collection of short stories Barnacle Love, published by Doubleday Canada
Marina Endicott for her novel Good to A Fault, published by Freehand Books/Broadview Press
Rawi Hage for his novel Cockroach, published by House of Anansi Press
Mary Swan for her novel The Boys in the Trees, published by Henry Holt/HB Fenn
Here's our store pick for the Giller. We're rooting for Joseph and Through Black Spruce. If you haven't read it yet read it! It is worth every minute and while you're at it Read Three Day Road too if you haven't already!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
If you like Laurell K. Hamilton
War is brewing in a near-future world where murder is all but unheard of, and the existence of creatures known as the "Others" has yet to be proven. Gina Santiago is a member of an elite tactical team in charge of protecting this world--even as a killer stalks her.
If you like Laurell K. Hamilton try this. A bit grittier than your average romance novel with an interesting story line....
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Winter?
Winter is on it's way. There was more than a flake or two of snow around the area this morning. Winter of course puts us in mind of Christmas, and Christmas stock - which is currently coming in at an alarming rate. It's only the end of October and we're already running into "where the heck am I going to put this?" issues...
So...
Books make great gifts! Shop early for best selection! Insert marketing lines here (grin). Come buy a book or 4!
On a more serious note, I had mentioned a while ago that I was going to read Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. Well I did. I have now finished Gargoyle and I really really enjoyed it. It was a great love story with little bits of historical fiction woven into a contemporary setting.
As a recap:
The Gargoyle
An extraordinary debut novel of love that survives the fires of hell and transcends the boundaries of time.
On a burn ward, a man lies between living and dying, so disfigured that no one from his past life would even recognize him. His only comfort comes from imagining various inventive ways to end his misery. Then a woman named Marianne Engel walks into his hospital room, a wild-haired, schizophrenic sculptress on the lam from the psych ward upstairs, who insists that she knows him – that she has known him, in fact, for seven hundred years. She remembers vividly when they met, in another hospital ward at a convent in medieval Germany, when she was a nun and he was a wounded mercenary left to die. If he has forgotten this, he is not to worry: she will prove it to him.
And so Marianne Engel begins to tell him their story, carving away his disbelief and slowly drawing him into the orbit and power of a word he'd never uttered: love.
Man In The Dark
Seventy-two-year-old August Brill is recovering from a car accident in his daughter's house in Vermont. When sleep refuses to come, he lies in bed and tells himself stories, struggling to push back thoughts about things he would prefer to forget.
What would have happened if the people of America had not let the controversy of the Bush / Gore election blow away in the wind. What if they fought for the president the popular vote elected? What if?
I liked this novel. It's actually the first Paul Auster book I've read although he's been recommended to me forever. He is definitely not a fluff read but if you're looking for something a little more literary but still highly accessible I would recommend him for sure.
So...
Books make great gifts! Shop early for best selection! Insert marketing lines here (grin). Come buy a book or 4!
On a more serious note, I had mentioned a while ago that I was going to read Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. Well I did. I have now finished Gargoyle and I really really enjoyed it. It was a great love story with little bits of historical fiction woven into a contemporary setting.
As a recap:
The Gargoyle
An extraordinary debut novel of love that survives the fires of hell and transcends the boundaries of time.
On a burn ward, a man lies between living and dying, so disfigured that no one from his past life would even recognize him. His only comfort comes from imagining various inventive ways to end his misery. Then a woman named Marianne Engel walks into his hospital room, a wild-haired, schizophrenic sculptress on the lam from the psych ward upstairs, who insists that she knows him – that she has known him, in fact, for seven hundred years. She remembers vividly when they met, in another hospital ward at a convent in medieval Germany, when she was a nun and he was a wounded mercenary left to die. If he has forgotten this, he is not to worry: she will prove it to him.
And so Marianne Engel begins to tell him their story, carving away his disbelief and slowly drawing him into the orbit and power of a word he'd never uttered: love.
Man In The Dark
Seventy-two-year-old August Brill is recovering from a car accident in his daughter's house in Vermont. When sleep refuses to come, he lies in bed and tells himself stories, struggling to push back thoughts about things he would prefer to forget.
What would have happened if the people of America had not let the controversy of the Bush / Gore election blow away in the wind. What if they fought for the president the popular vote elected? What if?
I liked this novel. It's actually the first Paul Auster book I've read although he's been recommended to me forever. He is definitely not a fluff read but if you're looking for something a little more literary but still highly accessible I would recommend him for sure.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Deep Economy
We have been getting calls in this morning for Bill McKibben's book "Deep Economy"! I guess David Suzuki is Hosting the Current today on CBC and they have been talking up Bill's book, which is great since the Economy is on everyone's mind these days! Jenn and I were lucky enough to sit in on a seminar with Bill this summer and we have been hand selling "Deep Economy" to everyone we know. Every small business owner should read this book!
Create a Strong Local Deep Economy
Acclaimed author and activist Bill McKibben coined the term "deep economy" to refer to the economy that each of us actually lives in--places we shop, the items we purchase, and the impact of those choices. In his New York Times bestseller, Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future, McKibben makes the compelling case for moving beyond "growth" as the paramount economic deal and pursuing prosperity in a mare local direction. Inside are suggestions on how to do just that.
Invest in Your Community
Top Ten Reasons to Buy Local
1. Money spent with local businesses stays in the community.
2. Small businesses create more new jobs.
3. Local businesses give the community its unique character.
4. Small-business owners invest more in the community.
5. Local merchants provide better customer service.
6. Small businesses increase competition and provide more choices.
7.Locally owned businesses leave a smaller carbon footprint.
8. Locally owned businesses use relatively fewer public services and less infrastructure.
9. Entrepreneurs and young leaders settle in communities that support local businesses.
10. Small businesses give more of their proceeds to local charities.
Want to learn more?! Read Deep Economy!!
Also check these other interesting links!
American Independent Business Alliance
www.amiba.net
Business Alliance for Local Living Economies
www.livingeconomies.org
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
www.caff.org
local Harvest
www.localharvet.org
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
www.ilsr.org
The Relocalization Network
www.relocalize.net
350.org Global Warming. Global Action. Global Future.
International effort to raise awareness of the need to decrease carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million.
http://www.sharkwater.com/
For filmmaker Rob Stewart, exploring sharks began as an underwater adventure. What it turned into was a beautiful and dangerous life journey into the balance of life on earth.
Driven by passion fed from a lifelong fascination with sharks, Stewart debunks historical stereotypes and media depictions of sharks as bloodthirsty, man-eating monsters and reveals the reality of sharks as pillars in the evolution of the seas.
Filmed in visually stunning, high definition video, Sharkwater takes you into the most shark rich waters of the world, exposing the exploitation and corruption surrounding the world's shark populations in the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Sharkwater Shot in high Definition
In an effort to protect sharks, Stewart teams up with renegade conservationist Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Their unbelievable adventure together starts with a battle between the Sea Shepherd and shark poachers in Guatemala, resulting in pirate boat rammings, gunboat chases, mafia espionage, corrupt court systems and attempted murder charges, forcing them to flee for their lives.
Through it all, Stewart discovers these magnificent creatures have gone from predator to prey, and how despite surviving the earth's history of mass extinctions, they could easily be wiped out within a few years due to human greed.
Stewart's remarkable journey of courage and determination changes from a mission to save the world's sharks, into a fight for his life, and that of humankind.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Halloween Party!!!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Shards of Alara - Now in stock!!
We just got in the new MTG set Shards of Alara. The art for this set is amazing!!
Interested in playing "Magic The Gathering" in Temiskaming Shores? Want info on MTG Tournaments and Events in taking place in Temiskaming Shores?
Then email us at mtgtemiskaming@gmail.com.
Here is a little background on the new deck.
SHARDS OF ALARA
Alara was whole once. But that was millennia ago. Where once there was a plane, now there are five: the Shards.
The plane of Alara was a world rich with mana, a world in balance...until the Sundering. In a cataclysm of unimaginable proportions, Alara was rent asunder into five separate worlds, each a refraction of the others.
The cause of this cataclysm has been lost to time. Some ancient lore of the Shards suggest a being of godlike power forcibly split Alara to seize its mana for himself. Some believe it was caused by the titanic battle for the fate of Alara, waged by the archangel Asha and the demon Malfegor. But for most, only the dimmest cultural memories remain of a richer world that existed before their own.
Whatever the cause of the splitting, one thing is clear: The Shards have become very different places in the time since the Sundering. Each plane was all but severed from two of the five colors of mana. The Shard of Bant, for example, lost almost all its black and red mana, maintaining only white, blue, and green.
This mana imbalance caused the Shards to evolve in wildly distinct directions over the course of thousands of years. Now only hints of a common ancestor plane remain on the five worlds, and their environments and denizens could hardly differ more.
You can also check out http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=121541 and see some of the amazing art work.
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