Amelia Curran Signing

Stop by the store on Friday, April 28 to meet Newfoundland singer/songwriter Amelia Curran. She will be here from 2:00-3:00pm to sign copies of her new book of songs, Relics and Tunes.

Full of songs from all five of Amelia’s albums, including her newest release, Watershed, this book of lyrics comes complete with keys and chords for each song. Whether you’re a musician, a poetry lover, or a fan of Amelia herself, this book is a real treat to read and explore.

Learn more about Amelia on her website: www.ameliacurran.com 

We look forward to seeing you on Friday!

Mary Walsh @ Clarkstown

Mary Walsh has written a novel called Crying for the Moon and she’s coming to Beechwood to talk to us about it! That’s right, we will be hosting a dinner event (like our Titles@Table40 series) at another bustling Beechwood restaurant, Clarkstown Kitchen & Bar. With the same set up as Titles@Table40 (see details below), we’re very excited to be teaming up with another one of our neighbours to put together a fun, book- and food-filled night for you all to enjoy.

When: Friday, May 19 @ 5:30pm
Where: Clarkstown Kitchen & Bar, 94 Beechwood Avenue (Second Floor, No Elevator)

How It Works:

The evening starts at 5:30pm with dinner, followed by the author presentation and book signing. Attendees must reserve their spot through the bookstore with a non-refundable deposit of $20.00 which will go towards the cost of a 3 course meal (3 choices including a vegetarian option). The total cost of the meal is $40.00 plus tax, 18% gratuity and refreshments.

Although tickets have just gone on sale, we suspect that they’ll go quickly, so call (613-742-5030) or visit us at the store to reserve your spot today!

Authors for Indies Day 2017

Come out on Saturday, April 29 to meet some great local authors and support your independent bookstore! Each of our authors will be in the store for an hour to meet and chat with you, and recommend some of their favourite books!

Here’s our great author lineup:

10:30am: Joanne Proulx (author of Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet and the forthcoming novel We All Love the Beautiful Girls [August 22])

11:00am: R.J. Harlick (author of the Meg Harris mystery series; A Cold White Fear [Book #7] to be followed by Purple Palette for Murder [October 14])

11:45am: Charlotte Gray (beloved historian and the author of The Promise of Canada)

12:00pm: Frances Itani (Tell is the second novel in the trilogy that started with Deafening and will end with That’s My Baby [September 5])

1:00pm: Susan Delacourt (political commentator, columnist, and author of Shopping for Votes)

2:00pm: Michael Dennis (local poet, writer, and blogger who’s just released his first collection of poetry, Bad Engine)

3:00pm: Sonia Tilson (Welsh-born local author of the historical novel, The Monkey Puzzle Tree)

It will be a wonderful day full of books, authors, draws, promos, and so much more!
We hope to see you then!

A bit about Authors for Indies Day:

“Authors for Indies is a national campaign in support of independent bookstores. On Saturday April 29, hundreds of Canadian authors will be volunteering as guest booksellers at indie bookstores across the country. This is the day we authors give back to the bookstores who support us every day of the year.
 
Independent bookstores are more than just retailers. Indie bookstores are spaces where you can open a book at random, fall into another world, and take it home with you forever. Where you can enter and breathe in that new book smell. Where you can talk to people who are passionate about recommending exactly the right book. Where you are part of a reading community.
 
If that’s how you feel about bookstores, then come out on Saturday April 29.” (quoted from www.authorsforindies.com)

Linda Wiken Signing

Local mystery author Linda Wiken will be in our store on Saturday, April 22 from 12:00-2:00pm to sign copies of her newest mystery novel, Roux the Day. This new book is the sequel to Toasting Up Trouble, the first installment of her Dinner Club Mystery Series. Featuring event planner and amateur sleuth, Jennifer “J.J.” Tanner, this cozy mystery series is full of fun, food, and of course, murder!

Linda is also the author of the bestselling Ashton Corners Book Club Series written under the pseudonym Erika Chase. With bodies cropping up left, right, and centre, the Ashton Corners Mystery Book Club is the most authentic club you will ever encounter!

While we can’t promise you a real live mystery to solve on Saturday, we can guarantee you will get endless entertainment from both of these great mystery series.

We look forward to seeing you on the weekend!

April 2017 Newsletter

March Bestsellers

1. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
2. Vimy: the Battle and the Legend by Tim Cook
3. A Hero of France by Alan Furst
4. Birdie by Tracey Lindberg
5. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
6. Maggie Smith: A Biography by Michael Coveney
7. Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
8. City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong
9. The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson
10. The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir by Jennifer Ryan

Greetings Book Lovers!

Welcome to April! Let the games begin…or, more appropriately, the rains. Although it’s hard to feel optimistic on cool, grey, rainy days when we still need to wear hats, mitts, and boots to keep warm, it helps to remember that old saying, “April Showers Bring May Flowers!” Books and water may not mix that well, but in this case, nothing can help you while away the rainy day hours like a great read. So, in the interests of speeding our way through this transition period between winter and spring, restock your shelves, head out on a new literary adventure, and dream of warm seasons to come. Flowers, and sunshine, and books, oh my!

Just as spring hearkens the return of the songbirds and the birth of baby animals, it also means that our in-store events have begun to flourish once again. One of our favourite local mystery authors, Linda Wiken will be here on Saturday, April 22 from 12:00-2:00pm to sign copies of her new book Roux the Day. This second book in the Dinner Club Mystery Series is the follow up to Toasting Up Trouble, the book in which readers were introduced to the smart and savvy event planner turned amateur sleuth, Jennifer “J.J.” Tanner. The following week, St. John’s singer/songwriter Amelia Curran will be taking a break from her Watershed tour to pay us a visit. She will be stopping by on Friday, April 28 from 2:00-3:00pm to sign copies of her book of songs Relics and Tunes. Rounding out the month in style, we will be celebrating the 2017 edition of Authors for Indies Day on Saturday, April 29! This full day of festivities will feature fun promotions, prize draws, and an exciting lineup of local authors you can come in to meet, chat with, and get book recommendations from. Over the course of the day, we will be hosting Joanne Proulx (Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet), R.J. Harlick (A Cold White Fear), Susan Delacourt (Shopping for Votes), Michael Dennis (Bad Engine), Frances Itani (Tell), and Sonia Tilson (The Monkey Puzzle Tree). Scroll down to the bottom of this newsletter for the full Authors for Indies Day schedule.

As the seasons turn, so too do the types of books that make their way onto our shelves. So, while we start thinking ahead to planting bulbs, setting up our vegetable gardens, and wondering what herbs we should grow this year, it’s not surprising that our store is filling up with books full of hope, love, and new beginnings. From the author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid, comes a brand new novel that has burst onto the literary scene in true blockbuster fashion. Exit West is the story of two young people living in a country on the brink of war. Just as they find each other and begin a passionate love affair, Nadia and Saeed are forced to embark on a journey into the unknown in order to save themselves and their dreams of a future together. Genevieve Graham‘s new wartime novel Promises to Keep is a perfect read for fans of Susanna Kearsley, Lucinda Riley, and Kate Morton. This wonderful, heart-wrenching read set in Nova Scotia during the expulsion of the Acadians, features a reluctant British soldier and a young Acadian woman whose love for each other faces the ultimate test when they must decide whether to risk everything in order to be together or live with the pain of being separated forever. Irish author Sara Baume explores a different kind of love in Spill Simmer Falter Wither. As the two outcasts in a small village, a shunned man and a one-eyed dog form an unlikely bond and take to the road together when suspicion and false accusations turn their neighbours against them. A testament to the power of unconditional love, this novel is a touching and heartfelt read.

A new beginning can be invigorating and full of hope when entered into willingly, but it can also be frightening and unsettling when you find yourself with no other choice. Siobhan Vivian‘s newest book for young adults, The Last Boy and Girl in the World, is an emotional, goofy, and bittersweet read on par with The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson. When a small lumber town is sacrificed to flood waters in order to save a series of larger towns and expensive developments downriver, Keeley and her friends and family are forced to prepare for an irreversible change that they are all powerless to stop. Similar to the movie You’ve Got MailAlex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett is a wonderful story about a quirky classic movie buff named Bailey who moves across the country with her father in order to escape a traumatizing event in her past and her mother’s crumbling second marriage. Hilarious and sweet, it is the perfect teen read for springtime! Canadian great Emma Donoghue made her middle-grade debut this past week with the publication of The Lotterys Plus One. With the same talent and heart that she puts into her novels for adults, this story explores the changing dynamics within a large, blended family when a long estranged grandfather (a.k.a. Grumps) is added to the mix…and the house!

Taking a trip to a faraway land is a very tempting thing to do this time of year, even if it’s only on the pages of a book. This year, let Marc Morris be your guide on a tour of some of Medieval Britain’s most impressive buildings in Castles: Their History and Evolution in Medieval Britain. Though castles were first and foremost family homes, their overwhelming and imposing appearance is more often associated with grand cavalry campaigns, epic battles, and seemingly endless sieges. It’s this inherent dichotomy that Morris explores in this fascinating new release. Like castles, adventures on the high seas are a perfect escape from rainy day doldrums. With this in mind, why not pick up a copy of Laura Sook Duncombe‘s Pirate Women? While most people are familiar with the lives and escapades of famous pirates like Peter Easton, Blackbeard, and Captain Kidd, in this fascinating book, readers are introduced to a series of strong, determined women from every corner of the globe who could swashbuckle with the best of them, but whose stories have, for the most part, been lost beneath the waves.

Here are a few more new releases and upcoming titles that are worth keeping an eye out for: Strong in the New Pretty by Kate T. Parker, Botanical Shakespeare by Gerit Quealy, My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall SmithIngenious by David Johnston, American War by Omar El AkkadGoodnight From London by Jennifer Robson (April 11), Missing by Kelley Armstrong (April 18), Beartown by Fredrik Backman (April 25), Maud by Melanie Fishbane (April 25), and New Boy by Tracy Chevalier (May 16).

As the last vestiges of winter slowly melt away, and we enter that wet, muddy purgatory before the spring heat and sunshine come to stay, it’s important to make sure that your bookshelves are well-stocked. After all, there’s no better way to pass the time between now and garden season than to travel through time and space in the world’s most reliable vehicle. Books may be made of paper and ink, but their safety features are top notch!

So, however hard the rain, rain, rain comes down, down, down outside, we offer this sound piece of advice: “It’s never too messy out to make a trip to the bookstore!”

Happy Reading!

— The Staff of Books on Beechwood

Easter Hours

We will be CLOSED on Friday, April 14 and Sunday, April 16 for Easter. We’ll be open for our regular hours on Saturday, April 15. Normal store hours will resume on Monday, April 17.

Happy Easter!

Book Club List for April and May 2017

AprilCommonwealth by Ann Patchett

Session 1: Wednesday, April 12 at 7:30pm

Session 2: Wednesday, April 26 at 7:30pm

MayThe Marriage Bureau by Penrose Halson

Session 1: Wednesday, May 10 at 7:30pm

Session 2: Wednesday, May 31 at 7:30pm

Attendees only need to attend one session per month and can select whichever date is most convenient for them. New members are always welcome.

For more information or to join the Book Club, give us a call at 613-742-5030 or send us an e-mail at staff@booksonbeechwood.ca

The Book Club will be taking a break after May for the summer. Keep an eye on our website for the club’s return in September for the fall session.

Happy Reading!