January 2019 Newsletter


December Bestsellers

1. The Trail Beckons by Malcolm Hunter
2. Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
3. Becoming by Michelle Obama
4. True North Rising by Whit Fraser
5. Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny
6. Ottolenghi Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi
7. The Spy and the Traitor by Ben MacIntyre
8. French Exit by Patrick DeWitt
9. Erebus by Michael Palin
10. Lost Ottawa: Book Two by David McGee


Greetings Book Lovers!

Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe we’re over a week into 2019 already. Time flies when you’re having fun – and we definitely can’t deny that we have lots of that in the shop every day! From the endless supply of books that surround us, to our very special bookstore team, to all of our wonderful customers who make coming to work such a pleasure; we are really so incredibly fortunate! 2018 was an amazing year for us and we wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for your unwavering support day-in and day-out. It’s because of loyal customers like you that our store gets to keep on plugging along and we get to keep doing this job that is, in our eyes, the best one ever!

January is typically a fairly quiet month for us here at the store, especially after the busy Christmas season, but that doesn’t mean the things grind to a halt! New books are still arriving every day, we’ve got authors coming to visit, and our annual inventory sale is right around the corner! So, things might move at a slightly slower pace this time of year, but there are still lots of reasons to pay us a visit as we make our way through the cold winter months together.

We only have one event to tell you about this month, but it’s a pretty exciting one! Crusoe the Celebrity Dachshund (and his person, Ryan Beauchesne) will be here on Saturday, January 12 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm to sign and “pawtograph” copies of Crusoe’s new book, Crusoe, the Worldly Weiner Dog! We are so looking forward to meeting Crusoe and having him here in the store. This is a one of a kind event for us and we really hope you’ll be able to pop by! For those of you who have been asking about our Titles@Table40 series, rest assure that we will be sending out news soon. We have a few things in the works and will let you all know the details as soon as we have them nailed down. Keep your eyes glued to your inbox for announcements in upcoming newsletters and event mail-outs!

Something else that a number of you have been asking us about is our Annual Inventory Sale, and we’re pleased to report that it’s now only days away! From Sunday, January 13 to Saturday, January 26, we will be celebrating winter by offering discounts on pretty much everything in the store. All books will be 30% off, 2019 calendars will be 20% off, and all gift items (such as puzzles, games, bags, mugs, and cards) will be 25% off. Items that won’t be on sale include our small selection of CDs, magazines, items already marked down, and special orders. So, if you have a list of things that Santa wasn’t able to bring you or if your gift card is burning a hole in your pocket, now is the perfect time to come in and have a browse around! After all the excitement of our two week long sale, we’ll be CLOSED on Sunday, January 27 so we can recover…and take an inventory of everything we have left in the store! Our regular store hours will resume on Monday, Janauary 28 at 9:30am.

The last few months of year always tend to be a busy time, but we hope you all managed to find some peace amid the festive fun, and that you enjoyed a holiday season filled with family, friends, laughter, and books! Wishing you all a 2019 marked by good health, happiness, and copious amounts of reading material! If you need help with that last bit, just let us know – we know the perfect place!

Happy Reading!

— The Staff at Books on Beechwood


Hilary’s Bookshelf

What I’m reading: Half Spent Was the Night by Ami McKay

“When I first read The Witches of New York just over two years ago, I completely fell in love with Beatrice, Adelaide, and Eleanor and their magical story. So, naturally, I was extremely excited when I got my hands on this new book! Any chance to spend more time in McKay’s wonderful 19th Century New York!
Featuring a glittering New Year’s Eve masked ball, this magical story of love, friendship, and new beginnings is the perfect book to read this time of year!


 

Our Book Club: January through March 2019

January: The Golden House by Salman Rushdie

Date: Wednesday, January 30 at 7:30pm

One of the truly great writers of the century reaches beyond the very top of his game in this uncannily timely knockout of a novel. In quality and compelling scope, this is Rushdie’s The Godfather meets The Great Gatsby–an unparalleled modern-day American thriller, with wonderful, moving characters and a grippingly entertaining story straight out of today’s headlines, set against the panorama of American culture and politics from the inauguration of Obama to post-election Trump.

When powerful real-estate tycoon Nero Golden immigrates to the States under mysterious circumstances, he and his three adult children assume new identities, reinventing themselves as emperors living in a lavish house in downtown Manhattan. Arriving shortly after the inauguration of Barack Obama, he and his sons, each extraordinary in his own right, quickly establish themselves at the apex of New York society, even as Nero Golden continues to raise huge buildings carrying his name in gold letters.
The story of the powerful Golden family is told from the point of view of their Manhattanite neighbour and confidant, René, an aspiring filmmaker who finds in the Goldens the perfect subject. René chronicles the undoing of the house of Golden: the high life of money, of art and fashion, a sibling quarrel, an unexpected metamorphosis, the arrival of a beautiful former model, betrayal and murder, and far away, in their abandoned homeland, some decent intelligence work that could ruin Nero Golden forever.
Invoking literature, pop culture and the cinema, Rushdie spins the story of the American zeitgeist over the last eight years, hitting every beat: the rise of the birther movement, the Tea Party, and identity politics; Gamergate; the backlash against political correctness; the ascendancy of Superman and Batwoman and the superhero movie; and, of course, the insurgence of a ruthlessly ambitious, narcissistic villain with painted skin and coloured hair.


February: A Newfoundlander in Canada by Alan Doyle

Date: Wednesday, February 27 at 7:30pm

Following the fantastic success of his bestselling memoir, Where I Belong, Great Big Sea front man Alan Doyle returns with a hilarious, heartwarming account of leaving Newfoundland and discovering Canada for the first time.

Armed with the same personable, candid style found in his first book, Alan Doyle turns his perspective outward from Petty Harbour toward mainland Canada, reflecting on what it was like to venture away from the comforts of home and the familiarity of the island.
Often in a van, sometimes in a bus, occasionally in a car with broken wipers “using Bob’s belt and a rope found by Paddy’s Pond” to pull them back and forth, Alan and his bandmates charted new territory, and he constantly measured what he saw of the vast country against what his forefathers once called the Daemon Canada. In a period punctuated by triumphant leaps forward for the band, deflating steps backward and everything in between–opening for Barney the Dinosaur at an outdoor music festival, being propositioned at a gas station mail-order bride service in Alberta, drinking moonshine with an elderly church-goer on a Sunday morning in PEI–Alan’s few established notions about Canada were often debunked and his own identity as a Newfoundlander was constantly challenged. Touring the country, he also discovered how others view Newfoundlanders and how skewed these images can sometimes be.
Heartfelt, funny and always insightful, these stories tap into the complexities of community and Canadianness, forming the portrait of a young man from a tiny fishing village trying to define and hold on to his sense of home while navigating a vast and diverse and wonder-filled country.


March: Love and Ruin by Paula McLain

Date: Wednesday, March 27 at 7:30pm

The bestselling author of The Paris Wife returns to the subject of Ernest Hemingway in a novel about his passionate, stormy marriage to Martha Gellhorn—a fiercely independent, ambitious young woman who would become one of the greatest war correspondents of the twentieth century.

In 1937, twenty-eight-year-old Martha Gellhorn travels alone to Madrid to report on the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War and becomes drawn to the stories of ordinary people caught in the devastating conflict. It’s the adventure she’s been looking for and her chance to prove herself a worthy journalist in a field dominated by men. But she also finds herself unexpectedly—and uncontrollably—falling in love with Hemingway, a man on his way to becoming a legend.

In the shadow of the impending Second World War, and set against the turbulent backdrops of Madrid and Cuba, Martha and Ernest’s relationship and their professional careers ignite. But when Ernest publishes the biggest literary success of his career, For Whom the Bell Tolls, they are no longer equals, and Martha must make a choice: surrender to the confining demands of being a famous man’s wife or risk losing Ernest by forging a path as her own woman and writer. It is a dilemma that could force her to break his heart, and hers.

Heralded by Ann Patchett as “the new star of historical fiction,” Paula McLain brings Gellhorn’s story richly to life and captures her as a heroine for the ages: a woman who will risk absolutely everything to find her own voice.