Author: Hilary

Our February Best Sellers

  1. Butterfly Kills        Brenda Chapman                          Mystery
  2. Dispatches from the Front     David Halton                Biography
  3. Stropping the Panzers                 Mark Milner              History
  4. The Girl on the Train        Paula Hawkins                     Fiction
  5. Cold Mourning              Brenda Chapman                     Mystery
  6. The Troublesome Young Men       Lynne Olson         History
  7. Transatlantic                 Colum McCann                          Fiction
  8. Old Filth                 Jane Gardam                                         Fiction
  9. Gone Girl                  Gillian Flynn                                 Mystery
  10. The Rosie Project                      Graeme Simsion         Fiction
  11. All the Light we cannot see     Anthony Doerr          Fiction
  12. A Model Death                          Brenda Chapman          Mystery
  13. Americanah                 C.N. Adiche                                    Fiction
  14. Opinionated Old Cow          Alena Schram                     Humour

The Next Titles @ Table 40

The next event in the dinner and discuss series will be held at the Fraser’s Table 40 restaurant in Springfield Road on Sunday February 22nd. starting at 5.30p.m. The speaker is David Halton, former chief political correspondent for the CBC and he will be discussing his book “Dispatches from the Front”, a memoir about his famous father-the war correspondent Matthew Halton.
Reservations are necessary and have to be made at the bookstore. There is a $20 deposit per person which is then deducted from the cost of the meal. The dinner is a three course set menu (with vegetarian option) served family style for a cost of $40. Refreshments, a fixed gratuity and taxes are extra. There are still a few places available. Book now!

SALE

HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY and POLITICS

The 50th anniversary of the first official raising of the Maple Leaf Flag is Sunday February 15th. It is an historic occasion to be celebrated. Despite its contentious adoption and the acrimony of the 1960s, the flag has become an important symbol all across the nation.

We are having a sale on Saturday February 14th and Sunday February 15th with 20% off all books in the categories of History, Biography and Politics.

Come and join our celebration.

Our Best Sellers in January

  1. “Two Days in June”             Andrew Cohen                   Biography
  2. “Brave New Canada”         Burney/Hampson             Politics
  3. “Transatlantic”                    Colum McCann                   Fiction
  4. “After the War is over”             Jennifer Robson             Fiction
  5. As Chimney Sweepers come..” Alan Bradley                 Mystery
  6. “The Girl on the Train”             Paula Hawkins                Fiction
  7. “The Cat out of Hell”             Lynne Truss                         Fiction
  8. “The Orenda”                        Joseph Boyden                   Fiction
  9. “Fields of Blood..”                  Karen Armstrong              Spiritual
  10. “Missing Person”                    Patrick Modiano                Fiction

“The Young T.E. Lawrence” by Anthony Sattin

lawrencesattinThis is a well-written account of the man we all know as Lawrence of Arabia – but from a special point of view. The London award-winning journalist, Anthony Sattin, looks at Lawrence’s early life and what drove him to the Arab world.

He grew up in a household in Oxford, with four brothers and a dominating mother. He was a shy, introverted boy but loved all aspects of archaeology and was fascinated by the medieval world and loved the monuments of crusading knights. He worked with glass and pottery which he dug up from the streets of Oxford. He set out on a walking tour – by himself – through Syria, checking Crusader castles. In l909 he won a scholarship to study Crusader architecture in the Levant. When war came in l9l4 he wanted to raise Arab fighters and free Arab lands from Ottoman control. He wanted to see a Commonwealth of free peoples, an Arab Dominion initially under British sovereignty but ultimately independent.

Lawrence wrote his classic autobiography Seven Pillars of Wisdom and we learn of his disappointment when things didn’t turn out as he had hoped. This book is especially relevant today, given the state of affairs in the Near and Middle East.

Reviewed by Anne McDougall

“The Comeback” by John Ralston Saul

comebackJohn Ralston Saul has included Canada’s First Nations in many of his books and articles on this country. In this book he looks at the comeback of these people in numbers and influence.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the population of the First Nations and Metis people had shrunk from as many as 2 million people (when the Europeans arrived) to approximately 150,000.  In spite of endless Treaties, they had lost much of the land they had used for food sources, had picked up many European diseases, and altogether lost much of their way of life. The Canadian government had made bad mistakes, in setting up residential schools to try to break down the families, in forbidding the potlatch (a beloved and religious ceremony) , and in taking away their right to vote. The population today is back to 2 million.

This book shows how the Idle No More movement illustrates a difference in Canadian relationships. Both sides realize citizens’ rights must be recognized. Saul includes many letters and speeches from First Nations chiefs and the effect these have had on improving relations. The last one is from a chief in Manitoba, now a professor at the University of Manitoba. He says he is a man who quit drinking when his grandson was born, to give this little boy the greatest gift he could give – love. He says all of us in Canada can do more, if we listen to each other and give each other gifts of responsibility.

Saul is one of Canada’s leading public intellectuals. He is president of PEN International, and has published fourteen works, translated into twenty-five languages.

Reviewed by Anne McDougall

Caroline Shepard Signing “Unlit Spaces”

unlitspacesCaroline Shepard will be here on Saturday, January 31 from 12:00 to 2:00pm to sign copies of her book Unlit Spaces.

About the book:

“Unlit Spaces brings to life the haunting story of Cailey Donald, a young woman who flees her rural Manitoba home in the wake of lingering childhood trauma. As Cailey matures, she finds herself in a variety of challenging situations, from working as a domestic in a wealthy Winnipeg home, to studying fine arts at a Montreal university. As she begins to establish herself in the Montreal art community, her life is at once inspired
and inhibited by the hidden childhood trauma that resurfaces with ever increasing urgency. It is ultimately through her art, and in the company of those closest to her, that Cailey at last allows this paralyzing event to emerge from the shadows.
Unlit Spaces is a dramatic and often moving love story that weaves themes of
culture and art and social justice through the intersecting lives of a vibrantly
entertaining cast of characters”

About the author:

Caroline Shepard grew up in Manitoba. She has lived in Ontario and Quebec, with periods of work, study, and travel in Britain, Europe, Botswana, and East Africa.

Unlit Spaces (Friesen Press 2014) is her first novel. An early manuscript of Unlit Spaces was long-listed for the Chapters Robertson Davies First Novel Award. Off Centre (Oberon Press 2004), her debut collection of short fiction, reflects her international experience and was short listed for the 2005 Danuta Gleed Award.  At home in Ottawa, she is at work on a second novel.

Perry Prete Signing on Saturday, January 17

morethingschangeCome by the store on Saturday, January 17 to meet local author
Perry Prete. He will be here from 1:00 to 3:00pm signing copies of his new mystery novel, The More Things Change. There will also be copies of his previous mystery, All Good Things, available to sign and purchase.

Both mysteries are set in Ottawa and feature Ethan Tennant, an Ottawa Paramedic, who leads the reader through fascinating and mysterious events on the streets of Canada’s Capital.

From the jacket of All Good Things:

“In 2013, Ethan Tennant, a Paramedic for the City of Ottawa, discovers more than a body on Parliament Hill. He unwittingly unleashes a secret that began almost seventy years ago and still hasn’t been revealed. Some people want to keep what he found secret, others want the world to know. Certain secrets are never meant to be known.”

We look forward to seeing you at this great event!

Inventory Sale Now On

Books on Beechwood is having its inventory sale from January 9th to January 18th. Every thing in the store is reduced by at least 20%. The sale applies to in-stock items only. A great opportunity to stock up for those cold winter days still to come!

Please note  that the store will be closed on Monday January 19th for our annual inventory.