Category: The Newsletter

Check our e-store for details of each book.

1.       How we lead: Canada in a…        Joe Clark                                              Politics

2.       The Sayers Swindle                         Victoria Abbott                                 Mystery

3.       Dear Life                                              Alice Monro                                       Fiction

4.       An Astronauts guide to..               Chris Hadfield                                    Biography

5.       The War that ended the Peace  Margaret MacMillan                       History 

6.       The Way of the 88 Temples         Robert Sibley                                     Travel

7.       Lives of the Family                           Denise Chong                                    History

8.       The Longer I’m Prime Minister..                Paul Wells                          Biography

9.       The Orenda                                        Joseph Bryden                                  Fiction

10.   The Massey Murder                       Charlotte Gray                                  Fiction

11.   Shopping for Votes                         Susan Delacourt                               Politics 

12.   True Confessions of a Film Critic          Robert Fontaine                        Arts & Music

13.   Road Ends                                           Mary Lawson                                     Fiction

14.   Building the Orange Wave           Brad Lavigne                                      Biography

15.   Conversations with a dead man            Mark Abley                           Biography

16.   The Luminaries                                 Eleanor Catton                                  Fiction

17.   In the garden of beasts                 Erik Larson                                          History

18.  Longbourn                            JoBaker                                   Fiction                                                  

19.   The Christie Curse                           Victoria Abbott                                 Mystery

20.   Sweetness of a simple life           D. Beresford-Kroeger                    Sci & Nature

21.   David & Goliath: Undergoing ..   Malcom Gladwell                             Psychology

22.   The Rosie Project                             Graeme Simsion                               Fiction

23.   The Day the Crayons Quit             Drew Daywalt                                    Kids       

 

 

Booklovers Holiday Quiz

December 2013

Try our holiday quiz and then test your friends. 20 questions on recently published books. Answers given below or use the bookstore search engine.

1.      Who is the police Inspector in the crime novel featuring the village of Three Pines?

 2.      What book is about a maid who shoots her employer on his doorstep?

 3.      How many temples are there in the Shikoku Pilgrimage ( the “Henro Michi”)?

 4.      What are the recent books written by past or present Prime Ministers?

 5.      What detective series features an overweight, turban wearing, chain smoking Inspector? Where does he live?

 6.      Where is the setting for Alice Munro’s short stories in “Dear Life”?

 7.      Who won the Giller prize this year? What was the book?

 8.      What two books recently appeared about NDP stalwarts?

 9.      What famous book is set in New Zealand in the 1800’s?

 10.  Which crime series is set around Palermo, Sicily and features Sicilian cuisine?

 11.  What did the hundred year old man do?

 12.  Who made an unlikely Pilgrimage?

 13.  What is the Rosie Project?

 14.  Who wrote “The War that ended the Peace”?

 15.  Where is the No1 Ladies Detective Agency set?

 16.  What shopping does Susan Delacourt describe?

 17.  In local author Barabara Fradkin’s Mysteries, who are the Inspector and the Staff Sergeant?

 18.  What did the Road do in Mary Lawson’s latest novel?

 19.  What Nation features in Joseph Bryden’s “The Orenda”?

 20.  What is the title of Margaret Atwood’s third volume of her dystopian trilogy?

 Good luck!

Scoring:

All 20 correct:             Book-loving Champion (but you should get out more)

15-19: Qualified for a job in a Bookstore

10-14: You must be one of our highly valued customers

5-9: The store re-opens on Dec 27^th

0-4: You have a great reading opportunity ahead.

Quiz Answers:

1.        Chief Inspector Gamache in Louise Penny’s “How the light gets in”:

2.        “The Massey Murder” by Charlotte Gray

3.        “The Way of the 88 Temples” by Robert Sibley

4.        (a)”A great game” by Stephen Harper (b) “How we lead: Canada in a century of change” by Joe Clark

5.        Inspector Singh Investigates. He is based in Singapore. Series by Shamini Flint.

6.        SW Ontario

7.        Lynn Coady for “Hellgoing”

8.        (a) Sven Robinson “A life in Politics” (b) “Building the Orange Wave” by Brad Lavigne

9.        “The Luminaries” by Eleanor Catton; Booker Prize winner

10.     The Inspector Montalbano Series by Andrea Camilleri

11.     “climbed out of the window and disappeared” by Jonas Jonasson

12.     Harold Fry. (author Rachel Joyce)

13.     The scientific search for the perfect partner. Novel by Graeme Simsion

14.     Margaret MacMillan

15.     Botswana: Series by McCall-Smith

16.     “Shopping for votes”

17.     Inspector Michael Green and Staff Sergeant Brian Sullivan

18.     “Road Ends”

19.     Huron

20.     “MaddAddan”

 

 

We’re ready for the Christmas rush but don’t leave everything until the last minute!  The shelves are stocked. The staff are ready with advice. The store is buzzing. Or you can avoid the crowds and buy at our on-line bookstore. We’ve added to our collection of cards and calendars. The boxed card sets from UNICEF are going fast but there are many other interesting choices. A calendar featuring Ottawa photos from 1938 has been a best seller. We have jigsaw puzzles and various other games. The Great Penguin Bookchase is the newest game. It is a kind of trivial pursuits for booklovers-recommended for adults. A very popular series of kits for children have been the wooden construction sets of models derived from Leonardo’s drawings such as a siege catapult and a flying machine. The former won an award as one of the best toys for 2013. Our electronic gift cards are selling well –the best solution when you don’t really know quite what to buy.

In the meantime, there are lots of events still going on in December. Please check our newly upgraded Calendar page for details. There are several book signings planned in December. You can click on any item on the calendar to see full details of the featured books. The very successful Books ‘n Brew series at the Clocktower Pub has switched to Sundays in December-see the calendar. (The previously planned event for Dec 8^th with Mark Abley will now be held in the store from 1.00-3.00p.m).There will be a pause in this series in January but we hope to resume later since there has been such a great response.

The November bestseller list for the store is given below. It is heavily influenced by our special events with a dominance of Biography and Politics. Since it was the season for literary awards-Nobel Prize, Booker Prize, Giller Prize and so on- the award winners dominate the fiction category.

We will be closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day to catch our breath a little but are planning some special events in January to celebrate the end of year 1 of the new ownership. We close at 3.00p.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Greetings from all our staff for the Holiday Season. May you have a wonderful celebration.

1.  Shopping for Votes                         Susan Delacourt                               Politics 

2.  Welcome to the Broadcast          Don Newman                                    Biography

3.  Svend Robinson: A life in..           Graeme Truelove                            Biography

4. Road Ends                                          Mary Lawson                                    Fiction

5.  Humanity’s Saving Grace              Alex Binkley                                       Sci-Fi

6.  The War that ended the Peace  Margaret MacMillan                       History                 

7.  How we lead: Canada in a…          Joe Clark                                              Politics

8.  The Longer I’m Prime Minister..              Paul Wells                               Biography

9.  Dear Life                                              Alice Monro                                       Fiction

10. Troubled Pilgrimage: Passage..  Balwant Bhanega                             Biography

11. The Luminaries                                 Eleanor Catton                                  Fiction

12. The Orenda                                        Joseph Bryden                                  Fiction

13. A Message for the Emperor          Mark Frutkin                                      Fiction

14. The Forgotten                                   Nathan Greenfield                          History

15. A Crack in the Pavement              Georgie Binks                                    Fiction

16. Hellgoing: Stories                             Lynn Coady                                       Fiction

17. The Massey Murder                       Charlotte Gray                                  Fiction

18. An Astronauts guide to..               Chris Hadfield                                    Biography

19. More than Cash Flow                     Julie Broad                                          Economy

 

 

 

       

        

 

November Newsletter

We’re all set for the pre-Christmas rush with over 6000 books in stock and more on the way. Come in and take a look and maybe you’ll find that perfect gift, possibly even for yourself! You can also browse on our e-store website and order other books from our suppliers. There is now a search station in the store too. We have new electronic gift cards which can be purchased at the store or on-line. To cope with the rush, we’ve added another staff member, Stephanie, who has a lot of bookstore experience.

In November and December we have many special events –book signings and book readings. It’s always interesting to meet the authors. We’ve added a calendar page to the website so that you can see all the events well in advance. Our Books and Brew series has been an outstanding success so far with sold-out sessions in many cases. The series is held at the Clocktower Pub next door. You can buy the books at a discount and there is a discount (15%) on dinner if you also buy one of the Clocktower brews. Early reservations are recommended. In December, the series switches to Sunday nights with dinner suggested for 5.30p.m. The December schedule is

Dec. 1                    Denise Chong                    “Lives of the Family”

Dec 8                     Mark Abley                         “Conversations with a Dead Man”

Dec 15                   Robert Sibley                     “The way of the 88 Temples”

A new series will begin in January.

We have just posted our 20 best sellers for the month of October (see the posting below)– headed by Charlotte Gray’s “The Massey Murder” for the second month in a row.  Once again history and biography dominate the list but there are a few surprises too. This month we might expect Lynn Coady’s Giller Prize winner “Hellgoing” to head the list.

Drop in for a visit and enjoy the friendly neighbourhood atmosphere of Books on Beechwood. Please note that we are open on November 11^th but only after 1.00p.m.

Our Bestsellers for October

1. The Massey Murder                         Charlotte Gray                                   History
2. The Library Tree                               Deborah Cowley                              Biography
3. Dear Life                                            Alice Monro                                      Fiction
4. The Forgotten                                   Nathan Greenfield                            History
5. Shopping for Votes                           Susan Delacourt                               Politics
6. The House of Hades                        Rick Riordan                                       Youth/Fantasy
7. The Inconvenient Indian                 Thomas King                                      History
8. However Long the Night                  Aimee Molloy                                    Biography
9. The War that Ended the Peace     Margaret MacMillan                             History
10. Stories about Storytellers             Douglas Gibson/Alice Monro               Biography
11. The Orenda                                        Joseph Bryden                                  Fiction
12. Memoirs of Mourning                   Claudia Chowiniec                               Biography
13. The Whispers of Legends             Barbara Fradkin                                   Fiction
14. Is This your First War?                    Michael Petrou                                  History
15. Fire and Ashes                                  Michael Ignatieff                              Politics
16. Food for the Gods                           Karen Dudley                                      Fiction
17. Jack and the Manger                      Andy Jones                                          Kids
18. Mrs Lincoln’s Dressmaker            Jennifer Chaverini                                 Fiction
19. What W.H.Auden can do for you Alexander McCall Smith                       Literary
20. The Love Monster                           Missy Marston                                     Fiction

 

We welcome a new staff member -Stephanie Caldicott- to help us with the fall surge in business. Stephanie has lots of bookstore experience. She began her career with Books Canada and then worked for Ivy’s Bookstore in Victoria for 10 years before returning to Ottawa and spending 13 years at Nicholas Hoare Books. We all look forward to working with her.

1.”The Dogs are Eating Them now” by Graeme Smith        History

2. “The Massey Murder” by Charlotte Gray                         History

3.”The Orenda” by Joseph Boyden                                       Fiction

4. “The Inconvenient Indian” by Thomas King                    History

5. “How the Light gets in” by Louise Penny                          Fiction

6. “Fire and Ashes” by Michael Ignatieff                              Politics

7. “The Painted Girls” by Cathy Marie Buchanan                Fiction

8. ” My Antonia” by Willa Cather                                          Classic

9. “The Yellow Birds” by Kevin Powers                                 Fiction

10. “The Racketeer” by John Grisham                                   Fiction

11. “The Son of a Certain Woman” by Wayne Johnston       Fiction

12. “Children of the Revolution” by Peter Robinson            Fiction

13. “And then there were Nuns” by Jane Christmas            Travel

14. “At the Table:Nourishing Conv..” by T. Keenleyside      Cookery

15. “”The Cookbook” by Ottolenghi                                        Cookery

 

The fall brings a flurry of activity at the store in preparation for the November/December peak in sales. We are busy bringing in new stock and adding to our collection. Books make an ideal choice as a Christmas gift that can be adapted to the recipient’s interests. If you can’t quite decide what to get, gift cards are always welcome. The store is about to introduce new customized electronic gift cards which will be more convenient for the customer. Just ask at the counter.

The staff are always willing to help you search for books and ready to put their vast knowledge at your service. However, for those who prefer to search or just browse by themselves, we’ve added a search computer at the rear of the store. There you can search our stock on-line and search the stock of our major suppliers. You can also order books on-line if you wish. The same search facility can be accessed at home by going to store.booksonbeechwood.ca

Fall and winter activities are off to a good start. Our book club was so successful last year that we’ve expanded to two clubs this year (but discussing a common set of books). You’re welcome to join the new club on the second Wednesday of each month. (see the Book Club page for details).

A major new adventure for us is the Books and Brew Series put on in collaboration with the Clocktower pub next door. This involves dinner at the pub combined with readings or presentations by selected authors and a question and answer session. The series debuted with a sell-out crowd to hear the ever popular Charlotte Gray talking about her new book (The Massey Murder). It was a very successful. It’s interesting to see “reading” becoming such a social event. Future Books and Brew nights are planned as follows:

Monday October 28; Nathan Greenfield with “The Forgotten: Canadian POWs, Escapees and Evaders in Europe 1939-1945

Monday November 11: Don Newman with his memoir “Welcome to the Broadcast”

Monday November 25: Mary Lawson with her new novel “Road Ends”

In December, the nights switch to Sundays including

Sunday December 1: Denise Chong with “Lives of the Family”

Sunday December 15: Robert Sibley with “The Way of the 88 Temples”

Come and join us! Proceedings begin with dinner at 6.00 p.m. Reservations with the Clocktower pub will be necessary most nights. Some special discounts apply.

As usual, we have many book signings planned within the store during the coming months. These often feature local authors. Watch our events page for details.

We look forward to serving you whatever your interests.