Category: The Newsletter

March Bestsellers

1. Transforming Ottawa by Alain Miguelez
2. Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis
3. Birdie by Tracy Lindberg
4. The Illegal by Lawrence Hill
5. H Is For Hawk by Helen MacDonald
6. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
7. The Lady From Zagreb by Phillip Kerr
8. The Hero’s Walk by Anita Rau Badami
9. Moonlight Over Paris by Jennifer Robson
10. The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel

Welcome to April! It may not feel like it right now, but if you believe the weather forecasters, there is light (and heat) at the end of the tunnel.

Although it’s still a little chilly out, now is the perfect time to get outside and enjoy the warm sunshine (when it appears) and breath in all that fresh, clean air. It’s also a great time to attend book events, and what better book event is there than a Titles@Table40 evening? Yes, that’s right! Titles@Table40 is back, and not only do we have one event to tell you about, but two! Our first event of 2016 will be on Sunday, April 24 with prolific Canadian historian, John Boyko. He will be speaking about his newest book Cold Fire: Kennedy’s Northern Front, which explores the relationship between John F. Kennedy, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, and Nobel Prize-winning diplomat, Lester Pearson. A month later, on Sunday, May 29, Alain Miguelez, the author of the tremendously successful Transforming Ottawa, will be joining us for an evening at Table 40. With the added enticement of a power point presentation full of wonderful pictures of Ottawa circa 1937-38, this Titles@Table40 evening should be a real treat!

As with previous Titles@Table40 events, 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 the meal (a set menu with a vegetarian option). The total cost of the meal is $40.00, which includes a three course meal (family-style). No substitutions will be allowed. Tax, 18% gratuity, and refreshments are not included. Tickets for both our Titles@Table40 events are on sale now, so call, e-mail, or visit us to reserve your seat today!

If a dinner event is not your thing, why not visit us in-store for a great local author signing? On Saturday, April 16, local professor Georg Northoff will be here from 12:00-2:00pm signing copies of his new book Neuro-Philosophy and the Healthy Mind. Ontario author, Karen Molson will be in the store on Saturday, April 23 to launch her new novel, The Company of Crows from 12:00-2:00pm. To round out the month, on Saturday, April 30, we will be celebrating the second annual National Authors for Indies Day! We will have a number of local authors paying us a visit throughout the day including Sarah Jennings from 11:00am-12:00pm (Art and Politics), Her Excellency Sharon Johnston from 11:30am-12:30pm (Matrons and Madams), Charlotte Gray from 12:00-1:00pm (The Massey Murder), mystery author Brenda Chapman from 1:00-2:00pm (Tumbled Graves), David Holdsworth from 2:00-3:00pm (Tough on Crime), and poet Frances Boyle from 3:00-4:00pm (Light-Carved Passages). It will be a great day filled with wonderful authors and fabulous books! Don’t miss it!

With amazing titles continuing to pack themselves onto our shelves every day, we’re sure to have something for whatever mood this changeable season puts you in. On the fiction front, Helen Simonson, the beloved author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, has just released The Summer Before the War – a story centered on the sleepy village of Rye, England and the life and loves of its inhabitants. If you’re feeling nostalgic for a time when neon was in and scrunchies and leg warmers ruled the fashion world, why not try the debut novel, Tuesday Nights in 1980 by Molly Prentiss? While we can’t guarantee that these 80s staples actually play a role in the story, the vibrant descriptions of the gritty New York art scene and the characters struggling to carve out a place for themselves in it, more than make up for any fashion omissions. On the non-fiction side of things, a lovely, quirky book that has just landed on our shelves, The Legend of Zippy Chippy: Life Lessons from Horse Racing’s Most Lovable Loser by William Thomas, may be just the thing to brighten your day as we wait for spring to come. Also worth a try are, the new Alan Cumyn tongue-in-cheek teen read, Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend and the beautifully charming Miss Moon: Wise Words from a Dog Governess by Janet Hill – a staff favourite right now!

So, whether you’re looking for something that will make you laugh, cry, or hide under the covers, a trip to the corner bookstore is never wasted. Just remember, books may not give off heat, but they still make the best cuddlers.

Happy Reading!

-The Staff of Books on Beechwood

Come by Library and Archives Canada on Monday, January 25 to catch the first in this great new interview series from 12:15pm to 1:15pm.
Librarian and Archivist of Canada, Guy Berthiaume, will be interviewing Sarah Jennings, local arts journalist and author.

Click here to register!

From our Bookstore Family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We will be CLOSED for Christmas until Monday, December 28, when our regular store hours will resume at 9:30am.

On Thursday, December 31, we will be OPEN from 9:30am to 3:00pm and we will be CLOSED on Friday, January 1.
Our regular store hours will resume on Saturday, January 2.

Bestsellers for August

1. Tough on Crime by David Holdsworth
2. Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese
3. Man by Kim Thuy
4. The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny
5. Strength of Conviction by Tom Mulcair
6. What’s Happened to Politics? by Bob Rae
7. His Whole Life by Elizabeth Hay
8. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
9. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
10. Novel Habits of Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith

The night are getting cooler, leaves are starting to crunch underfoot, and the kids are heading back to school – it’s not hard to tell we’re leaving summer behind and heading into autumn! Even though the changing of the seasons means that days spent having fun in the sun might be few and far between, it also means that the fall book season is just getting started!

With all kinds of exciting news to pass along to you, why don’t we start with the announcement that our Titles@Table40 series is back! Kicking off our new season will be John Ibbitson discussing his new book Stephen Harper on Sunday, September 27. As before, the evening will start at 5:30pm with dinner, followed by the author presentation and book signing. Those who wish to attend must reserve their spot through the bookstore with a non-refundable deposit of $20. Later in the Table 40 series, we will have Tim Cook discussing his book Fight to the Finish (November 8), Elizabeth Hay presenting His Whole Life (November 15), and a special wine evening with Rod Phillips, the author of The 500 Best-Value Wines in the LCBO (December 6).

If the new John Ibbitson book doesn’t peak your interest but you want to stay on the political theme, why not try Tom Mulcair’s new book Strength of Conviction or the brand new release, What’s Happened to Politics? by Bob Rae? With a number of weeks left in this federal election campaign, we’re bound to see lots more political books hitting our shelves before ballot-casting time comes around. If politics aren’t your thing, our fiction shelves are awash in great new releases. The newest eagerly-awaited Chief Inspector Gamache mystery, The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny, has just arrived and is already flying off the shelves! Other notable new releases include The Taming the Queen by Philippa Gregory, Circling the Sun by Paula McLaine (author of The Paris Wife), and Sue Grafton has finally ended all our speculation by releasing hew new Kinsey Millhone mystery, simply entitled X.

Not only do we have the Titles@Table40 series to be excited about, but we have a number of great local authors coming into the store to sign their books over the next month. Touching once again the theme of politics, Barbara Bond will be in the store onSaturday, September 5  from 12:00-1:00pm, signing copies of her book On Sober Second Thought, a novel set in the Canadian Senate; and David Holdsworth will be on hand to sign copies of his timely political novel, Tough on Crime, on Saturday, September 26 from 1:00-3:00pm. We will also be welcoming Ian McKinley (author ofThe Gallows Gem of Prallyn) on Saturday, September 12 from 12:00-1:00pm, Ian Prattis (author of Redemption and Trailing Sky Six Feathers) on Saturday, September 19 from 11:00am-1:00pm, James Bartleman (author of Exceptional Circumstances) onSunday, September 20 from 1:00-3:00pm, and east coast author Lesley Crewe (author of Amazing Grace) on Saturday, September 26 from 11:00am-1:00pm.

Our ever-popular Book Club is starting up again this month, leading off the season with a discussion of Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese. If you want to get a head start on your Book Club reading heading into the fall, the book for October will be The Comeback by John Ralston Saul and November’s book will be Us Conductors by Sean Michaels. New members are always welcome. For more information on the club and their meeting times, check out our website.

Although we’ve only just dipped our toes into September, the gift-giving season is just around the corner. A variety of great gift items are starting to trickle into the store, including fun new puzzles for all ages, blank and lined writing journals, 2016 calendars for the whole the family, and of course beautiful new colouring books for the young and the young at heart.

With lots of exciting events coming up and tons of great new titles arriving every day, this is a great time of year to – dare we say it? – fall into a good book!

Happy Reading!

-The Staff of Books on Beechwood

It is with great sadness that we pass along the news of Jean Barton’s passing on Sunday, August 16th. Jean, or Jeannie to many of you, started Books on Beechwood with Mary Mahoney back in 1994, bravely coinciding their foray into book-selling with the opening of the first Chapters store in Ottawa. It didn’t take long for the two newest Beechwood business owners, and the business itself, to become an essential part of our community. After running the store for almost 20 years, Jean retired, passing the reins onto current owners Brian Sullivan and George Laframboise.

All the staff at Books on Beechwood (past and present), some of whom worked with Jean for many years, will miss her a great deal. Even though we may not see her anymore, she will always live on in our hearts and our bookstore.

Obituary Published in The Ottawa Citizen on August 21, 2015:

Jean Gibson (Jeannie) Barton (nee Smith) 1945-2015
After a full and active life, Jeannie passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by her family. She is survived by her husband Tom, children Doug (Davis) and Alice (Scott), granddaughter Natalie, and sisters Sue and Maria. In addition to her vast interests including nature, gardening, painting, skiing, tennis, bridge and traveling, she opened and successfully operated a book store in Ottawa (Books on Beechwood) for almost 20 years. She was definitely her own person, and her unique and infectious laughter warmed many hearts.
A celebration of Jeannie’s life will be held in Ottawa on the afternoon of September 13.