Best of 2015: Staff Members’ Favourite Reads 4
Brandon:
Mayor Rob Ford: Uncontrollable: How I Tried to Help the World's Most Notorious Mayor by Mark Towhey
• eBook
Mark Towhey, former chief of staff for former mayor Rob Ford, gives us an eye-opening (and at times jaw-dropping) glimpse into the world of municipal politics. While much of the content is centered around events that are now widely known, the author provides a behind-the-scenes perspective about what it was like to work for someone who is arguably the most infamous Canadian politician in recent history.
Jane:
Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis
• eBook
The gods must be crazy! Why would it amuse them to give 15 dogs human consciousness? The answer is not really clear, who can understand a god after all but the consequences are sad, funny and poignant. I certainly learned a lot about canine behaviour and a little about human behaviour too. Bonus: Totally set in Toronto.
Kindred by Octavia Butler
• eAudiobook
• eBook
Dana, a modern black woman living in 1976, is celebrating her 26th birthday when she is pulled back in time to the antebellum south by a young white boy (her great-great-great? grandfather) who is drowning. Her job, it appears, is to keep him alive and thus ensure her own existence in today's world. Each time she returns she learns more, sometimes in a horrible fashion, of what it is to be a slave. Don't wait for Black History Month to read this great book.
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
• eAudiobook
• eBook
Flowing back and forth but basically the first novel in a four-volume series featuring the childhood of two young girls who live in a poor neighbourhood of postwar Naples, Italy. Both girls are very bright and I found the mere fact that one or both might be forced or decide to leave school at any moment a great source of tension.
The Martian by Andy Weir
• Audiobook
• eBook
• Large Print
• Talking Book: CD format (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
Seen the movie? Read the book and you will learn a lot more science! Like Robinson Crusoe, without Friday an astronaut is left for dead on Mars. Happily for him he is not dead. Sadly he must survive until the next Mars mission arrives in four years but he has only a year or so of rations.
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
• eAudiobook
• eBook
• Large Print
Mars again but this time more fantasy than sci-fi. Reds work the mines on Mars and Golds rule the universe. Reds accept their lot as lowest order of a colour coded society. For one thing, they are constantly told that they are vital to humanity's very survival. This is, as one young Red finds out, a big fat lie.
Volume One in a trilogy.
Soheli:
Barbara the Slut and Other People by Lauren Holmes
• Audiobook
• eBook
• Talking Book (restricted to Print Disabled patrons)
A collection of short stories for people who don't even like short stories. Quirky and sometimes dark plots with realistically flawed characters make these memorable. Pick of the bunch: "How Am I Supposed to Talk to You?" for its 'tender' mother-daughter relationship.
Beverley:
Get Out of my Bath by Britta Teckentrup
I used this great book for a preschool program, which was well received by kiddies and their caregivers. Ellie the elephant’s bath time goes sideways, making for a very funny book! This interactive book gets youngsters tilting and shaking the book to clear the tub of uninvited guests. Lots of fun to share!
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