FYI: Most of the links on this page will take you to web pages that are in French, as this is a translated work and the author and illustrator are based in France. Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann, illus. Kerascoët, trans. Helge Dascher. Originally published as Jolies Ténèbres by Dupuis. Generally, I am a fan of Drawn & Quarterly graphic […]
Danbo from Yotsuba&!. Photo by author. Last weekend was Anime North, an annual, fan-run convention in Toronto for anime, manga, gaming, Japanese and other Asian culture, as well as pop culture. I have been a loyal attendee since 2001, and most years, I cosplay. That is, I attend in a costume based on a character from […]
Beloved Canadian author and activist Farley Mowat has died at the age of 92. From Sandra Martin's obituary in the Globe and Mail today: "Mr. Mowat was a trickster, a ferocious imp with a silver pen, an ardent environmentalist who opened up the idea of the North to curious southerners, a public clown who hid […]
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize for Literaturehas died. The grandfather of magical realism who authored such breathtaking and mesmerizing works such as One Hundred Years of Solitude, and Love in the Time of Cholera passed away April 17th in Mexico City where he had been living for the past three decades. […]
The spirit of Maker Culture has permeated our collective consciousness. Call it what you will: Making, DIY, constructivism… it seems to be everywhere these days! And the library is no exception – witness our new Digital Innovation Hubs at the Toronto Reference Library and the soon-to-be-opened Fort York branch. Now that this formerly hidden subculture has made […]
Have you been watching True Detective? I have been obsessing over it a bit lately, and not only for the gripping performances by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. The show quickly moves from a plain old cop drama into a fascinating study in detective-noir, Southern gothic, horror, and possibly things supernatural. Rust Cohle and Martin […]
Are you a woman dreaming of starting your own business? Or are you thinking of leaving the corporate world to venture off on your own? Join us at the Lillian H Smith branch on Tuesday, November 12 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. as we learn from 2 boomer-age women who have successfully made the […]
Writer and librarian Arlene Chan will join us at the Lillian H. Smith branch on Thursday November 14 at 7 pm to speak about her latest book The Chinese Community in Toronto: Then and Now. Arlene has authored a few titles including The Chinese in Toronto from 1878, The Moon Festival: a Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, and […]
Are you thinking of starting our own business? Do you have a groundbreaking idea? Join Carla Langhorst, author of "Will It Fly? The Idea Tester" on Monday October 21 at Lillian H Smith from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. and put your idea to the test. This presentation will help you find out if your […]
Fall has arrived and Halloween is just around the corner! Once the leaves start changingcolour I know it's time for pumpkin patches and apple picking… even if thatjust equates to pumpkin spice lattes and baking apple pies. Every year towardsthe end of September and early October I start to think about costumes and Halloweenhome decor. […]