What's On at the Library

Here we are again at the start of the third season of The eh List Author Series. The eh List is a Toronto Public Library program series featuring the Canadian authors and new books that everyone is reading.

Even while I am compiling the list for the Fall series, I am reading my way through much of this season’s list. Since this blog is supposed to be ‘personal’, I’ll tell you about my own pics for this season’s programs.

Diana Fitzgerald Bryden’s No Place Strange was a great read from a brand new author. I don’t think we’ve heard the last of her. The story takes us through a surprising love between a Lebanese man and a Jewish-Canadian woman. The tangles of history and geography won’t be easy for this couple to get past. Great book. Worth a read.

Annabel Lyon’s portrait of two of the world’s most enigmatic and renowned persons, Aristotle and Alexander the Great is a breathtaking first novel which has received about as much buzz as it deserves: A whole lot. Give The Golden Mean a try.

John Bemrose, author of The Island Walkers, has given us another character-driven, Ontario-based story of love and betrayal; in The Last Woman, the environment itself becomes a character, and is both loved and betrayed along with the humans in the story. There is a lot of depth in his writing; and the story will stay with you for a long time after you slip it into the book drop.

Michael Crummey’s Galore has gotten a lot of well deserved ink. Lighthearted, sometimes even giddy writing goes deep into the psychology and history of The Rock. It’s a bit like he put a dob of Newfoundland history, a spoonful of geography and a fistful of biography into a blender and came up with this whale of a tale which, though bizarre in its detail, has the smell of truth about it.

Linden MacIntyre has had plenty of coverage for The Bishop’s Man, his fictionalized, almost prescient exploration of the inner life of the bishop’s enforcer, who moved priests from parish to parish, one step ahead of the law.

I would be doing a disservice if I didn’t mention the dark horse of the series, Waiting For Columbus. Thomas Trofimuk gives us the story of an institutionalized ‘John Doe’ who believes he is Chris Columbus, and all he needs are three ships and he will set out immediately to discover the new world. While the premise is strange, the book is a treat to read. Pair with a nice glass of Ribera del Duero, relax, and enjoy the plush ride.

My own favourite for the season is Claire Letemendia with her swashbuckling historical yarn about a sure-to-be serialized hero by the name of Lawrence Beaumont. The marvellous protagonist of this big fat British civil war conspiracy novel uses his sword, his pen, his brain and his kisser to win the heart of the dubious damsel of the story, save the hapless King, and thrill the reader. Take The Best of Men to the cottage and enjoy a weekend with Beaumont and his exploits.

Come on out to any of our eight eh List branches for entertaining and informative readings and discussions with some of Canada’s most skilled authors.