CBC Canada Reads

The CBC has compiled a list of the top 40 Canadian novels of the decade for Canada Reads 2011, and you can vote on which should be in the top 10.  If you missed them, many are available as audiobooks, so it will be easy to catch up!  Then, go to http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/ to cast your vote.

Here are some audio highlights:

A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews
Clara Callan by Richard Wright
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris

Reviews of Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk have started coming in, and they're good as usual!  Instead of his normal personal essays, Sedaris has switched to animal stories for this one.  They're still astute observations of day-to-day life, though, both funny and reflective.  The Globe and Mail has a great review:

"Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk is an extraordinary little book, almost indescribable, but one that also feels (perhaps because of the humanity of the beasts) quite familiar. Sedaris rattles our cages with his “modest bestiary,” painting us in our barber's chairs, our dinner tables, our sickbeds. We need to have that mirror held up to us, from time to time, by someone like Sedaris, who has the talent and the means to remind us that – sometimes – human behaviour can be simply beastly."

Click here for the rest of the article.

Audiobooks for Halloween

It's almost the time of year when you want to listen to something spooky!  Here are some favourites to put you in the Halloween mood.

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

There are no glittery vampires here.  Even if you've already heard it, it stands up to multiple listenings.  Plus, you can remember the good old days when Stephen King was really, really scary instead of mostly weird.

The Gates by John Connolly

This one is actually set on Halloween, for that extra festive feeling!  A boy in small town England is the only witness to the accidental opening of the gates of Hell, and must try to convince others that there are demons among us.  The Gates is light and fun, with no explicit violence or bad language, and would even be suitable for the family.

Panic in Level 4 by Richard Preston

For non-fiction lovers, the essays about Ebola are the worst kind of horror imaginable because they're true.  Panic in Level 4 is not for the squeamish--there's a lot of blood, and the outcome is usually not good.  But the essays are fast-paced and fascinating, ranging from Ebola and self-cannibalism to the lengths people go to calculating Pi.

Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore

If you loved A Dirty Job, why not go back to Moore's first book?  Moore's trademark dark humour shines through in this story about a man desperate to get rid of the people-eating demon he's saddled with.  The demon's ancient enemy, the king of the djinn, adds an extra flavour of hilarity with his many insults.

Home with Ann Patchett

It's always interesting when an author decides to share a part of their life that is not usually associated with their writing, so Ann Patchett's New York Times essay on her home may be perfect reading for this rainy day.  From the article: 

"I understand the world is full of spectacular things I’ve yet to see, but I can’t imagine any of them would satisfy me as deeply as this house, the casement window in the shower, the light pouring through the halls, or the ceiling in our bedroom, with its thin strips of pale wood that thrill me every morning when I open my eyes. Add in one really good husband and Rose, our really old dog, and it’s hard to come up with a compelling reason to leave." 

Click here to read the rest.

If you haven't heard Ann Patchett's audiobooks, they're worth a listen.  Start with Bel Canto, which won the Pen/Faulkner Award and always receives the highest praise of all her books.  Then click here to check out the rest. 

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

We received Ken Follett's new book last week (Fall of Giants) and early customer reviews have been fantastic!  It's a departure from World Without End--this one is set during the twentieth century and follows five European families through World War I.  From the New York Times review:

"Overall, Follett is ­masterly in conveying so much drama and historical information so vividly. He puts to good use the professional skills he has honed over the years — giving his characters a conversational style neither pseudo-quaint nor jarringly contemporary."

Click here for the full review.

Freakonomics - the movie?

You don't see a lot of movies based on non-fiction bestsellers, but the movie version of Freakonomics promises to be a good one. Apparently they've filmed it in four distinct sections, with four different directors (one of whom is the excellent Morgan Spurlock).  Check out the New York Times review for more info: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/movies/30freak.html?_r=1&ref=books