Thursday, December 9, 2010

Favourite Reads of 2010: Woodstock Public Library. . .

This year, the Dewey Divas presented at Woodstock Public Libary for the first time and got a marvellously warm reception from all the great librairans there.  Today's list of favourite reads of the year comes from Deputy Chief librarian Susan Start:





The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway – this novel will change the way you view your world. If you were moved by Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road, you will not want to miss this riveting, and shorter, book on the same theme, but set in the modern era.


My Life In France by Julia Child – a memoir that will appeal to you not only if you loved Julie and Julia. A wonderful, warm and insightful view of Paris and the French countryside in that charismatic post-WWII era.


Brooklyn by Colm Toibin – so well written, such clean and clear prose, with a truly engaging, though deceptively ordinary heroine.

The New Traditional: Reinvent, Balance, Define Your Home by Darryl Carter – my favorite decorating book of this year; truly lovely, both its photographs and the writing, if a calm oasis is your goal.

A Lion Called Christian by Anthony Bourke – I defy you to read this animal story without sinking into a puddle of tears.

The Road From Coorain by Jill Ker Conway – it’s twenty years old, but a wonderful engaging memoir of an Australian childhood and why this respected Can/American academic had to leave it.

The Architect of Desire by Susannah Lessard – an amazing read about the ‘architecture’ of families, told by the granddaughter of the celebrated and notorious American Beaux-Art architect, Stanford White.

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett – such a treat; laugh-out-loud in that way that only a Brit can convey.
What The Psychic Told The Pilgrim by Jane Christmas – better than Eat, Pray, Love; a 50-year-old Canadian woman takes on Spain’s Camino.

March by Geraldine Brooks – if you harbor a secret ‘Little Women’ sentimentality, here is a brilliant retelling of the story through Mr. March’s eyes.

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