Lists and Lists and Lists

It's that time of year when we are inundated with lists and I LOVE them...but they can be pretty overwhelming. Thankfully, Largehearted Boy has compiled a best of the book lists for us. THANK YOU!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

May your holidays be filled with lots of cheer and lots of reading!!!

Love the Dewey Divas and Dudes.

No Land's Man Snippet!

Listen to an excerpt of the hialrious the audiobook No Land's Man by Aasif Mandvi!

CBC Canada Reads 2015 Longlist!

When Everything Feels Like the Movies by Raziel Reid,
one of the longlisted titles for Canada Reads 2015

CBC has just announced the longlist for its annual battle of the books, Canada Reads! 

"One book to break barriers" is the theme for Canada Reads 2015 and the debates will be hosted by Wab Kinew, who emerged victorious when he defended Joseph Boyden's The Orenda for Canada Reads 2014. 

The panelists will be announced January 20th, along with the book each has chosen to champion. The debates will take place March 16th-19th.

Which book do you think will become the one book to break barriers?

Author Steve Burrows on Birding

A Siege of Bitterns, the first book in the Birder Murder Mystery series by Steve Burrows

Steve Burrows, author of the Birder Murder Mystery series, who Margaret Cannon called a major talent , ruminates on the connection between birding and literature in his guest post for 49th Shelf.

He writes: 
When you think about it, there aren’t many things you can do for free while sitting in a chair that will transport you to another world. Reading fiction is one. Watching birds is another. To sit and watch the activity at backyard feeders is to enter a realm in which there will be much that is familiar to readers of great fiction. There are triumphs and tragedies, feuds and collaborations, rewards and injustice. In short, the stuff of life—all played out against a backdrop of suet and seed. But other story elements exist at the bird feeders, too, those that make us question, as all good fiction does, what we think we know, and what we hold dear.
Read the full post for more of his thoughts on birding and literature. He also suggests other great books about birds!

The Wonderful World of Pinterest and BookRiot

Everyone turns to Pinterest for hair-dos and DIY ideas, but did you know that there is also a wonderful world of bookish content on the social media site? Book quotes, book reviews, and book covers are just the tip of the iceberg. One can spend hours ogling photographs of gorgeous libraries and book nooks, and pinning items to add to one's to-be-read (TBR) list.There are infographics galore and book memes for every type of reader.

To get the very best bookish content, it's important to follow the right Pinterest users. Luckily, the fine folks at BookRiot have compiled a list of what they believe the best bookish accounts and boards. WARNING: Once you enter the bookish corner of Pinterest, it might be hours before you are sucked back into the real world.

Aasif Mandvi on No Land's Man

"I often talk about myself as kind of a turducken -- an Indian baby, wrapped in a British schoolboy, wrapped in an American adult." - Aasif Mandvi

Writer and actor Aasif Mandvi's new book is a hilarious account of his life as an Indo-Muslim-British-American actor. He recently discussed his book and outsider status on CBC's Radio Q with guest host Piya Chattopadhyay. It's worth a listen! 

As a bonus, here's the book trailer:

Meet the author: Rona Arato

The Last Train: A Holocaust Story is the true story of a mother and her two sons, Paul and Oscar, trying to survive the Nazi occupation in Hungary during World War II.  Author Rona Arato has recently done a Meet-the-Author Book Reading at TeachingBooks.net, where she introduces the book and talks about its backstory. If you're curious about this book --- or if you've already read and loved it ---  it's definitely worth a listen.

Check it out here!