Storytelling, Circles, and Identity Politics

As the barriers of identity politics seem more and more prominent in today’s world, Elif Shafek’s The Politics of Fiction explores the power of fiction to transcend these divisive and marginalizing practices. With her newest piece Three Daughters of Eve set to release, listen as Shafek demonstrates through her own experience that individuals and the stories they tell are so much more then the identity placed on them by society. Three Daughters of Eve is available December 5th 2017.

Free Skype Sessions with Terry Lynn Johnson

Ontario author Terry Lynn Johnson is offering free 30-35 minute long Skype sessions in your classroom or library! This year Terry Lynn is releasing the first book in her Survivor Diaries series, and to celebrate the launch of this series she's offering the opportunity to have a lively discussion about anything from her writing process to her real-life survival tips. If you're interesting in having an exciting speaker visit your classroom virtually, contact Fernanda at fernanda@raincoast.com.  

Scholastic Canada's Inaugural Canadian Reading Report

Ever wondered how, what, and whether Canadian families read? Wonder no more! Scholastic Canada has published the first ever Kids and Family Reading Report: Canadian Edition. It's an exciting collection of data presented in a colourful and easily-digestible way. Take a peek and see how you fit in!

Ryerson University Library receives record donation

Almost fifty years after the original Ryerson Press was sold in a controversial deal to McGraw-Hill Education, much of the original collection is finally returning to Toronto. The donation of 3,000 books and 2,000 archival materials to the Ryerson University Library's Archives and Special Collection is worth nearly one million dollars, and includes first editions of the works of many landmark Canadian authors. An exciting contribution to the archives!

Katrina Onstad wants you to reclaim your weekend

As summer breaks upon us, the weekends are more treasured than ever, but all too often we get up on Saturday only to begin working through the list of errands that accumulated throughout the week. Katrina Onstad's new book, The Weekend Effect, will have you making the most of your two-day break, and just in time for the sunny months! Listen to this short clip from her CBC interview to preview the kind of advice she'll deliver in this much-needed guide to relaxation and seizing the moment. 

Reading Books You Hate

Every reader has at least one book they hate, despise, loathe, abhor, detest, and scorn without forgiveness. Often there is an author or an entire genre that we avoid. These books, argues Pamela Paul of the New York Times, are the ones that will make us better readers, and the ones which we should read (however painstakingly) cover to cover. Does this fly, or is time spent reading something you dislike is time wasted? Read her piece and, if you're convinced, pick up a book that makes you shudder and challenge yourself to find out why.

Grab your paper bag and stand up to a dragon

As new waves of feminism emerge, new movements develop, and more people march for equality every day, some stories continue to inspire and influence year after year. The Robert Munsch classic The Paper Bag Princess was published a whopping thirty-seven years ago, but the lessons, as Francesca Segal writes in her piece "Stand Up to Dragons", are timeless. The dragons may look different these days, but they still require bravery and fortitude to overcome if we're to dance off into the sunset in our proverbial paper-bag beauty. Segal writes about why generations to come will be reading this slim volume to their children, and why the lessons will never fade.

Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried"

Tim O'Brien, author of The Things They Carried, played a significant part in the making of a PBS documentary on the Vietnam War set to premiere this fall. This is a true indicator of the timeless nature of his knowledge and writing—from his own time spent fighting in Vietnam in 1969, to the original publication of The Things They Carried in 1990, to this 1995 interview with CBC's Writers and Company, to his contributions to the PBS documentary. The Things They Carried, reissued in a beautiful new edition in 2009, is a collection of short stories centered around a platoon of American soldiers in Vietnam, and is worth a read for those interested in history and humanity.