Authors for Indies Day This Saturday May 2nd!

Don't forget to go out and meet the authors hanging out at your favourite independent bookstore.
Authors For Indies has a complete listing of who is where. Kidsbooks has a food truck from Vij's! Susan Juby, Dav Pilkey, Dennis Lee...over 400 authors will be out and about...what are you waiting for?

Happy Friday!

The Joy of Missing Out

In the age of social media we, as a society, have become obsessed with sharing our experiences with the world. But when we're trying to capture that perfect instagrammable moment, we tend to miss out on truly experiencing that moment for ourselves.

Christina Cook, author of The Joy of Missing Out: Finding Balance in a Wired World, was recently on CBC's The Current to discuss the benefits of "unplugging" from social media and experiencing life from beyond a phone screen.

Listen to the full conversation over on the CBC website!

Wild Ideas

Wild Ideas is a new picture book from the creative minds behind You Are Stardust, Elin Kelsey and Soyeon Kim.

The folks at Kirkus have given Wild Ideas a starred review, calling it "a work that will be read and examined again and again, with something new to be discovered at every turn. Profound and entirely wonderful."

You can head on over to the Owlkids website to check out podcasts on the science behind the book, learn more about the creators, and watch cool videos!

Greatest 11 Children's Books of all Time

Personally I am a big fan of lists; normally they come at the end of the year with everyone's round ups and my reading pile grows ever so much bigger. The BBC asked a number of critics, authors and those who know to come up with the greatest children's books of all time. There really are not any surprises here; I think we should assume that these are 11 of the greatest kids books and I personally think it would be more interesting to see what the next 11 are...I bet they are a more diverse selection.

Which Bennet Sister Are You?

Here is a fun quiz from Buzz feed...turns out I'm Jane!

Happy Easter!

Blown Away: The Perfect Picture Book for A Blustery Spring Day

Rob Biddulph has won the 2015 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize with his debut picture book Blown Away. The book, which also won the best illustrated book category, is only the second picture book to take home the £5000 Waterstones prize. 

It's the perfect book for spring, featuring a windy day, a brand-new kite and an unexpected flight that leads a penguin off on an adventure! Check out this fun short video that introduces some of the new friends this fearless penguin meets along the way!

Jeff Kinney is starting his own bookstore!

Jeff Kinney, #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, is opening up an independent bookstore in Massachusetts!

Why? Here's what he has to say: "Bookstores have always been such a big part of my life and my wife’s life, and we wanted to do something about it. We wanted to provide our kids and our community with a place where they could be exposed to new ideas, cultural events, and other people who love to read. This is not a vanity project. I think a lot of people are expecting me to create a Wimpy world, but we don’t want that. That wouldn’t serve the community very well. The reason that we wanted to create a bookstore in our town of Plainville is because, quite frankly, I feel angry that so many bookstores have gone away."

Read the full story over on The Telegraph!

Adult colouring books by Johanna Basford selling like hotcakes!

British illustrator Johanna Basford's whimsical adult colouring books, Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest, have sold over one million copies worldwide! ONE. MILLION. COPIES. These colouring books have been so successful that they've been translated in 14 languages all across the world. Check out the full story over at The Daily Mail.

The Guardian reviews The Sculptor by Scott McCloud

Rachel Cooke from The Guardian has just posted a rave review for Scott McCloud's graphic novel The Sculptor, which she describes as "philosophical inquiry meets hipster cool" and "utterly gripping." 
She also recommends The Sculptor to anyone who is a fan of David Mitchell's work!

Alan Kitching and Monotype

A very cool short film that goes behind-the-scenes at letterpress typographer and designer Alan Kitching's studio! His book Alan Kitching's A-Z of Letterpress comes out in April.


Alan Kitching and Monotype from Monotype on Vimeo.

The Improbable

The Improbable is a cool new collection of monthly reviews written by booksellers for booksellers. Some of the reviews come from indies such as 192 Books and Printed Matter in New York City, Green Apple Books in San Francisco, Seminary Co-op Bookstores in Chicago and Skylight Books in Los Angeles. To sign up for the monthly reviews go here. Enjoy!

Literary Hub - One Stop Spot for Book Lovers

Grove Atlantic will collaborate with a digital publisher for a new literary website similar to HuffPost but for book lovers.  One of the contributing editors will be Roxane Gay!  The site is scheduled to go live April 8 and it is called Literary Hub.  It will focus on literary fiction and nonfiction.  It will highlight personal essays, book excerpts and author interviews.
http://lithub.com

All The Libraries

How awesome is this! Daniel Rotsztain is in the middle of sketching all of the branches at Toronto Public Library. Above is my childhood branch. You can see the rest of hi work at All the Libraries. Enjoy!

Publishing Children’s Books That Matter

This week is freedom to read Week. Sheila Barry, Publisher of Groundwood Books wrote the is article for Freedom to Read 2015. Below are her key points which I'm sure we can all agree on!

• Every Canadian school should have a library and a librarian.
• School libraries should be open every day that the school is open.
• Children should be able to visit the library both with their classes and on their own at recess or lunchtime.
• School libraries should contain a wide range of reading material on a wide range of subject

Click here to read the entire article.

PW's Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2015!

Publisher's Weekly has chosen the cream of the crop in a myriad categories from fiction to memoir, history to poetry, mystery to music, and more! Check out their picks for the most notable books of Spring 2015!

Brandon Stanton on Ellen!

Ellen chats with Brandon Stanton, the man behind the Humans of New York blog and author of Humans of New York and Little Humans. Very moving!

Halifax Public Library Rocks!

Halifax PL

I had the pleasure this past weekend of visiting Debbie LeBel and her fabulous team this past weekend at Halifax PL. My highlight off the trip was visiting the new Central Library that open in December. I went on a Sunday and the place was absolutely packed with people and books. Below are some of my pics from the trip. If you are out on the East Coast, make sure you drop by!

Borrower Services at HPL.

Main floor of HPL

 

 

 

 

Some icicles that didn't kill me!

Authors for Indies Day

We love authors! 

We love independent bookstores! 

And we love when these two things come together!

Authors for Indies Day was inspired by the Indies First Campaign, which author Sherman Alexie started in the US in 2013. It was created to unite authors, publishers, and readers in support of indie booksellers. The movement has finally come to the Great White North, and on Saturday, May 2nd, 2015 authors will be taking over local bookstores all over Canada! It's going to be a great way for authors to interact with and give back to their readers, and a great opportunity for book lovers to chat with authors, get books signed, listen to readings, and support their local indies!

For more information on how to participate in this event, visit the Authors for Indies website!

LM Falcone

I finished reading the second installment of L.M Falcone's The Ghost and Max Munroe series. I loved her previous books and was excited to get into this new series. This is a great read for young mystery buffs. The book led me to her website which is awesome!!! Can you believe that she was once herself a PI.

Told ya!

One of our accounts (D+E Lake) sent me this great piece on the rebounding of the print book. It pretty much sums up why books rock!!! Paper is back: Why ‘real’ books are on the rebound.

When Everything Feels Like The Movies

Well there certainly has been ALOT of conversation around this book. Today at OLA we have over 150 people registered for our book talk on LGBTQ Reading Recommendations for Teens; so I thought it would be fitting to post Raziel's response to all the hoopla as well as some of the other pieces.

Raziel Reid’s own response to Barbara Kay’s criticism in The Walrus: http://thewalrus.ca/smells-likes-teen-dispirit/

An excellent video/text review in The National Post by books editor Emily M. Keeler and video “Close-Read” columnist Anna Fitzpatrick

http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/01/27/raziel-reid-when-everything-feels-like-the-movies-controversy/

Elaine “Lainey Gossip” Lui has also been writing about the book (which she is championing during the Canada Reads debates March 16-19) on her website:

http://www.laineygossip.com/Intro-for-January-28--2015/35535

Chirp is coming to TV!

Everyone's favourite feathered friend will be getting his own show!
Debuting in April on CBC, Chirp and his buddies will have all kinds of adventures.
And of course there will be 4 books to accompany the show: Thar She Blows, To the Peak, Knights of the Awesome Castle, and Crouching Bird, Hidden Bunny    slated for publication in June from Owlkids.

OLA Author Appearances: Day Two

Eric Walters

Below is a list of author appearances for the second day of OLA!

Friday, January 30th

Canadian Manda Group, Booth #217/219

11:00 am - Frank Viva, Young Frank Architect

Dundurn, Booth #428/430

10:00 am - Lucy Liederman, Lives of Kings

10:30 am - Mary Jennifer Payne, Since You've Been Gone

11:00 am - Dayle Furlong, Saltwater Cowboys

11:30 am - Barbara Fradkin, None So Blind

12:30 pm - Ann Dublin, Stealing Time

1:00 pm - Jennifer Dance, Paint

1:30 pm - Philippa Dowding, Jake and the Giant Hand

2:00 pm - Vera Tarman, Food Junkies

2:30 pm - Jennifer Maruno, Totem

HarperCollins Canada, Booth #730/732

10:00 am - Cupcake Toast to Forest of Reading Authors Richard Scrimger (Zomboy) and Eve Silver (Rush)

11:15 am - Jennifer Robson, After the War is Over

1:00 pm - Paul Covello, Toronto ABC

Orca, Booth #410-412

9:30 am - Sigmund Brouwer, Tin Soldier

10:15 am - Eric Walters, Sleeper and Skye Above

11:00 am - Vicki Delany, Juba Good

11:45 am - Melodie Campbell, The Artful Goddaughter
1:00 pm - Leanne Lieberman, Off Pointe

1:45 pm - Jeff Pinkney, Soapstone Signs

Penguin Random House, Booth #716-724

9:30 am - Eric Walters, Say You Will and Hope Springs

10:15 am - Teresa Toten, The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B

11:00 am - Sarah Henstra, Mad Miss Mimic

1:15 pm - Eric Walters, Fight for Power

2:00 pm - Sylvia McNicoll, Best Friends Through Eternity

Publishers Group Canada, Booth #322

1:00 pm -  Special Guest Jon Chan Simpson on his upcoming book, Chinkstar (**this is not a signing**)

Raincoast Books, Booth #417

10:00 am - Jess Keating

11:00 am - Jillian Tamaki

Scholastic, Booth #211

11:00 am - Andrea Beck, Good Morning, Canada

12:00 pm - Frieda Wishinsky and Elizabeth MacLeod, Colossal Canada

1:00 pm - Joel Sutherland, Haunted Canada 4

1:30 pm - Ruth Ohi, Fox and Squirrel Make a Friend

Second Story Press, Booth #419

10:00 am - Rosemary McCarney, Because I am a Girl: I Can Change the World

10:30 am - Rebecca Upjohn & Renne Benoit, Lily and the Paper Man and The Secret of the Village Fool

12:30 pm - Sharon Jennings, Connecting Dots

1:00 pm - Jennifer Gold, Soldier Doll

1:30 pm - Shelly Sanders, Rachel's Hope

2:00 pm - Janet Wilson, Our Heroes: How Kids Are Making a Difference

Thomas Allen & Son Limited, Booth #318-320

10:30 am - Elly MacKay, Fall Leaves

12:45 pm - Caroline Fernandez, More Boredom Busters

2:30 pm - Amanda Orlando, Allergen-Free Desserts to Delight Your Taste Buds

OLA Author Appearances: Day One

Allan Stratton

Below is a list of author appearances for the first day of OLA! Be there or be square!

Thursday, January 29th

Canadian Manda Group, Booth #217/219

11:00 am - Mary Hoffman & Ros Asquith, The Great Big Green Book

2:00 pm - Suri Rosen, Playing With Matches

Dundurn, Booth #428/430

10:00 am - Michael Reist, Raising Boys in a New Kind of World

11:00 am - Mark Leslie, Tomes of Terror

1:00 pm - Priscila Uppal, Cover Before Striking

1:30 pm - Suzanne Sutherland, Something Wiki

2:00 pm - Carolyn Harris, Magna Carta and Its Gifts to Canada

2:30 pm - Robert Priest, Second Kiss

HarperCollins Canada, Booth #730/732

11:00 am - Kallie George, Clover's Luck

1:30 pm - Dennis Lee, Melvis & Elvis

3:00 pm - Stephen Marche, The Hunger of the Wolf

Orca, Booth #410-412

10:15 am - Wallace Edwards, Unnatural Selections

11:45 am - Erin Thomas, Forcing the Ace

1:00 pm - Steve Barwin, Hardball

2:30 pm - Helaine Becker, Dirk Daring, Secret Agent

3:15 pm - Patricia McCowan, Honeycomb

4:00 pm - Robin Stevenson, The World Without Us

Penguin Random House, Booth #716-724

10:00 am - Rachel Hartman, Shadow Scale

11:00 am - Megan Crewe, Earth & Sky

1:00 pm - Sam Maggs, The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy

2:00 pm - Frank Viva, Outsanding in the Rain

3:00 pm - Natale Ghent, Dark Company

Publishers Group Canada, Booth #322

1:00 pm - Penny Draper, Red River Raging

2:30 pm - Jean Rae Baxter, Freedom Bound

Raincoast Books, Booth #417

10:00 am - Hilary Davidson

11:00 am - Alyx Dellamonica

1:00 pm - Courtney Summers

2:00 pm - Ausma Zehanat Khan

Scholastic, Booth #211

11:00 am - Allan Stratton, The Dogs

12:00 pm - Stella Partheniou Grasso, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Puck

1:00 pm - David Skuy, Rocket Blues

2:00 pm - Don Cummer, The Hanging Offence

Second Story Press, Booth #419

10:30 am - Sukanya Pillay, Acting for Freedom: Fifty Years of Civil Liberties in Canada

1:30 pm - Kathy Kacer, The Magician of Auschwitz

Thomas Allen & Son Limited, Booth #318-320

11:00 am - Cheryl Rainsfield, Stained

1:30 pm - Jessica Nadel, Greens 24/7

2:30 pm - Kate Parkinson, Grace

Pogue's Basics

Over the holidays I (like everyone) had a huge stack of books to read. On top of the pile was Pogue's Basics. I saw David Pogue speak, who is was the NYT tech columnist for 13 years, a few years ago and was thrilled that he had a book coming out with all of his awesome tips. According to Pogue "this book's mission in life is to collect, in one place, every essential technique you'd think everybody knows about technology-(but you'd be wrong)". It totally rocks! He also has a Ted Talk (below) that is WELL worth watching.

Meg Wolitzer on YA

This piece on YA literature really sums up how I feel on reading YA books...the more the merrier!

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! 

Publishers Weekly Top Books of 2014

Publishers Weekly have chosen their top books of 2014, just in time for the holiday season! If you're looking for something to read this holiday or if you're searching for the perfect gift for a loved one, you can check out their top picks in a wide range of categories, as well as their Top 10 picks overall.

Click on the links below to check out PW's best books for each category:

Top 10 Books of 2014 

Best Books: Fiction

Best Books: Mystery/Thriller

Best Books: Poetry

Best Books: Romance

Best Books: SF/Fantasy/Horror

Best Books: Comics

Best Books: Nonfiction

Best Books: Picture Books

Best Books: Middle Grade

Best Books: Young Adult

Best Books: Religion

Best Books: Lifestyle

Happy reading!

Scaredy Squirrel Fan Club

One of our favourite furry friends at Kids Can Press has started his own fan club and it's 100% germ-free! Everyone who joins Scaredy's fan club will receive monthly e-newsletters, fun ideas for activities, and a birthday e-card on his or her birthday month. And, of course, Scaredy will continue to give his fans great tips for planning and staying safe. 

Click here to sign up for Scaredy's Fan Club! (Warning: You must confirm that you are not a martian, clownfish, skunk, walrus, unicorn, or pirate.)

Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever

 

Will the Grinch be ousted by Grumpy Cat as the world's most curmudgeony Christmas character? We'll soon find out! Grumpy Cat stars in her first feature film, Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever, which premieres November 29th on Lifetime.