The Owl's Nest Bookstore
Book Club Recommendations 2013
American
Dervish by Ayad Akhtar
First novel by a Muslim American telling a
coming-of-age story in pre 9-11 Wisconsin. A young man, who is infatuated with
his aunt, orchestrates events that move beyond his control after she falls in
love with a Jew.
Proof of
Heaven by Dr. Eben Alexander
This book is guaranteed to stimulate thoughtful
discussion . The reporting of Near Death
Experiences (NDE) is nothing new, however this report comes from a scientist: a
neurosurgeon, who has never before reconciled his ideas of science with beliefs
about Heaven or God or the soul. Dr
Alexander was in a coma for a week suffering from a rare form of meningitis,
his cerebral cortex was completely shut down, he could not have been
dreaming. The termination of Life
support measures was being discussed by his family and then after 7 days he
woke up. He experienced something that
he does not have earthly words to describe, overwhelming unconditional love and
comfort, beauty beyond words. Whether you are a scientist or a person of faith
you will not be able to ignore Dr Alexander’s story.
The Very Thought
Of You by Rosie Alison
Short-listed for the 2009 Orange Prize. The story of an eight year old girl who is
separated from her family just prior to the commencement of World War II. The
young girl witnesses, and in a strange way becomes an accomplice to a love
affair that impacts the rest of her life.
The Science
of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty by Simon Baron-Cohen
What if we could pinpoint the area of the brain
that allows evil acts? Simon Baron-Cohen
thinks we are closer than ever. He has
noted several areas of the brain that form an "empathy loop" and when
a part of this loop isn't functioning well, we're much more likely to snap at
our children, cut someone off in traffic, or (in extreme cases) engage in the
kind of cruelty that is labeled as "evil" and/or
"psychotic".
Is That a
Fish in Your Ear?: Translation and the Meaning of Everything by David
Bellos
Translation is an invisible art, often going
uncredited. Bellos, himself a translator
of literary works (French into English), discusses the various kinds of translations, and how the concept has affected history -- for instance, the
technological triumph that were the Nuremberg War Trials, leading to the
simultaneous translation that is a figure of the United Nations and European
Union today.
The Age Of
Hope by David Bergen
Chosen to represent the Western Canadian region in
the 2013 edition of CBC’s ‘Canada Reads’, The Age Of Hope chronicles fifty
years in the life of a woman born near Winnipeg. Bergen, a multiple
award-winning author paints an authentic portrait of an ordinary woman striving
to become more than society depicts who ‘she should be’.
Daring
Greatly by Brene Brown
Teddy Roosevelt once said, "It is not the
critic who counts...the credit goes to the man who is actually in the
arena." Dr. Brene Brown uses this
quote as inspiration as she demonstrates how the courage to be vulnerable is
the key to confidence, innovation, creativity and the ability to weather
change.
Wallflower
in Bloom by Claire Cook
Deirdre is personal assistant to her brother, the
latest new-age guru. Wanting to do
something entirely for herself, using her brother’s contacts, she gets herself
voted onto Dancing With the Stars. This
book is funny, provocative, and heart-warming.
The Lost
Prince by Selden Edwards
The Little
Book introduced us to Weezy Putnam, the young American woman who meets
Wheeler Burden in 1897 Vienna. The Lost
Prince continues her story and that of Arnaud Esterhazy through the early
part of the 20th Century. Though a ‘companion’ book, and thoroughly enjoyable
in its own right, it may be confusing if you are not familiar with the
background from The Little Book.
The Garden
of Evening Mists by Tan Twang Eng
After a 34 year absence, retired Supreme Court
Judge Teoh Yun Ling has returned to Yuguri, a Japanese garden high in the
Cameron Highlands of Malaya. She has been diagnosed with progressive aphasia
that is robbing her of the ability to communicate. Soon she will be left with
only her memories. Her return to the
garden is an urgent need to revive those memories, and find answers to the
questions that have been with her for so long. Yun Ling is both physically and
mentally scarred. She was the sole survivor of a labour camp during the
Japanese occupation. Her sister died there. Her sister was an artist who loved
the calming beauty of Japanese Gardens. Yun had promised her that she would
build such a garden even though it meant she would have to work with a Japanese;
the enigmatic former gardener to the Emperor himself, Aritomo Nakamura.
Nominated for the 2012 Man Booker, the writing is sensual, evocative, and at
times, jarringly brutal.
The Feminine
Mystique (50th Anniversary Edition) by Betty Friedan
Friedan's 1963 book on gender equality had a
profound impact in its time. While the book drew criticism from many
directions, it spoke eloquently to millions of women who understood what
Friedan meant by "the problem with no name." Readers in 2013 will likely
disagree with at least some of her views. Consider the book as one end of fifty
years in the history of gender equality. If you're watching Mad Men, or reading
Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In, you'll
experience some "Aha" moments when you read (or re-read) The Feminine Mystique.
The
Tale-Teller by Susan Glickman
Years of impeccable research resulted in a work of
historical fiction set in 1730’s New France where-in a girl in disguise must
conceal her real identity or die. A marvelous story based on the life of an
obscure historical figure who challenged the restrictions imposed on outsiders
in post-colonial Canada.
The Snow
Child by Eowyn Ivey
In 1920, Jack and Mabel move to Alaska to escape family pressures because they are childless. Amid the hardships of homesteading they take over the care of a half-wild child, the daughter of a Russian trapper and his wife who are both deceased. Weaving together this modern tale and a classic folk story, the author portrays beautifully the hardships and joy of life and love.
In 1920, Jack and Mabel move to Alaska to escape family pressures because they are childless. Amid the hardships of homesteading they take over the care of a half-wild child, the daughter of a Russian trapper and his wife who are both deceased. Weaving together this modern tale and a classic folk story, the author portrays beautifully the hardships and joy of life and love.
The Hundred
Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window And Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
What do an elephant, a suitcase full of cash, a
man named Einstein, a hot-dog-stand operator, a bevy of criminals, and lots of
vodka have in common? They are all part of the most wonderfully quirky,
eccentric, and hilarious novel that I have ever read. The remarkably gifted
explosives expert, Alex Karlsson, impacts the course of world events in an
adventure filled life where nothing much matters. Except for his next glass of
vodka.
The Unlikely
Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Oh Harold , what have you got yourself into? He is in a sad stale marriage, he has made
many, many mistakes in his life. He has not been a courageous man, but maybe,
just maybe, he can be. Is it too late? Can you find redemption after all this
time through one act of daring and compassion? Harold is a treasure and so are
all the people he meets on his journey, the everyday, everyman people who teach
him to trust and to try. We are all just
people trying to live our lives, more similar than different.
Inconvenient
Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King
Thomas King brings his formidable talents as
writer, storyteller, humourist, historian, and cultural analyst to his account
of the relationship between Whites and Indians in North America. He calls this
work an account, not a history, describing it as storytelling that is
"fraught with history." The book is thought-provoking and highly
readable, with King's trademark ironic humour (e.g., Dead Dog Café). Read it,
even if your book club doesn't select it.
The Sweet
Girl by Annabel Lyon
A sequel to The
Golden Mean, this is the story of Pythias, the “sweet girl” of the title ,
and daughter of Aristotle. She is well-educated, headstrong and keenly
interested in the natural world introduced by her father. As she matures into a
young woman, her father withdraws further and further into depression, and then
with the death of Alexander the Great, Macedonians are no longer welcome in
Athens. Forced to flee, their lives will never by the same.
The Heart
Broke In by James Meek
A modern-day epic featuring a brilliant scientist,
an aging rock star, a gene therapist and a ‘mad’ newspaper baron whose lives
intersect under tragic circumstances. Fans of Jonathan Franzen will love Meek’s
incisive rendering of human failings, in spite of our worthy attempts to behave
honourably. Heartbreaking, uplifting and earth-shattering all at the same time.
Top Dog: The
Science of Winning and Losing by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman
The authors, who have won awards for their science
writing, explore recent scientific research on competition, stress, winning,
and losing, with particular attention to counter-intuitive research findings.
Differences in genetics, psychology, and physiology mean that conditions that
support optimal performance for one person can undermine someone else's
performance. This is not a one-size-fits-all motivational book. Instead, it
tackles questions like why continual stress is essential for some people to
perform at their best, while others get overwhelmed and perform badly. Science—but
very readable science.
Pure by
Andrew Miller
By 1785, the rotting remains of Les Innocents, the
oldest church and cemetery in central Paris, had polluted the air, the water
and the soil of the surrounding district. The stink permeated the breath of
the people living around it, tainting their food as the cemetery eroded into
their cellars. The cemetery was so overcrowded that there was not enough oxygen
available for decomposition. The King's
minister has hired a young engineer from Normandy, Jean-Baptiste Baratte,
charging him with the task of relocating the corpses to the Catacombs, and then
destroying Les Innocents. Miller's writing brings to life the sordidness of
life in Paris on the brink of revolution.
Song of
Achilles by Madeline Miller
Winner of the 2012 Orange Prize for fiction. This
is the story of Achilles narrated by his closest friend, Patroclus. It follows
Achilles from his boyhood as a prince of Phythia through his youth and
training, and ultimately to his death at Troy. Achilles tale is a tragedy on so many levels, but this novel, written by
a classicist, has an easy, free-flowing style that brings the characters and
times to life.
The Last
Romanov by Dora Levy Mossanen
Has anyone done something they regret and then
sought redemption? Is the long-lived Darya responsible for the murderous end of
the Romanov family? Travelling back and forth in time from 1887 to 1991, a
formidable 104 year old woman discovers the last Tsar of Russia may still be
alive. Intrigue, romance, violence and a touch of magic lead to a captivating
tale of what might have transpired in the Imperial Russia of so many years ago.
The
Revisionists by Thomas Mullen
A literary thriller - part science fiction - part
philosophical meditation on free will - and part time travel. Zed is an agent from the not too distant
future. His mission on earth is to ensure that each and every cataclysmic event
occurs just as it did before. If you could, would you prevent the Holocaust
knowing that it would mean destroying a perfect world in the future? Two worlds
collide in a spellbinding account of human courage, weakness and the
extraordinary willingness to die for a cause.
The Good
Mayor by Andrew Nicholl
Tibo Krovic is the Mayor of Dot situated at the
mouth of the Ampersand as it joins the Baltic Sea. For almost 20 years he has
been the “good” mayor of Dot. He has championed Dot in its ongoing feud with
Umlaut up the river, he has keep its administration running smoothly, he has
enjoyed his fishing trips to the island of Dash, just offshore, and for almost
20 years, he has been in love with his Secretary, Mrs. Stopak.
The Things
They Carried by Tim O'Brien
This is my top pick for this year. We have to admit that war is part of the
human condition but to truly understand the experience of war, the human
consequences of war this is the book that must be read. Tim O’Brien is a celebrated award winning author and professor of English
literature. He is a storyteller with possibly the most important story we need
to hear. He was a soldier in the Vietnam
War. This is a book of short stories, of the men in his platoon. Truth, memory and fiction come together in
searing visual images. This is a book
you will never forget and hopefully it can guide us to a better understanding
of what we really lose when countries are in conflict and men are at war.
Wonder
by R. J. Palacio
August Pullman was born with an almost unheard of
birth defect. He has had over 25 surgeries in his short life. As he says “I
won't describe how I look. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.”
People stop and stare at him in the street, horrified. They don't see past the
physical to the “normal” boy trapped
inside. Auggie wants nothing more than to go a real school, rather than having
his mother home-school him He wants to have real friends rather than his sister.
He just wants a chance to be a normal kid. Now, starting Grade 5, he is
enrolled in school for the first time. Told from multiple points of view.
Dead Man
Walking by Sister Helen Prejean
When Sister Helen agreed to participate in an
inmate pen pal program, she didn't know that she would become spiritual advisor
to death row inmate Patrick Sonnier, and would be a witness to his
execution. It would only be the first
such relationship she would accept, even as she reached out to the victims of
those she counselled. A vehement
argument against the death penalty and a call for prison and justice reform,
Sister Helen's story has been adapted into a feature film and an opera.
The Imposter
Bride by Nancy Richler
Moving seamlessly from war-torn Europe to Jewish
Montreal in the postwar years, a strange young woman mysteriously abandons her
husband and child. Long-listed for the 2012 Giller Prize, The Imposter Bride
has been translated into seven languages.
For All the
Tea in China: How England Stole the World’s Favourite Drink and Changed History,
by Sarah Rose
This is a popular history of Robert Fortune’s
trips to China starting in 1845. In this earliest example of industrial
espionage, Fortune steals tea plants, seeds and cuttings, along with the
growing and manufacturing knowledge and transports it all to India on behalf of
the British East India Company.
The House I
Loved by Tatiana De Rosnay
From the author of Sarah’s Key and A Secret Kept,
De Rosnay’s tenth novel is set in Paris, France which is being ‘redeveloped’ in
the 1860’s. In the process of fighting against the destruction of her family
home, Rose must come to terms with a ‘long buried’ secret that has shaped her
life in so many ways.
The End of
Your Life Bookclub by Will Schwalbe
This is a is heart-warming book that will reaffirm
your faith in families and in books, real books with covers and pages and
histories, books that ask to be read. It
is a celebration of literature, of kindness and compassion. The gems of wisdom are bountiful so be
prepared with your sticky notes and highlighter and…a box of Kleenex. Mary Anne Schwalbe was a remarkable woman
that you have the privilege of meeting through her very thoughtful and loving
son. You will be passing this along to
everyone you know.
The Art
Forger by Barbara Shapiro
In early 1990, art valued at more than $500
million were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Not a
single piece has ever been found. Claire Roth is a young artist who is
struggling to establish herself. Although extremely talented, she has been
blacklisted, thanks to the deceit of her former professor and lover. She is a
pariah in the art world. No gallery will dirty themselves by mounting a show of
her works. To support herself, she works as an art copyist for
reproductions.com, specializing in recreating pieces by Edgar Degas. Then one
day, Aidan Markel, owner of a renowned gallery, makes her an offer she can't
refuse. He presents her with a stolen Degas from the Gardner Museum heist,
asking her to copy it in exchange for a showing of her own original work. But is
it truly the original Degas?
Please Look
After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin
This book is essentially about cultural and
generational differences. Can we
successfully blend cultures? Can understanding and respect still exist when
young lives are eager to assimilate into new surroundings? This is a deeply
emotional story of a mother’s truly unconditional love. Do children remember
the sacrifices? The adult children in this story realize that they don’t even
really know their mother, her joys, her sorrows. What responsibilities do children have to an
aging parent? A book you will not easily
forget.
Monsieur
Monde Vanishes by Georges Simenon
One day, a middle-aged Monsieur Monde leaves his
business at 6:00 pm as usual, walks to his Paris bank, withdraws 350,000 francs
and gets on a train to Marseilles. He checks into a non-descript hotel, hears
his neighbours’ argument through the paper-thin walls, and ends up helping the
young woman. Thus his adventures begin.
Almost A
Great Escape by Tyler Trafford
Many of you will have seen the movie ‘The Great
Escape”. Jens Muller, a Norwegian pilot, was one of the three survivors who
escaped from Stalag Luft III, the Nazi prisoner-of-war camp portrayed in the
movie starring Steve McQueen. Not long after Alice Tyler passes away, her son,
noted local author Tyler Trafford, finds a box of love letters that had been
sent to Alice from Jens Muller. Someone has called Almost A Great Escape a biographical detective story. It is that
and so much more. The writing is magnificent. The story is compelling and
spellbinding. Taken together it is simply impossible to refrain from crying –
over and over again as you read this captivating, true story of love.
The Age Of
Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
A first novel of speculative fiction written by an
author whose work is being compared to Margaret Atwood’s. The world is
changing: the days and nights are growing longer. Julia and her family are
struggling to maintain a normalcy in a rapidly changing world that is becoming
exceedingly abnormal. This end-of-the-world, coming-of-age tale is hard to put
down. Think of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road – not just the horror, but the
boundless love between father and son. You will find the same kind of love in
the Age Of Miracles.
