Events for November With our renovations finished (for the most part), our abbreviated events season got off to quite a start with events featuring m
Events for November
With our renovations finished (for the most part), our abbreviated events season got off to quite a start with events featuring mutiple-Giller -nominee Wayne Johnston, Inspector Lynley-auteur Elizabeth George, and writer and CBC host Grant Lawrence. Of course, Bolen Books has signed copies of all three authors' books available (which happen to make excellent gifts!).
Rounding out our event season for 2013, we have seven more authors and six excellent events to take us to the end of November!
Patrick Taylor
Tuesday, November 5th, 7:00PM, @ Bolen Books
We always love having Patrick stop by, and it almost wouldn't be an event season without his presence. Coincidentally, he has another Irish Country novel, titled Fingal O'Reilly, Irish Doctor out as of now, and he'll be joining us in-store for a reading, chat, and a signing in early November.
Roberta Rich & Mary Novik
Wednesday, November 13th, 7:00PM, @ Bolen Books
Because we thought one historical fiction heavy-weight just wasn't enough, we have a double-header for you! Roberta Rich has her latest, an excellent follow-up to her earlier Midwife of Venice, titled The Harem Midwife.
Additionally, we have Mary Novik with a fascinating novel on the woman behind Petrarch's love poetry and 14th-century Avignon, titled Muse.
Chris Hadfield
Saturday, November 16th, 2:00PM, @ Bolen Books
Bolen's is very pleased to welcome Canada's best-known astronaut, and the first person to make a music video in space, Chris Hadfield! And now he has a book out, titled An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth.
Due to limitations on Commander Hadfield's time, we are unable to accommodate staged photos, personalized inscriptions, or signing of other memorabilia. In addition, only books purchased at Bolen's will be supplied with a sticker for the signing line; such books will be signed on a first-come, first-serve basis. Though we hope that all who purchase a book will have a chance to get it signed, due to Chris' limited time, we cannot guarantee this.
Lawrence Hill
Monday, November 18th, 7:00PM, @ Bolen Books
The award-winning author of Book of Negroes, Lawrence Hill is back with a fascinating scientific and social history of blood with Blood: The Stuff of Life, part of this year's CBC Massey lectures. Lawrence will be stopping by Bolen Books to talk about the latest book, answer your questions, and sign copies!
Robin Esrock
Tuesday, November 19th, 7:00PM, @ Bolen Books
Best known as a travel writer and host of the TV programme Word Travels, Robin Esrock sticks closer to home with his book The Canadian Bucket List. In it, Robin covers some of what our own country has to offer by way of activities and destinations. Bolen's is pleased to be hosting Robin to help kick off the new book, and he will be available to talk about the book, answer questions, and sign copies.
Ian Rankin
Thursday, November 28th, 7:30PM, @ Da Vinci Centre
Capping off our event season for the fall is the man behind the Inspector Rebus series of mysteries, Ian Rankin. His latest, titled The Saints of the Shadow Bible, releases on November 7, and Bolen Books will be presenting him at the end of the month to discuss the latest book and answer all your Rebus queries!
The Da Vinci Centre is located at 195 Bay Street. Tickets for this event are $5, and are available at Bolen Books now!
Alison Recommends
Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin
A young woman found in the driver's seat of a totaled Volkswagen Golf, her boot resting in the passenger footwell. Internal Affairs on the warpath about a case thirty years closed, in which police incompetence may have played a part. Scotland's politics in turmoil over the independence referendum. And John Rebus, as usual, caught right in the middle.
In The Saints of the Shadow Bible, Ian Rankin has once again pulled us into the gritty Edinburgh we know and love. Longtime fans (and new arrivals) can look forward to the crackling dialogue and moral ambiguity that makes Rankin's writing so delicious. Rebus, on the verge of retirement, finds himself turning up dirt on his old colleagues, the Saints - and runs the risk of being unearthed along with them. Joining him are Siobhan Clarke, Rebus's long-suffering but supportive boss, and Malcolm Fox, the nervous Affairs reviewer who may be too shrewd for Rebus's own good. With his investigation tangled up in both political intrigue and ghosts from the past, Rebus must deploy all his wits - and a considerable amount of snark - to keep ahead of not one, but two killers.
Intricately plotted, with a twist that made me think 'hot damn, the man delivers', Rankin'sThe Saints of the Shadow Bible is a riveting addition to the Rebus canon.
Saints of the Shadow Bible is out November 7th. We will be hosting Ian at the Da Vinci Centre on November 28th. TIckets are $5 at Bolen's
Tim Recommends
Cougar by Paula Wild
In her newest book, Paula Wild seeks to fill a gap in nature writing that's been ignored for too long. Too far between are the investigations done into the cougar, an animal about which our knowledge is constantly changing as we learn more. And it matters now more than ever, as human and cougar interactions continue to increase, especially in British Columbia, and especially on Vancouver Island. In Cougar, Wild explores the history of human interactions with cougars and how our perceptions of, and knowledge about them has changed drastically over time. She lays out in expertly researched detail what it is that makes cougars the incredible, important, and also dangerous animals that they are. She also offers up dozens of documented attacks and close calls, and far from fear mongering, uses them to draw conclusions about how we can (and do) peacefully co-exist with these animals - of which there an estimated 600 of on Vancouver Island alone!
Wild is careful not to paint the cougar as the bloodthirsty man-eater it's often misrepresented as. Instead, she reminds us that cougars are a beautiful, fascinating, and integral part of the ecosystem, which we should approach (not literally!) with equal parts respect and caution. This is an excellent piece of wildlife writing. Read it, pass it on to a friend. These big cats are amazing, but can be dangerous, and knowledge is the power to keep one from becoming the other.
Shawn Recommends
Night Film by Marisha Pessl
It was a dark and stormy night. Stormy or not, any night is an ideal time for reading Marisha Pessl's new genre-defying novel, Night Film. This time around the award-laden Pessl brings us a brilliant tale that's part mystery, part thriller, part something tougher to define, and overall an exciting read. I couldn't help but develop a strong affinity for Pessl's cast of very realistic characters. Their charming, yet flawed, journey through this complex puzzle definitely reeled me in. I challenge anyone to read the 5 page prologue and not be properly intrigued.
When you pick up Night Film and flip through it, you'll notice there are some pages with photos of items from the story. Pessl gives us actual copies of things such as medical reports, or news articles. Additionally, if you're keen to take things a step further, you can download a free app that scans certain pages in the book to give you even more content. For example, in one case scanning a medical report plays back a recording of the doctor dictating her notes. Also in a spot where there is a particular piece of music involved in the story you can use the app to hear the recital. I was initially worried this would come across as gimmicky, however the extra content really added depth to the experience. And one certainly doesn't have to use these deeper features, but they're available for those who want them.
Nelia Recommends
A Beautiful Truth by Colin McAdam
Boy, did this book push me out of my comfort zone; actually, several comfort zones. Twice nominated recently for a literary prize (the Governor General's Literary Award for fiction and the Rogers Writers' Trust of Canada for Fiction), this is a story told from two perspectives- that of humans, and that of chimpanzees. Normally, I don't like books where animals might be given human attributes. However, McAdam deftly skirts around this issue. Half of the book takes place in the household of a childless couple who are raising a chimpanzee. The other half takes place in a primate research facility; and it is in this part where the author's writing is particularly smart and convincing. I was tense from the start- of course, this is a train wreck waiting to happen. Sometimes brutal but often times beautiful, this is a novel (and I quote the jacket) "about parenthood, friendship, loneliness and strength, about the things we hold sacred as humans and the facts that link us inevitably to a nature we too often ignore".
