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May 14, 2012

Museum of Innocence:

What would you do with your prize money if you were to win the Nobel Prize for literature? If you were Ohran Pamuk, you might well create a museum in your hometown. Conceived as another aspect of his novel of the same name, Pamuk is said to have invested most of his $1.5 million prize money into the project. Can't make it to Istanbul? Check out Pamuk's book version of The Museum of Innocence from the library catalogue.

May 13, 2012

Esi Edugyan Wins:

Congratulations to Esi Edugyan who's Half-Blood Blues has just won this year's B.C. Book Prize for fiction. In the non-fiction category, Charlotte Gill's Eating Dirt has won the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize. Chuck Davis won two awards. His Chuck Davis' History of Metropolitan Vancouver picked-up both the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize and the Bill Duthie Bookseller's Choice Award. For a complete list of the winners, check out this Globe and Mail article.

May 9, 2012

Son of Read Dating

Good news for fans of VPL's Read Dating series! Monday, May 14 is your chance to register in the newest version of our popular program - Read Dating: A Radio Romance. The event will take place on June 20th. Why a Radio Romance? For this outing, the Popular Reading Library is teaming up with BangOn Media who are producing a radio documentary of the evening which will be broadcast on the CBC's Sunday Edition. Here's an overview of Read Dating for those of you unfamiliar with the concept: take one measure of speed dating and add two tablespoons (your choice) of books, music, or movies to use as your conversation point. Rotate. Repeat. You might also find this Globe and Mail article informative.

So you'd like to take part? If you are between the ages of 25-35 and are willing to sign a release allowing for the possible use of you voice in the documentary, please contact us on Monday, May 14 after 10:00 a.m. at 604-331-3691. A few willing participants will also have the opportunity to be interviewed and used as subjects of the documentary.

Members of the GLBTQ community will also have another chance to try Read Dating. We are in the planning stages for a GLBTQ Read Dating event which will take place in July. Watch this column for more details.

May 8, 2012

Maurice Sendak

It was very sad to hear about the recent death of beloved author Maurice Sendak. He is best remembered for his book Where the Wild Things Are which won the Caldecott Medal in 1964. Known primarily as a children's book author, Sendak also illustrated books, and designed opera costumes and sets. Fans of Sendak were also quick to embrace the film version of Where the Wild Things Are directed by Spike Jonze which perfectly illustrated the darker side of childhood.

May 7, 2012

A Bit of Fun:

Online bookseller Book Depository.com has a nifty live page that shows map location and titles of current purchases from around the globe.

April 30, 2012

Encyclopedia Britannica:

Once upon a time, the Encyclopedia Britannica ruled as the go-to source of information for casual readers and students alike. The venerable publication which has  enjoyed a 244 year publishing history, recently announced it will discontinue it's print edition. That's not to say that Encyclopedia Britannica is disappearing completely. The company is moving to a digital model, and subscription apps will soon be available. This makes a cetrain amount of economic sense for the publisher with print sales accounting for diminished percentages of operating profits, but collectors of fine books are hardly likely to trade in their beloved Eleventh Edition for the convenience of browsing the encyclopedia on their iPad.

April 27, 2012

Independent Foreign Fiction Prize:

Fans of fiction in translation will be happy to note that the shortlist for this year's Independent Foreign Fiction Prize has now been announced. The Prize is worth 10, 000 pounds and is split equally between the author and the translator. The shortlisted authors are Haruki Murakami, Umberto Eco, Aharon Appelfeld, Sjon, Judith Hermann, Diego Marini, and Yan Lianke.

April 23, 2012

In Memoriam

Every year, the Popular Reading Library mounts a display that pays tribute to writers who passed away during the previous year. This year's In Memoriam display is currently near the elevator on Level 2. The display was assembled by Joshua Rose, a student librarian from UBC's School of Library and Information Sciences. Other displays currently on view include: the Classics book display, Animal Tales, Remarkable Lives - Biographies and Memoirs, Survival Fiction, and Staff Fiction Picks. Be sure to visit us and let us know what you think.

April 20, 2012

Existentialism, c'est Moi

When I was a teenager, it was fashionable to pretend you were an existentialist. It's not that I really aspired to pull up a chair at Les Deux Magots and discuss Being and Nothingness with Jean-Paul Sartre, but somehow existentialism seemed like a perfect outlet for teenage angst. Name dropping was big and no self-respecting teen-existentialist would appear in public without a copy of La Nausea, L'Etranger, Huis Clos, or The Glass Bead Game clutched ever so casually in his hand. Bonus points were given if you had original language editions of the books or could actually pronounce ennui. I was reminded of this moment in my life when a friend sent me a link to a videoclip of Henri, the existential cat. I hope you will enjoy this as much as I do.

April 16, 2012

National Poetry Month:

Did you know that April is National poetry Month in Canada? The League of Canadian Poets website offers a host of cross-Canada activities including the announcement of the Pat Lowther and Gerald Lampert Memorial Awards shortlist, and the Mayor's Poetry City Challenge. Another big poetry news item in 2011, was Harbour Publishing's release of The Collected Poems of Patrick Lane. VPL patrons will recall that Patrick Lane's There Is a Season was our One Book, One Vancouver selection in 2006. Enjoy the following video clip of Patrick Lane reading his poem "Wild Horses":

April 12, 2010

International IMPAC Dublin Award Shortlist

It's time once again for my favourite literary award to announce its shortlist. The judging panel of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award has put forward a shortlist of ten titles. Nominated authors include Canada's David Bergen who's The Matter With Morris is now in the running for the literary world's richest prize. Congratulations to Mr. Bergen. The winner will be announce on June 13, 2012.

April 10, 2012

The Casual Vacancy

More news from Potterland. Now that author J. K. Rowlings has wrapped up her wildly successful Harry Potter series (450 million copies to date), she is now trying her hand at adult fiction. Little Brown has just announce the first title to be released - The Casual Vacancy. It will be available worldwind on September 27, 2012. For more details, please check out this Globe and Mail article. VPL will, of course, order copies when they are available.

April 9, 2010

How to Write ...

Have you ever though you might like to write a novel? Perhaps the elusive great, Canadian novel is at your fingertips and just needs coaxing. I discovered an intreresting social networking site called wikiHow which includes step-by-step information on how to organize your ideas and create the structure for your novel. Topics include How to Write Political Fiction, and several other topics related to writing.