UC Librarian's Blog

Quotations from novels about Toronto

UClibrarian — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:14:36 +0000

Here are some quotations from novels which take place in Toronto, and some from novels which mention UofT. I started gathering these quotations in 2009 for a display as part of Doors Open Toronto and have continued adding to them since. One of the UofT quotations even mentions University College Library!

Murdoch Mysteries

UClibrarian — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:43:23 +0000

Murdoch Mysteries, which is set in 1890s Toronto, is one of my favourite TV shows. CityTV announced a few months ago that the fifth season would be the last one for this Canada-UK co-production. So I was thrilled to hear that instead, the show will be moving to the CBC and renewed for a sixth season!

If you’re curious about the novels by Maureen Jennings which inspired the TV series, we have all seven books at Laidlaw Library.

Canada Reads 2012 finalists

UClibrarian — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 20:44:03 +0000

Here are the finalists for Canada Reads 2012: True Stories. The five books will be debated on CBC radio in February by their “celebrity defenders,” and are all available at Laidlaw Library:

The Game: A Thoughtful and Provocative Look at Life in Hockey by Ken Dryden (defended by Alan Thicke)
On a Cold Road: Tales of Adventure in Canadian Rock by Dave Bidini (defended by Stacey McKenzie)
Prisoner of Tehran: A Memoir by Marina Nemat (defended by Arlene Dickinson)
Something Fierce: Memoirs of a Revolutionary Daughter by Carmen Aguirre (defended By Shad)
The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant (defended by Anne-France Goldwater)

A Cultural History of Sexuality

UClibrarian — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:06:59 +0000

Laidlaw Library recently purchased the ambitious new six-volume set A Cultural History of Sexuality. Each volume can be borrowed separately and covers a different era: Classical World, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Enlightenment, Age of Empire, Modern Age.

Gold Mountain Blues

UClibrarian — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 01:02:16 +0000

You’ve probably read about the copyright controversy surrounding Zhang Ling’s recent novel Gold Mountain Blues (here’s a summary by Quill & Quire).

In case you’d like to read the books and judge for yourself, Laidlaw Library now has all the books in question. (We recently purchased Gold Mountain Blues and the two Paul Yee books, and we already had the others.)

Gold Mountain Blues by Zhang Ling
The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy
Disappearing Moon Cafe by Sky Lee
The Bone Collector’s Son by Paul Yee
Tales from Gold Mountain by Paul Yee
The Concubine’s Children by Denise Chong

Half-Blood Blues

UClibrarian — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 05:02:47 +0000

Edi Edugyan has won the Giller Prize for Half-Blood Blues! Here’s what the Giller jury said:

“Imagine Mozart were a black German trumpet player and Salieri a bassist, and 18th century Vienna were WWII Paris; that’s Esi Edugyan’s joyful lament, Half-Blood Blues. It’s conventional to liken the prose in novels about jazz to the music itself, as though there could be no higher praise. In this case, say rather that any jazz musician would be happy to play the way Edugyan writes. Her style is deceptively conversational and easy, but with the simultaneous exuberance and discipline of a true prodigy. Put this book next to Louis Armstrong’s ‘West End Blues’ – these two works of art belong together.”

So You Want to be a Writer?

UClibrarian — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 02:28:00 +0000

Tomorrow (Nov. 3), join Barker Fairley Distinguished Visitor (and UC alumna!) Camilla Gibb for “So You Want to be a Writer?” (at 4:30, in UC Room 240).

Camilla Gibb’s books are available at Laidlaw Library.

Alan Hollinghurst

UClibrarian — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:11:03 +0000

Alan Hollinghurst is speaking tonight (Nov. 1) at the Toronto Reference Library, and there’s an interesting article about him in yesterday’s New York Times.

We have Hollinghurst’s five novels at Laidlaw Library, including his latest, The Stranger’s Child..

Canada Reads: True Stories

UClibrarian — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 22:08:25 +0000

Laidlaw Library has 30 of the 40 books chosen for the CBC’s 2012 Canada Reads (and I ordered the other 10 last week). Whereas in the past Canada Reads has been all about fiction, this year’s theme is “True Stories.” The list includes some quite recent books like What Disturbs Our Blood: A Son’s Quest to Redeem the Past (2010) and Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life (2009), along with some older books like Farley Mowat’s And No Birds Sang (1979).

Last year was the first time the Canada Reads finalists included a graphic novel, and this year’s Top 40 includes three graphic non-novels, all available at Laidlaw:

Mordecai: The Life & Times

UClibrarian — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 04:07:04 +0000

Charles Foran has won the Writers’ Trust prize for nonfiction, for his biography of Mordecai Richler, Mordecai: The Life & Times (available at Laidlaw Library).