Books of the Week
Fall 2012
October 1 - October 8, 2012 The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny
Acclaimed Canadian mystery-thriller author Louise Penny is back with her latest Chief
Inspector Gamache novel. In The Beautiful Mystery, the cloistered monks of Quebec's selfcontained Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups monastery focus their lives on prayer and the
simplicity of Gregorian Chants. That is until the murder of their prior and choirmaster, Frere
Mathieu, has forced them to open their doors to Inspector Gamache and Jean-Guy Beauvoir of
the Surete du Quebec. It soon becomes clear to Gamache that
someone within the wall of the monastery, one of the brothers, must be
responsible for the crime. Which one of these supposedly pious men is
a cold blooded killer? Find out by requesting The Beautiful Mystery in
print or talking book formats at the Haliburton County Public Library.
October 9 - October 15, 2012 Astray by Emma Donoghue
From the author of last year's Evergreen Award winner Room, comes a
fantastic new collection of short stories. All of the characters in this
book have "gone astray": they are emigrants, runaways, drifters, lovers
old and new. They are gold miners and counterfeiters, attorneys and
slaves. They cross other borders too: those of race, law, sex, and sanity. Each story has been
inspired by some real person or event in history and Donoghue briefly notes the fascinating
true research behind every journey. Astray is suggested for history buffs and those who enjoy
elegantly crafted, character-driven fiction. You can reserve it at the Haliburton County Public
Library.
October 16 - October 22, 2012 Coppermine by Keith Ross Leckie
Part epic adventure, part romance, and part true-crime thriller, Coppermine is a dramatic,
compelling, character-driven story set in 1917 in the extremes of Canada's far north and the
boom town of Edmonton. Set against the harsh climate of the Arctic and Inuit culture of good
and evil spirits, Corporal Creed, of the Royal West Mounted Police, sets out on a yearlong
journey with an Inuit translator, Angituk. Their mission was to investigate the disappearance of
two Catholic priests. Corporal Creed eventually finds two Inuit hunters, Sinnisiak and Uluksuk,
who are taken into custody to answer for the crime. He brings the two accused back to
Edmonton for a show trial. However, the jury is not the only one that has
to make a decision as Corporal Creed also faces a decision of the heart.
You can reserve Coppermine today at the Haliburton County Public
Library.
October 23 - October 29, 2012 Up and Down by Terry Fallis
Space buff David Stewart has left his job on Parliament Hill to join Turner
King, a dog-eat-dog PR firm in Toronto, about to tackle an enormous
project: revitalizing the public's interest in NASA and its Canadian
equivalent, CSA. Pressed for an idea that will earn his team the contract,
David suggests the most out-of-this-world conception imaginable: holding
a contest where two regular civilians could win their seats on a shuttle mission. Shockingly, the
project is given the go-ahead and David is vaulted into a high-stakes PR game, struggling to
both keep his job and follow his heart. You can reserve Up and Down by Terry Fallis in print
and e-book formats and, if you would like to meet the author in person, get your tickets to the
Friends of the Library's Annual Book Gala on November 4th.
October 30 - November 5, 2012 The Light Between Oceans by M.L.
Stedman
After four years of battle during WWI, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia
and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock. Tom brings his
young and courageous wife Isabel with him to this remote island, cut off from
the rest of the world. Years later, after several miscarriages and bouts of
depression, the grieving Isabel hears a baby's cries on the wind. A dinghy
has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby. Tom wants
to report the incident immediately but Isabel just as quickly becomes
attached to the child. Against Tom's judgment, they claim her as their own
but feelings of terrible guilt soon begin to mount. Described as a "stunning
and memorable debut", The Light Between Oceans is filled with vivid
characters, melancholy prose and beautifully savage landscapes. Reserve it in print or talking
book formats from the Haliburton County Public Library.
November 6 - November 12, 2012 The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak
If you enjoyed reading about the treacherous palace politics portrayed in Phillipa Gregory's
The Other Boleyn Girl, then consider The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak. This reimagining of
the early years of Catherine the Great traces the story of two young women: Varvara, an
orphaned bookbinder's daughter who will become one of Russia's most cunning royal spies,
and Sophie, a pretty, naive German duchess who will become Catherine the Great. PolishCanadian author Stachniak's brilliant, bold historical novel of eighteenth-century Russia proves
the Tudors don't have a monopoly on palatial extravagance, marital scandal or royal intrigue.
You can reserve The Winter Palace in print or e-book formats from the Haliburton County
Public Library.
November 13 - November 19, 2012 Whirl Away by Russell Wangersky
Whirl Away by Russell Wangersky, shortlisted for this year's Giller Prize, is a short fiction
collection focused on those moments when people are yanked from their ordinary, day-to-day
lives. These stories are about men and women pushed to the edge,
victims of circumstance or of their own inadequacies, often ending up in
conflict that whirls their everyday existence into disarray. With excellent
writing, biting dialogue and striking imagery, these stories delve deep into
the universality of human desperation. If you enjoy Canadian short fiction,
Whirl Away may be the book for you. Reserve it in print or e-book formats
from the Haliburton County Public Library.
November 20 - November 26, 2012 Quiet by Susan Cain
At least one third of all the people you know are introverts. They are the
ones that prefer listening to speaking, reading to partying and working
alone to brainstorming in a group. Quiet people are undervalued by
society because they are often lost behind the loud brashness of their
extroverted peers. That is not to say, however, that the world would run
without them. In Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop
Talking, author Susan Cain turns to research in psychology and
neuroscience to illustrate the surprising ways in which introverts and
extroverts differ and why dominant Western values manifested in forced
collaboration can actually stand in the way of innovation. If you are an
introvert, prepare to be empowered by this fascinating read. You can
reserve Quiet today in print or e-book formats from your library.
November 27 - December 3, 2012 The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Set in the bleakly remote landscape of 1920s Alaska, The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey is a
perfect frosty day read. It is an atmospheric and descriptive novel, which tells the story of Jack
and Mabel, two recent arrivals to the isolating and desolate Alaskan wilderness. In a rare
moment of abandon these two homesteaders build a realistic child out of snow before retiring
for the evening. The next morning, they wake to find the snow child has disappeared, only to
be replaced with a young and wild girl. But could such a thing truly have
happened? Or has their detachment from civilization resulted in a
complete break from reality? And if the snow child is real, what can the
arrival of such a being mean? A re-telling of a Russian fairytale, The Snow
Child brings to life the wilds of Alaska, transporting readers into this harsh
but alluring landscape.
December 4 - December 10, 2012 Mr. Rosenblum Dreams In English
by Natasha Solomons
At the outset of WWII, Jack Rosenblum and his family escape Berlin,
bound for London. They are greeted with a pamphlet instructing
immigrants how to act like "the English" - and while his wife, Sadie, finds comfort in the
reminders of her German-Jewish heritage, Jack insists on throwing it all away and reinventing
himself as a true Englishman. There's one problem: in spite of all the success the Rosenblums
find in London, no golf club will accept Jack as a member. How can he truly be English if not a
golfer? Undeterred, Jack decides to build his own golf course. He soon finds, however, that
this is a much more difficult task than anticipated. For fans of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Mr.
Rosenblum Dreams In English is a comically sweet story about big dreams, rekindled romance
and learning to be oneself. Get it in print or talking book formats at the Haliburton County
Public Library.
December 11 - December 17, 2012 One Good Hustle by Billie
Livingston
Teenager Sammie is the child of two con artists. A drifter, unsure of
whether she is destined to follow in her parents' shoes, Sammie moves
into the family home of a friend in order to escape living with her mother,
a dysfunctional woman who has turned to alcohol in the wake of a hustle
gone disastrously wrong. This novel chronicles one life-changing summer
as Sammie tries to reconcile her longing for the approval of her
unconventional parents with her aching desire for normalcy. For fans of
White Oleander by Janet Finch, One Good Hustle is unsparing novel about the confusion of
adolescence, family identity and the relationship between mother and daughter. You can
reserve it at the Haliburton County Public Library.
The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness & Obsession
by David Grann
What happens when you mix edge-of-your-seat investigative journalism with some of the
world's strangest unheard-of mysteries? You get The Devil and Sherlock Holmes by David
Grann, a collection of essays that explore true crime gone unsolved, people
who are obsessed with the unusual things they do, and the weirdest
conspiracies the world has to offer. From the mystery surrounding the
suspicious death of one of the world's foremost Sherlock Holmes experts to
the infiltration of the Aryan brotherhood into the United States prison
system, The Devil & Sherlock Holmes proves that truth is indeed stranger
than fiction. You can reserve this title in print or talking book formats at the
Haliburton County Public Library.