Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Awards

The 24th annual Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Awards have been announced. These awards celebrate excellence in writing on Jewish themes and subjects. Here are the winners most likely to be of interest to readers of this blog:


The winner of the biography category is A Fiery Soul : the life and theatrical times of John Hirsch (M) by Fraidie Martz and Andrew Wilson:

"John Hirsch arrived in Winnipeg in 1947, a 17-year-old Hungarian orphan of the Holocaust, knowing no English. Ten years later, he co-founded the Manitoba Theatre Centre, establishing a model for regional theatres across North America. He went on to direct award-winning productions in Los Angeles, New York, Stratford and Toronto -- everything from Guys and Dolls to The Tempest -and to work with actors like Len Cariou, Martha Henry, Anthony Hopkins, and Maggie Smith. Notorious for his fiery temper, budget-blowing sets, and artistic risk-taking, he had a stormy four years as CBC's head of TV drama in the 1970s (high and low points include King of Kensington and Peter Lougheed's lawsuit over The Tar Sands ), and an even stormier tenure as Artistic Director at the Stratford Festival from 1981 to 1985. He died in 1989 of AIDS". -publisher


The winner of the fiction category is The Free World (M) by David Bezmozgis:

"“In the summer of 1978, the Krasnansky family, three generations of Russian Jews, escaped to freedom through a crack in the Iron Curtain and landed in Italy, where they spent the next six months. They immersed themselves in the carnival of emigration, an Italy rife with love affairs and ruthless hustles, with dislocation and nostalgia, with the promise and peril of a better life.” - publisher

5 Nonfiction Reads to Look for in June

Looking for some new nonfiction this month? There's a little bit of everything—history, science, commerce and sociology—in this month's list.

Beyond the Blue Horizon: how the earliest mariners unlocked the secrets of the oceans (M) by Brian Fagan (June 26) From the author of 2008's The Great Warming, this book takes a look at the human need to explore and what we have discovered in the depths and the breadths of the seas. Spanning a huge swath of human history and bringing in a similarly large range of topics, this book has something for readers interested not only in the ocean, but in technology, exploration, anthropology and much more.

Dear Zari: hidden stories from women in Afghanistan (M) by Zarghuna Kargar (June 4th) Previously published in the UK, June marks the Canadian debut for this title that compiles stories of 13 Afghani women. The author was born in Afghanistan but fled as a child, and now lives in the UK. The stories collected in the volume came from Kargar's work on a BBC radio program called Afghan Woman’s Hour.

Overdressed: the shockingly high cost of cheap fashion (M) by Elizabeth L. Cline (June 14). From the publisher: "Like The Omnivore's Dilemma did for food, Overdressed shows us the way back to feeling good about what we wear. Fast fashion and disposable clothing have become our new norms. We buy ten-dollar shoes from Target that disintegrate within a month and make weekly pilgrimages to Forever 21 and H&M. Elizabeth Cline argues that this rapid cycle of consumption isn't just erasing our sense of style and causing massive harm to the environment and human rights-it's also bad for our souls."

Darwin's Ghosts (M) by Rebecca Stott (June 12). You may know Stott as a novelist (Ghostwalk, The Coral Thief) but she has a number of nonfiction titles under her belt as well and now turns her attention to evolutionary history. Although Darwin's On the Origin of the Species is the probably the most widely known work of evolutionary theory, Darwin himself was criticized for failing to acknowledge the work of other scientists in the development of the theory of evolution. With this book, Stott aims to right that omission, chronicling the work and lives of several scientists that preceded or were contemporaries of Darwin's. Stott is also the author of a study of Darwin himself, 2003's Darwin and the Barnacle: the story of one tiny creature and history's most spectacular scientific breakthrough (M) .

Dark Pools: high-speed traders, A.I. bandits, and the threat to the Global Financial System (M) by Scott Patterson (June 12). A book that sounds more science fiction than you might want from an examination of global trading: an exposé of the trend toward artificial intelligence on the trading floor. Patterson has previously written critiques of Wall Street, his 2010 title The Quants: how a new breed of math whizzes conquered Wall Street and nearly destroyed it (M) was a New York Times bestseller.

7 Fiction Titles to Watch for in June

Another month, another list of great new fiction!

This month sees a couple of new releases from authors who have had previous titles that were big hits with book clubs, will start with those and give you a leg up on suggestions for your club's next read.

Gold (M) by Chris Cleave (June 5) is the latest book from the author best known for his 2009 book Little Bee.

Cleave has gone with a very contemporary setting for this latest: the leadup to the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Gold is the story of two elite athletes, who also happen to be good friends, who must compete for the last spot on the UK's Olympic cycling team. In an early review, Publisher's Weekly has said "From start to finish, this is a truly Olympic-level literary achievement."

Readers probably best remember author Mark Haddon, from his 2002 hit "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time". This month he releases The Red House (M) (June 12). Told in alternating voices of the various characters, the book begins when "Richard, a wealthy doctor, invites his estranged sister Angela and her family to join his for a week at a vacation home in the English countryside. Richard has just re-married and inherited a willful stepdaughter in the process; Angela has a feckless husband and three children who sometimes seem alien to her. The stage is set for seven days of resentment and guilt, a staple of family gatherings the world over." From Library Journal: "Refreshingly, Haddon takes the risk of making the ordinary extraordinary and succeeds; each character is poignantly real and each small trauma a revelation. And the language! Highly recommended"

Fans of crime fiction will want to make note of a later June release, Brenner and God (M) by Wolf Haas (June 26) is the first appearance in English of a series that Amazon proclaims is "one of the most wildly popular detective series in Europe". Described as a darkly funny, hardboiled detective novel, it introduces Simon Brenner, a Viennese ex-cop, now working as a chauffeur. The action starts when the two year old child in his care is kidnapped and Brenner investigates her disappearance. European police mysteries have a way of working into the North American psyche, time will tell if Haas is to be the next Mankell or Rankin.
 

The description of The Chaperone (M) by Laura Moriatry (June 5) really drew me in. Historical fiction that chronicles the early life of silent-film star Louise Brooks and the chaperone in whose care she spent her teen years. The Jazz Era New York City setting is probably the thing that caught my eye, but the the popular magazine press—including O Magazine, Vogue and Marie Claire—has also jumped on this one. Set mostly over one summer, it seems like a great summer read.

I couldn't pick just one more title for this month's post so here in quick succession are three more for you to consider:
 

The Neruda Case (M) by Roberto Ampuero (June 28): Another international bestseller appearing for the first time in English. This one is a Chilean novel of political intrigue and Pablo Neruda.


The Family Album (M) by Kerry Kelly (June 11): A Canadian novel "a humorous look at the creation and reconstruction of family and the lingering hold of the people we keep close and those we try to let go" (publisher)

The Forrests (M) by Emily Perkins (June 5): A literary novel of an American family living in New Zealand, Whitehots describes it as a novel that "speaks of family and time, dysfunction, ageing, loneliness, lethargy, heat, youth, and how there is always something inaccessible and secret, lying just out of reach."

4 Crime Fiction Debut Novels with Buzz

Threats (M)
by Amelia Gray

David, a retired dentist in an unnamed town in Ohio, is pretty sure his wife, Franny, is dead. But he can't quite figure out what killed her or why she had to die. Disoriented by grief, David struggles to unravel these mysteries--which become increasingly baffling when he starts finding a series of elaborate and escalating threats hidden around his home.


"Written in 77 brief, anecdotal chapters that accentuate Gray's wry, punchline humor, Threats is a comic success, part metaphysical detective story, part comedy of errors." - Booklist

The Whisperer (M)
by Donato Carrisi ; translation by Shaun Whiteside

Six buried arms. Six missing girls. A team led by Captain Roche and internationally renowned criminologist Goran Gavila are on the trail of a serial killer whose ferocity seems to have no limits. And he seems to be taunting them, leading them to discover each small corpse in turn; but the clues on the bodies point to several different killers.

“This is a novel about serial killers and as such is more about the manipulative process than the particulars; readers who appreciate manipulation, both of plots and themselves, by the author, and those who appreciate a shock of bloody horror will be absolutely enthralled by this offering.” - Library Journal

Hard Knocks (M)
by Howie Carr

Following the lead of Boston crime-thriller writers like Dennis Lehane and Chuck Hogan, New York Times bestselling author and radio sensation Howie Carr delivers a hard-hitting tale of survival, betrayal, deceit, and murder...in other words, a fictional odyssey through the last thirty years of crime in Boston. Jack Reilly, a dodgy ex-Boston cop, is trying to make ends meet as a private investigator. When a client is killed, execution style, Reilly finds himself in a whole world of pain. Someone wants him dead - but why?

"Colorfully corrupt characters and hard-charging storytelling should please some genre fans, but others may find that Jack's function as the author's mouthpiece to vent about the city's changing demographics leaves an aftertaste too bitter even for noir." - Publisher's Weekly

The Cop with the Pink Pistol (M)
by Gray Basnight

NYC Detective Donna Prima, busted down to desk clerk for reasons known only to her and her captain, goes out on what looks to be a routine burglary call in Greenwich Village. There she meets actor Conner Anderson, who's enjoying overnight success in TV's most-watched daytime soap, Vampire Love Nest. Conner, a wannabe detective since boyhood, alerts Donna to some strange goings-on in the bar across the street, and Donna sees her chance to make a big-time bust and have her detective status restored. There's only one catch: Conner wants to be part of the investigation. Against her better judgment, and only because she finds Conner so attractive, Donna agrees, and the two set out to discover the connection between a blue-collar watering hole and an upstate New York trash-hauling company, which may or may not be involved in the theft of uranium from a nuclear power plant on the Delaware River.


"With a wink and generous helpings of tongue-in-cheek humor, Basnight dishes up a delicious debut that will strongly appeal to anyone who loves amateur sleuths and colorful cops. Don't worry about keeping track of all the classic crime film and fiction references that Basnight peppers throughout the plot; I, too, gave up." - Library Journal

Hockey Players

As the Stanley Cup finals begin (Go Kings!), I thought I'd offer up a few novels featuring hockey players. These titles represent quite a variety of reading experiences, ranging from hot and spicy romances, to murder mysteries, to the more literary and reflective.

The Penalty Killing: a Martin Carter mystery (M)
by Michael McKinley 

"The action is intense in this debut mystery featuring Martin Carter, a former hockey star whose career was cut short by a head injury. Now he's has to solve three apparent, related murders - one of them his own - to get his life and reputation back. Former hockey great Martin Carter now works for the New York St. Patricks, a team with a rare chance at winning a playoff spot. Their fans are hungry for the Cup, but their hopes are smashed when a crucial game ends in a violent, bench-clearing brawl, and a star forward is left in a coma. Only one person saw what happened. She caught the attack on video and intends to use it for some expensive blackmail.... In a story full of unexpected twists, the action is intense, the stakes are high, and the main player very cool under pressure" - publisher


Breakaway (M)
by Deidre Martin

"Rory Brady was Ballycraig's golden boy, the local lad who moved to America and became a professional hockey player. But he broke his promise to Erin O'Brien-and never went back for her. Now Erin has moved on, and Rory must race the clock to prove to her that the man she fell in love with is still there. But can happy-go-lucky Erin risk it all and give another chance to the man who broke her heart" - publisher


Saved (M) 
by Jack Falla 

"Jean Pierre Savard and Cam Carter, best friends, are the goalie and top defenceman, respectively, for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League. They've both been All-Stars, but they've never won the Stanley Cup, and after almost a dozen years in the league, they feel this may be their last, best chance. But an unexpected trade late in the season places the pair on opposite sides in the play-offs, and each experiences  myriad emotions as he struggles to balance on-ice success with personal happiness. Falla covered the NHL for Sports Illustrated for many years, and he clearly understands the league, its players, and its idiosyncrasies. He also loves hockey. The flashbacks of kids playing on natural ice during frozen New England winters are heartfelt and genuine. Most novels with a sports backdrop seem forced; seldom do the authors get the sports part right. To borrow a hockey term, Falla records a hat trick: he scores on character, plot, and setting. This reads as realistically as if it were a memoir." -Booklist

An Inverted Sort of Prayer: a novel (M)
by Chris F. Needham

"Cut loose at the end of a long and violent hockey career prolonged by steroids and numbed by liquor, ex-enforcer Billy Purdy discovers that the soon-to-be-published novel of a celebrated politician's son is in fact Billy's father's own, taken word for word from the original published, and promptly forgotten, some forty years before. Allowing the ruse to continue, and in an effort to distance himself from his violent past, Purdy embarks upon an exotic, oftentimes absurd adventure in an attempt to reinvent himself in what he envisions to be a more cerebral and civilized image, in a world he has never fully been a part of, or developed the necessary tools to properly inhabit. Yearning for connection of any kind, yet seemingly unable to sustain it for any length of time, Billy Purdy comes to symbolize the alienation, frustration, and ultimate futility behind this quintessential Canadian dream" - publisher.

True Love and Other Disasters (M)
by Rachel Gibson

"Bestseller Gibson's thoughtful stand-alone romance immerses the reader in the world of professional hockey and the hearts of two compelling characters. Ty Savage, newly signed player with the Seattle Chinooks, is devastated by the death of the team's elderly owner, Virgil Duffy. Duffy's young widow, Faith, an ex-stripper trophy wife who knows nothing about hockey, will now be the team's owner, much to everyone's dismay. Though Ty and Faith's initial mutual dislike quickly evolves into an all-consuming passion, they soon discover that their attraction goes much further than sexual heat. Magnificently breaking with stereotype, Ty is a tenderhearted man who wants a lifelong relationship, while Faith is emotionally strong, intelligent and caring. With humor and eloquent prose, Gibson brings substance and depth to this loving, modern romance." - Publisher's Weekly 

The Goon (M)
by Jerrod Edson

"With The Goon, Jerrod Edson moves from being one of the province's top young writers to being one of the best New Brunswick writers, period. In Jack Jones, a former NHL enforcer, Edson embodies his hometown-tough, rough, haunted, full of equal parts unfulfilled ambition and heart. The Goon can be safely considered the best New Brunswick novel of 2010."- Saint John Telegraph-Journal

Street Lit Book Awards 2012

Street Lit Book Awards were first launched in 2011. The award “recognizes the best of urban fiction and nonfiction. Selected by a volunteer committee of librarians and paraprofessionals who take into consideration the popularity of books as read by the public in school, academic, and public library settings, the 2012 awards honor titles published in 2011.”

Here are the 2012 winners:


Adult Nonfiction category:

One Day It'll All Make Sense (M)
by Common, with Adam Bradley

"Rap artist Common's distinctive style and generally positive message have attracted a large audience since his move from Chicago underground cult favorite to Brooklyn-based popular lyricist in the late 1990s. He's also acted in movies and was invited to perform at the White House. Common is an intelligent, thoughtful writer, and his memoir documents his colorful life so far, including work with Kanye West, his relationship with Erykah Badu, and encounters with Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela. He sets the tone and subject for each chapter by beginning with a letter to a particular meaningful person in his life.

Verdict: Common has obviously learned many life lessons (especially from his mother) and is hoping that he can reach young black youth with his message of love, fatherhood, and strength. Recommended for fans of rap music books and popular biographies." Library Journal


Adult Fiction category:

Eviction Notice: a Hood Rat novel (M)
By K'wan

Porsha: the ghetto princess. Boots: the scandalous baby mama. Frankie aka Francine: the con artist. These three girls live in one apartment and are into all kinds of hood foolishness while having fun. Until one day they find an eviction notice taped to their door. Now they have seventy-two hours to find out how to come up with all the money they owe in months of back rent.

“This latest installment in K'wan's widely popular series lifts him from "just another street lit author" to a writer who produces thrilling plots laced with genuine street slang. “ - Library Journal

Teen/Young Adult category:

Upgrade U. (M)
By Ni Ni Simone

"The fourth volume in Simone's series about Seven McKnight, a book that stands on its own, finds Seven starting her freshman year at (fictional) Stiles University in New Orleans. Rooming with her bestie, Shae, and new friend Khya, Seven is optimistic about the year ahead, especially since her high school love, Josiah, is a basketball star at Stiles ("We were a fairytale. A hood love story"). But Josiah's big man on campus status and a girl who keeps hanging around have Seven feeling insecure, especially when he ignores her texts and asks her to write papers for him. Meanwhile Zaire, the smooth Southern boy who gets Seven's pulse racing, keeps appearing in her life. Shae and Khya are unhappy with how Josiah is treating Seven, but Seven fights to stay true to the guy she thought she'd always be with.

Filled with snappy dialogue and one-liners that pull readers into Seven's world, the story mixes romantic drama with empowering messages, as well as sobering facts about post-Katrina life for New Orleans natives Khya and Zaire. Ages 14-up." - Publisher's Weekly



Emerging Classic category:

Yummy: the last days of a Southside Shorty (M)
by G. Neri

"So young to kill, so young to die" read the 1994 Time magazine cover with Yummy's photo. Yummy was a real 11-year-old Chicago kid, with father in jail, abused by his mom, and sucked all-too-readily into the Black Disciples gang. "The disciples ain't stupid," comments a character in Neri's account. "They got this endless supply of young ones with no daddy, just looking for attention"-pit bull puppies who could escape felony convictions because of age. Given a gun and sent on small jobs, Yummy was a bundle of thug ego with a kid's immaturity, and he accidentally killed a teen girl bystander while threatening supposed rivals. Now a liability as a magnet for unwanted attention, Yummy was executed by his own gang. While Neri invents a fictional narrator as tour guide for the reader, the story is based on public records, media reports, and personal accounts.

VERDICT: Neri's re-creation paints a compelling and sympathetic portrait of how a youngster became too eager to please the wrong people, and DuBurke (Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography) provides skilled, semiphoto-quality inks and shadows that do his subject justice. Strongly recommended for tweens and up." - Library Journal

Profile - Sherrif Walt Longmire

Mystery author Craig Johnson first introduced the character of Sherrif Walt Longmire in his 2005 novel Cold Dish (M), which Booklist described as a "literary mystery". Johnson is now up to book number eight, As the Crow Flies (M), of this very popular series. The television rights have just been picked up by A&E for a new tv series, Longmire which will debut on June 3rd.

Walt Longmire is described as kind, principled and tenacious, all great qualities for a lawman. He is also surrounded by a interesting cast of supporting characters, such as close friend Henry Standing Bear and Deputy Victoria Moretti, a tough as nails beauty from Philadelphia. One reviewer stated that Johnson "writes about interesting people in interesting places". Johnson has said that he feels a key element of the series' success is that his characters continue to change and grow with each novel. The landscapes of Wyoming and similar locales are also quite front and center, coming alive with Johnson's first hand knowledge and his eye for detail in his home state.

Johnson's writing is compelling and gritty, with a deft touch for details and character nuance. His storylines are gripping, with a slipperiness that keep readers unsure of where things are headed. As an indication of the quality of this series, all eight titles have received a starred review from either Booklist, Kirkus Reviews or Publisher's Weekly. Dark Horse (M), the fifth series entry garnered starred reviews from all three publications.