Like all boys growing up in Rome during the 1930’s and 40’s, the author was expected to join Balilla, Mussolini’s Fascist Youth Organization in Italy. An unwilling participant, he counters this activity by becoming a bicycle runner, secretly delivering pamphlets and other materials to members of the Resistance. Later, near the end of the war, after [...]
submitted by Georgann
Aptly subtitled “the Ultimate Guidebook,” Hawaii: the Big Island Revealed was a great help to us on our recent trip to The Big Island. Authors Andrew Doughty and Harriett Friedman were terrific “tour guides.” The prose is well-written, humorous and thorough. I was so glad we took this book along!
It can be overwhelming [...]
After 48 years of marriage, Joseph has asked Betty for a divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences”. This confuses Betty because of course they have “irreconcilable differences” – what did that have to do with divorce? And thus begins a tale of manners and family ties, heartbreak and second chances.
To save money Betty and her two adult [...]
Jason and Whit Fireson keep dying, but they can’t seem to stay dead.
Leaders of the notorious, bank-robbing Firefly Gang, they wake up one day in a small-town morgue with no idea on how they got there. They should be dead – they both sport apparently fatal gunshot wounds – yet miraculously they’ve survived. Slipping away [...]
Who can forget the iconic slow-motion Vangelis theme music? Or the race around the courtyard of Trinity College? Or Eric Liddell’s race in which he is tripped and heroically rallies.
Winning the 1981 Oscar for Best Picture, Chariots of Fire had it all. Stylish 1920’s fashions, beautiful Cambridge buildings (actually Eton), lush British estates, and a glimpse into [...]
Due South is one of the few prime time Canadian series to air on American tv. The cultural differences between Canada and the U.S. in general, and the Mounties and Chicago police in particular, were a major theme. The Canadian law enforcement officer is politeness personified, while the American is well-armed and cynical.
The tone was gently absurdist. That, and the [...]
Louise Penny , a former Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reporter, steeps her mysteries in the French culture of Quebec. Her Chief Inspector Gamache series has been compared to Agatha Christie (a small village setting and large cast of characters and surprise endings) . In Brutal Telling, Gamache is called in when an unknown dead body turns up in local bistro. Penny’s skill is creating [...]
The Edge by Dick Francis is, as always, about horses, but this time the action takes place in Canada, instead of England.
Head of Security for the British Jockey Club, Tor Kelsey travels to Canada for the Great Transcontinental Mystery Race Train. He works undercover as a waiter on the train so he can keep an eye one [...]
We’ve been playing a lot of Canadian Spotting in our office as we gear up for the Winter Olympics, so I was gleeful when I came across a list of Canadian Authors which included Cory Doctorow–co-editor of the popular blog BoingBoing and author of several books including the YA bestseller Little Brother.
I will say up [...]
The setting for David Benioff’s City of Thieves is grim and brutal – the siege of Leningrad during World War II – yet there is also light and optimism, even laughter in this book. Lev Benioff, is a naive, 17-year-old is picked up for looting, a sentence punishable by death. Instead of the firing squad, [...]
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