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24 Days (Keyes review) ****
As the fraud trials begin in New York for executives from Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. and Tyco International, the legal teams for the gang of scoundrels who ran Enron will be doubtless watching closely, because their clients are next....
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A Game to Play on the Tracks: The unravelled sleeve of life **** 1/2
Is there something in the ventilation system of the University of Victoria? In the past five years, two faculty members and one student have been nominated for prestigious literary awards.
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A plea for the plausible in historical novels *
The American novelist Edmund White published an essay in a recent issue of the Times Literary Supplement -- the most highbrow review of books in the commercial media -- that addresses issues all writers of fiction have grappled with.
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American Gods (Garber synopsis) *
American Gods is Neil Gaiman's best and most ambitious novel yet, a scary, strange, and hallucinogenic road-trip story wrapped around a deep examination of the American spirit. Note: Neil Gaiman appears at the Vancouver International Writers' Festival October 6, 2005.
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Anansi Boys (Garber synopsis) *
Here's a romantic screwball comedy seasoned with murder, magic, and ghosts from the fantastic pen of Sandman creator, Neil Gaiman. Note: Neil Gaiman appears at the Vancouver International Writers' Festival October 6, 2005.
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Anne Garber's Guide to Healthy Eating & Lifestyle Books, 2005-2006 ****
Anne's picks for the best new books (and cookbooks) on diet plans, lifestyle improvement and improving your body and health!
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Atwood shortlisted for Booker *
In a startling list dominated by works from first-time novelists, Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake is the only book by an established writer to make it onto the shortlist of the prestigious Man Booker Prize, announced yesterday at a press conference in London
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Backstage Vancouver: A Century of Entertainment Legends (Keyes review) ****
You don't have to be a Vancouverite to get a kick out of Backstage Vancouver, although certainly most of the book's buyers will be from the Lower Mainland, or else they'll be homesick ex-pat Vancouverites desperate to savour a slice of local history.
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Beatles Book Is Fab! (Keyes review) *****
John Keyes says: "If you're looking for a last-minute Christmas present, I can't think of a reader who wouldn't find The Beatles: The Biography interesting.
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Chef's Salad (Garber review) *****
From award-winning cookbook author and chef Bill Jones comes a book that proves salads aren't just bowls of lettuce topped with bottled dressings.
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Christmas Countdown 2007: evalu8.org's 2007 Christmas Gift Guide *
A special seasonal feature from the editors of evalu8.org. Everything for everybody: The hard-to-buy-for, in-laws, outlaws and more. Check frequently, as we continue to add items, right up until Christmas.
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Cocktails: Shaken and Stirred (Garber review) *****
Stylishly photographed and scrupulously detailed, this is a book that every aspiring bartender will consider a must-have; and it's attractive enough to stand as a coffee-table volume for a gift.
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Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time: A barnacle on the side of Darwin studies *
If Sherlock Holmes were a 15-year-old autistic kid in Swindon, could he overcome his fear of strangers to investigate the death of a neighbourhood poodle? Could chaos theory and prime numbers help him do it? And if he uncovered a dangerous deception, how would he survive?
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Dancing at the Dead Sea: Homo sapiens: hurtling toward suicide *
You know our messy living space of a planet isn't in great shape when Alanna Mitchell, a sharp-eyed Globe and Mail journalist raised by an equally sharp-eyed field biologist, travels toward the world's most abused landscapes with one big awful question on her mind: "Are humans a suicidal species?
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David Adams Richards: Virtuoso of inebriation **** 1/2
In close to 20 novels, David Adams Richards has created a rich cast of outsiders, many of whom struggle with addiction. He talks to SANDRA MARTIN about the seductive lure of drinking and smoking, and the love of writing that helped him overcome his own demons
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Do gentlemen really prefer blondes? *
On the acknowledgments page of her entertaining historical treatise on blondness, British journalist Joanna Pitman informs us that few female academics wished to discuss the subject with her. "Perhaps," she writes, "they were unable to shake off associations with the dumb blonde."
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Empire Lite: Living with the big guy *
The U.S. is morphing from republic into empire -- at some cost to its own democracy. But it will only crush Canada if we let it, says political scientist JAMES LAXER
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Eyewitness Travel London (Keyes review) *****
Says reviewer John Keyes: "If I could take myself back in time and be a first-timer to London again, this is the book I would take. . ."
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Eyewitness Travel Paris (Keyes review) *****
Like most of the books in this series, Eyewitness's Paris guide is so visually brilliant that visiting the city itself is almost an anti-climactic experience.
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Fallout: Green Stone of Healing Book Two (Garber review) ****
If you were enamoured of The Vision, you will find this second book just as gripping a "page-turner," and the characters even more deeply and convincingly drawn.
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Find a Husband After 35 Using What I Learned at Harvard Business School: When cupid turns headhunter *
Can't find a romantic partner? Take some tips from a Harvard MBA grad on how to find the perfect match
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Flavours of Cooper's Cove Guesthouse (Garber review) *****
One of my great criticisms of contemporary cookbooks by masters of the kitchen is that the regular home-based cook cannot accomplish the recipes. Yet even the recipe for French toast with plum compôte is "dressed for company" by a few simple (i.e. easy) touches that make all the difference. Five stars.
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Flavours of Cooper's Cove Guesthouse named finalist *
Prosperi-Porta is an award-winning chef, and with his partner, Ina Haegemann, he owns and operates the luxurious Cooper's Cove Guesthouse on the Sooke waterfront on Vancouver Island, BC.
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Getting even is healthy, says author *
In his new book, Life's Little Annoyances, New York Times reporter Ian Urbina offers a compendium of the molehills we turn into mountains and our inventive strategies for coping with them.
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Globetrotter's LogBook (Keyes review) ***
A mock artefact that evokes the days when Burberry and Abercrombie & Fitch were the outfitters of choice for any self-respecting gentleman about to embark on a voyage to the Dark Continent.
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Hammond World Travel Atlas (Keyes review) ****
Hammond's clever cartographers have come up with a coffee-table tome that marries detailed maps with small photographs illustrating 14 or so sites worth seeing on each area depicted.
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Harry Potter and the Big Hoopla *
Up and down Vancouver's Oak Street late Friday night, droves of 20-somethings -- Harry Potter fans -- were wearing scarves in the colours of Gryffindor and flowing capes and wielding magic wands in hopes of being among the first to read the highly anticipated seventh book.
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Garber review) *****
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince -- the latest from J K Rowling's stable -- not only takes Potter through an advanced course in magic (some of it dark), but leaves perhaps even more unanswered questions than did previous volumes. Five stars, yes, indeed.
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Harry Potter launch over-the-top in sales *
"Orderly pandemonium" reigned at Border's Books in Southcenter at midnight Saturday, when "several hundred" youngsters and their parents turned out to pick up pre-ordered copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
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How to Be an Accordion Player (Garber review) ****
The book is clearly written and well-organized. And amusingly rambling in its anecdotes. It's worth the price for those qualities alone.
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Indigo Books & Music *
Indigo was created in 1996 by and for booklovers, and merged with Chapters Inc. in August 2001 to become Canada’s largest books retail chain. Indigo Books & Music Inc. is committed to being your most complete and trusted resource for books, music, gifts and much more.
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Jeffery Deaver's The Cold Moon (Garber review) ****
Fresh on the heels of last year's The Twelfth Card, suspense-master Jeffery Deaver is back with the seventh instalment in his best-selling Lincoln Rhyme series . . .
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Jonathan Raban: A stranger in Seattle ****
Acclaimed British author Jonathan Raban still doesn't feel at home after 13 years in the Pacific Northwest, but that's actually helpful to a writer who has always felt like an outsider, he tells ALEXANDRA GILL
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Joy Fielding: Lost in celluloid dreams *
Best-selling author and one-time actress Joy Fielding tells SANDRA MARTIN about her latest novel, a mystery set against the drama of Toronto's film festival
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Kavalier and Clay: My love and I had words, and then it was all over **** 1/2
Falling in love with a book in the summer is a bit like falling in love with a girl in summer. As I recall.
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Lennon Legend (Keyes book review) **** 1/2
This fab (as in Fab Four) coffeetable book is an absolute must-have for the boomer Beatles fan, especially if your favourite was John Lennon.
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Lies and the Lying Liars: Judge denies Fox TV's attempt to block book sales *
A U.S. federal judge denied Fox News Channel's request Friday for an injunction to block humorist Al Franken's new book, whose title mocks the Fox slogan "fair and balanced."
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Madelyn Miller's Guide to Healthy Eating & Lifestyle Books, 2005-2006 ****
Madelyn's picks for the best new books (and cookbooks) on diet plans, lifestyle improvement and improving your body and health!
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Michael Ignatieff: Writer, thinker, action man ****
Michael Ignatieff is back with a new novel, RAY CONLOGUE writes, a result of 'intellectual post-traumatic shock' he suffered after witnessing the horrors of Bosnia
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Mick Foley: Wrestling with his muse *
Mick Foley, known as Mankind on the WWE circuit, tells REBECCA CALDWELL that giving birth to his three books was more painful than being brutalized in the ring
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Moleskine notebooks (Garber review) *****
Moleskine is the legendary notebook, used by European artists and thinkers for the past two centuries.
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Neil Gaiman fan? 'The Dangerous Alphabet' released April 29 *****
The Dangerous Alphabet will be released on April 29, 2008. You can pre-order yours at a savings of $5.76 by following any of the links, herein. . .
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Nothing More Comforting (Garber review) ****
Dorothy Duncan's ode to Canada's Heritage Food wins kudos . . .and four stars from Anne Garber.
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P.D. James: A spot of murder with your tea? *
At first she seems sweet as a shopkeeper who hopes you'll make a purchase. But the mystery writer soon reveals a mind sharp as a cleaver, and makes it clear she's watching you as much as you are her
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Paper Fan (Keyes review) *****
I approached Paper Fan with genuine interest, considerable respect and some degree of misgiving. The book turns out to be an absolute page-turner...
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Prime (book review by Madelyn Miller, the TravelLady) ****
"How could I resist this delicious book?" asks Madelyn Miller. "Written by a New Orleans food writer who is married to a chef, this story is partially about Dallas, my home town."
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Publisher wins injunction to keep Harry Potter plot secret *
Raincoast offers early Harry Potter book purchasers a deal they can't refuse!
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Recommended DVDs: Finally, something to get animated about **** 1/2
For discs that go the extra mile, WARREN CLEMENTS recommends you find Pixar's Nemo set and a Warner Bros. tribute to Bugs, Daffy and friends.
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Robert Gottlieb: He made Bill behave *
Robert Gottlieb, possibly the world's most famous editor, turned Bill Clinton's notes into a bestseller.
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Salmon: The Cookbook (Garber review) *****
High in omega-3 and low in fat, salmon is the world's healthiest and most popular fish. The best salmon recipes from Whitecap Books are here in one indispensable volume.
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Secrets of a chick-lit queen *
The Shopaholic trilogy's author is not 20-something, is not single and doesn't evince much of a mania for shopping either, REBECCA CALDWELL writes.
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Slow Cooking: not so fast food (Keyes review) ****
You don't have to be a world traveller or belong to the pretentious Slow Food Movement to relish the pleasures of nutritious food prepared, cooked and served in a leisurely fashion.
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Spoken Here...Last words? *
Only 30 people speak fluent Mohawk, but Manx is making a slow comeback. Montreal writer Mark Abley has travelled the world in search of the human stories behind dying languages, RAY CONLOGUE writes.
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Stardust (Garber synopsis) *
Neil Gaiman, creator of the darkly elegant Sandman comics, tells the story of young Tristran Thorn and his adventures in the land of Faerie. Note: Neil Gaiman appears at the Vancouver International Writers' Festival October 6, 2005.
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Tell No One -- the book behind the French movie (and backgrounder on Harlan Coben) *
Coben's books are set in and around New York and New Jersey, and some of the supporting characters in two series of novels have appeared in both. He is clearly a sports fan -- and more importantly, a knowledgeable HOCKEY fan. Copious reference to real-life sports figures dot his books. FINALLY, his books are coming to filmdom.
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The real conspiracy of The Da Vinci Code (Garber commentary) *****
In the beginning, there was the book. And the book was The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown's juicy thriller involving the Holy Grail, violent sects, wild sex, a Vatican-sanctioned cover-up and, at its heart, the core belief that "almost everything our fathers taught us about Christianity is false."
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The Best Wine Bars & Shops of Paris: The Best Wine Bars & Shops of Paris: Fifty Charming and Notable Cavistes (Keyes review) ****
This handy guide is an indispensable resource for all those who love their red, white or bubbly and are planning a trip to the City of Lights.
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The Da Vinci Code: Cracking a bestseller's code *
Was Jesus the Son of God? Married to Mary Magdalene? The Da Vinci Code has sparked new speculation, REBECCA CALDWELL writes.
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The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America ****
Larson's conceit here is that architect Daniel Hudson Burnham's brilliant masterminding of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and serial killer H. H. Holmes's murderous scheming were parallel entry points to a new America.
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The Group of Seven and Tom Thomson (Garber review) *****
Art historian Silcox, a wonderfully lucid stylist, describes The Group of Seven as "socially responsible, serious, fervent, egalitarian, and sensitive to the concerns of ordinary people," even though they failed to accept women artists as their equals, and expertly chronicles their mission to create an "all-Canadian art."
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The Romantic: Raising a glass to the literary alcoholic ****
The Romantic, released in the spring of this year and long-listed for the Booker, is about the relationship between an alcoholic musician, Abel Richter, who drinks himself to death and the young woman who loves him.
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The Scorpions Strike: Green Stone of Healing Book Three *****
The Scorpions Strike is face-paced, action-packed and full of surprises. Just when you think you have figured out where these events might be heading, everything you imagined is thrown out the window.
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The Time Traveler's Wife: A first novel anointed by Brad and Jennifer ****
Talk about winning the literary lottery. The film rights to visual artist Audrey Niffenegger's first novel were snapped up by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston -- before publication, REBECCA CALDWELL writes.
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The Two Best Travel Guides (Keyes overview) *
I've done my fair share of globe-trotting, and for my money the two best guidebook series for major cities are the ones by the Time Out people and the ones under the Eyewitness Travel imprint of the Dorling Kindersley publishers.
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The Vision: Green Stone of Healing Book One (Garber review) ****
There must be legions of writers out there who read Dune and Lord of the Rings as children (and Harry Potter as adults) who said to themselves: "Hey, I can write a complex multi-volume story peopled with exotic, well-drawn characters and an air of magic and healing." C.L. Talmadge actually achieves this end with a fascinating first-of-a-series book. . .
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The World Almanac 2006 World Atlas (Keyes review) ****
John Keyes finds much to like about the new World Almanac 2006 World Atlas from Hammond . . .
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Time Out London (Keyes review) *****
"The editorial filter has worked the material into a homogenous whole, albeit a lively, occasionally funny whole, written by people you know in your bones are smart, observant and have a sense of context," says reviewer John T.D. Keyes
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Time Out Paris (Keyes review) *****
Writes reviewer John T.D. Keyes: "There is stylish prose and up-to-date material from front cover to back, even though much of the city doesn't change from century to century."
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Tracy Chevalier: Girl with the pearl history *
Author Tracy Chevalier talks to RAY CONLOGUE about a new film, a new book, and an old label.
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Valentines from the Doghouse, 2005 *
Just because we -- at evalu8.org -- are your best friends in the whole world, we've come up with the perfect bail-out for ba-a-a-d puppies: The perfect last-minute gift for your sweetie.
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Valentines from the Doghouse, 2009 *
Left Valentine's Day too late? Just because we -- at evalu8.org -- are your best friends in the whole world, we've come up with the perfect bail-out for ba-a-a-d puppies: The perfect last-minute gift for your sweetie.
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Western exposure: Artist Robert Smithson **** 1/2
Artist Robert Smithson had a taste for the magnificence of nature, SARAH MILROY writes, and British Columbia fit the bill. A current exhibition tells the tale of his four visits
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Why We Left Islam: Former Muslims Speak Out (press release) *** 1/2
New book asks: 'For how long will Americans tolerate these Islamic incursions into everyday life?'
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William Gibson's Pattern Recognition (Shaviro review) **** 1/2
William Gibson's new novel Pattern Recognition (which I have finally finished reading) is very likely the first work of literature to use "Google" as a verb (as in: "If you Google him, you'll find...). What's important, however, is not that Gibson is savvy enough to note how everyone's favourite search engine has entered the vocabulary, but rather the absolute ordinariness, or taken-for-grantedness, of this usage: it's a detail, precisely, that doesn't stand out in any way in the novel. And that is what makes it significant...
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Wolfe in co-ed's clothing *
Five years ago, at the age of 69, the author famous for his natty white suits slipped on a blue blazer and headed off to college. As he tells IAN BROWN, the resulting odyssey led to his latest novel, a tale of modern campus life bound to infuriate students, terrify their parents and incense right-thinking feminists everywhere. . .
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Secondary Sites:
* Press release: evalu8.org announces 2008 Christmas Gift Guide deadlines *
This year's deadline -- no exceptions -- is October 10, 2008.
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Bandbox: GQ for flappers *
You'd almost think Bandbox, Tom Mallon's jaunty novel about a men's fashion magazine, was written in the 1920s, never mind set in it. But don't be misled by its jazzy tone into assuming you can give the book just a light read. The plot is as thick as its office politics, and requires close attention, or you'll muddle the art director with the stylist and have to backtrack to see how a koala bear got on a boat to Australia.
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Christmas Countdown 2007: evalu8.org's 2007 Five-star Reviews Round-up *
A special seasonal feature from the editors of evalu8.org. Everything for everybody: The hard-to-buy-for, in-laws, outlaws and more. This list offers FIFTY links to reviews of items that have won evalu8.org's coveted five-star rating!
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D-Day: The Greatest Invasion – A People's History (Keyes review) ****
Of course the American troops were the sine qua non of the Allied victory, and the book doesn't suggest otherwise. But author Dan van der Vat has always been acutely aware of Canada's contribution to the war effort.
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Last-minute solutions: Get Dad what he really wants for Father's Day (Garber round-up) *
Father's Day is this Sunday, so, if you haven't got a gift or card yet, here are some bail-outs. . .
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More Yellow Dog: The dog days of Martin Amis *
While the fierce satire Yellow Dog has met with some biting criticism, RAY CONLOGUE finds the renowned author isn't about to stop holding 'the wicked up to ridicule'
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Press release: evalu8.org announces 2007 Christmas Gift Guide deadlines *
Companies and individuals looking for free promotion for their products or services are urged to tender samples for review. But note 2007 deadlines to avoid disappointment.
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The Gift Connoisseur: Taking care when buying Gift Baskets *
As a new owner of a gift basket business, I have discovered a number of truths about shopping for this type of gift. I considered myself an informed shopper before, but believe me, the things I have discovered over the past year have all been a big revelation.
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The Republic of Love: A quirky Valentine (Lacey review) *
What's to love about Deepa Mehta's story of winter romance? Well, there's charisma, chemistry and sweet fantasy. What's not so endearing is the broad comedy.
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Thunderstruck (Keyes review) **
"Disappointed" was the chief word John Keyes had for this promising new volume from Seattle's Eric Larson. Two stars out of five.
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Unique Gift Baskets First-ever Open House *
Tuesday, November 16, 2004 -- 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Refreshments, entertainment, and of course -- you're invited! Vancouver, BC.
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