These are some of our favourite books and we hope you will love them as much as we do!
All patrons are highly encouraged to check out these books for themselves.
A hand-drawn guide to architectural styles throughout history. Architectural Styles is an incomparable guide to architectural styles across the centuries and around the world. Modeled after an architect's plein air sketchbook, the volume features hundreds of detailed drawings alongside incisive and informative descriptions. The book also includes a section on building parts--from domes and columns to towers, arches, roofs, and vaulting--along with a detailed glossary and bibliography.
This beloved novel tells the story of Edmond Dantès, wrongfully imprisoned for life in the supposedly impregnable sea fortress, the Château d'If. After a daring escape, and after unearthing a hidden treasure revealed to him by a fellow prisoner, he devotes the rest of his life to tracking down and punishing the enemies who wronged him.
It's an ordinary morning for Arthur Dent until his house gets demolished. Earth follows shortly after to make way for a new hyperspace express route, and Arthur's best friend has just announced that he's an alien. With just a towel, a small yellow fish, and a book, Arthur has to navigate through a very hostile universe in the company of a gang of unreliable aliens. Luckily the fish is quite good at languages. And the book is "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" with the words DON'T PANIC inscribed in large, friendly letters on its cover.
100 Japanese folk songs with a Japanese-to-English pronunciation line under the lyrics.
Intelligence agent River Cartwright, after being banished from high-profile work for incompetence, suspects a prominent British journalist with ties to an extremist party of being behind the kidnapping of a Muslim teenager.
When a Cold War-era colleague is murdered far from his usual haunts, a team of disgraced MI5 spies under the leadership of Jackson Lamb uncovers secrets that lead to a man who hides his dangerous powers behind a false identity.
The Bond-esque River Cartwright and his group of defunct MI5 spies, headed by the irascible Jackson Lamb, will do anything to get back into the game. When a member of London's Slough House - MI5's stable for disgraced spies, so-called "slow horses"--Is kidnapped by a former soldier bent on revenge, the agents must risk treason and breach Regent's Park to steal intel in exchange for their comrade's safety. But the kidnapping is only the tip of the iceberg as they are caught in a conspiracy that threatens the future not only of Slough House but of MI5 itself.
Profiles everyday life in the settlement of Annawadi as experienced by a Muslim teen, an ambitious rural mother, and a young scrap metal thief, illuminating how their efforts to build better lives are challenged by religious, caste, and economic tensions.
Adrian Nicole LeBlanc immerses readers in the intricacies of the ghetto, revealing the true sagas lurking behind the headlines of gangsta glamour, gold-drenched drug dealers, and street-corner society. Focusing on two romances—Jessica’s dizzying infatuation with a hugely successful young heroin dealer, Boy George, and Coco’s first love with Jessica's little brother, Cesar—Random Family is the story of young people trying to outrun their destinies.
Oscar, an overweight Dominican from a New Jersey ghetto, dreams of becoming a writer and finding love, but a Fuku curse has haunted his family for generations, and may well prevent him from attaining his desires.
This book explores the legacy of Canadian scholar-archivist Terry Cook (1947-2014) by bringing together 13 of his groundbreaking articles in a single volume that are paired with commentaries by leading archival thinkers from several countries who reflect on his influence as a scholar, colleague, educator, and mentor.
The magical story of a beleaguered land struggling to be free. It is the tale of a people so cursed by the black sorcery of a cruel despotic king that even the name of their once-beautiful homeland cannot be spoken or remembered ... But years after the devastation, a handful of courageous men and women embark upon a dangerous crusade to overthrow their conquerors and bring back to the dark world the brilliance of a long-lost name... Tigana.
As a leading researcher in the field of biology, Robin Wall Kimmerer understands the delicate state of our world. But as an active member of the Potawatomi nation, she senses and relates to the world through a way of knowing far older than any science. In Braiding Sweetgrass, she intertwines these two modes of awareness--the analytic and the emotional, the scientific and the cultural--to ultimately reveal a path toward healing the rift that grows between people and nature.
A gargantuan, mind-altering comedy about the Pursuit of Happiness in America. Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, Infinite Jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. It is an exuberant, uniquely American exploration of the passions that make us human - and one of those rare books that renew the idea of what a novel can do.
Examines the concept of gifts in anthropological terms and uses this approach to analyze the situation of creative artists and their gifts to society.
This book is the first to consider listening from both Indigenous and settler colonial perspectives. A critical response to what has been called the "whiteness of sound studies," it evaluates how decolonial practices of listening emerge from increasing awareness of our listening positionality. It also demands a reorientation toward the act of reading as a way of listening.
In Margaret Atwood's dystopian future, environmental disasters and declining birthrates have led to a Second American Civil War. The result is the rise of the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian regime that enforces rigid social roles and enslaves the few remaining fertile women. Offred is one of these, a Handmaid bound to produce children for one of Gilead's commanders. Deprived of her husband, her child, her freedom, and even her own name, Offred clings to her memories and her will to survive.
A brilliantly imaginative and poignant fairy tale from the modern master of wonder and terror, this is a bewitching and harrowing tale of mystery, survival, memory, and magic that makes the impossible all too real.
An iconic collection of original stories from Dr. Seuss that includes the official versions of "The Sneetches," "The Zax," "Too Many Daves," and "What Was I Scared Of?"
In these four timeless stories, Dr. Seuss challenges the assumption that we need to look the same or behave the same to find common ground. Filled with Dr. Seuss's signature rhymes and lively humor, this classic story collection is a must-have for readers of all ages, and is ideal for sparking discussions about tolerance, diversity, and acceptance
Adopting the structure and themes of the Arthurian legend, this book is a "Camelot" on a shabby hillside above the town of Monterey, California, and peopled it with a colorful band of knights. At the center of the tale is Danny, whose house, like Arthur's castle, becomes a gathering place for men looking for adventure, camaraderie, and a sense of belonging--men who fiercely resist the corrupting tide of honest toil and civil rectitude.
This book explores the harrowing experiences of soldiers during World War I, focusing on the psychological and physical toll of war on a generation of young men. The main character, Paul Bäumer, and his comrades navigate the brutal realities of trench warfare, dealing with loss, survival, and the disillusionment of their once-cherished ideals of glory.
Thumps DreadfulWater is a Cherokee ex-Los Angeles cop trying to make a new life as a photographer in the small town of Chinook. When one of his photos reveals a dead body, he is drawn back to his former career. First of a series, authored by Thomas King.
Based on extensive research in Normandy and Paris, The Last Duel brings to life a colorful, turbulent age and three unforgettable characters caught in a fatal triangle of crime, scandal, and revenge. The Last Duel is at once a moving human drama, a captivating true crime story, and an engrossing work of historical intrigue with themes that echo powerfully centuries later. It is at once a moving human drama, a captivating detective story, and an engrossing work of historical intrigue.
This book chronicles how two communities divided by a beautiful valley and 150 years of racism became separate and unequal - and what this means for the rest of us. The town of Rossburn and the Waywayseecappo Indian reserve have been neighbours nearly as long as Canada has been a country. Their story reflects much of what has gone wrong with relations between Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous Canadians. It also offers, in the end, an uncommon measure of hope.
In a Tokyo suburb, a young man named Toru Okada searches for his wife's missing cat--and then for his wife as well--in a netherworld beneath the city's placid surface. As these searches intersect, he encounters a bizarre group of allies and antagonists. Gripping, prophetic, and suffused with comedy and menace, this is one of Haruki Murakami's most acclaimed and beloved novels.
Balloons are the favourite playthings of Princess Leora. When her father, the king, goes to a neighbouring kingdom, he tells Leora to signal him with balloons if anything goes wrong. But the archduke promptly locks Leora in her room and orders all the balloons in the kingdom to be popped. With the help and the only balloon left in the kingdom, Leora is able to plant a balloon tree that blossoms into thousands of balloons. But will it be in time to save the kingdom?
The Outsiders is about two weeks in the life of a 14-year-old boy. The novel tells the story of Ponyboy Curtis and his struggles with right and wrong in a society in which he believes that he is an outsider. Ponyboy has always been willing to rumble against a gang for the sake of his fellows--until one terrible night when his friend Johnny kills someone.
It is a story that on first reading is full of suspense, surprise and, ultimately, satisfaction, and which on re-reading commands, in addition, admiration for the author's supreme skill in managing a deceptively complex plot to its triumphant conclusion.
Brother Bear feels excited about joining Too-Tall Grizzly's gang until the members dare him to steal one of Farmer Ben's juicy watermelons.
This book is more than just a practical guide to improving your happiness levels. It kicks off with a Happiness Questionnaire to give you an instant snapshot of your current state of mind. There is a workbook to complete at each key stage, as well as stirring anecdotes, tips and happy thoughts to keep you going.
Through interviews with past and present Disney employees, some of the business secrets and practices of this vastly successful empire are revealed.