Gentle Gems

I just finished two books that were gentle gems. I had never read a novel by Elizabeth Berg before but a 2023 release called Earth’s the Right Place for Love caught my eye at the library because I recognized the title as a phrase from Robert Frost’s poem Birches.

The story is set in 1947 and Arthur Moses the main character is sixteen and in love with Nola the most beautiful girl in his class. Arthur’s a bit shy and not into sports like his popular handsome older brother Frank who is about to graduate from high school.

Arthur and Frank are best friends though, and share their frustrations, joys and worries with one another. Their mother is a sweetheart but their Dad has real anger management issues and that can make their home life challenging.

Earth’s The Right Place for Love has just enough plot twists and complications to keep you engaged in Arthur’s coming-of-age story. I LOVED Arthur! He had just the kindest, gentlest soul.

When I finished Earth’s The Right Place for Love, I found out that it was actually a prequel to another book Elizabeth Berg had written called The Story of Arthur Truluv. I ordered it immediately.

It was utterly heartwarming. Here was a hopeful narrative of redemption woven together with Elizabeth Berg’s exquisite writing. The story was a vivid illustration of how important human connections are to us all.

In The Story of Arthur Truluv, Arthur Moses, the young boy from Earth’s The Right Place for Love is in his 80s feeling pretty lost and alone. He meets a teenage girl at the cemetery while visiting his wife’s grave and the two begin to share a bond that will change their lives for the better.

And…………. I’ve just now discovered that there’s a sequel to The Story of Arthur Truluv called Night of Miracles. It’s already on my Kindle and I can’t wait to read it.

The painting on the left is by our grandson-The painting between the books is by our friend Les Brandt

If you’re looking for some gentle gems to read, try Elizabeth Berg’s lilting and lovely novels.

Other posts………..

A Book About Beetles But Not Really

Small Things Like These- A Moving Story

A Town Called Solace

Excited About Launching Coop For Keeps!

This coming Saturday at 2 pm. I’ll be moderating the discussion during the launch of my friend Larry Verstraete’s new novel Coop For Keeps.

I’ve attended McNally launches for several of Larry’s books

The event is at McNally Robinson Booksellers and I hope you’ll join us.

Larry and I will be there but also some other guests- not all of them human. You’ll have to come to the launch to see who they are.

Larry and I are on the far right in this photo taken at our writers’ group Christmas party

I’m honoured to be part of Larry’s launch because he has been such an encouragement, support and inspiration to me in my own writing career. He and I have been together in two different writing groups for children’s authors for more than a decade.

Coop for Keeps is Larry’s 17th published book and you can see all of the others on his website.

Coop for Keeps is a sequel to Larry’s previous book Coop The Great.

When Larry published Coop The Great I wrote a review but did warn readers I might be biased when it came to a book with a dachshund as a hero since a dachshund once bit me.

It shows you what a great writer Larry is that despite that bad experience with dachshunds Coop charmed me.

I was delighted when Larry told our writing group he had another story for Coop in mind. And now it’s here.

With Pat, Jodi, and Larry members of my writing group at the Manitoba Book Awards. Larry’s books have won and been nominated for dozens of awards.

Larry’s publisher Great Plains asked me to write some ‘blurbs’ to advertise his book. Here’s one of them.

In Coop For Keeps award-winning author Larry Verstraete gives us a tale rich with sensory detail that engages the reader from the start as we are introduced to an insecure and angry teenage boy named Zach. His life is full of challenges.  Kids and adults alike will love this story about a fascinating flock of crows and a loyal, intelligent family dog who provides the help a troubled kid needs to find his way.

I loved all the interesting things I learned about crows from reading Coop For Keeps.

From my experience as a teacher, I knew the book could provide the perfect segue into an important discussion with kids about bullying.

I also really liked the way Larry wove art and photography into the plot.

I am looking forward to Saturday when I will get to question Larry about some things in his novel that I’m really curious about and meet the other interesting guests who will sit on the panel I’m moderating.

I hope you will join us.

Other posts…………

Recreating the Last Meal

What Four Things Does a Writer Need to Survive a Manitoba Winter?

We Never Stop Talking

Hello Beautiful

I didn’t read the book Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano a year ago when Oprah gave it the celebratory status of being the 100th pick in her famous book club.

Frankly I’ve been disappointed of late with books that are bestsellers so I’ve been giving them a bit of a pass.

But I saw Hello Beautiful on the Express shelf at my local library a week ago and I needed something new to read on the bike at the gym so I grabbed it.

The story really drew me in. I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen to the four daughters of Rose and Charlie Padavano who are at the heart of the story.

Both Rose and Charlie suddenly become absent from their daughters’ lives for different reasons and that got me thinking about how our relationships with our siblings change when our parents leave us.

As I’ve grown older I’ve realized just how important my relationship with my siblings is. The four Padavano daughters discover that too.

Julie, one of the Padavano daughters marries William Waters a basketball player with a passionate interest in the history of the sport. Since my husband and two sons played basketball I have watched hundreds of games. Having it featured in the novel was a bonus for me.

Another bonus was the connection the author draws between the four Padavano sisters and the four sisters in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. It’s a story I know well from many readings of the book and watching film versions.

New Jersey Monthly magazine recommends Hello Beautiful as the perfect beach read- illustration by Kotryna Zukauskaite

Hello Beautiful also made me think about how easy it is to repeat the mistakes of our parents even though we are determined not to do so. In the novel Rose is denounced by her family when she becomes pregnant before marriage. Yet she freezes out her own daughter Cecelia when she becomes a single mother.

Photo of author Ann Napolitano from the Oprah Daily website

I think sometimes Ann Napolitano needed to remember the author’s mantra ‘show don’t tell’ because she does go on about the inner feelings of her characters perhaps more than she should but………..one easily becomes invested in the ups and downs of the quarter century of the Padavona family’s life in the book.

Much of what happens in their family will resonate with readers as they reflect on their own family life.

The title of the book references the fact that every time the girl’s father Charlie sees one of his daughters he says, “Hello beautiful” and truly means it.

Charlie has lots of faults but that routine affirmation makes a big impact on his children.

Other posts……….

What Exactly Is All The Light We Cannot See?

Lessons in Chemistry and Theology

Reading for Exercise

The Smell and 10 Other Reasons I Love McNally Robinson Booksellers

Image from the Canadian Independent Booksellers Association website

Today is Canadian Independent Bookstore Day! It’s a day for readers, writers and publishers to celebrate bookstores that aren’t part of a larger chain but operate independently to serve their communities in unique ways.

The McNally Robinson Booksellers store at Grant Park Shopping Centre. Photo by Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press

Here in Winnipeg we are incredibly fortunate to have an AMAZING independent bookseller McNally Robinson. I personally love McNally Robinson because…………..

McNally Robinson at the Forks- image from the McNally Robinson Facebook page

10. They have a location at The Forks which is just a short walk from my home. I can pop in at the Forks store anytime, buy a book, pick up a beverage and sit in a comfy chair by the river outside or in the lounge inside to read.

Colleen Nelson was the host of my launch for Sixties Girl at McNally Robinson

9. The Grant Park store hosts launches for local authors. Both my novels Lost on the Prairie and Sixties Girl had a McNallys launch. John Toews who coordinates these launches for the store is such a professional and suave facilitator.

With my friends taking a course about chocolate in McNally’s community classroom

8. McNally Robinson offers interesting courses in their community classroom. I’ve taught a course there and taken numerous courses myself.

7. They have a bestseller list which is published each week in the Winnipeg Free Press. It highlights Manitoba authors and Canadian authors with stars and maple leaves.

Posing with a photo of Miriam Toews who is from my hometown

6. McNallys has huge photos of accomplished writers from Manitoba on the walls of their Grant Park Store. Authors like me can aspire to being included one day.

5. They have a reward card which gives you discounts on your purchases. Members of the Manitoba Writers Guild get theirs at no cost thanks to McNallys.

Such a thrill to see my novel Sixties Girl on this table

4. They have a bestseller table where the works of local authors are displayed right alongside the books of famous authors. How cool is that?

3. The children’s section at McNally Robinson Booksellers is wonderful. I spend many hours there every year at the beginning of December picking out the perfect Christmas book for each one of my grandchildren.

Prairie Ink Restaurant- photo from the McNally Robinson X page

2. They have a terrific restaurant Prairie Ink. I’ve enjoyed so many meals there with friends and family. The West African peanut soup is a winner with me but so is the goat cheese and beet salad.

With two of my aunties and my Mom’s dearest friend at McNallys

1. McNally Robinson Booksellers have made their store a community hub for a diverse group of book lovers, a place that just feels like ‘home’ for Winnipeg authors and readers and their friends and family.

And I didn’t put this on the list but for me McNallys has a unique smell- a special combination of scents I have never been able to put my finger on, but I LOVE it.

I swear you could take me into McNally Robinson blindfolded and I’d know I was there after I took my first breath of the rarified air in that haven for book lovers.

You should check out this great article in the Toronto Globe and Mail about McNally Robinson Booksellers.

Other posts………

A Love Letter to McNally Robinson Booksellers

Miriam and Me

Chocogasm

Working Together To Protect Their Lambs

In order to prepare for a presentation I gave on Sunday I read The Shepherd’s Granddaughter by Canadian children’s author Anne Laurel Carter.

The novel tells the story of a young Palestinian girl named Amani who learns how to be a shepherd from her grandfather.  After her grandfather dies Amani, a teenager, becomes solely responsible for her family’s flock. 

The novel describes how Israeli settlers move closer and closer to the land that has been in Amani’s family for generations.

This causes Amani to go in search of a secret meadow her grandfather has told her about where she hopes her sheep can safely graze.  However that secret meadow is also home to a wolf who wants to destroy her sheep. In the meadow she meets an Israeli boy from the settlement named Jonathan who is about her age.

They develop a friendship and Jonathan helps her save her sheep from the wolf.  

I recently read about an Israeli organization called Women Wage Peace.  They have some 50,000 members dedicated to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through government engagement, digital communication and special projects.

Israeli and Palestinian mothers marching together in Jerusalem

The Israeli Women Wage Peace group partners with a Palestinian organization called Women of the Sun based in Bethlehem which has much the same mandate.

Logo for the Together for Humanity Concert

In January of 2024 Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun co-hosted a sold-out concert called Together for Humanity in Berlin featuring the Berlin Symphony Orchestra as well as many other well-known music performers.  

Both Israeli and Palestinian women told stories during the concert about how the current conflict is impacting them and their families.

One speaker said, “Mothers, Israeli and Palestinian, Arab and Jewish, are committed to creating peace until the conflict is finally over. Because there is no power in the world that can stop a mother if she wants to create a future for her children.”

Money raised at the Berlin concert was divided equally between the two organizations.

Both Israel’s Woman Wage Peace organization and Palestine’s Women of the Sun organization have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. 

In their efforts to save their lambs- their children from the wolves of war- those shepherding Israeli and Palestinian women are working together.

Other posts……….

Loving Our Children More Than We Hate Our Enemies

Remembering the Holocaust Through Personal Experiences

A Peaceful Mind and Heart

Beatrix Potter Was A Shepherd

Beatrix Potter outside Hill Top Cottage her home in England’s Lake District

Did you know that Beatrix Potter the author of all of those wonderful children’s books was a respected and hardworking sheep farmer?

In order to prepare for a talk I am giving this morning in my church I read The Shepherd’s Life by James Rebanks.  James is from a long line of shepherds or sheep farmers in England’s Lake District. I learned so much about the life of a modern-day shepherding family from his memoir.  

One of the things James Rebanks writes about in The Shepherd’s Life is The Lake District’s most famous shepherd Beatrix Potter the well-known children’s author of books like The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Tale of Benjamin Bunny. 

Beatrix was from a very wealthy family and her best-selling books made her a multi-millionaire.  But when she was in her early forties she began to buy land in England’s Lake District purchasing thousands of acres. On some of that land she had her very own sheep farm.  

Beatrix with her sheep dog Kep

And Beatrix was not some distant landlord. She moved to the Lake District where she lived in a modest home with her husband and tromped the fields helping to care for the sheep.

Inside Beatrix Potter’s Lake District Home which provided her with a tranquil place to live and work

The Lake District is often considered the most beautiful and scenic area of England and for Beatrix Potter being in its natural surroundings inspired her writing. It took her away from the busyness of London which tended to leave her tired and depressed. It provided relief from the constant attention she garnered because of her fame and gave her a chance to be at peace.

In his book James Rebanks said the locals respected Beatrix’s dedication to sheep farming and her desire to live relatively anonymously. They treated her like any of their other neighbours who were all shepherds. 

Beatrix Potter’s cottage is open to the public

When Beatrix Potter died she left her home, her thousands of acres of land and her sheep farm to the National Trust England’s largest charity dedicated to the conservation of the environment.  That means Beatrix’s home and land is open to the public.  

Her Bible is displayed in her former home and as she requested it is open to the 23^rd Psalm that begins with the words The Lord is my shepherd. 

Other posts………..

The Farm

Brave Shepherds

Spending the Day with Jose and Antonio

You’ve Got to Go Through It

I had to have some facial surgery last week and wear a bunch of bandages for seven days so all my stitches could heal properly. It wasn’t serious and the good news is I will be just fine.

But the three sets of dressings were itchy and uncomfortable and the one on my nose made it hard to breathe. I had to change the dressings every morning and evening using the multi-step routine on the instruction sheet I’d been given.

And of course I had to answer everyone’s concerned queries about what had happened to me including the little fellow who approached me in church, looked at my face full of bandages, and asked in a loud voice, “What’s the matter with you?”

I could hardly wait for the week to be over but I realized after a while, I couldn’t speed things up. I couldn’t avoid the discomfort. It was just something I had to go through.

One of my grandkids’ favourite books is We’re Going On A Bear Hunt written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury.

In the story a family faces all kinds of obstacles as they go out exploring- long wavy grass, a deep cold river, thick oozy mud and a big dark forest.

As they come to each challenge they realize they can’t avoid it and they say, “We can’t go over it. We can’t go under it. Oh no! We’ve go to go through it.”

And they do!

I realized that’s how it was with my surgery wounds.

There was really no choice but to go through the recovery period. As I did I thought of all the other people I know who have had to go through much more serious and prolonged recoveries from all kinds of things. My experience gave me just a tiny glimpse of what they must go through.

My stitches are coming out this morning. Hurray!

Other posts………….

Casted

Perfect for Preschoolers

The Healing Power of Art

Puzzling My Way Through the Pandemic

Heartwarming Stories From A Community of Book Lovers

Last weekend was the Friends of the Winnipeg Public Library annual book sale. It was a huge success. People lined up for hours to get in.

Thousands of shoppers came and bought almost all the books our wonderful volunteers had sorted and priced garnering us tens of thousands of dollars to donate to the work of the Winnipeg Public Library.

I am on the Friends Board of Directors and volunteered at the payment desk all weekend. I got to know so many interesting book lovers who volunteered with me

What I enjoyed most was watching the endless stream of people eager to read and excited about reading. As they came by my desk to pay so many were just bubbling over with delight at the books they had found.

Two tired volunteers having fun at the end of the sale

It was also terrific watching our dozens and dozens of volunteers have fun together as they helped folks at the sale.

And then of course all kinds of human interest stories developed over the weekend.

One of our board members introduced me to a volunteer named Maria who had moved to Winnipeg six months ago from Lima Peru. Maria thought volunteering at our sale would be a good way to get to know people.

In the lunchroom the next day a young woman named Veronica introduced herself. She had also moved to Winnipeg six months ago from Lima Peru and thought volunteering at our sale would be a good way to get to know people.

Of course, we asked Veronica if she knew Maria. She did not. One of our board members went to find Maria and brought her to meet Veronica.

The two women couldn’t believe they had both landed up in Winnipeg from the same city in Peru at the same time. They hugged and began talking excitedly about getting together.

A woman came to the payment table with a book and told us she was its author. One of our volunteers overheard and came hurrying over.

“I loved your book,” she said to the author and the two women who had never met each other before embraced.

Another heartwarming story was about the little boy who lost the twenty-dollar bill his grandma had given him to buy books. They notified our board member at the help desk and don’t you think a little later a kind shopper turned it in. The young boy was elated to get his money back.

There was a woman who was absolutely delighted to find a cookbook she had spent years looking for and a man who was almost teary about discovering a picture book that had been his favourite as a child.

So many heartwarming stories.

In a television interview Board Director Dominique Wightman said, “This sale is more than just a fundraiser. It brings together a community of book lovers.”

We raised lots of funds for the library at our sale but we also fostered friendships and personal connections and provided thousands of people with good books at reasonable prices.

It was a great weekend.

Other posts……….

Fond Memories of Readers Digest Condensed Books

My Life With Books

They Remembered the Books

Beautifully Nested Stories

Matryoshka dolls I photographed at a market in Lviv, Ukraine

A matryoshka is one of those lovely colourful nesting dolls that represent the feminine side of Ukrainian culture.

In The Matryoshka Memoirs author Sasha Colby has taken the stories of four generations of Ukrainian women in her family and nested them inside her creative non-fiction family history. The book is as artfully and beautifully written as the intricate painting and designs on a matryoshka doll.

The author’s grandmother Irina, a former school teacher in Ukraine isn’t always willing to talk about what happened to her when she was forced into a German labour camp in the early 1940s. But Sasha continues to prod her.

Photograph of Elsie Leitz and her father from a review of the book in the Winnipeg Free Press

Using the bits of her grandmother’s story she knows Sasha begins to do some research and uncovers the stirring story of Elsie Leitz daughter of the owner of the camera factory in Germany where Irina is sent to work.

Elsie and Irina’s lives will become intertwined in all kinds of ways that make for fascinating reading as we learn how Irina and her husband and child manage to survive the awful conditions of prison camps, narrowly escape death, and make their way to Canada, eventually settling in Niagara Falls.

Interspersed with Elsie and Irina’s stories are the stories of the author, her mother Lucy and even Irina’s great-granddaughter Tatianna. So many different stories in one book could make for confusing reading but Sasha Colby ties them together seamlessly and beautifully in The Matryoshka Memoirs.

I loved the way food played a role in many of the memories shared in the book.

For example when Irina’s health is failing her granddaughter Sasha is so worried about her grandmother who is far away in Ontario. To calm herself Sasha, who is visiting her parents on Gabriola Island in British Columbia, makes a batch of cabbage rolls in her mother’s kitchen using her grandmother’s recipe.

I am grateful to my friend Deidre who recommended the book The Matryoshka Memoirs to me. It was an excellent read.

Other posts………

Ukraine- Exploring the Past Mourning the Present

Crow Stone Launches Tonight

Eating Like A Mennonite

Ten Reasons Why You Should Come To The Friends of The Winnipeg Public Library Book Sale

10. It is one of Winnipeg’s most popular annual book sales. Thousands of people attend. It’s the place to be and be seen in Winnipeg this weekend.

Hundreds of people lined up eager to get into our 2019 sale as soon as the doors opened

9. There will be a huge variety of books on offer- cookbooks, children’s books, art books, history books, mystery books, fiction, new books, old books, rare books, travel books, romance books, nature books………

8. Lots of DVDs, CDs and LPs will be for sale too

7. Money raised from the sale goes to help pay for programming at Winnipeg’s public libraries, things like summer and spring break activities for kids, the writer-in-residence position and guest performers.

The literacy centre at the new Bill and Helen Norrie Library was purchased with funds from Friends of the Winnipeg Public Library

6. Other money raised from the sale buys things like hands-on literacy centres for children to explore in the library, comfortable innovative seating for children at different branches, sewing machines for patrons to use and musical instruments for people to check out.

5. The sale is being held for the first time at a brand new exciting location at The St. James Civic Centre at 2055 Ness Avenue.

Shoppers at our 2023 sale

4. Books in every genre and on every topic have been carefully curated by volunteer book lovers with interest and expertise in their field.

3. Doors open at 10 AM on Saturday and Sunday and will remain open till 3:30 giving plenty of time for leisurely browsing and shopping.

2. The Board of Directors of the Friends of the Winnipeg Public Library plans and organises the sale. I am proud to be one of those directors along with a diverse group of bankers, social workers, former school administrators, lawyers, students, authors, nurses, business people and others who care passionately about our city’s libraries.

1. The sale is staffed by a huge contingent of friendly and enthusiastic volunteers ready to greet you, meet you, and help make your shopping experience at our sale a big success. I’m one of those volunteers and I hope to see you at the Friends of the Library sale this weekend.

Other posts……..

I’m A Friend of the Library

Winnipeg’s Millennium Library

I Have Something Valuable on my Hands