Region of Waterloo Library discussion

The library has great short story collections. If you are looking for something Canadian, why not borrow a collection of Alice Munro's short stories. She is acknowledged to be one of the best short story writers of all time.

Let me know if you would like me to place a hold on a set for you.

I enjoy Alice Munro too though I think I will look for something different this month - there's so many choices. Recently I read Beggar's a Garden by Michael Christie which is a collection of short stories set in Vancouver's Downtown - very moving. I also enjoyed Mother Superior by Saleema Nawaz which has stories centering on female relationships. Just thought I'd share a couple more Canadian suggestions! The library has both of those titles, FYI.

I'm going to try Mavis Gallant. She moved from Montreal to Paris, supposedly to write. I'd be inspired by Paris!

Since It's National Poetry Month, I'll be reading poetry instead of short stories. I have several books at hand which I'll dip into here and there. The Cold Panes of Surfaces and Winter Cranes by local author Chris Banks, Swimming to the Surface by Oakville author Saskia Maddock, for and against by Sharon McCartney, Poems for the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names by Soraya Peerbaye, and The Watchmaker's Table by Brian Bartlett.

RWL wrote: "The library has great short story collections. If you are looking for something Canadian, why not borrow a collection of Alice Munro's short stories. She is acknowledged to be one of the best short..."

If anyone is interested, here are the links to Jen's suggestions:

The Beggar's Garden by Michael Christie http://goo.gl/g1Rq9j

Mother Superior by Saleema Nawaz http://goo.gl/9k4ctb

YZ wrote: "I'm going to try Mavis Gallant. She moved from Montreal to Paris, supposedly to write. I'd be inspired by Paris!"

If anyone else is interested in Mavis Gallant here is a link to her works at RWL http://goo.gl/o8YV0N.

Heather wrote: "Since It's National Poetry Month, I'll be reading poetry instead of short stories. I have several books at hand which I'll dip into here and there. The Cold Panes of Surfaces and Winter Cranes by..."

How would you describe the poetry you have decided to read? What style?

these are all modern poets, I think the styles are free form, but I haven't read much of them yet,

I'm going to try a book my Grandma recommended to me, called The Little Immigrants: The Orphans Who Came to Canada by Kenneth Bagnell. I can't imagine being in such a desperate situation that I'd have to watch my little boy being shipped off to another country in hopes of a better life! Or being the child in such a situation, growing up far away from my parents and other family members. Wow. From the snippets my Grandma shared, I think it will be fascinating to read these people's life stories.

Oh, just to clarify, it wasn't just orphans who came to Canada in this book but also children in the foster care type system of the time.

Like the Home Children? Many of them suffered greatly.

Exactly. That's what they were called. From what I've read so far it sounds like the people who set this up had good intentions of getting children off the streets, but once the children got here there wasn't enough follow-up to make sure they were being treated well in their new homes.

The library has a copy of The Little Immigrants: The Orphans Who Came to Canada http://olco.canlib.ca/client/rwl/sear...

For those who have started their books, what are your first impressions?

My first impressions of The Little Immigrants are that it's heavy reading and kind of depressing. To be honest, I don't know if I'll have the heart to finish it! It's a fascinating topic, but it breaks my heart whenever I hear about children being mistreated.

It's amazing how words on a page can impact one's emotional state. There couldn't be a better testament to the power of words. Did anyone else have a strong reaction to their book?