Our April Selection

Dear Members, Weather-wise, it looks like we're going to be in a long hull. Never fret, for the coming of April means May, and the coming of May means June, which signifies that summer will return!!! So keep holding on, and in the meantime we've got some great Spring reads coming up, beginning with our latest book club pick. Thank you to everyone who came out for brunch at The Rivoli on Sunday. It was wonderful to catch up and to talk about our previous pick, The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner. Overall, if asked how we would like the book, we would honestly have picked the Goodreads vote of an  "it was okay" stance. Well-written, well-informed as this place takes place in the 1970s between Italy, New York City and spaces in between. Some of the characters were hard to love, while others such as Sandro's father, wished that there were more elaboration of his part. We all agreed that reading this book needed a certain mentality to sift through. The author certainly gives the book a certain personal touch, which is obvious when she writes about art, New York City, and bikes. See you next month!

This Month's Selection! Thank you to everyone who submitted their votes! It was close tie with The Good Luck of Right Now.With a very high rating on Goodreads and praise from many individuals including Oprah (it's not only her book club that's making The Invention of Wings their pick!) one things's for sure: it needs aMatchbook seal of approval! Happy reading! Summary: Hetty "Handful” Grimke, an urban slave in early nineteenth century Charleston, yearns for life beyond the suffocating walls that enclose her within the wealthy Grimke household. The Grimke’s daughter, Sarah, has known from an early age she is meant to do something large in the world, but she is hemmed in by the limits imposed on women. Kidd’s sweeping novel is set in motion on Sarah’s eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership of ten year old Handful, who is to be her handmaid.We follow their remarkable journeys over the next thirty-five years, as both strive for a life of their own, dramatically shaping each other’s destinies and forming a complex relationship marked by guilt, defiance, estrangement and the uneasy ways of love. As the stories build to a riveting climax, Handful will endure loss and sorrow, finding courage and a sense of self in the process. Sarah will experience crushed hopes, betrayal, unrequited love, and ostracism before leaving Charleston to find her place alongside her fearless younger sister, Angelina, as one of the early pioneers in the abolition and women’s rights movements. Inspired by the historical figure of Sarah Grimke, Kidd goes beyond the record to flesh out the rich interior lives of all of her characters, both real and invented, including Handful’s cunning mother, Charlotte, who courts danger in her search for something better. This exquisitely written novel is a triumph of storytelling that looks with unswerving eyes at a devastating wound in American history, through women whose struggles for liberation, empowerment, and expression will leave no reader unmoved.

Book Swap! Our next meeting will commence this season's Book Swap! Just in time to do some Spring cleaning for your bookshelves...and acquire some new reads! I have an extra copy of Rene Denfeld's The Enchanted to give away as well as some other reads I would like to share with you all. Everyone is welcome to contribute!

Our March Selection

“Is the spring coming?" he said. "What is it like?"

"It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine...” 

-Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Dear Members,

I hope everyone is enjoying their start to the week! I welcome March with open arms because the signs of Spring is not too far away- hard to believe at the moment, but each day we are getting closer!
A huge thanks to everyone who attended our last book club meeting which took place on a bright Saturday afternoon at Panera Bread. It was a lively discussion with talks about travel, food and all things Italy. One thing's for sure: if any of us wins the lottery, our book club will be going on a very lovely vacation!

Our recent book club pick, A Thousand Days in Tuscany by Marlena de Blasi, received positive feedback from the members. She writes really well, but we all agreed on the fact that the way she writes is very much in the way of a food critic. How she described the Italian cuisine throughout the book was so good, it left us in a constant state of hunger - it was nice to have an armchair vacation to the Tuscan landscape amidst the frigid conditions outside!

This month's pick:

Thanks to everyone for submitting their member's choice picks: during our last meeting, we drew our next pick out of a toque (most fitting!) and it was Lauren's choice!

 

Summary: The year is 1975 and Reno—so-called because of the place of her birth—has come to New York intent on turning her fascination with motorcycles and speed into art. Her arrival coincides with an explosion of activity in the art world—artists have colonized a deserted and industrial SoHo, are staging actions in the East Village, and are blurring the line between life and art. Reno meets a group of dreamers and raconteurs who submit her to a sentimental education of sorts. Ardent, vulnerable, and bold, she begins an affair with an artist named Sandro Valera, the semi-estranged scion of an Italian tire and motorcycle empire. When they visit Sandro’s family home in Italy, Reno falls in with members of the radical movement that overtook Italy in the seventies. Betrayal sends her reeling into a clandestine undertow.

The Flamethrowers is an intensely engaging exploration of the mystique of the feminine, the fake, the terrorist. At its center is Kushner’s brilliantly realized protagonist, a young woman on the verge. Thrilling and fearless, this is a major American novel from a writer of spectacular talent and imagination.

Events:

Matchbook Movie Night

Our previous movie night with the book club members watching The Book Thief was incredibly fun, and I hope to revive that once again this season! Films to select are:

The Grand Budapest Hotel, directed by Wes Anderson, starring Ralph Fiennes, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Adrian Brody, Bill Murray

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, starring Steve Coogan, 

Enemy, directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Melanie Laurent, Isabella Rossellini.

In terms of dates, I was thinking of hosting the movie night either on a Tuesday or Friday night: March 18th or March 21st. The film will be on a 6:30pm or later time slot.

Vote for the dates and film: e-mail me at matchbookclub@live.ca with the subject line: RSVP Movie Night. Can't wait!

Future Event

Our next meeting will be taking place on Sunday, March 23rd. In terms of the time, it will be followed up by a Google Doodle. Stay tuned!
In terms of location, I am always open to new places: feel free to throw suggestions my way!

Our Next Theme

Flourish

Having been in the cold for far too long, it's a welcoming feeling to know that Spring will come very soon! As such, I will be hand-picking titles that will revive our hearts and our minds!

Our February Selection

Dear Members,

I hope everyone has been doing well- and have been staying warm!
February is a month where we are simply fed up with the constant frigid temperatures as of late, and as a result, we find ourselves dreaming of adventure, of warmer days. So it's only right that our February theme turns to travel.
Thank you to everyone who voted: it was clear that we are packing our bags to Italy in Marlena de Blasi's A Thousand Days in Tuscany!


Summary: They had met and married on perilously short acquaintance, she an American chef and food writer, he a Venetian banker. Now they were taking another audacious leap, unstitching their ties with exquisite Venice to live in a roughly renovated stable in Tuscany.

Once again, it was love at first sight. Love for the timeless countryside and the ancient village of San Casciano dei Bagni, for the local vintage and the magnificent cooking, for the Tuscan sky and the friendly church bells. Love especially for old Barlozzo, the village mago, who escorts the newcomers to Tuscany’s seasonal festivals; gives them roasted country bread drizzled with just-pressed olive oil; invites them to gather chestnuts, harvest grapes, hunt truffles; and teaches them to caress the simple pleasures of each precious day. It’s Barlozzo who guides them across the minefields of village history and into the warm and fiercely beating heart of love itself.

A Thousand Days in Tuscany is set in one of the most beautiful places on earth–and tucked into its fragrant corners are luscious recipes (including one for the only true bruschetta) directly from the author’s private collection.

January MeetingIt was wonderful to see everyone not only at our Movie Night gathering- where we went to see Inside Llewyn Davis at Tiff BellLightbox- but at this month's meeting! We met in the cozy White Squirrel Cafe on Queen Street, where we caught up on what we've watched, what we've did, and most importantly, what we've read! It was amazing to hear that everyone loved our first book of the year: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent! It was definitely a dark love letter to Iceland, as the novel unfolds the true story of the last executed woman in Iceland and her story being told through different perspectives. We all agreed that the book was gripping and well-written...it definitely gave us the itch to travel to Iceland!

Worth Noting:

 It is very sad when I hear news about bookshops closing around Toronto: first, Nicholas Hoare, then followed the World's Biggest Bookstore, and now The Book City on the Annex. Additionally, we have long heard about the beautiful Chapters Runnymede location being closed down. Thanks to one of our members Shirley who brought this up, Indigo's CEO, Heather Reisman will be at 2225 Bloor Street West on Feb 5, 7-8pm to respond to questions and concerns about the impending closure. You can submit questions you would like answered at the event at jzeliger@indigo.ca by Feb 3rd.

Future Event!

Our next meeting will be taking place next month! I have set up a Doodle link for everyone to vote on dates and times! In terms of location, I figured we turn back to a more comfy place- Panera Bread! Lots of great choices menu-wise and space, it's very accessible by train (Yonge and Dundas). Looking forward to seeing you all soon!!

Here is the Doodle link: http://doodle.com/qecwqdxtnnkef8wd

Our January Selection

“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” 

- Jane Austen

Dear Members,

Happy New Year! 2014 provides a new chapter in our lives- a fresh start to new aspirations, and be a better, brighter you.

While I am excited to see old faces, I am also very thrilled to be welcoming new ones to our book club!

I hope everyone is doing well, and enjoying our latest book club pick- this month, we journey into a Icelandic world...



Summary: Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution.

Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only Tóti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard.

Riveting and rich with lyricism, BURIAL RITES evokes a dramatic existence in a distant time and place, and asks the question, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?
Make sure to vote for a date for our next meeting! I have made a Doodle for everyone to take a look. Vote here!The February Selections will be arriving at your inbox shortly.

Will you be taking the 50 Book Pledge? or the Reading Bingo Challenge!(Note: its still at 2013, but the board is still good!)

Until our next meeting, stay warm and happy reading!

Joanne

Our Recent Selection + Updated News and Events!

Dear Members,

A huge thank you to everyone who came to our recent book club meeting, which took place at the Bannock Restaurant! Great comfort food all around- from Pad Thai to their fantastic Chicken Pot Pie, everything was scrumptious- another location worth returning to!

Overall, there was good responses for our previous pick, Chris Hadfield's An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth. His life lessons and values have taught us that nothing comes easy- hard work and positive motivation are key drivers to success.

While some members thought that parts of the book may have been too "preachy" and needs more editing, there were others who thoroughly enjoyed it and found it very inspirational. Overall, there was positive feedback from the members and we all agreed that having read this book, we have found Hadfield to be quite an interesting person. There were many memorable scenes throughout the book, and towards the end of our discussion, there was Trivia Time based on this month's title- congrats to Barbara and Shirley!

I am also very excited to announce our first "From Books to Film" series for our book club! I hope to coordinate these events as much as possible and make it a success.

In light of our next selection: all of us agreed on this particular title, which as we eventually discovered, have not read yet and coincidentally it has a film that's currently being released in theatres!


Without further ado, this month's pick is:

Summary: The extraordinary #1 New York Times best-seller that will be in movie theatres on November 15, 2013, Markus Zusak's unforgettable story is about the ability of books to feed the soul.

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.


The film: starring Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson- by the looks of the trailer, the film seems riveting.

Watch the trailer here: http://youtu.be/rMVa2bMhro4


Our film night will be taking place on Tuesday, December 3rd ( on Tuesdays, the movie tickets are half off, so it's the perfect opportunity), 7:20pm at Varsity Cinema located in the Manulife Centre near Bay and Bloor.


Please RSVP to our email address: matchbookclub (at) live (dot) ca with the subject line "The Book Thief" to this email address if you are attending so that I can keep count of how many people are coming: that way, we can all meet up at the front entrance before heading inside the theatre! I do recommend arriving no later than 15 mins prior to the film.

All are welcome and feel free to bring a guest!

See you all there! :)

A look ahead:



Holiday season has finally arrived!!

As per tradition of the book club, it's that special time of the year where we all get together at Marche Restaurant (located at Brookfield Place near King Station) and catch up with everyone old and new (feel free to bring friends too)! The meeting will be taking place on Saturday, December 14th at 12pm.

This year, we will continue to do our Gift Swap, where everyone spends under $20 and on that day we will do a fun switcheroo! I will also be bringing lovely treats for everyone.

To make it even more festive, I also want to do a Book Swap as well for those who are interested- it's the perfect way to relieve any books you want to give away before the New Year, and for those who would like to pick up some lovely free books for the holidays!

I highly encourage each and everyone of you to attend this special event, as it is our final grand hurrah with one another before the New Year: to reserve an accurate amount of seating at Marche, pleaseRSVP with the subject line "Holiday Meeting" to this email address no later than December 7th!

I am super excited for this event, and I am very much looking forward to seeing you all there!

Until then, happy reading!

Joanne

Our Latest Book Club Pick + News

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” 

-L.M. Montgomery

Dear Members,

Thank you to everyone who came out on Saturday! We had a great catch-up and discussions- however with more members that are available to attend next month, we thought to push the trivia giveaway for our next meeting!

Everyone had such great selections for this month's theme "Closer to the Truth", where we are taking a look at non-fiction: as a result, I have used Randomizer to determine which title will be our picks, and it turned out to be:

Eric's choice:

Summary: Colonel Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4000 hours in space. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, and been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft. The secret to Col. Hadfield's success-and survival-is an unconventional philosophy he learned at NASA: prepare for the worst-and enjoy every moment of it. 

In An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, Col. Hadfield takes readers deep into his years of training and space exploration to show how to make the impossible possible. Through eye-opening, entertaining stories filled with the adrenaline of launch, the mesmerizing wonder of spacewalks, and the measured, calm responses mandated by crises, he explains how conventional wisdom can get in the way of achievement-and happiness. His own extraordinary education in space has taught him some counter intuitive lessons: don't visualize success, do care what others think, and always sweat the small stuff.

You might never be able to build a robot, pilot a spacecraft, make a music video or perform basic surgery in zero gravity like Col. Hadfield. But his vivid and refreshing insights will teach you how to think like an astronaut, and will change, completely, the way you view life on Earth-especially your own.


**Note: the book will be out on October 28th- there will be time to pre-order!**

Special Events

What's great about this pick is that Chris Hadfield will be attending many events which will have the opportunity to meet and get your book personally signed!
We can definitely make it a book club outing:

He is available at these dates- so maybe we can vote on which dates we can all attend together:
(Taken from the Indigo website)



In Conversation: Chris Hadfield 

Join Indigo's Chief Booklover Heather Reisman in conversation with the Commander of the International Space Station and Canadian hero, Chris Hadfield, about his inspiring journey and how to think like an astronaut with his new book, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life On Earth. Book signing to follow.

Date and Location:
Indigo Bay & BloorToronto, ON

Tuesday, October 29th
7:00 PM

(Taken from the Toronto Public Library website)



Chris Hadfield
Mon Dec 09, 2013
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
90 mins
Toronto Reference Library Bram & Bluma Appel Salon


Canadian space superstar Chris Hadfield discusses his debut book, "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth." With broadcaster Valerie Pringle.

Free tickets are required for this event and will be available starting Monday November 11 beginning at 10 am. Limit of two tickets per library customer.

***

Doors open at 6 pm. Please join us for a cash bar reception starting at 6 pm.

As most Appel Salon events are free, it is our policy to overbook. In case of a full program, your ticket reservation may not guarantee admission. Unclaimed reservations will be released to standby customers 10 minutes prior to the start of the program. We recommend that you arrive early.

Ticket holders will be required to bring a print out of their tickets to this event. Tickets are numbered and will be individually checked in at the reception desk.

Until then, feel free to take a look at the other selections that we have chosen!

Happy reading!

Fall News + Our Selection!

“Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile.” - William Cullen Bryant

Dear Members,

Happy autumn everyone! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend, despite the chilly weather we have received!

Thank you to all who came out on a rainy Saturday afternoon- it was a wonderful surprise to see some of you at this year's Word on the Street!

Special note: While strolling towards College Street towards the Bestsellers Tent on Sunday, who should I bump into on the street but author Cathy Buchanan herself (her novel, The Painted Girls, was one of our picks in the previous months and also came to visit us during one of our meetings)! Happily, she recognized us and remarked that she took Shirley's travel advice on visiting the Northern UK for inspiration on her next novel- and even brought her son along on what she said was a fantastic trip.


Some great events/places to visit that we have brought up during the meeting:

Love to take in a nice play? Check out some great performances at The Village Playhouse

From book to the stage: Les Miserables is here in Toronto and begins on Sept 27. I think i'll be playing " I Dreamed A Dream" on rotation!
In theatres: Prisoners, starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal is a gripping crime drama- directed by a Canadian director (woot!) this film will sure to keep you hanging until the very end- very well directed, and the actors were phenomenal. It was one of the top three films of the People's Choice at TIFF!
For those who did go to TIFF this year, I would love to hear your recommendations: I personally went to see The Railway Man, starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman (which received standing ovation), based on the moving memoir of Eric Lomax, as well as A Promise, with Alan Rickman and Rebecca Hall. Both exciting films to look for this year- perhaps even Oscar nods?
Speaking of which, later in the months to come, I hope to do a book-to film selections in light of the Oscar season- let me know what you think!

Thanks to all who submitted their Giller Prize Longlist titles! I have used randomizer to determine which title will be our pick- and as a result:

It's Barbara's choice!

The Crooked Maid by Dan Vyleta:




Summary:

From the writer praised as a cross between Hitchcock and Dostoyevsky, a dark and suspenseful novel set in post-war Vienna among the spectators in a criminal trial.

Mid-summer, 1948. Two strangers, Anna Beer and young Robert Seidel, meet on a train as they return to Vienna, where life is just resuming after the upheavals of war. Men who were conscripted into the German army are filtering back home, including Anna's estranged husband, Dr. Anton Beer, who was held prisoner in a brutal Russian camp. But when Anna returns to their old apartment, she finds another man living there and her husband missing.

At his own house, Robert is greeted by a young maid with a deformed spine. The household is in disarray, with his mother addicted to narcotics and his stepfather, an industrialist and former Party member, hospitalized after a mysterious attack.

Determined to rebuild their lives, Anna and Robert each begin a dogged search for answers in a world where repression is the order of the day. Before long, they are reunited as spectators at a criminal trial set to deliver judgement on Austria''s Nazi crimes.

In The Crooked Maid, Dan Vyleta conjures up a city haunted by its sins and a people caught between the needs of the present and debts owed to the past.

To learn more about the author, visit the HarperCollins Canada website!


Happy reading!