I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better – Part 4 (pages 179 – 231)

Summer is coming to an end, and so is The Word On The Street’s Book Club discussion of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better!

This week, book club leader Michele has a few last questions based on page 179 to the end of the book. Feel free to use these as a jumping-off point for any other thoughts or questions you may have too.

Thanks to all who’ve read along and shared their thoughts on the book!

Monica Heisey reads at the Vibrant Voices of Ontario Tent at 1:30 PM – 1:45 PM on Sunday, September 27th.

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4th Section: (pg 179-231)

“S-E-X-X-X and Love” and “Our Modern World”

1. Among a chapter filled with a light-hearted list of turn-ons and a quiz about flirting, Heisey discusses a fairly serious and eye-opening subject: the harassment that she, and definitely (too) many other women, face online on a constant basis due to what they write about. We’ve all heard the term “internet troll,” and ignoring them is easier said than done. How have you previously handled a volatile situation, whether in person or online?

2. Facebook is constantly updating, whether we like the changes or not. I am definitely a fan of the improved privacy features from what it was many years ago, but there are certainly other things that could do with some fixing or explaining. If given the chance, what ONE thing would you ask Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook?

3.  Thanks to Netflix and other similar streaming programs, it now lets us spend hours – or days – watching an entire TV series. Heisey lists some of her tips on how to prepare yourself for hours of TV, but what are your own Netflix rituals? What was the last show you binge-watched, and what’s on your list to watch next?

That’s it for the book club discussion for I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better! Thank you all for stopping in to chat with me about it, and I look forward to meeting everyone at The Word On The Street on September 27!

The Deadbeat Club – Part 4 (pages 230 – 303)

Summer is coming to an end, and so is The Word On The Street’s Book Club discussion of The Deadbeat Club!

This week, book club leader Christine has a few last questions based on page 230 to the end of the book. Feel free to use these as a jumping-off point for any other thoughts or questions you may have too.

Thanks to all who’ve read along and shared their thoughts on the book!

Dietrich Kalteis reads at the Great Books Marquee at 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM on Sunday, September 27th.

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Hi everyone! Welcome to our last week of discussion. This month has completely flown by and it has been such a wonderful experience to read and discuss this book with you all. Thank you again for taking time to read and comment regularly. Because of that, we got some really great conversation flowing in the past three weeks in the comments. So without further ado, lets move forward with the final discussion questions.

1) We left off last week with the drug war really unravelling and coming to the forefront. Were you surprised to see that the cops had more involvement in the final chapters? I felt that they really developed more for me (Lance especially) in the final chapters. It’s interesting because we truly did move away from the typical hero story where we follow Grey.

2) How did you feel about Nick Rosco’s end? Were you expecting it at all?

3) Were you satisfied with how the entire story wrapped up? Specifically what about character specific narratives like Grey, Dara and Travis?

4) Lastly, to bring it back to a question I asked in the first week about titles… Now that we’ve finished the book, what do you make of the title The Deadbeat Club? What do you think it means having finished the book? Who specifically is “TDC”?

As always, feel free to add your own questions as well in the comments.

Thank you again for participating in the book club! I hope you had a wonderful time. I hope to see you all next month at The Word On The Street!

Cheers,
Christine

The Man Who Saved Henry Morgan – Part 4 (pages 242 – end)

Summer is coming to an end, and so is The Word On The Street’s Book Club discussion of The Man Who Saved Henry Morgan!

This week, book club leader Karen has a few last questions based on page 242 to the end of the book. Feel free to use these as a jumping-off point for any other thoughts or questions you may have too.

Thanks to all who’ve read along and shared their thoughts on the book!

Robert Hough reads at the Vibrant Voices of Ontario Tent at 12:30 PM – 1:15 PM on Sunday, September 27th.

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Wow! What an end to an exciting and intriguing book. I have to admit that I spent the whole time wondering when and how Benny would save Henry Morgan as the title suggested, and it was satisfying to finally find out the answers. Now, on to the last set of questions!

1. One of my favourite relationships to read about was Benny and Taylor’s. Benny’s demonstrated great loyalty to Taylor throughout the book, so it was incredibly chilling for me to read that he knew he’d never see Taylor again when he set out board the boat to Eleuthera (pg.290). Do you think he had a suspicion about the ship captain’s motive, or was he simply sad to think that Taylor was leaving Jamaica?

2. What did you think of the shocking ending? Did you see it coming? (I sure didn’t!)

3. What were your final impressions of Henry Morgan? Is he a coward, or was his hand forced?

Thank you so much again for joining me on this journey and contributing to the book club discussions! I’ve enjoyed it so much. If you want to keep in touch, please feel free to visit my blog here. I’m also always excited to chat on Twitter and Instagram. Talk to you soon!

Best,
Karen

The Road to Atlantis – Part 4 (pages 138 – end)

Summer is coming to an end, and so is The Word On The Street’s Book Club discussion of  The Road to Atlantis!

This week, book club leader Jenn has a few last questions based on page 138 to the end of the book. Feel free to use these as a jumping-off point for any other thoughts or questions you may have too.

Thanks to all who’ve read along and shared their thoughts on the book!

Leo Brent Robillard reads at the Vibrant Voices of Ontario Tent at 3:45 PM – 4:15 PM on Sunday, September 27th.

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Welcome to our last week of discussion for The Road to Atlantis by Leo Brent Robillard! Thank you so much for being a part of this book club journey, whether you were a reader or a commenter or even just a lurker who was interested in learning more about the book. I hope you have enjoyed the novel, and that the questions helped you to think about the book a little more.

Discussion Questions:

1. Parenting is a significant part of the last section of this book David has come full circle in that his own father has reappeared into his life, and David, Larry and Matty have to figure out their new roles with each other. Meanwhile, Anne has withdrawn from parenting Matty and her own relationship, while Kim has removed herself completely. How has parenthood changed for David and Anne? Have your feelings towards each of them changed over the course of the book?

2. Matty’s destruction of the train set is a pivotal moment in his relationship with his father. Why do you think David hid this from his son for all those years? How does this connect with Larry’s memory of ‘driving’ with Davy so many years below? What point does Matty make by destroying it?

3. Brooke’s arrival marks something special for everyone. Why do you think everyone wants to connect with her in the way that they do? What role does she play in their lives? Going forward, how do you anticipate their lives will work out?

2015 Toronto Book Awards finalists to appear at The Word On The Street

2015 Toronto Book Awards Finalist

André Alexis

2015 Toronto Book Awards Finalist

Bruce McDougall

2015 Toronto Book Awards Finalist

Editor Jennifer Lambert will read on behalf of Emily St. John Mandel

2015 Toronto Book Awards Finalist

Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer

2015 Toronto Book Awards Finalist

Author Lynn Crosbie will read on behalf of Margaret Atwood

The Word On The Street Toronto is happy to host three of the five finalists for the 2015 Toronto Book Awards at this year’s festival on Sunday, September 27^th, at Harbourfront Centre. Be among the first to hear the finalists read from their nominated books at the Toronto Book Awards Tent. Each attending author will read twice from their work throughout festival day, beginning at 11:00 AM.

The finalists are:

• André Alexis for his apologue, Fifteen Dogs, published by Coach House Books
• Margaret Atwood for her short fiction collection, Stone Mattress, published by McClelland and Stewart (author Lynn Crosbie will read on Margaret Atwood’s behalf)
• Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer for her novel, All the Broken Things, published by Random House Canada
• Bruce McDougall for his work of dramatic nonfiction, The Last Hockey Game, published by Goose Lane
• Emily St. John Mandel for her novel, Station Eleven, published by Harper Avenue (editor Jennifer Lambert will read on Emily St. John Mandel’s behalf)

The Toronto Book Awards were established by Toronto City Council in 1974 to honour authors of books of literary or artistic merit that are evocative of Toronto. The winner will be announced on October 15, 2015, at the Toronto Reference Library’s Bram & Bluma Appel Salon. This annual awards program is produced by the City of Toronto and the Toronto Public Library.

The Toronto Book Awards Tent also features a program of readings from Diaspora Dialogues. Diaspora Dialogues supports the creation and presentation of new fiction, poetry, and drama that reflect the complexity of the city through the eyes of its culturally diverse writers. Four writers will discuss how they got their first book published. From creative conception to publication, the writers explore how being a writer of colour may have impacted that journey. Cherie Dimaline (Red Rooms, The Girl Who Grew a Galaxy), Jon Chan Simpson (Chinkstar), Sabrina Ramnanan (Nothing Like Love), and Jael Richardson (The Stone Thrower) will each give a short personal talk and reading, and then come together for a lively moderated discussion.

For more information about the Toronto Book Awards Tent at The Word On The Street, please visit http://www.toronto.ca/book_awards/

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better – Part 3 (pages 127 – 178)

The Word On The Street’s Book Club discussion of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better continues!

This week, book club leader Michele has questions based on pages 127 – 178.

Coming Up
Part 4: (pages 179 – 231)
“S-E-X-X-X and Love” and “Our Modern World”

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3rd Section: (pg 127-178)
“On Female Friendship, aka Everything” and “Fashion”

1. While we are now separated by continents and oceans, I met my first friend on the first day of junior kindergarten 30 years ago, and we still amazingly keep in touch and send birthday gifts to each other every year. Can you remember the very first female friendship you had? When/how did you meet, and do you still keep in touch?

2. It can be said that female friendships are more complex and multi-layered, while guys and their male friendships tend to be more casual. Do you agree, or disagree – and why do you think that is?

3. Heisey opens the Fashion section with a funny, yet poignant, look at “dressing to flatter your body”. I’m sure many of us are guilty of doing just that, but she brings up a good point on why we follow that and why some people choose to just wear what they would like to wear. Do you agree with that sentiment, and do you follow that way of thinking when it comes to your wardrobe?

4. In one of the many humourous quizzes within the book, Heisey identifies some of the fashion mistakes of her past. Hindsight is 20/20, so looking back, what are some of your fashion faux pas?

The Man Who Saved Henry Morgan – Part 3 (pages 153 – 242)

The Word On The Street’s Book Club discussion of The Man Who Saved Henry Morgan continues!

This week, book club leader Karen has questions based on pages 153 – 242.

Coming Up
Part 4 – Ch 24 – End

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Hey friends! We’re three quarters done! I hope you’ve been enjoying The Man Who Saved Henry Morgan and our discussions so far; I know I have!

I think this is one of my favourite parts of the book. I really enjoyed reading about Benny and Henry’s developing friendship, and as someone who is pretty competitive, I love Henry’s determination! So, here’s my first question:

1. Do you think Henry Morgan has what it takes to beat Benny in chess? Why or why not?

2. In this section, we not only see Benny’s friendship with Henry develop, we’ve also seen his “relationship” with Tessie grow stronger as well. What do you make of this relationship? Is it just a great companionship, or is there something more to it? (Benny did ask for a kiss on page 189, after all…)

3. Benny suffers from a recurring nightmare where he’s at his grandfather’s wake and finds something shocking in the casket. Why do you think he keeps having this nightmare? What’s the significance of it?

As always, please feel free to add your own comments and questions in the comment section! I know I didn’t get around to talking about the 3rd expedition, but I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Best,
Karen

The Deadbeat Club – Part 3 (pages 158 – 229)

The Word On The Street’s Book Club discussion of The Deadbeat Club continues!

This week, book club leader Christine has questions based on page 158 (…Girl on the Ceiling) to page 229 (…Below the Salt)

Next week we’ll conclude with page 230 (…Shootout At the Ah-So-Easy) to page 303 (…Mountain High).

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Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to week three of the discussion. We are 3/4 of the way through the book – AMAZING! I want to thank you all again for taking the time to read and comment weekly. It has been a lot of fun in the comments! As always, please feel free to bring up your own questions as well.

We left off last week with the death of another character (is there a theme? haha) and the general consensus from the comments was that it was a pretty upsetting one. We get a nice character and bam! 😦

This week’s questions will look at the reading of: page 158 (…Girl on the Ceiling) to page 229 (…Below the Salt) – btw for any Supernatural fans, did the chapter title of “Girl on the Ceiling” bring back any feelings? 😉

1. The more we read of Grey and Dara – I’m slowly coming to the realization that I really don’t know much about Dara at all. One particular line really intrigued me and I hope that they will develop this further and that was: “Happy. She had just dodged going back to her mother’s basement, something that scared her more than facing Nick Rosco” (163). What do you think of Dara? Do we think she’s reliable and trustworthy? I don’t know why…but I just have a bad feeling about her! What do you think about this particular passage in general? It is meant to “build” Dara, but at the same time, I’m feeling quite disconnected from her as a character.

2. This book has given us an inside look into the drug selling world but it has barely focused on the effects of drugs. I found that in this week’s reading we got more of that, but more amped up! We saw before Dara and Grey smoking Eight Miles High, but in this section, we got to see what happened to Nick when he was drugged by Grey. Pot largely surrounds this book so it was an interesting change to see other drugs come into play. What do you think about introducing this other component of drugs? Was it simply a plot device to maneuver the scene where Jaelene steals from Nick? Is it weird that the focus is not really on Eight Miles High at all?

3. The last chapter we read from this section ends with some craziness. We are finally seeing the drug war come to the frontlines of the book. We are seeing “crews” develop and solidify. Grey does not seem like the fighting type, but his friend is missing and dead and he seems to be “on the run” to avoid trouble. What do you hope to see with Grey? Do you think that he’ll stand up and take action?

As always, please share other questions you may have about the reading. I hope you all have a wonderful week and I will see you next week for our final reading! 🙂

Cheers,
Christine

The Road to Atlantis – Part 3 (pages 100 – 138)

The Word On The Street’s Book Club discussion of The Road to Atlantis continues!

This week, book club leader Jenn has questions based on pages 100 – 138. Feel free to use these as a jumping-off point for any other thoughts or questions you may have too.

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Welcome to week #3 of discussion for The Road to Atlantis by Leo Brent Robillard! We are over halfway through the book now, and I hope you are pacing yourself for the end! This week we will be looking at pages 100 to 138 (the chapter entitled “The House on Water Street”).

Again, please feel free to ask questions and to discuss each other’s responses, keeping in mind a culture of respect for everyone’s opinions and beliefs.

Introduction:

We’ve jumped ahead ten years now, and the characters we have grown to know in the previous pages have had some pretty significant changes in their lives. David is now working at the Dairy as a counter clerk, Anne is now with Danny but working for another cabinet minister, and Matty finally comes into his own as a character.

Discussion Questions:

1. “He fell in love with the trains, the stations, and the tiny worlds people created. It all seemed so safe and contained and self-sufficient.”  David has, we learn, lost touch with his family and his previous life over course of the ten years. How then does his foray into the world of modern trains demonstrate his new reality? What do you think his new relationship with trains and need for control – previously a trait most demonstrated by Anne –  says about him and about his personality?

2. This is the chapter where Matty becomes known to us – what surprised you most/least about his development? What is your feeling about his relationship with Ashley – an older, more confident female? Is she a substitute for the relationship he might have had with his sister?

3. Anne and David seem to have changed roles in this chapter, with Anne being the person on the edge and close to snapping. After ‘moving on’ with her life, why do you think she still feels the need to self-medicate through drugs, exercise and diet? What does her reaction to Matty’s announcement at the end of the chapter tell us about her?

Literacy Comes Alive at the Learning Tent!

The Word On The Street Learning Tent hosts family-friendly literacy programming

The Word On The Street Toronto is dedicated to the promotion of local literacy organizations. The festival shows its support each year by providing free exhibit space to 20 literacy groups in the Exhibitor Marketplace to help them promote their programs, attract new tutors and volunteers, and raise funds.

The Word On The Street is partnering with seven community groups this year to program the Learning Tent. The Learning Tent is a family-friendly destination where experts in the fields of literacy and education will share informative and entertaining activities, and introduce the public to a range of community literacy projects.

We’re pleased to announce that our Literacy Programming Partners for the 2015 festival are ONBIDA (the Ontario branch of the International Dyslexia Association), Frontier College, Vallum Society for Education in Arts and Letters, Ontario Science Centre, The Ontario Cultural Society of the Deaf (OCSD) and Silent Voice, and First Book Canada.  For a full schedule of Learning Tent activities, visit The Word On The Street’s website.

 Learning Tent Highlights:

• In the Recognize the warning signs of dyslexia workshop, speech-language pathologists Jana Leggett and Sherry Raffalovitch lead a dyslexia simulation, teaching participants how to identify students at risk, and how to intervene to help students overcome their reading and writing difficulties.

• Canada’s original literacy organization, Frontier College, believes in developing quality learning opportunities to motivate the next generation of readers and leaders. Join Frontier College in Math Twister and Picture Bingo, classic games with a fun and educational twist! Each visitor will receive a free new children’s book.

• Vallum Society for Education in Arts and Letters and author Greg Santos invite visitors to write a poem with “Newspaper + marker = blackout poetry.” This activity illustrates poet James Tate’s remark: “Poetry is everywhere; it just needs editing.”

• Join The Ontario Science Centre for an explosion of brainstorming, building, rethinking and…more rebuilding as you tackle real world problems. Working together to solve a challenge, festivalgoers are invited to design, build and test probable solutions using a variety of common but  unexpected materials within unreasonable limits of time and resources, with ambiguous directions and changing conditions. The Ontario Science Centre’s facilitators will guide guests toward solutions as they exercise ingenuity, innovativeness and imagination in a fun, creative atmosphere.

• In the ASL Storytelling, Rhythms and Rhymes segment, renowned Deaf storytellers bring American Sign Language (ASL), Deaf culture and Deaf heritage to the stage, with rhymes and rhythms, personification, poetry, rap, and storytelling like no other.

• First Book Canada invites you to a presentation of The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear with author and illustrator Hilary Leung. Join Hilary for a fun Reading Celebration, with a chance to meet the author and receive a free copy of his book!