“More things grow in the garden than the gardener sows.”  Spanish proverb

In my last article I highlighted a few of the top interior design books of 2011. With gardening season on the horizon, here are some of the standout titles and trends in gardening that appeared last year in BookNews.

Sustainable Gardening

Manitoba Hydro Place exemplifies the best practices of sustainable architecture.  Green roofs provide protection from solar gain in summer and insulate to reduce heat loss in winter. The interior vertical WinterGarden acts as the “lungs” of the building pretreating incoming air to provide 100% fresh air. For ideas on incorporating these commercial systems into a domestic setting see:

 Vertical vegetables and fruit

 Small green roofs: low tech options for greener living

Natural low maintenance greenscaping

Lawns are unsustainable in terms of the hours spent mowing and watering and the negative effects of toxic chemicals on humans and wildlife. Native perennial grasses are slowly replacing Kentucky Bluegrass. Find instructions for transforming a conventional lawn into a low maintenance sanctuary in:

Eco-yards: simple steps to earth friendly landscapes

 Gardening naturally: a chemical free handbook for the prairies

Urban Farming

Growing your own food is a movement which Michelle Obama has championed. Community gardens are flourishing in Winnipeg and gardeners are cultivating fruits and vegetables along with chickens for eggs, bees for honey and grapes for wine. Learn more about guerilla gardening and supporting local farmers and food producers in Manitoba at the Growing Local conference Feb 23 -25, 2012. To find out how to  grow your own food in the city read:

I garden:urban style

 Complete Idiot’s Guide to Urban Homesteading

 Gardening in small spaces

With the trend to downsizing to apartment and condo living, gardens are shrinking to fit a patio, balcony or window box. Plants are used as privacy screens in high density dwellings and provide a calming space for relaxation. Ideas for creating a green refuge in small spaces are found in:

 Apartment Gardening

 Grow plants in pots

Get ready for the gardening season at Seedy Saturday and learn more about local biodiversity, find inspiration for your garden and take part in the community seed exchange on March 3, 2012. For more of the latest trends in gardening subscribe to Home and Garden Booknews to get a monthly list of our choice of the new and inspiring titles arriving in our collections.

 Get down and dirty this spring!

 Jane

Another way to educate yourself about rock music is by reading the rock biography. Often filled with the age-old narrative of Sex, Drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll, these books detail individual life experiences within the rock ‘n’ roll world. Musical stories are as divergent as Anthony Kiedes’ (The Red Hot Chili Peppers) on again, off again battle with drug addiction in Scar Tissue , Freddie Mercury‘s (Queen) complex inner life, and Dave  Mustaine‘s  (Megadeath) Metallica heartbreak. The rock bio is an essential part of any rock music lover’s reading list. They are very entertaining!

Or if you’re like me and want to see the other sex represented, check out Rock Chicks: The Hottest Female Rockers from the 1960s to Now.  This book contains short biographies of some of my favorite female rockers. I was enthralled.  I love Suzi Quatro and it was nice to see that she was given credit for inspiring the legendary Joan Jett and many of the other hard-rocking women who are described. Pat Benatar’s growly voice on the song “Hell is for Children” exemplifies why she is also on that list. Another female rocker who is included, Courtney Love, has recently published her meandering and angst-ridden diaries.

The library also has an extensive collection of concerts and music documentaries. A must-watch for aspiring fans of hard rock music is Sam Dunn’s wonderful documentary Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey. It provides enlightening explanations of the subgenres within punk, rock, and metal.

And remember, this is just the beginning! There are countless underground metal and hard rock bands that are considered essential listening by music connoisseurs. If the library doesn’t have them in our collection, you can always suggest that we buy them! Or check out one of my favorite Winnipeg metal music stores such as War on Music!

Finally, it is important to go to some shows. Winnipeg has the best collection of hard rock and metal bands of any place in Canada. The illustrated book Call * Response contains a great pictorial representation of some of these hard rock, punk, and metal bands. It was created as a fundraiser for the Kids Help Phone Line, and more volumes are expected to be released. Go buy one!

Manitoba Metalfest 2012 on February 24^th and 25^th  is the perfect opportunity to support local music. It is an easy and entertaining way for anyone to improve their hard rock and metal music education. Bring on the headbanging! Yah! See you at a show…

Nadine

                                                                 –Jane Austen

   As I was riding the bus the other day, a couple of women sitting next to me were comparing their e-readers and commenting on the convenience, portability, and so on. However, the best thing about an e-reader, they both agreed, was that they could read their romance novels in public, and nobody would know.

That started me wondering – what’s so bad about romance novels? Why is it that reading romance novels is seen as something to hide? Is it the cover art? Is it the writing style? The subject matter? Why judge romance novels, and those that read them, so harshly? Considering the huge market share that romance novels command, shouldn’t their readers demand more respect, if only because there are so many of them?

According to the article The Social Significance of the Romance Novel, this style of novel has been around for centuries, with the first ones appearing during the English Renaissance. Perhaps because the earliest romance novels were written by men, they started out as morality tales, in which errant females were punished for their faults.  Despite the strongly anti-female bias in the stories, the primary reading audience was women. Criticism and ridicule of  both the books and those who read them began soon after. So there’s a longstanding tradition of not taking the romantic fiction genre seriously. Despite the negative publicity, women embraced this writing style eagerly, and a new genre was born.

As time went on, the romance novel developed into the form as we know it today – essentially, two people meet, feel a powerful connection to one another, surmount a series of obstacles to their relationship, and end up falling in love.

Pamela by Samuel Richardson is considered to be among the first of the romantic novels written in the English language.

Jane Austen took those essentials and gave them a depth and resonance that still speaks to us today.

East Lynne by Mrs. Henry Wood has gone from a piece of light reading to a literary classic.

Georgette Heyer’s Regency novels are widely credited as being the first historical romances.

And of course, there’s no way to write about romance fiction without at least mentioning Harlequin, the publishing empire started in the 1930s whose name is synonymous with romantic fiction in all its forms.

With all of that rich history and influence on their side, readers of romantic fiction shouldn’t feel that they have to hide what they read; in fact, they should show off their book covers with pride. Readers of romantic fiction are carrying on a fine tradition–and you never know, today’s Harlequin could be tomorrow’s literary classic.

If you like facts about fiction, take a look at  A Natural History of the Romance Novel by Pamela Regis to gain some great insights into the evolution of the romance novel, and how it reflects the changes in society. A feminist view of romantic novels is explored by Janice Radway in Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy and Popular Literature. The author’s conclusions go far beyond the generic stereotypes, and provide an understanding of not only the books themselves, but also to the audience that reads and enjoys them.

Things have come a long way in the romance world since the first pairs of eyes met and the first hearts beat a little faster. Romance readers have their choice of almost any possible plot, from a chaste kiss to the sky’s the limit: historical settings, mythical beings, drama, comedy,  supernatural creatures, outer space, tragedy, time travel, inspirational writing, domestic settings, or any combination you can dream of. And really, isn’t that what romance is all about – daring to dream? There’s nothing bad about that.

-Lori

Here are some of my favourite photoblogs, as well as some other photographic resources that I enjoy; I hope you do too!

Fascinated by astronomy, I find the Terrastro Gallery from a talented hobbyist in Australia to be an amazing collection of nighttime sky shots. His tagline pretty well sums it up: “The Milky Way and all things astronomical.” Is he looking at the same sky we are?

Sam Javanrouh is an equally amazing Toronto photographer that has been taking daily urban photos of his hometown since at least 2006. His visually stunning streetscapes, in both black/white and colour, in his blog daily dose of imagery are works of art I find worthy of frequent visits.

It’s hard to beat National Geographic for great photography, and you’ll be pleased to know they’ve transferred their great magazine art skills into cyberspace. Their photoblog site includes a special ‘photo a day’. You can also send in your own favourite pics during contest windows.

Another great personal photoblog site is Peter Farago’s from Hungary (photonique). His self-expressive shots shows a lot of passion, dedication, and an eye for beauty wherever he finds it.

Back to astronomy, there’s a site I’ve visited for years that never disappoints. It’s the out-of-this-world Astronomical Picture of the Day gathered by NASA, which often brings a sense of awe into an otherwise bland day. Not only do you get a great pic each day but an educational description of the shot by someone who knows what they are talking about.

Other assorted photo sites to visit include Pixiq: the photo world in focus (only 150 more photoblogs), free use photos from Flickr, Slate.com’s Today’s Picture page, our collection of Winnipeg Public Library online photos, and the not-to-be-missed cool photoblogs hall of fame site.

Of course there are a lot of photography resources right here at Winnipeg Public Library. Come take a look, or visit our online catalogue and reserve a copy of your favourite photo book. One excellent option is Freeman Patterson’s book, Photography and the Art of Seeing.

Last but not least, two shameless plugs for photo sites of people I know. My friend Verda Heinrichs is well on her way to creating a interesting, reflective site that explores technical as well as spiritual aspects of digital photography. Take a peek here. And my avid photographer son, Joel Penner, is currently holding a photo exhibition at the Millennium Library’s second floor Blankstein Gallery. His exhibition-related site is here. As biased as a father can be, I really enjoy what he’s coming up with!
- Lyle

GIANTS

The Iron Giant by Ted Hughes

The Iron Giant (1999) based on the Ted Hughes story

Originally published in Great Britain under the title, “The Iron Man”, Hughes’ fable tells the story of the sudden appearance of a large robot-like creature in the English countryside. He terrifies locals by eating their farm equipment, but is eventually befriended by a little boy who protects him. The Iron Giant is put to the test later on in the story when a giant dragon threatens Earth’s safety. This story was made into an animated feature film in 1999. The title was changed to “The Iron Giant” when it was published in the United States so that there wouldn’t be confusion with the Marvel Comics’ character “Iron Man”.

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett (2010)

Ken Follett is known for writing epic tales like “Pillars of the Earth” and “World without End”, and he doesn’t disappoint readers in this 2010 offering. Part one of what he calls “The Century Trilogy”, “The Fall of Giants” follows five inter-related families from Wales, Germany, Russia, England and America as they weave through the events leading up to and including World War I. Follett has the uncanny knack of making potentially dusty and boring historical events pop with the human touch. I can’t wait for Part 2, which I assume will deal with World War II.

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman (2008)

PATRIOTS

On to the patriots!

John Adams HBO Mini-series

Promotional Poster for HBO's John Adams (2008)

This series, directed by Tom Hooper of “The King’s Speech” fame, has won four Golden Globes and more Emmys than any other mini-series in the Emmys’ history. Starring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney as John and Abigail Adams, it tells the life story of the second president of the United States. The series opens on the night of the Boston Massacre and follows Adams through the some of the major events that led to the formation of the United States of America. Strong performances from Tom Wilkinson as Benjamin Franklin and Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson make this captivating viewing, even for us Canadians.

American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot by Craig Ferguson

Craig Ferguson's American on Purpose (2010)

On a lighter note, irreverent late night talk show host Craig Ferguson has written a book for his legion of cheeky monkeys and robot-skeletons. Mr. Ferguson recounts stories from his early days growing up in Scotland to his arrival in Hollywood where he landed a role on “The Drew Carey Show” and later became host of “The Late Late Show” on CBS. Along the way, he tells the reader about his struggles with alcohol and drugs, as well as his becoming an American citizen in 2008. I recommend getting a hold of the audiobook version, so that you can enjoy the author reading his own book. Most of the stories here demand to be told in a saucy Scottish accent. Coincidentally, Franklin’s “Join or Die” drawing used extensively in the promotion of “John Adams” is also tattooed on the inside of Craig Ferguson’s right arm.

Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont by Joseph Boyden

Louis Riel & Gabriel Dumont by Joseph Boyden (2010)

We can’t do a post on Patriots without a little Canadian content, yes? There is an excellent series out there called “Extraordinary Canadians” of which any title would make a suitable example of a Canadian Patriot. I’ve singled out “Louis Riel & Gabriel Dumont” by Joseph Boyden for a couple of reasons. First, I absolutely LOVE Joseph Boyden as a novelist. His book Three Day Road is easily in my top five favourite books of all time. Secondly, why not include a little local history? Boyden covers the period in history when Dumont, a master hunter and Riel, a brilliant yet troubled university-trained leader came together in 1884-85 to form a united Métis worldview that threatened Sir John A. MacDonald’s vision of Canada and ushered in Manitoba as a province. This book reads like a novel and like Follett, Boyden has the ability to make history breathe.

Wasn’t this more fun than reading about a couple of teams from New York and New England?

Trevor

Starting on February 4, Winnipeg Public Library will exhibit replicas and authentic artifacts representing the Selkirk Settlers’ clothing, tools, and everyday objects, provided courtesy of Parks Canada, the Manitoba Museum, and the Active History Associates. The exhibit will run from early February until late April .  Come and check it out!

For those who would like to read up on the subject, there are a few choice picks that I can recommend.  J. M. Bumstead is an authority on the subject of the Red River Colony and has written an excellent biography of Lord Selkirk. 

Another fascinating read is “A Son of the Fur Trade: the life of Johny Grant” , the memoir of a Metis fur trader and rancher who lived an adventurous life in the Red River territory through much of its history from 1833 until his death in 1907. Grant was involved in the rebellion of 1870, and  even briefly arrested on orders of Louis Riel for opposing him.    

If you are a fiction reader with an interest in this era (this being festival du voyageur month),  then Margaret Elphinstone’s “Voyageurs” might appeal to you.  A devout English Quaker in search of his sister who disappeared in the Canadian wilderness faces war and hardship while working with voyageurs in the fur trade.  The inner conflict between religious beliefs and ”real life” is also a central element of the story.    

On a housekeeping note, I would like to announce that a book scanner is  now available for the public use in the Local History Room at the Millennium Library.  There is no charge to use the scanner, but patrons will need to bring a memory stick in order to save the scanned material on it.  This will provide an improved way to make copies of the material in the Local History Room and also help in the preservation of more fragile material.  Though the scanner’s primary function is to allow the digital reproduction of Local History Room books, the public can bring outside material to scan as well.

Another important aspect of a great history of a city is the ability to connect an ancient or distant place to our modern identity, creating that ‘ah ha’ moment, when we say ‘so that’s where that idea comes from…’ A good example of this would be James Carroll’s Jerusalem, Jerusalem: how the ancient city ignited our modern world.  Another excellent example of this theme is Simon Sebag Montefiore’s Jerusalem: the biography.  

History and myth, reality and the ideal, these elements are always entangled and can be found and leisurely unwound in Robin Waterfield’s, Athens: a history – from ancient ideal to modern city. For a more speculative take on what Athens could have been like in the time of Socrates, as well as what happened to Socrates himself, there is Bettany Hughes’ The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens and the search for the good life.
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Entering the more modern period and moving west, there is Alistair Horne’s Seven Ages of Paris  and Colin Jones’ Paris: biography of a city.  And once in London, there are few others that capture it as Peter Ackroyd does in London: the biography and Thames: a sacred river.

Of course, no history of the world’s great cities is complete without a mention to New York (that wonderful town…).

Start with Kenneth T. Jackson and David S. Dunbar’s Empire City: New York through the centuries.  And if your taste is for the classic and nostalgic, try E.B. White’s Here is New York.

Whatever city or mythical place you want to escape to, there is also a historical place where a writer’s imagination and research can take you. Bon voyage…

Phil

More and more, books and music seem to have this symbiotic relationship going on.  Of course, there are soundtracks to movies that are based on books, but nowadays, authors are also coming out with playlists for their novels.  Especially authors who write for teens.  Which makes sense, given the white earbud epidemic that seems to have spread among the adolescent population. 

One of the first YA authors to do this was Stephenie Meyer who created a Twilight playlist.  Meyer says that she can’t write without music and that the playlist is composed of the music she hears in her head while reading the book.  Mostly, it’s a collection of alternative rock (Coldplay, Muse, My Chemical Romance), and I think it works quite well.

Maggie Stiefvater has also created playlists for her novels Shiver and Linger.  Maggie says, “I have to have music playing non-stop while I write, or I can’t focus. All I can think about is doing laundry, taking a walk, making cookie dough, or laying on the floor. So I create focused playlists for each book, every song picked to reinforce the mood or help me through a scene.”  Stiefvater’s lists have that alternative feel as well, but its more Folk Festival than Rock on the Range with tunes from Rufus Wainwright and Fleet Foxes.  Fitting, nonetheless. 

I love this idea of pairing music with books (it’s almost as natural as cake & ice-cream, chips & dip or macaroni & cheese), and I think this only the beginning.  As ebooks become more mainstream, it seems only natural to listen to some tunes while reading a good book.  And hey, if it means I don’t have to listen to that crying baby on the bus while I’m trying to read, I think that’s a good thing.  Music most definitely has the power to influence mood, and it can really enhance your reading experience.  So why not put together your own book playlist, and see what you can come up with!?

Some other really cool book playlists?  John Green’s Paper Towns playlist, Becca Fitzpatrick’s Crescendo playlist, and Laurie Halse Anderson’s Wintergirls playlist.

~ Lindsay

When I find out a treasured book or comic franchise is being adapted for the big screen, I tend to get more than a little excited (imagine my daughter’s activities, multiplied by a few hundred). I’m sometimes rewarded for my enthusiasm with awe-inspiring, delightful movie experiences (any of the Lord of the Rings movies, Captain America, The Help); sometimes, I’m left disappointed (Iron Man 2, The Lovely Bones, Aliens vs. Cowboys). But whether I’m seeing a good or bad movie, I still enjoy the new visual interpretation of events and favourites characters.

I believe 2012 is going to be another great year for movies based on books. Here are some of the ones I’m most looking forward to:

One For the Money, based on the Janet Evanovich novel of the same name, stars Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum, an unemployed department store buyer forced to take a job working at her cousin’s bail bond company. Due out on January 27.

The Woman in Black, due out on February 3, is based on Susan Hill’s moody horror novel. Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe stars as a young lawyer who travels to a remote English village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.

On March 2, Dr. Seuss’s birthday, get ready for The Lorax. In the outskirts of his town, a young boy discovers a beautiful environment he’s never seen before — and a mysterious figure who’s destroying it. What unfolds is the story of the Lorax, a snarky but endearing forest creature who fights to protect his trees. Danny DeVito plays the iconic title character of the Lorax, with Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, and Ed Helms all lending their voices to the film.

The Avengers opens May 4, directed by Joss Whedon. (Insert high-pitched fangirl squeal here.) Nick Fury and the international agency S.H.I.E.L.D. bring together a team of super humans to form The Avengers to help save the Earth from Loki & his army. I can always count on Marvel Studios; without fail, they release a new movie in time for my wedding anniversary.

Opening on December 7 is the musical adaptation of Les Misérables. Hugh Jackman will play Valjean, with Anne Hathaway starring as Fantine and Russell Crowe as Javert.

On December 14, I’ll certainly be amongst the crowds catching The Hobbit. Martin Freeman stars as Bilbo, and Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood and Orlando Bloom are reprising their roles from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Finally, Yann Martel’s 2001 bestseller, Life of Pi, is finally coming to the big screen on December 21. Directed by Ang Lee, the film will also feature Suraj Sharma, Tobey Maguire, Gerard Depardieu and Irrfan Khan.

- Barbara

Well, my aptitude at making predictions about technology obviously isn’t very accurate, since Twitter has grown in popularity and is obviously going to be around for a very long time. In December the library launched a Twitter feed @wpglibrary (we’d love it if you followed us!) and I seem to have become a Twitter convert. Twitter is much more than celebrity tweets by people like Ashton Kutcher (who, incidentally, has more people following him than there are on a small continent) although I do have to confess to following a celebrity or two. No matter where your interests lie, you can find lots of individuals or organizations to follow. As a librarian who is interested in film, music and technology, I’ve found lots of interesting people to follow who keep me up-to-date on the things I like. Interested in hockey? You can follow your favorite team (the Jets) or your favorite player (connect with Evander Kane).  Interested in cooking? You could follow Jamie Oliver, the Food Network or Bon Appetit magazine. There are Twitter feeds for job hunters, and Twitter feeds for vampire hunters. No matter what you’re interested in, there’s something for you.

What if you’re interested in the idea of tweeting, but perplexed by some of the Twitter jargon such as hashtags? If you need more information about Twitter and how it works, the library can help you out. Twitter for Dummies will teach you everything you need to know to get started with Twitter, as will Twitter: Tips, Tricks and Tweets. And it’s never too late to learn how to tweet- Facebook and Twitter for Seniors for Dummies will have you tweeting in no time.

If you own a business, you might want to consider using Twitter for promotional purposes.  Twitter allows you to market your product to your followers but also allows you to tap into what tweeters are saying about your business.  Positive comments can be retweeted for extra publicity while negative tweets can be addressed by responding directly to the person.  Often, someone will tweet about a business and the company will respond to the person fairly quickly via Twitter.  If you want to use Twitter for business promotion, the library has several books that would be useful to consult. Get Rich with Twitter: Harness the Power of the Twitterverse and Reach More Customes Than Ever Before might help entrepreneurs attract a larger customer base.  Twitter Marketing for Dummies provides good basic information on how to successfully market and promote your product or organization using Twitter.  

There are also books that deal with altruistic uses of Twitter.  Social Media for Social Good is a guide for non-profits on how to make use of Twitter.  Twitter for Good: Change the World One Tweet at a Time is a well-reviewed book which outlines ways in which Twitter can be used to  further causes and campaigns, and clearly get a message out.  Recently, I’ve read several news stories about a homeless woman in the United States who started a Twitter account at her local library, and began tweeting as a way to deal with her mental illness and to chronicle what it’s like to be homeless.  This woman has now received assistance from people she met through Twitter and she’s no longer living on the streets.

Some days, though, I’m just in need of a good laugh and Twitter often provides me with that.  The day that Wikipedia was down in protest of SOPA, the hashtag #factswithoutWikipedia was born.  Some of the gems I found were: “Bacon is good for you” (wish that one was really true!), “97% of the earth’s surface is covered by Beefaroni” and, lastly, my colleague’s favorite, “Pasta lovers can now plant a spaghetti tree in order to reduce their carbonara footprint.”

Theresa