What's Better Than Books?

Congratulations to Canadian Author Lawrence Hill whose recent release, The Illegal, has just been named the CBC Canada Reads 2016 Winner.

Lawrence Hill is most famously known for his 2007 critically acclaimed novel entitled, The Book of Negroes (in Canada), and published as Someone Knows My Name (outside of Canada). And if you haven’t already read this book. You really should. It’s superb.

I have yet to read The Illegal, but based on the official synopsis it sounds like I now have another book to add to my “To Read” pile. 

The Illegal – Official Synopsis

The Illegal, is the gripping story of Keita Ali, a refugee—like the many in today’s headlines—compelled to leave his homeland.

All Keita has ever wanted to do is to run. Running means respect and wealth at home. His native Zantoroland, a fictionalized country whose tyrants are eerily familiar, turns out the fastest marathoners on earth. But after his journalist father is killed for his outspoken political views, Keita must flee to the wealthy nation of Freedom State—a country engaged in a crackdown on all undocumented people.

There, Keita becomes a part of the new underground. He learns what it means to live as an illegal: surfacing to earn cash prizes by running local races and assessing whether the people he meets will be kind or turn him in. As the authorities seek to arrest Keita, he strives to elude capture and ransom his sister, who has been kidnapped.

Set in an imagined country bearing a striking resemblance to our own, this tension-filled novel casts its eye on race, human potential, and what it means to belong.

New York Times bestselling author Karen Robards continues her penchant for “fantastic storytelling” (RT Book Reviews) with this next heart-pumping romantic suspense novel, the tale of a brilliant ornithologist trapped on the remote Attu Island in Alaska, fighting for her life—and that of a handsome stranger—before they’re swallowed up in darkness forever.

BOOM. That’s the sound that changes everything for Dr. Gina Sullivan, a renowned ornithologist on a group research grant trip on the remote island of Attu, Alaska. When an everyday outing turns sinister at the onset of one of Attu’s infamous storms, Gina expects thunder and lightning—but what she doesn’t see coming is the small jet plane that drops out of the sky and into the water mere feet from her boat. Even more unprecedented: there’s a sole survivor from the crash, and he needs Gina’s help. But it turns out that rescuing the stranger and getting them both out of the oncoming storm is just the beginning. Because the more Gina learns about James “Cal” Callahan, he of brooding eyes and muscled frame, the more she fears—for herself, and for him.

Cal has made a career of trading on government secrets and emerging unscathed—until a routine pickup goes horribly wrong and lands him in ice-cold water. Literally. He knows the plane crash was no accident and that there could very well be an enemy force currently combing the Alaskan island ensuring there were no survivors. Now if only the arrestingly beautiful bird-watcher with the clear-blue gaze would stop watching him, well, like a hawk. Cal convinces Gina to return to base camp and help him covertly get off the island. But when Gina makes it safely back to camp and finds her entire team murdered, all bets are off, and as darkness envelops the island, she must decide: trust a man she barely knows, or go it alone and risk running straight into the arms of a killer?

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury comes the third novel in the unforgettable Angels Walking series about divine intervention and the trials and triumphs of life for a group of friends.

Despite needing a heart transplant and against the advice of her doctor, Mary Catherine moves to Uganda to work at a brand new orphanage. Whatever time she has left, Mary Catherine wants to spend it helping children—especially since there will be no children of her own. The only problem is Major League Baseball player Marcus Dillinger, the man she never meant to fall in love with. Neither Marcus nor Mary Catherine’s other friends—Tyler Ames and Sami Dawson—know just how serious her heart condition is.

Still, Marcus is sure in the depths of his soul that something isn’t right. Ultimately his correspondence with Mary Catherine leads him on a desperate life-or-death mission to rescue her and get her to a US hospital before time runs out. Meanwhile, Sami and Tyler struggle with issues of their own. In a season when Tyler plans to ask Sami to marry him, the very core of their relationship is in jeopardy.

The team of angels walking is busier than ever in this epic battle between life and death. A Brush of Wings is a poignant tale of love, sacrifice, and the power of faith

So it always seems that at some point during the week I’m talking to someone about book clubs, whether it be family, friends or others.

There are several different types of book clubs.

There’s the Traditional Book Club, where everyone reads the same book chosen by the host and everyone discusses that specific book.

There’s the Themed Book Club, where the book is chosen based on a specific theme and everyone reads the same book and the meeting evolves around that theme. For example, if a book is chosen about India the host will make Indian food and the members will dress in Indian garb, etc.

Then there’s the Book-Exchange Book Club, where the host puts in four or five books they’ve recently read that they think the others will enjoy, discusses them, and then others who are interested in them borrow them for that month.

However, in the long run in doesn’t really matter what type of book club you participate in. They all have advantages and disadvantages. But in this time of busy lives and instant entertainment, any book club gives you the opportunity to meet new people from all walks of life, read books that you may or may not usually read, expand you vocabulary and knowledge, have some good food, have a few drinks, and perhaps the best benefit of all, have the excuse to find some quiet time to sit down and read.

So the next time someone asks you to join a book club, don’t hesitate. As far I can see you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain!   🙂