Wednesday Evening Book Club 2022-2023
Extraordinary Canadians : stories from the heart of our nation
Mansbridge, Peter, author
2020
From Peter Mansbridge, the former anchor of CBC's The National, and Mark Bulgutch, former CBC producer, comes a collection of first-person stories about remarkable Canadians who embody the values of our great nation--kindness, compassion, courage, and freedom--and inspire us to do the same.
The girl from Venice
Smith, Martin Cruz, 1942- author
2016
At the end of World War II, occupied Venice is a dangerous city, even for a simple fisherman like Cenzo Vianello. Cenzo's life is upended when he finds a woman floating in the lagoon and decides to protect her rather than turn her over to the German authorities. Giulia is an upper-class Jewish escapee, and Cenzo uses his connections to smuggle her out of Venice after spending a few days with her fishing and growing close. When the Italian military seeks assistance identifying the man who betrayed Giulia's family, Cenzo agrees to help track her down. He must navigate a treacherous world filled with shifting allegiances while his family's past complicates matters further.
Indians on vacation
King, Thomas, 1943- author
2020
Inspired by a handful of old postcards sent by Uncle Leroy nearly a hundred years earlier, Bird and Mimi attempt to trace Mimi's long-lost uncle and the family medicine bundle he took with him to Europe. By turns witty, sly and poignant, this is the unforgettable tale of one couple's holiday trip to Prague. The often grumpy Bird and optimistic Mimi and their wanderings through the European capitals reveal a complicated history, both personal and political.
Love in the time of cholera
García Márquez, Gabriel, 1927-2014
1988
Set on the Caribbean coast of South America, this love story brings together Fermina Daza, her distinguished husband, and a man who has secretly loved her for more than fifty years
My grandmother asked me to tell you she's sorry : a novel
Backman, Fredrik, 1981- author
2015
Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy--as in standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-strangers crazy. She is also Elsa's best, and only, friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother's stories, in the Land-of-Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas, where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal. When Elsa's grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged, Elsa's greatest adventure begins.
Talking to Canadians : a memoir
Mercer, Rick, 1969- author
2021
In 'Talking to Canadians', Rick Mercer, Canada's beloved comic genius tells his own story for the first time. It's a life so packed with incidents (did we mention Bosnia and Kabul?) and laughter we can only hope that a future answer to "What is Rick Mercer going to do now?" is: "Write volume two."
When we left Cuba
Cleeton, Chanel, author
2019
The Cuban Revolution took everything from sugar heiress Beatriz Perez. It took her family, her people, her country. Recruited by the CIA to infiltrate Fidel Castro's inner circle and pulled into the dangerous world of espionage, Beatriz is consumed by her quest for revenge and her desire to reclaim the life she lost. Beatriz is caught between the clash of Cuban American politics and the perils of a forbidden affair with a powerful man driven by ambitions of his own. When the ever-changing tides of history threaten everything she has fought for, she must make a choice between her past and future, but the wrong move could cost Beatriz everything.