Tag Archive for Books

| March 31, 2013
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Life Eruptions: Full Interview

A Closer Look at Mary Stanik and Her Novel Life Erupted

By Rebecca Taylor

Photo by Aaron Fahrmann

Photo by Aaron Fahrmann

Life can often take unexpected turns. Jenn Bergquist, protagonist of Mary Stanik’s Life Erupted, is no exception—there are quite a few twists and turns along the way in her story. Her life is turned upside down when she meets Bianca Fiona, a new patient at the medical centre where Jenn works. Jenn embarks on a journey at Bianca’s request, but little does Jenn know that this adventure will change everything from her views on family to her outlook on life. I took the opportunity to talk with Mary Stanik about her book and about life’s many trials. Read more

Category: Arts & Entertainment | Tags: , , ,
| March 20, 2013
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Profile: Stacey Madden

Author of Poison Shy

By Meghan Gribben

Photo By Jowita Bydlowska

Photo By Jowita Bydlowska

Stacey Madden is a writer currently residing in The Beach.  His stories, poems, reviews, and essays have been published in places such as The Globe and Mail, Open Book: Toronto, Encore Literary Magazine, Quill & Quire, and Broken Pencil. His first novel, Poison Shy, was published by ECW Press in Fall 2012. He owns a cat and is a bit of a hypochondriac. He enjoys beer, British comedy, and quiet reading time.

Stacey was born and raised in the east end of Toronto. Despite his father’s wish that he’d grow up to be a hockey star, Stacey nurtured a passion for reading and writing, which eventually led to an Honours B.A. in English Literature at the University of Toronto, followed by an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph.

When/why did you decide to write a novel?

“I’ve wanted to write novels for as long as I can remember,” says Madden. “As the oldest of four kids, I was often forced into the role of ‘entertainer,’ and would accomplish that by making up stories and telling them to my younger siblings. Then, as I got older, I started telling stories to myself—not out loud, don’t worry, I’m not that crazy!—and eventually started writing them down. Before long, I was being accepted into exclusive creative writing courses at University. I attempted to write two novels and failed before I finally finished one, and that third attempt was the manuscript that eventually become Poison Shy.”

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Category: Arts & Entertainment | Tags: , ,
| March 15, 2013
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Re: Turn to Re: Reading

Your Friendly Neighbourhood Bookstore

By Venetia Bodanis

“There’s a large portion of the community that still wants to hold a book,” says Re: Reading owner Christopher Sheedy. “I don’t think people will ever get sick of having a book.”

Boasting cheap secondhand books and movies that are still in good condition, Re: Reading is considered a staple store on the Danforth despite being open only four years.

“It’s one of the few places in Toronto everyone else comes to; they do the Danforth and they go to the beach,” says Sheedy about the location. “This is just one of those neighbourhoods.” Read more

Category: Community | Tags: , , ,
| December 18, 2012
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The Literary Scene

Life of Pi

Your Favourite Novels, Now in Theatres

By Natasha Tsakiris

This winter season, many literary classics will be released as film adaptations. While some of these novels have been deemed “unfilmable,” directors have taken these well-known stories and transformed them into onscreen gems. This award season, it’s a battle of the books on screen. They may all be big players in the literary world, but will these adapted versions become box-office gold? Read the books before you see the movie and see if they live up to the expectations!

Thought-Provoking Sci-Fi

We begin with the science fiction puzzle Cloud Atlas, based on a novel by David Mitchell, and directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer. The plot centers on a series of stories where characters’ lives are intertwined as they cross paths in the past, present, and future. The film is a challenge to follow and understand but is nonetheless a breathtaking onscreen epic. The film was released in September and is already predicted to win Academy Awards in the visual effects category.

cloud atlas

The Adventurous Drama

Next is Ang Lee’s imaginative adaptation of Life of Pi, Canadian author Yann Martel’s coming-of-age tale. After being shipwrecked and lost at sea, 16-year-old Pi (Suraj Sharma) must survive onboard a lifeboat with a full-grown Bengal tiger. It is an incredible story with stunning visuals that blur the line between reality and fantasy.

The Russian Dark Horse

Up next is director Joe Wright’s theatrical telling of Leo Tolstoy’s love affair period piece Anna Karenina, starring Keira Knightley as the titular character. The film brings a new vision to the epic love story and follows one woman caught between two men, with scandal and betrayal following. Wright uses the stage to set his story, giving a whole new meaning to the magic of theatre.Anna Karenina

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Category: Arts & Entertainment | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
| March 30, 2012
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Re:Reading and Circus Books & Music in a technological society

Is your local independent bookstore coping with the digital age?

by Stephanie Furlan

Two independent bookstores located on Danforth Avenue, Re: Reading and Circus Books & Music, reveal the different methods they use to co-exist in a society that lives off of high-speed internet and getting anything it wants in an instant.

Employee Andrew Gray of Circus Books & Music believes independent bookstores have nothing to fear. Gray explains, “Ultimately, books will still be around.  I don’t think there will be a great shift of change. I think the eBook will allow for greater literacy, but people will still want to feel the texture of a book, and prices from a used bookstore compared to an eBook aren’t really different.”

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Category: Community | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
| March 20, 2012
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OTD raffle: Win great prizes!

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As On The Danforth 2011-2012 slowly comes to an end, we wanted to provide a fun farewell and raffle off some pretty amazing prizes. Support OTD and you could win:

TOP PRIZES: $2/ticket


Hunger Games Gift Basket

Raptor’s Tickets

$1/ticket


Starbucks Package

 

Purdy’s Package
Chocolate Bunny (600g)
Plush Bunny
Mini Tote Bag


Children’s Pack
Tim Horton’s Fudge
Lil Miss Sunshine Doll
Japanese toy clip purse
Hello Kitty keychain
Book: Gifts by Jo Ellen Bogart
VTech V-Reader


Travel Pack
Italian Leather-bound journal
The Beauty of the Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb
New Zealand Tote
Into the Silence by Wade Davis

 
British Pack
Keep Calm red journal
Sherlock Holmes Original Illustrated Complete Works
Tolkien Collector Guide

 

Sassy Girl Pack
Stitch and Bitch
Winter garden by Kristen Hanna
The Goodbye Quilt by Susan Wiggs
Queen of Your Own Life by Kathy Kinny


Graphic Novel Pack
Wonder Woman belt buckle
Soon to be a Motion Picture by Warren Dunford
Making a Killing by Warren Dunford
Marvels (comic anthology)
Anthology of Graphic Fiction

 

Self-Help Pack
How Happy is Your Home
How Happy is Your Health
How Happy is Your Marriage
How Happy is Your Love Life
Divine Soul Songs

 

Knowledge Power Pack
Neuroscience for Dummies
Footnotes in Gaza – Graphic Novel
Monster Careers – How to land the job of your life
The Whore of Akron
From Promise to Power – Obama

 

Kickass Females Pack
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Rogue Angel: Cradle of Solitude by Alex Archer
The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
Crave by Melissa Darnell
The Girls Guide to Homelessnes by Briana Karp
My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
The Girl in the Steel Corsette by Katie Cross
Pushing the Limit by Katie McGarry

 

Adult Literature Pack
In Close by Brenda Novack
Ru by Kim Thuy
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Natural Order by Brian Francis
The Kingdom of Childhood by Rebecca Coleman
Fired Up by Jayne Ann Krentz

 

Hipster Pack
Boardwalk Empire DVD
Belle and Sebastian: Just a Modern Rock Story
Put the Book Back on the Shelf: A Belle and Sebastian Anthology
Black Hole by Charles Burns
Roots Compact Playing Card Set

 

Harlequin Teen Pack
Dating the Undead: Loving the Immortal Man
The Juliet Spell by Douglas Rees
In the Arms of Stone Angels by Jordan Dane
Iron Queen Tank Top
Carina Press Lanyard

 

Beauty Pack
Beauty Evolution by Bobbi Brown
Eat Your Way to Sexy by Elizabeth Summer
Gorgeous Blue Crystal Earrings
Manuka Honey Soap
Mudd Black Purse

 

Young Adult Series Pack
Pretty Little Liars, Flawless, and Perfect by Sara Shepard
Legacy, Allegiance by Cayla Kluver (two of the trilogy)
The Hangman in the Mirror by Kate Cayley – SIGNED BY AUTHOR

Book Lovers Package
Three-in-One Pack by Cecilia Ahern (The Gift, P.S. I Love You, Where Rainbows End)
The Book of Tomorrow by Cecilia Ahern
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
Ghosts of the Uncanny – Anthology
Cornered by Ron MacLean
Walls (Notebook)
Gifts by Jo Ellen Bogart
Handmade Jewellery

 

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Package
The Night Eternal by Guillermo Del Toro – SIGNED BY AUTHOR
First Meetings in the Enderverse by Orson Scott Card
Eastern Standard Tribe by Cory Doctorow
Sunburst by Phyllis Gotlieb
A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

Lit Lover’s Package
Only Human by Tom Holt
Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam
The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich
The Lagahoo’s Apprentice by Rabindranath Maharaj
Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy

Home Design Package
V-Tech Phones
groovy jewellery holding figurine
large floral vase
two glass candle holders with floral engraving
small italian crystal flower vase

Writer’s Desk Package
smart source “innovative technology set”
floral stationary set with pink pen
classy mantle clock
fancy pen set
100% recycled, acid-free paper

Relaxing Package
fruits and passion rainbow soap and body milk lotion
avon hot pink heart shaped mirror
classic tan lotion
tea lights and holders set
large sweet pea and citrus candle

The Indulgence Package
large red cappuccino mug
Starbucks Mocha coffee pack
Chai tea pack
3lbs of The World’s Finest Chocolate Almonds

HOW YOU CAN ENTER TO WIN

What you need to know…

Starts: Tuesday, March 20
Ends: Thursday, March 29

Tickets will be drawn on March 29 at Fox & the Fiddle (535 Danforth Avenue) during our launch party for On the Danforth’s Spring & Summer magazines.

You can purchase your raffle tickets from the Sales team, and you decide which prize you would like your ticket to go towards.

When you purchase a ticket, all we need to know is:

name
phone number
email address

People can also choose to purchase tickets remotely.

This is how:

People can pledge to purchase tickets (however many they want), and as long as we receive payment from the individual by March 29, you are entered into the raffle!

You can reach us at: sales@onthedanforth.ca and arrange a way for payment with the sales team. Please verify how and where we can pick up payment from you (either we can meet up somewhere with you, you can arrange to visit us at Centennial College (951 Carlaw Avenue), or we can meet you at your place of business).

GOOD LUCK!

Category: Blog | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| February 28, 2012
2 comments

Let the Sun Shine In

photo by Jefferson Noguera, Spain, 2010.

Movies, music, and books to help you kick those tired, winter blues

by Katy Littlejohn

photo by Jefferson Noguera, Spain, 2010.

Remember summer? I know it’s been a while, so let me remind you how it goes:

Sunshine
Warm breezes
The beach
Fruity beverages
For ladies, sundresses
For men, an excuse to wear sandals

Grease’s beloved song, “Summer Nights,” evokes the heart of summer, even in the cold days of February. Here we are in the dead of winter: it’s high time we got out of our slushy funk and started to anticipate that most wonderful time of the year. Here are a few ways OTD’s A&E is suggesting you rediscover your summer lovin’ in February, without having to drop everything for a week in Mexico.

photo by Amy Burton, California, 2009.

Watch movies.

Just like Christmas movies that help get us in the right frame of mind for the holidays, there are movies that make us feel ready for summer. Any blockbuster you saw in the summer is a great start to getting you back to those lazy days, so here are a few suggestions:

photo by Benjamin Earwicker, Idaho, 2008.

From Here to Eternity: if making out with a cutie on the beach while waves crash around you doesn’t make the temperature rise, what will?
Dirty Dancing: “It was the summer of 1963 when everyone called me Baby and it didn’t occur to me to care…” Relive that summer at Kellerman’s and have the time of your life!
Jaws: hey, at least there’s a beach and the weather is always warm and sunny.
On Golden Pond: an oldie about oldies; cottage life at its most (dramatically) charming.
Mamma Mia!: Greece, sunshine, and singing—perfect!

Listen to music.

Make a playlist composed completely of summery songs. Press play, don some shades, and pretend you’re on a summer drive in the sunshine, the radio playing your all-time favourites. Here are a few to get you started:

“Summer of ’69”–Bryan Adams
“The Boys of Summer”–Don Henley
“What a Wonderful World”–Louis Armstrong
“Hotel California” –The Eagles
“Young Turks” – Rod Stewart
“Summer Breeze”–Seals and Crofts
“California Girls” –The Beach Boys
“California Girl” – Chilliwack
“California Gurls” – Katy Perry
“Summertime”– Ella Fitzgerald or Janis Joplin
“Sunny Afternoon” – The Kinks
“In the Summertime”– Mungo Jerry
“Summer in the City” – The Lovin’ Spoonful
“Hot Stuff” – Donna Summer
“Night Moves” – Bob Seger
“Groovin’” – The Rascals

Photo by Sanja Gjenero, Croatia, 2009.

Read summer books.

Maybe you don’t have the luxury of the two-month summer you had in school anymore, but you can recreate it by making some time to read for pleasure. Think back to the childhood version of yourself: what is the one book you remember loving? Does it remind you of the way life was back when you first read it? It’s no coincidence that the best summer stories are tales about children.

The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling: nothing like spending your time off going through 3000+ pages of pure magic!
W. O. Mitchell’s How I Spent My Summer Holidays: A prairie summer story told through the eyes of a child by one of Canada’s favourite storytellers

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain: an American classic about adventures in the sun
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez: any book that talks about forever is next door to the “summer that never ended” memories we have from our childhood.

photo by the Horton Group, Tennessee, 2009

Find time to read the classics, the titles you put on the back burner while you got busy with life, and the harmless guilty pleasure reads to recreate the easy living of summertime.

It may be cold outside, but you can create a warm day by reliving all things summer. Don’t let the mid-winter blues get to you: escape to that warm, sunny spot in your memory.

photo by the Horton Group, Tennessee, 2009.

Category: Arts & Entertainment | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
| January 11, 2012
3 comments

That’s Too Mainstream

How independent bookstores save us from our reliance on technology

by Katy Littlejohn

Whilst being shuffled and pushed through the crowd while changing trains at Yonge/Bloor station on my way home to the Danforth, my eye caught a smear of pink. Turning my head just in time to see a beautiful hardcover book perched atop a pay phone, my first reaction was to bully my way over to it and snatch it up. My second reaction was a little voice inside my head telling me to not touch anything in the subway. The latter won. The beautiful book would have to wait there without me.

All of this got me to thinking about how fast life can get—so much so that there never seems to be time for a book anymore. Even in bookstores, especially Indigo/Chapters, the books come secondary to the Kobo displays and home décor section. Technology, though not a bad thing per se, plays such a huge part in our day to day lives to the point where it replaces the things that have been just fine the way they were. The immediacy of today’s communication technology is the pinnacle of efficiency, but how much of it exceeds filling a need by tempting consumers with extra flare that we just don’t need? Instead of offering a solution to our problems it has become the status symbol that everyone craves.

Stacey Philipp, Toronto, 2011.

What happens to all of the words we don’t use when we use text messaging or BBM to communicate? Not only do we lose the opportunity to write thoughtfully in our high-speed lives, but also we seem to have lost the ability to read it. Our attention spans have downsized tremendously: who has time or energy for a book?
Back in the day, it could take months for someone in North America to contact someone in Europe, whereas now the connection is instant. But what do we lose with that immediacy? How did we pay for it?

We don’t write letters anymore. There used to be pages and pages dedicated to one letter all designed to be read as carefully as they were written. This might have a lot to do with why writers were such stars in the centuries preceding the digital revolution. The value of the written word was as big back then (for those who could afford education) as the value of a smartphone now (for those who can afford smartphones). Ironically, where we once paid to learn how to read and write, we now pay to avoid it.

Is technology trying to make amends for its destruction of the written word? Kindles and Kobos could be the saving grace of books, drawing tech-hungry consumers to snatch up the latest gadgets they can show off to their friends, or these e-readers could just be the literary antichrist, causing us to be so screen-dependent that real life doesn’t exist in something as simple as two covers sandwiching a collection of pages. Are books dying?

Here’s the glimmer of hope. Go to Book City or Re:Reading, both beautiful book stores on the Danforth, and both believers in the written word, and seek you the e-reader? Not there yet? Phew. What you will find, for those of you who are puzzled as to what could possibly fill their shelves—if not boxed technology, photo albums, and designer teas and travel mugs—are books. Good old, self-sufficient books.

Category: Arts & Entertainment | Tags: , , ,
| January 24, 2011
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Tempting Displays

Shop fruit displayThe Danforth is cast as a lively and friendly neighbourhood, with its Greek influences and eclectic variety of shops and gift boutiques found along the neighbourhood’s main street.

Restaurants utilize the sidewalk spaces with appealing outdoor patios, and quite often the shops do as well, providing tables filled with vibrant produce for sale.  But just how safe are these abundant displays on the street? What are shop owners risking by putting so much of their stock within easy reach of the passing public?

Sidewalk Samplers

Munir Ahadi is an employee at the Fresh Express Fine Foods store situated kitty-corner to Pape Subway Station. They sell a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, and, in addition to a well-stocked store, they have several tables outside offering produce. The store is open twenty-four hours a day, and Ahadi explains that in addition to cameras, there is a security guard that patrols the shop to keep an eye on things, but that mostly the food is just kept wrapped up under tarps at night.

According to statistics from the Toronto Police Service, there were seven instances of commercial break and enter or robbery in a one-month period from September 2010 to October 2010, within a one-kilometre radius of where the Fresh Express Fine Foods shop is located. As these are only the number of reported thefts in the area and it is rather hard to tell if a lime or two has gone missing, it’s no wonder that Ahadi and his employer hope for the best by wrapping up their outdoor produce.

The fruit isn’t their biggest target, however, and Ahadi laughs before explaining what their unlikely most stolen item is. “Cheese. We have a huge problem with people stealing cheese and taking it to the bar for when they have a beer.” The selections of cheese are in the middle of the store, surrounded by bright lights and a video camera. “Our boss chased a cheese thief down, once,” comments Fahir, a colleague of Ahadi. “Chased him all the way to the bar.”

The shopkeepers laugh over this, and it’s obvious that cheese theft is something they have faced quite a few times in their jobs. Ahadi is quick to point out that he would never personally chase a thief down, as it is too risky to go after someone without knowing how dangerous they can be.  But are people in the Danforth neighbourhood particularly dangerous, or simply light-fingered?

Five-Finger Discount

Just to the west of Fresh Express Fine Foods is a used bookstore at Danforth and Carlaw called Re: Reading. Christopher Sheedy, the owner, describes how he learned the hard way what to put out on his sidewalk display, after he lost 15 DVDs to a thief. “I had them out in cases, and they actually went through the cases, stole the DVDs, and left the cases there.  So now I put out anything that I’m ready to give away, so if it goes walking, I’m not out that much in profit.”

Sheedy’s bookstore is very popular with students from Centennial College, and though books are not a staple for living (according to most), even they have been the target of thieves.  He, like Ahadi, is also very quick to assert that if faced with a thief, the only thing he’d do is report it. Sheedy is wary of the number of unpredictable criminals today, and has read plenty of accounts in the papers where a simple theft over a five-dollar item has escalated into a stabbing or worse.

His shop hasn’t attracted that type of violence, and he hopes things stay that way. “Let the police come for them. They’ve the training.”

Oddly, neither Sheedy nor Fahir and Ahadi note any particular time of year that is worse for thefts than another.  Even with the outdoor displays and the influx of tourists to the area during the summer – most particularly to the Taste of the Danforth festival – business seems to be a steady stream of profitability with a few occurrences of theft.

Being closer to the less affluent east side of Pape, and being in the food merchant business, Fresh Express Fine Foods sees more instances of homeless individuals passing through their stores, which are a marked issue for them. Re: Reading doesn’t get as many, though both shopkeepers agree that they don’t have a typical shoplifter profile.

Regardless of the small thefts they face, both Re: Reading and Fresh Express Fine Foods continue to liven up the Danforth with their outdoor displays.

Category: Past Issues | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,