One of the great things about being a snob is that you get to discover things way before the general public, or even the culturati in general, catch on. Yes it is lonely being so far ahead of the crowd but that is just the burden a snob like me has to bear. This loneliness is more than offset once the world catches up to you, and you can then proudly say you were into R.E.M. after their debut album and you read Haruki Murakami's first novel to be translated into English when it was still only available in hardcover. Yes I know some people will mutter under their breath that you are an insufferable bore, but I'm sure that deep down they admire your genius for recognizing the genius of others.

I say all this as a preamble to my latest book-snobbish pronouncement: Etgar Keret is the most important writer in the world.

Now I realize you may have no idea who Etgar Keret is, so let me fill you in. Etgar Keret is a forty-five year old Isreali writer who has published five collections of short stories. Five books? you say How can I claim to have discovered this guy when he has already written five books? Calm down. He is still in that "cult following" stage, so as long as you claim him as your own before he becomes a household name (which could be in five years or sometime next week) then you get all the hipster points. Take it as a good sign that currently only two of his books are available from the library. You may want to even buy (gasp!) one of his books, so then you can leave it lying around your apartment to be noticed by friends.

Why is he important?

Glad you asked.

Every great new writer stakes out uncharted territory - and this is exactly what Keret does. He writes very short stories - which is perfect for the age we live in. Let's face it, the internet has reduced our collective attention span down to the level of fruit bats. While other authors attempt to fight this reality - writing longer works in the vain hopes we will exercise our brains back to Tolstoy strength - Keret knows you can't fight evolution. Or is it devolution? Whatever - the point is Keret can deliver a beautiful story that illuminates a profound truth about the human condition and he can do it in about four pages. His stories are absurd, which probably puts the serious literature folks off. I say we live in absurd times and that calls for absurd literature. So what if his stories feature talking fish and cute girls that transform into fat harry men once the sun goes down? This is the new mythology that make sense of the early twenty first century. Eighty years ago nobody understood why a story about a guy turning into a cockroach was important. But more important than form is the style Keret uses: part Kurt Vonnegut, part Coen brothers, part Lenny Bruce, part Bugs Bunny, part Sigmund Freud....Keret has a voice that is quitessentially "now". Oh, and another thing - Keret has some things to say about being a human and trying to have some dignity in a world where dignity is rare. This alone makes him important.

The big knock against Keret is that he is not politically correct. He offends some people. In his native Isreal he has pulled off the impossible trick of being both the most popular writer and the least popular writer at the same time! If that is not a sign of genius, I don't know what is.

So go get yourself an Etgar Keret book. You will find it is as great as it is hard to find.

RILEY LIBRARY CHILDREN'S

Book of the Month

Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School, by David MacKinttosh

Marshall Armstrong is new to our school.

His ear looks like a shell and his freckles
look like birdseed on his nose.

His arms are white and spotty and he
eats space food in silver wrappers.

Marshall Armstrong is not like me!

Why horses?

In 2005 on a trail ride into Calgary for the Stampede, 9 out of 200 horses were killed in a freak accident on the bridge. As horse's being the sensitive creatures they are, this tragedy shocked and saddened me greatly. In my grief I created a series of horse drawings and paintings in commemoration of this unfortunate event. Happy to say the Stampede in there infinite wisdom have now stopped these trail rides into the city during Stampede.

What's your favourite medium to work in?

I enjoy painting on canvas, and I also do pen and ink works on paper, I also love hard board and the rough side of masonite board with acrylics and multi-media.

How can we find you online?

moveovermountain@yahoo.ca

Which artists do you find inspiring?

Otto Rogers, Alfred Pellan, Michael Snow, Jock MacDonald, all Canadian artists and Cezanne (if he's seen Canadian Light he probably would have relocated here to Canada and painted our land)

What's your favourite section of the library?

New & Notable. The library staff always seem to select the latest and best authors for my reading pleasure. Sometimes I take advantage of the magazine section and stop for a flip through the art magazines.

What's your favourite colour right now?

I love all colours, and as an artist the colours choose me when painting...

Do you have any personal stories about horses?

Well this aforementioned 2005 experience and the piece I submitted for this show lead to a story I wrote on the legend of this particular horse representing all nine of these wonderful creatures.

Thank you!

Your welcome and thank you for your efforts in making this event possible to bring artists and the library experience as a co-creation for the library clients.

Congratulations to Calgary writer (and Louise Riley Library patron) Will Ferguson.

Will Ferguson is a historian, a social commentator, and an all-round funny guy. His books are best-sellers: How to be a Canadian (written with his brother Ian), Beauty Secrets From Moose Jaw, Beyond Belfast....It seems that he has hit upon a great recipe for success, making funny books of fiction and non-fiction alike that the Canadian reading public loves. And he has won awards. He has received the Leacock Medal for Humour three times, The Pierre Berton Award for History, The CAA Award for History and numerous appearances on various long lists and short lists. To these accolades Will can now add a Giller Prize long list nomination, as his most recent novel, 419, is one of thirteen Canadian novels vying for Canada's top literary award.

This must be a particularly satisfying nomination for Will, because 419 is nothing like the lighter comic novels he has so far produced. It is a serious literary novel, and as such he took a great risk in alienating those who had come to expect more of the same from him.

419 gets its name from the section in the Nigerian Criminal Code that deals with obtaining money or goods under false pretences. Internet fraud in short. Have you ever gotten one one of those emails from the nephew of a wrongly imprisoned African politician who needs your help to access millions of dollars in frozen assets and will give you bags of money for your trouble? Well Laura's dad got one of those and instead of deleting it he fell for it. Henry Curtis emptied his bank accounts, remortgaged his house and maxed out his credit cards. Then he died, leaving Laura grief stricken and looking for answers. This search takes her from the soft, white underbelly of the first-world (a gleaming Calgary condo, to be exact) to the streets of Lagos, hoping to find the man she feels is responsible for her father's death.

Woven into Laura's story is the tale of Nigerians who are trying to survive as honorably as possible in a very dangerous place, where the interests of muti-national oil companies are putting the squeeze on traditional ways of life.

419 is a complex novel that deals with complex issues. Kudos to the Giller Prize committee for recognizing it as a work of high artistic merit and congratulations again (and good luck!) to Will Ferguson.

Click here to see a secret interview with Will Ferguson.

RILEY LIBRARY TEEN

Book of the Month

The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her
a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final
chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist
named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support
Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

A brilliant exploration of the funny, thrilling, and tragic business
of being young and in love.

One of my regular magazines reviewed Some Kind of Fairy Tale, and I placed my hold in a hurry. Why? It sounded like a fantasy novel for pragmatists, and a good summer read. I was not disappointed. It's a page-turner that I would recommend this novel to mystery fans as well.

A couple's daughter turns up on their doorstep having been missing for twenty years and assumed the victim of foul play. As expected, her then-boyfriend was accused of the crime and became lost in time socially as a result.

Tara's explanation for her disappearance is that she was seduced away by a friendly man while lying amongst the bluebells in a popular local woodland. Her took her, she claims, to another land/dimension. Everyone else is skeptical of her account that seems to be a tale of abduction by fairies. Meanwhile a strange man is stalking her loved ones.

Graham Joyce's novel explores the family dynamics of reconciling with a lost loved one, the literary history of fairies, and the analytical perspective of Tara's psychiatrist, who simply cannot conceive of her experience as reality.

The Lazy reader recommends books for bookclubs: not too long, not too sad, and a little humour thrown in!

Popular favourites: The Girl with the Pearl Earring, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, The Help, The Imperfectionists, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, Water for Elephants

A little more literary: The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Generosity: An Enhancement, State of Wonder

Fun mysteries: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, The Thirteenth Tale

Non fiction to discuss: Bossypants, Dreams of Trespass, The Film Club, The Horse Boy, Julie and Julia, Me Talk Pretty One Day, West with the Night, The Happiness Project

Quirky characters: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, The Family Fang, A Complicated Kindness, The Flying Troutman, Come Thou Tortoise

Fantasy favourites: The Night Circus, Wicked, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, Graceling