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

Why horses?

I'm not sure. They were the first things I ever drew and the only ones for many years.

What's your favourite medium to work in?

Pastel, Coloured Pencil, and Paint.

How can we find you online?

www.theflemishmonkey.com or www.flemishmonkey.deviantart.com

Which artists do you find inspiring?

Kinuko Craft, Franz Marc, Emily Carr

What's your favourite colour right now?

Yellow!

What's your favourite section of the library?

I discover a new one every week!

When you’re on holiday, why read a dry list of dates and events to learn the history of a place? There are glossy paperbacks to fill that need! I was going to London, England, the home of Madame Tussaud’s waxworks. Although I haven’t seen her wax figurines, I was curious about the life story of this London institution. And then I chanced upon Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran. It turns out Madame Tussaud was born Marie Grosholz, and she spent her early years in Paris, modeling wax figures of the royal family. Michelle weaves a story around this volatile time during the French Revolution. Although Marie teaches sculpting to the King’s sister Elisabeth, her step father wisely invites the leading figures of the Revolution to their salon. Thus we meet Robespierre, Danton, Marat, the Marquis de Lafayette and the Duc d’Orleans. Although the story was cliché at times, it was a pleasant way to review French history. And Madame Tussaud, a practical businesswoman in the midst of such turbulent times, is an excellent choice for an historical imagining.

Another pleasant book to read about London is The Tower, the Zoo and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart. This is a light romantic comedy set in The Tower of London. Like a frothy lovefest that William Shakespeare or Ingmar Bergman would write, all the many characters find love after misadventures. The main love story is between Balthazar Jones, a beefeater and his wife Hebe who works in Lost and Found for the London Underground subway. Ridiculous and charming, the reviewer that called it a “summer confection” hit the nail on the head. If you’ve ever visited the Tower of London, you will pick up some historical bits as you’re entertained.

People are often surprised to find that a self-proclaimed book snob like myself sometimes reads a juvenile fiction book. Why on earth wouldn't I? Good books are good books and it doesn't matter to me if it is a juvenile, young adult or adult book.

Wonderstruck, by Brian Selznick, is a very good book indeed. It is both the story of Ben, a boy who goes off to New York City on his own in the year 1977, and the story of Rose, a girl who goes off to New York City on her own in the year 1927. There are many parallels between the stories of Ben and Rose, but one very big difference is in the way that their separate stories are told. Rose's story is told entirely in pictures while Ben's story is told in text. There is a good reason for the different techniques - one that I can't reveal without spoiling a plot twist - and what might seem at first to be just a gimmick makes a great deal of sense at the end. In fact much of Wonderstruck is about how, with courage and curiosity, sense can be made out of accidents and tragedies.

The ending of the book answers the reader's questions about Ben and Rose, but what I like about Wonderstruck is that it plants as many questions in the mind of the reader as it goes along. I can easily imagine this book will inspire many kids to find out more about a varity of topics; meteors, wolves, sign language, model making, silent movies....

A Beautiful and inspiring book that will captivate kids and adults alike.

Why horses?

This drawing is part of a series and when horses first appeared I had no idea why they were showing up. Eventually I saw they probably had some symbolic significance as personal power emblems.

What's your favourite medium to work in?

The mixture of drawings media I use in these drawings i.e. graphite, color pencil, watercolour, graphite dust, stencils and stamps give a range of language I really enjoy.

How can we find you online?

I have a blog at http://cathrinegreene.wordpress.com

Which artists do you find inspiring?

Those who have found an authentic voice and an articulate use of visual language.

What's your favourite section of the library?

Maybe the stacks-- they bring back memories of my first library experiences where the shelves were so much taller than myself and full of potential stories.

What's your favourite colour right now?

Indigo blue-- the colour of the night sky.

Do you have any personal stories about horses?

Well, I worked on a dude ranch in Wyoming as a summer job during university years. They horse they gave me to ride in my off hours was named 'Suddenly"-- the implication of which I never clued into until I found out that summer he had been part of the bucking string. However, maybe because of my naivety he was always the perfect gentleman with me!