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The unpretentious atmosphere of Blue Heron Books with its comfy chairs, wood shelving and creaky floors lends itself to a long slow, browsing session, but under that sleepy atmosphere vibrates a strong pulse. The store has a quaint, old-fashioned look with an up tempo vibe, because there is always something happening. The store is a hub for the community and a bastion of calm chaos where everyone is welcome, even the local dogs that drop by with their owners for a treat from the tin kept under the front counter.
62 Brock St. W., Uxbridge, Ontario. 905-852-4282Monthly Pick
The (store) Book Club – June 2011
Etiénne Morneau is an unassuming young man of few friends and even fewer words. A recluse, the only way he can make sense of the world around him is to compile lists and stick to a routine. Details of ordinary life that we accept as a matter of course, he often finds difficult to grasp. As a result, he believes he does not know or feel enough to express anything worth expressing. Yet in spite of Etienne’s unique perspective, or perhaps because of it, he is secretly a creative genius. His art — an attempt to capture in images what his mind cannot define in words – is infused with a strange beauty; and his journals – organized in the form of a dictionary — reveal an innocent soul yearning to take part in life and all its small glories. Featuring elegant writing and an unforgettable narrator, Etiénne’s Alphabet is proof that all it takes to make the world remarkable and new is a “different” set of eyes.
The (store) Book Club – May 2011
The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha
Based on the award-winning blog 1000awesomethings.com, The Book of Awesome is a celebration of life’s little moments and the underappreciated, simple things that make us happy, from popping bubble wrap to hitting a bunch of green lights in a row.
Neil Pasricha works an office job in the suburbs, eats frozen burritos for dinner, and needs to go to the gym more. He’s just a regular guy who loves warm underwear from the dryer, the cool side of the pillow, and snow days.
The (store) Book Club – April 2011
When Fenelon Falls
by Dorothy Ellen Palmer
A spaceship hurtles towards the moon, hippies gather at Woodstock,
Charles Manson leads a cult into murder, and a Kennedy drives off a
Chappaquiddick dock: it’s the summer of 1969. And as mankind takes its
giant leap, Jordan May March, disabled bastard and genius, age fourteen,
limps and schemes her way towards adulthood. Trapped at the March
family’s cottage, she spends her days memorizing Top 40 lists, avoiding
her adoptive cousins, catching frogs, and plotting to save Yogi, the
bullied, buttertart-eating bear caged at the top of March Road. In her
diary, reworking the scant facts of her adoption, Jordan visions and
revisions a hundred different scenarios for her conception on that night
in 1954 when Hurricane Hazel tore Toronto to Read the rest of this entry »
The (store) Book Club – March 2011
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
“A marvel of a first novel. Verghese’s generosity of spirit is beautifully embodied in this gripping family saga that brings mid-century Ethiopia to vivid life. The practice of medicine is like a spiritual calling in this book, and the unforgettable people at its center bring passion and nobility — not to mention humor and humility — to the ancient art, while living an unforgettable story of love and betrayal and forgiveness. It’s wonderful.” — Ann Packer
The (store) Book Club – February 2011
The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou
Digger, an 85 kilo wrestler, and Sadie, a 26-year-old speed swimmer, stand on the verge of realizing every athlete’s dream—winning a gold medal at the Olympics. Both athletes are nearing the end of their athletic careers, and are forced to confront the question: what happens to athletes when their bodies are too old and injured to compete? The blossoming relationship between Digger and Sadie is tested in the all-important months leading up to the Olympics, as intense training schedules, divided loyalties, and unpredicted obstacles take their draining toll. The Olympics, as both of them are painfully aware, will be the realization or the end of a life’s dream. The Bone Cage captures the physicality, sensuality, and euphoric highs of amateur sport, and the darker, cruel side of sport programs that wear athletes down and spit them out at the end of their bloom. With realism and humour, author Angie Abdou captures athletes on the brink of that transition—the lead-up to that looming redefinition of self—and explores how people deal with the loss of their dream.
The (store) Book Club – January 2011
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron
Barcelona, 1945-A great world city lies shrouded in secrets after the war, and a boy mourning the loss of his mother finds solace in his love for an extraordinary book called The Shadow of the Wind, by an author named Julian Carax. When the boy searches for Carax’s other books, it begins to dawn on him, to his horror, that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book the man has ever written. Soon the boy realizes that The Shadow of the Wind is as dangerous to own as it is impossible to forget, for the mystery of its author’s identity holds the key to an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love that someone will go to any lengths to keep secret.
We've listened in for years, but this year CBC Books turned the spotlight on Blue Heron Books, naming it the Independent Bookseller for the month of January.
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