Book Jacket Letters

Oscar and Lucinda have sat on my bookshelf for 5 years. So, knowing I was spending 7 glorious days in Bayahibe, Dominican Republic with nothing to do but relax it seemed like the perfect time to  finally get this Booker winner read. I managed to finish it the day before we left, so it was a perfect choice!

Peter Carey is a prolific writer and this piece of historical fiction about Australia in…

October 6, 2014

I am deathly afraid of two things: heights and THE DENTIST. While my fear of heights seems to lessen a little bit each year (though you will never see me jumping out of a plane – even at 80) every visit to the dentist amplifies my fear. From the moment I step into the office, my palms start sweating and I have a strong desire to hum just to keep myself from crying. So, when Joshua…

I am currently making my way through the 2014 Man Booker Prize shortlist and WHOA! is it ever different than any other year’s shortlist. Last year’s choices were highly ‘literary': decidedly tough reads (Testament of Mary, The Luminaries), often long reads (The Luminaries), and not for the faint of heart. This year’s books are (so far) surprisingly ‘lighter’ reads. Not to say they don’t cover…

Ok – it’s not Brooklyn – but it’s a photo I took last year, that I love. And it’s a tree.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith is considered an American classic…but growing up in Canada meant it was never on any reading list. I had never even heard of it until my American colleague told me I HAD to read it. So I did. It’s a wonderful coming of age story that reminded me of The Apprenticeship…

In between rounds of the current downpour I managed to get to my destination and am currently sitting across the street from Humber College’s Little Free Library. Here’s my view:

I am so happy! Here’s my happy face:

So, not only did I complete my book drop but I also picked up two new books…so the process begins again!

This is the Best. Library. Ever.

As I mentioned in a previous post, not one but TWO branches of The Little Free Library opened at Humber College this week. So, in honour of the opening I am dropping three of my favorite books there today. These books have been taking up space in a file box in my front closet for close to a year, and there are at least 20 more books in there waiting for me to write letters and send them out into…

As I mentioned in a previous post, not one but TWO branches of The Little Free Library opened at Humber College this week. So, in honour of the opening I am dropping four of my favourite books there today. These books have been taking up space in a file box in my front closet for close to a year, and there are at least 20 more books in there waiting for me to write letters and send them out into…

As I mentioned in a previous post, not one but TWO branches of The Little Free Libraryopened at Humber College this week. So, in honour of the opening I am dropping four of my favourite books there today. These books have been taking up space in a file box in my front closet for close to a year, and there are at least 20 more books in there waiting for me to write letters and send them out into…

[I am a firm believe in the mantra "Read and let read!" I rarely hate a book, and I rarely stop reading a book before I reach the last page. I believe that if someone has put effort into writing something, it's worth struggling through...to an extent. And so, when Douglas Hofstadter (yes, the same brilliant mind that won the Pulitzer for Godel, Escher, Bach, and perhaps the inspiration for…

The Little Free Library

  Obviously, the idea of sharing books with others is a HUUUUUUGGGGGEEEE part of my life: at school I’m always suggesting reading choices for my students and I’m constantly asked what I’m reading; on this blog, I write letters in the books I read and put them back into circulation through the Toronto Public Library system; and, I partake in the “Book Drop” – where I leave a book I own and have…

A letter about Love, the Questionnaire, and reading The Rosie Project

A good book, a good dog and a good footstool. What more do you need?

[BJL Context: I just finished The Rosie Project - a cute, happy read by Graeme Simsion about a socially inept Professor and his scientific exploration of love.]

  May 26, 2014

Do you remember all those summers during our teens, when we flipped through glossy magazines and answered every stupid questionnaire?  “Is he the one for…

A letter in which the author writes a letter and inserts it into the book jacket of The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. The book is then promptly returned to the school library where the author works

If you can make to Part 2 of The Luminaries you won’t regret it.

Greetings!

If you’ve found this letter in the library copy of The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton then you will be pleased to know that I already know a few things about you! Ready?

1. Chances are that we’ve had class together. After all , it is a small school! I hope that if you figure out who I am that you will keep my book jacket…

All the Words I Know

  “In this box are all the words I know,” he said. “Most of them you will never need, some you will use constantly, but with them you may ask all the questions which have never been answered and answer all the questions which have never been asked. All the great books of the past and all the ones yet to come are made with these words. With them there is no obstacle you cannot overcome. All you…

Beloved Milo! The lucky boy who meets “some of the most logically illogical characters” ever! [quote from the book jacket]

April 24, 2014

To the next (and probably younger) reader of this book,

I am 40 years old. That in itself may be shocking to you…but more shocking is that this is my first reading of The Phantom Tollbooth. How I managed to live this long without reading it isa mystery because…

Haruki Murakami’s Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is an excellent short story collection!

To the reader of Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman,

I loved this collection! It was my intro to Murakami’s short stories and I’m so glad I read it. My favourite stories in the collection are : “Birthday Girl”, “Dabchick” and “Hanelei Bay”.

And while I was reading it, I was extolling its virtues to a friend who LOVES…

[Book Jacket Letter Context: I've been reading a ton of living-off-the-grid books in the last few weeks. I guess the polar vortex really did affect me on some level! By far, the best (and quirkiest) I've read is Off On our Ownby Ted Cairns but if you have ANY recommendations, let me know. In the mean time, I've attached a copy of the following letter in each of the books I've read about…