A Few of Our Favourite Things ...  

A nail-biter!
Picked by Sherri Suszko-Tirrell (Library Information Common).

Picked by Tricia Doubleday (Library Information Common).

Excellently told. Not morbid or sleazy. Very good story.
Picked by Leisha Klein (Library Information Common).

I read The Bean Trees for the first time in Grade 12. It was the first book I had to read in high school that I actually enjoyed.
Picked by Sarah Felzien (Library Information Common).

The history of Halifax at that time. The story of the medicalization of birthing and a midwife’s struggle to uphold midwifery and her reputation.
Picked by Karla Wyld (Nursing).

Fascinating story, compelling writing, deeply moving account of the strength of one woman in/despite most adverse circumstances, giving testimony to the strength of the human spirit.
Picked by Alma Funk (Nursing).

A poignant fable about the innocence of children in the Holocaust. Very readable and extremely thought provoking!
Picked by Wendy Motley (Nursing).

A moving tear-jerker.
Picked by Sherri Suszko-Tirrell (Library Information Common).

Picked by Yvonne Anderson (Library Information Common).

Lively, philosophically informed explanation of the underpinnings and implications of evolutionary theory. Filled with imaginative explanations and analogies and a much-needed corrective to the many misunderstandings surrounding Darwin's claims.
Picked by Guillermo Barron (Philosophy).

It combines history, story, and magic in an intriguing, speculative tale that brings the North and South Americas together in a particular point in history.
Picked by Joan Crate (English).

Excellent story - the characters capture and surprise you.
Picked by Louise Folkmann (Nursing).

Picked by Yvonne Anderson (Library Information Common).

I first read The English Patient (by accident) just a month or two prior to the motion picture being released, and was enthralled to read such a well-crafted story with a distinctly Canadian voice (and point of view). Ondaatje’s use of heightened imagery and poetic turn of phrase captivates the imagination and paints an exotic time and place. The themes of identity, ownership and healing are evocatively explored in the lives of each of the troubled souls who encounter themselves. The surprise ending (for me) was a beautiful release as well as strong social commentary. This is a book I choose to reread because of its language and the journey it takes me on.
Picked by Thomas Usher (Theatre Studies).

This is my favourite birding guide, superior to all others I have in terms of content, illustrations and size. It has gone on numerous canoe trips and hikes, and is still in one piece.
Picked by Leslie Beattie (Library Information Common).

Picked by Liz Hagell (Nursing).

Took me out of my mystery genre niche. Picked by Sherri Suszko-Tirrell (Library Information Common).

Captures the period the Great Depression and migratory farm families in the United States American history very well. Lyrically descriptive.
Picked by Paula L’Hirondelle (Library Information Common).

This is the most complete and understandable book regarding good residential design that I have found to date.
Picked by Jim Thomson (Carpentry).

Picked by Bea Tobias (Library Information Common).

Warren Buffett calls it “by far the best book about investing ever written.” Picked by Dave Inkster (Business Administration and Commerce).

It is wry, tragic, imaginative and beautiful; the novel is written as lyrically as a poem. Picked by Carlen Lavigne (Communications).

“Draws on the crumbling empire of medieval Spain to inspire this tale of brutality and romance.” He is one of my favourite Canadian authors – Speculative Fiction. Writes about the Iberian peninsula (my heritage). Picked by Maria Haubrich (Library Information Common).

A beautifully written book.
Picked by Lindsay Gustafson (Nursing).

Picked by Michael Schulz (Electrical).

Gives a unique perspective of what is going on in the left and right side of the brain. Written by a neuroscientist for the general public.
Picked by Helle Tees (Nursing).

It’s about a neuroscientist who has a stroke and records what happens as her left brain succumbs and her right brain takes over. It took her 8 years of rehabilitation to recover the functions of her left brain and now she has some interesting insights into making choices about when to let the right brain “win” over the left brain.
Picked by Pam Clarke (Professional Development / Career & Academic Preparation).

It is a story of brutality, loss of spirit, and survival during the Holocaust. The author’s telling of his own experiences is heart-moving. Strength, resilience, and hope can come from the most terrible situations.
Picked by Jennifer Lewin (Early Learning & Child Care).

Picked by Brenda Query (Nursing).

Great stories that reach the heart & soul while sharing knowledge and a different historical perspective than the one we usually hear/read. Highlights a variety of well known and up-an-coming indigenous authors. It’s Canadian!!!
Picked by Tera Dahl – Lang (Social Work).

The protagonist is one of the most compelling fictional characters that I have met. His bravery and insight in the face of unbelievable cruelty kept me enthralled. Post World War Two England is the setting for the novel, and the experiences of the protagonist expose the hypocrisy of the “upper” classes. Sadie Jones has created a story that is, ultimately, much more than an extended tale of cruelty and depravity but a celebration of the strength of the human spirit. Picked by Angela Carlyle (Career & Academic Preparation).

Emotionally charged. Picked by Sherri Suszko-Tirrell (library Information Common).

It shows the “Charge of the Light Brigade” to be an act of military stupidity and aristocratic arrogance, rather than heroism. The book made me think about how historians deal with events. I realized it was the same ridiculous arrogance which fed 500 young men to Russian cannons that forced Cecilia Woodham-Smith to write using a male name, to be taken seriously. Picked by: Jim Martens (History).

Picked by Bea Tobias (Library Information Common).

This wonderfully written non-fiction work successfully weaves the political and cultural history of Pakistan and Afghanistan around the story of how the American “Dr. Greg” works to build schools for some of the poorest communities in these countries. It shows both how education empowers us and how cultural barriers can be broken down in the face of a common goal. Picked by Anwen Burk (Centre for Teaching and Learning).

I have many favourites, but this is one I've recently read. It's the story of two Cree friends, Xavier and Elijah, who leave their pristine northern country to end up in the horrific trenches of World War I. Loosely based on the real life of a famous Canadian sniper, the story is told in flashbacks from two first-person viewpoints.

Three Day Road is Boyden's first novel. If you enjoy this, also try his second novel, Through Black Spruce.
Picked by Anne Marie Watson (Library Information Common).

A beautiful writer and terrific researcher. I felt considerably smarter for having read this book. Picked by Rod Schumacher (English).

It’s got a love story, it’s got a mystery, and the main character accidentally runs away with the circus. What’s not to love?
Picked by Michelle Edwards Thomson (Library Information Common).

Because it's bizarre, funny, inspiring, and sad all at the same time. John Irving is a genius...
Picked by Candice Marchand (Library Information Common).

My father read this (and many other books) to me as a child and began a lifetime of reading pleasure.
Picked by Anne Price (Communications).

Picked by Bea Tobias (Library Information Common).

Mostly because my girls love it...
Picked by Dustin Quirk (Business Administration).

My favorite bedtime story when I was a kid. It’s morbidly delightful.
Picked by Sarah Felzien (Library Information Common).

It's a hoot! Picked by Lindsay Gustafson (Nursing).

Two wonderful stories in one.
Picked by Sherri Suszko-Tirrell (Library Information Common).