END OF MARCH 2024

 “What we call the beginning is often the end.

 And to make an end is to make a beginning.

The end is where we start from.”    T.S. Eliot

 The time has come – slowly at first and much more quickly recently, like life. My retirement is no longer news to most of you as I have been “practicing” for some time and Sara Strachan has become known as the new owner of Parry Sound Books – officially on 2 April 2024.

 I am leaving the business I have built over 36 years in good hands, knowing that Sara, with her youthful energy, enthusiasm, and charm, will serve our customers well, taking Parry Sound Books into the future.

 I have been asked what I will do – once I might have wondered that myself. I have always liked to be busy. Al Purdy once called me “an industry” when I arrived at the cottage after a day of work, loaded with provisions for a full house of family and friends, ready for fun. But that was a long time ago. Having waited long past the usual retirement age to retire, I am far less energetic, and don’t mind the thought of being less busy.

 We will spend uninterrupted time at the cottage. My hour long commute, by boat to the marina and the drive down Highway 69, will happily be in the past. No more cold mornings on the water – as beautiful as they are. No more Friday evenings of defensive driving as others, desperate to get from the city to the bay, are driving as if life has no value.

 At this age we are ready to be out of Canada for the three coldest months of winter – someplace relatively warm, on the water, where the fish is fresh from the sea. We know our lives are very privileged. For two kids with nothing, who met in 1971, we’ve worked hard, had a lot of fun and some luck, as well as loss, and we plan to go out as we came in. Living our lives without too much worry about the future.

 I won’t miss being woken by an alarm clock. I will enjoy lingering over my morning coffee, and reading late into the night. I won’t miss social media. I will make a dent in the fabric I have amassed with some quilt making, and knit up the yarn. Re-read the books in my personal library. I’ll dig up plants along the highway for my cottage garden. I’ll clear out my basement. Sounds busy!

 What I will miss most about leaving Parry Sound Books is you - my customers. Some of you I have come to know well, others I have served for over three decades and we may not know each other in any other way, but we have sometimes shared some important conversations, not only about books.

 I know Sara will have your continued support for Parry Sound Books, and that you will show her the same loyalty you have shown me, and this business, over so many years.

 My very best wishes to you all. Charlotte

Parry Sound Books will be closed from Thursday 28 March – Monday 1 April inclusive.

Reopening on Tuesday 2 April 2024

NEWS WEEK OF 18 MARCH 2024

The most exciting book to arrive this week is A Year of Last Things by Michael Ondaatje, poems about life, and what matters, all exquisitely crafted. We have a very few autographed copies available!

Back in stock is The Food Doula Cookbook – a guide to a healthy pregnancy and a nourished new mom, by Lindsay Taylor. A balanced approach focused on nutritious food choices for pre-natal and post-natal health, for mother and baby.

American Spirits by Russell Banks, sadly his final book, from one of America’s most celebrated storytellers. Interlocked tales about the residents of a rural New York town and the shocking headlines that become their local mythologies.

The Swan’s Nest by Laura McNeal is an engrossing novel about the unlikely love affair between two great 19th century poets – Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning. Two people who believed that love could be as enduring and faithful as poetry.

Now in paperback

The Romanov Brides by Clare McHugh is a novel of the last Tsarina and her sisters. These granddaughters of Queen Victoria were three of the most beautiful princesses in Europe, destined to marry wisely and well. None of them could have imagined the life that would follow, and the tragic consequences.

The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths featuring forensic archaeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway and DCI Nelson, could very well be the last in the series, as Ruth and Nelson attempt to save a friend in grave danger.

The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear, may be a stand-alone mystery or the beginning of a new series, by the author of the Maisie Dobbs mystery series. This one set in post Second World War Britain, follows the coming of age of a former wartime operative, Elinor White.

NEWS 1 MARCH 2024

Lots of new books worth a mention this week!

Piglet by Lottie Hazel got a lot of pre-publication attention. A young woman and her seemingly perfect partner prepare for their wedding. A compelling story of a young woman, her desires and insecurities. Well written, with characters whose welfare you will care about, clever and funny, great debut novel!

After Annie by Anna Quindlen – as always written with an understanding of the human condition, of family relationships, and friendship. The power of love and triumph over adversity, and always hope.

We’ve Got Issues by Phillip MGraw is a new book on how to come home to our core values, fortify our families, and re-embrace self-determination and self-governance.

New in paperback

The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan is an uplifting celebration of fierce, loyal love and the powerful stories that blend together generations of the Aylward women of Nenagh, Tipperary. 

The Sisters of Belfast by Melanie Maure tells the story of orphaned twin sisters whose lives diverge for decades, until fate – and faith – eventually reunite them.

The Midwife of Auschwitz by Anna Stuart is a novel based on events during the holocaust and the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, the women who gave birth in such a desperate place and time, and the midwives who did their best to help.

Old Babes in the Wood by Margaret Atwood is a collection of stories, some profoundly moving and tender, some funny, some sad, all will illuminate, delight, and entertain.

For mystery readers

 Somehow a great escape from the real world – as Agatha Christie once wrote “a detective story is complete relaxation, an escape from the realism of everyday life. It has, too, the tonic value of a puzzle – a challenge to the ingenuity. It sharpens your wits – makes you mentally alert. To follow a detective story closely you need concentration. To spot the criminal needs acumen and good reasoning powers. It has also a sporting interest and is much less expensive than betting on horses or gambling at cards. Its ethical background is usually sound. Very, very rarely is the criminal the hero of the book. Society unites to hunt him down, and the reader can have all the fun of the chase without moving from a comfortable armchair.”

 You Can’t See Me by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir is Icelandic Noir at its best – this one set at a futuristic hotel amongst the dark lava flows on a remote peninsula, as a wealthy family gathers for a reunion.

Come Death and High Water by Ann Cleeves is classic crime, as her earlier novels, featuring amateur detectives George and Molly Palmer-Jones, are being re-issued. This one set at a bird observatory on the North Devon coast.

What We Buried by Robert Rotenberg. A decade after the murder of a man at a Toronto café, his brother travels to an Italian hill town, once terrorized by the Nazis, looking for answers.

The Prey by Yrsa Sigurdardottir weaves together a story that involves a box of photo albums found in the attic of a small fishing village, a missing couple from Reykjavik, and a mysterious phone call received at a remote radar station.

NEWS WEEK OF 21 FEBRUARY 2024

 The days and weeks of February fly by – as books fly in and out of Parry Sound Books.

 Some of the most notable to arrive in the past week are –

 Fourteen Days, edited by Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston, is a collaborative novel with each connected story written anonymously by a different major literary figure – from Celeste Ng and Tommy Orange, to Diana Gabaldon and John Grisham. A dazzling heart-warming, and page-turning delight.

 True North by Andrew J Graff is a heartfelt novel of a marriage and white water rafting, following one couple as they navigate the changing currents of family, community, and the river itself.

Now in paperback –

 I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makki finds a successful professor content to forget a tragedy that marred her adolescence. An irresistible novel, a deeply felt examination of one woman’s reckoning with her past, with a transfixing mystery at its heart.

 Operation Heartbreak by Duff Cooper, originally published in 1950 has been re-issued for a new generation. A perfectly told tale of defeat and glory, gallantry in the face of the absurd. Inspired by a real-life secret mission during World War II.

 The Distance Between Us by Maggie O’Farrell is one of her many earlier novels to be re-issued since the publication of Hamnet. Each and every one of Maggie O’Farrell’s novels a delight!

 Blood Runs Cold by John Lancaster for the mystery readers this week. A young woman, rescued from traffickers, thought to be safe in a secure home in the Scottish Highlands has disappeared.

DS Max Craigie knows there must be a leak somewhere within law enforcement – and he must find it.

We have been selling Out of Print library card tote bags for the past year – and now stock their children’s selection – great cotton canvas bags made in the United States. Perfect for carrying your books and, priced at only $20 great for gift giving!

Our sale table has been re-stocked with a fresh selection of “collectible” books – priced at only $5 each – all valued at $15 or more – an opportunity for some excellent reading at a great price!

NEWS WEEK OF 12 FEBRAURY 2024

 A quiet time of year in Parry Sound, but busy behind the scenes at Parry Sound Books as we plan for the coming spring and summer, the return of the snow birds and summer residents and visitors. Always lots of interesting and exciting books to be published in the coming months to fill our shelves and keep us reading –

New arrivals worth a mention this week are –

 The Lantern’s Dance by Laurie R King is the 18th instalment in her Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series. The couple, hoping for a respite in the French countryside, are instead caught up in a case that turns both bewildering and intensely personal.

 Followed by the Lark by Helen Humphreys is a novel of significant moments in a life, capturing loss, change, and the danger and healing that come from a communion with the natural world, set against a backdrop of great change and tumult in America.

 The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang is a thrilling and unforgettable narrative about the intertwined lives of two wronged women, spanning from the chaos of the San Francisco earthquake to the glittering palaces of Versailles.  

 Someone Else’s Shoes by Jojo Moyes is a story about how just one little thing can suddenly change anything, humourous and heart warming.

 For the kids –

 Beatrice and Croc Harry by Lawrence Hill is now available in paperback. A young girl, of uncertain age, wakes up all alone in a tree house in the forest……Perfect of pre-teens or a family read aloud!

PUZZLES – more and more and more new puzzles to while away your days awaiting spring ………..

Our sale table is full of “collectible “ books – only $5 each – many a bargain to be had!