We have the updated 2010/2011 booklists for the following schools:

Country Day School (CDS)

Havergal College

Associated Hebrew Schools

Bais Chomesh

Bayview Glen

Crestwood Preparatory College

Hawthorn School For Girls

Metropolitan Preparatory Academy

Ner Israel Yeshiva

Northmount School

Or Haemet Sephardic School

Peoples Christian Academy

Robbins Hebrew Academy (RHA, USDS)

Saint Michael's College School

TanenbaumCHAT - Kimel Centre

TanenbaumCHAT - Wallenberg Campus

Tiferes Bais Yaakov

Toronto Montessori School

Town Centre Montessori Private High School

Ulpanot Orot (Bnei Akiva Schools)

Yeshiva Darchei Torah of Toronto

Yeshivat Or Chaim (Bnei Akiva Schools)

Please contact us for information or to reserve used textbooks.

We have updated 2010/2011 bookclub lists for the following groups:

Critics' Choice Fall Series with Professor Elaine Newton

Heather Kassel's Book and Film Reviews

Marilyn Herbert Book group

Prosserman Jewish Library Bookclub

We have the updated 2010/2011 booklists for the following schools:

Associated Hebrew Schools

Bais Chomesh

Hawthorn School For Girls

Saint Michael's College School

Town Centre Montessori Private High School

Ulpanot Orot (Bnei Akiva Schools)

Yeshivat Or Chaim (Bnei Akiva Schools)

Bayview Glen

Crestwood Preparatory College

Hawthorn School For Girls

Metropolitan Preparatory Academy

Ner Israel Yeshiva

Northmount School

Or Haemet Sephardic School

Peoples Christian Academy

Robbins Hebrew Academy (RHA, USDS)

TanenbaumCHAT - Kimel Centre

TanenbaumCHAT - Wallenberg Campus

Tiferes Bais Yaakov

Toronto Montessori School

Yeshiva Darchei Torah of Toronto

Please contact us for information or to reserve used textbooks.

We have the updated 2010/2011 booklists for the following schools:

Toronto Montessori School

Bayview Glen

Crestwood Preparatory College

Hawthorn School For Girls

Metropolitan Preparatory Academy

Ner Israel Yeshiva

Northmount School

Or Haemet Sephardic School

Peoples Christian Academy

Robbins Hebrew Academy (RHA, USDS)

TanenbaumCHAT - Kimel Centre

TanenbaumCHAT - Wallenberg Campus

Tiferes Bais Yaakov

Yeshiva Darchei Torah of Toronto

Please contact us for information or to reserve used textbooks.

We have the updated 2010/2011 booklists for the following schools:

Hawthorn School For Girls

Peoples Christian Academy

Tiferes Bais Yaakov

Yeshiva Darchei Torah of Toronto

Bayview Glen

Crestwood Preparatory College

Metropolitan Preparatory Academy

Ner Israel Yeshiva

Northmount School

Or Haemet Sephardic School

Robbins Hebrew Academy (RHA, USDS)

TanenbaumCHAT - Kimel Centre

TanenbaumCHAT - Wallenberg Campus

Please contact us for information or to reserve used textbooks.

We have the updated 2010/2011 booklists for the following schools:

Crestwood Preparatory College

Metropolitan Preparatory Academy

Ner Israel Yeshiva

Robbins Hebrew Academy (RHA, USDS)

Bayview Glen

Northmount School

Or Haemet Sephardic School

TanenbaumCHAT - Kimel Centre

TanenbaumCHAT - Wallenberg Campus

Please contact us for information or to reserve used textbooks.

We have the updated 2010/2011 booklists for the following schools:

Bayview Glen

Northmount School

Or Haemet Sephardic School

TanenbaumCHAT - Kimel Centre

TanenbaumCHAT - Wallenberg Campus

Please contact us for information or to reserve used textbooks.

Sima's Undergarments for Women, by Ilana Stanger-Ross

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People, by Farhad Zama

The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine De Medici, by Jeanne Kalogrides

Steak:  One Man's Search for the World's Tastiest Piece of Beef, by Mark Schnatzker

Half Life, by Roopa Farooki

Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover, by Ali Carter

The Devil's Company, by David Liss

The Wife's Tale, by Lori Lanssens

Innocent, by Scott Turow3

From earliest to latest, and not necessarily in order of preference, my favourite books of the past decade are:

1.  A Conspiracy of paper,  David Liss,  2000

2.  Bel Canto,  Ann Patchett,  2001

3.  City of Dreams,  Beverly Swerling,  2001

4.  Middlesex,  Jeffrey Eugenides, 2002

5.  The Crimson Petal and the White,  Michael Faber,  2002

6.  Shantaram,  Gregory David Roberts,  2003

7.  We Need to Talk about Kevin,  Lionel Shriver,  2003

8.  The Shadow of the Wind,  Carlos Ruiz Zafon,  2004

9.  Saturday,  Ian McEwan,  2005

10.  The Book Thief,  Markus Zusak, 2005

I'm not sure why all of my favourites are from the first half of the decade.  There have been many outstanding books since 2005.  I'll chalk it up to a statistical oddity.  I'm going to stop my list at 10, although I think I could make this a top 100.  There have been many outstanding and memorable books in the past ten years and I suspect that the more I think about it the more books I could add.

I'm going to post my top 10 young adult books of the past decade next (hint:  that's where you'll find everyone's favourite boy wizard.)  

Yoram

The Shadow Dragons is the fourth and final (I think) installment of James Owen's clever literary fantasy series.  The premise of the books is that there is a part of the world in which all of the great heroes, villains, and storybook places are for real.  Or, at least, the people and places on whom these stories are predicated are for real.  This part of the world, called the Archipelago of Dreams, has remained undiscovered due to the efforts of the Caretakers - a long line of protectors whose job it has been to keep the Archipelago hidden, and who, themselves, are many of the great authors and thinkers in human history.  The first two books in the series, while full of adventure, were in large part successful because just figuring out the identities of so many literary characters out of context (JJR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Captain Nemo, Merlin and Peter Pan are just a few of the characters) was great fun.  The final two books elevate the series from whimsical entertainment to legitimate adventure books that are full of well-paced action, in addition to being intricately grounded in mythology and literary lore.  In short, I loved it.  The Shadow Dragons may bring this series to an end, but I, for one, will not be disappointed if the author finds a way to keep the story alive.

Yoram

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Andrew

The Devil in the White City is a book about The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, told through the stories of two men:  Daniel Burnham, head architect of the Fair and its primary engine, and H.H. Homes, a charismatic and ingenious doctor, entrepreneur, and serial killer.  The book chronicles the extraordinary circumstances by which many of the greatest architects and engineers of the time built in Chicago a Fair unlike anything the world had ever seen.  The Fair introduced to the world, amongst other things, alternate current electric light-bulbs, crackers-jacks, and the Ferris wheel.  It also provided an ideal opportunity for a young doctor with psychopathic tendencies to quietly and efficiently kill his victims without ever being noticed or suspected of any wrong-doing. Each man's story, by itself, would be fascinating - extraordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things.  Set against one another, the two starkly different tales make for compelling reading.

Yoram

Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts, is a book that I almost didn't read. The author's bio sounded like fiction (escaped from jail in Australia, fled to India, lived in the slums, worked with the mafia) and having read a lot of books about India recently I wasn't very keen.  However, when a long-time customer of mine came in to the store telling me that this book had inspired him to visit Bombay I decided to give it a try.  What I got was a book about India, about Indians and the many foreign-born people who live there, unlike any I've ever read.  The locales are varied, the people are diverse, the events sometimes trend towards the unlikely.  But Shantaram is a book both inspired and inspiring. The plot is varied, with constant changes in direction and pace, and the characters are vivid and very realistic.  The best part of the book, though (for me, at least), is the exploration of love, of friendship, of God and religion, and of the human spirit.  Many times I found myself nodding in agreement, many times I found myself wanting to argue a point, but always I found myself rapt in the discussion.  Shantaram isn't a literary masterpiece by anyone's definition, but it is nevertheless one of the most entertaining and compelling books I've read in a long time.

Yoram

David Liss' latest novel, The Whiskey Rebels, takes us back to a time when America was new, was unsteady on it's legs, and was at odds with itself.  The Republicans thought the Democrats fools and the Democrats thought the Republicans traitors. Alexander Hamilton had created the Bank of America to be the central force of finance and stocks were traded and speculated upon with abandon.  Most importantly, perhaps, the East was civilized and wealthy while the West was wild, unbridled, and poor.  Against this backdrop is set an adventure that winds its way from the wilds of Pennsylvania and the remnants of the war of independence, through the streets of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, all the way to the office of the Secretary of State and George Washington himself.  The characters are original and intelligent, and wonderfully clever. Ethan Saunders may be the most enjoyable character Liss has created, to date.  There is no doubt that Liss puts a great deal of history into his historical fiction, but his sense of humour and his clever plots make the learning great fun.

Yoram

The best children's books, in my opinion, are the ones with the most realistic characters.  Most children are willing to read about fairies or gnomes, about kidnappings or pirates, about funny classrooms or mysterious uncles.  What separates a successful book is often the quality of it's characters.  Children are willing to believe all sorts of wonderful things so long as they think the characters are making believable choices and reacting in reasonable ways.  This is the great success of The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke.  Set in contemporary Venice, the plot includes runaways, abandoned theatres, pickpockets, cats, detectives, and even some magic.  The story is well written and exciting.  But the book is set apart by it's characters.  In turns serious, funny, exciting, even frightening The Thief Lord is nevertheless always well grounded.  Even when the plot takes a more outrageous turn the characters react in ways that made me think, 'yeah, I might have done that, too.'  I would recommend this book highly to any nine year old (or 12 year old, or 36 year old for that matter).  Its the kind of book that book-lovers love best, and the kind of book that get reluctant readers reading.

Yoram

Whenever I am faced with reading a new work by the author of a book I thought was fantastic I am worried that a standard has been set that can not be met.  The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, was a magnificent book.  In his follow-up novel, actually a prequel, Zafon has managed to write a novel as compelling and beautifully written as his first work.  In some ways The Angel's Game is even better. Zafon's writing is both beautifully crafted and witty.  His characters are realistic and compelling and his handling of Gothic fiction is masterful. But if you read Zafon's first book then you already knew that.  What makes The Angel's Game so good is that I was made to feel comfortable, like I was slipping back into a familiar conversation, while an entirely new set of heroes and villains reshaped the geography I thought I knew. What at first seemed to be taking me down recognizable paths soon led to very different places.  The souls are more tortured, the stakes are even higher, and love - as ever - is at the heart of it all.  The Angel's Game will be available in hardcover on June 16th.  I already think it may be the best book I'll read this year.

Yoram

City of Glass is a well written, well conceived, and compelling conclusion to Cassandra Clare's trilogy, The Mortal Instruments. The series compares very favourably to Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga.  Stuffed full of vampires, demons, warlocks and a fair bit of up-tempo action the book is, at it's core, a story about a girl, a boy, love and friendship.  While Clare is never able to produce characters as maniacally gripping as exist in Twilight, she more than makes up for it with an intricately detailed and nuanced storyline.  She also produces more than a few interesting twists on old ideas.  Although the characters walk down well-worn paths of self-discovery, growth and realization they often make uncommon choices along the way.  The end result is a series of books that produce memorable characters and memorable events.

Yoram

Last week I went to see the movie Slumdog Millionaire.  I thought it was a thought-provoking, well paced movie and, generally, I enjoyed it.  I left the theatre, however, wondering how I was meant to believe that so much misfortune could have befallen one poor boy amongst so many millions.  Each episode that Jamal endured was plausible, but stacked one atop another I began to be skeptical.  I rarely read books if I've seen the corresponding movie, and vice versa, but Jamal's plight stuck in my head and the next day I found myself picking up the novel.  I was engrossed before the end of the prologue.  Anyone who is thinking of avoiding the book Slumdog Millionaire because they have seen the movie should reconsider.  The two barely resemble one another.  Jamal, as such, doesn't exist in the book.  The main character's name is Ram Mohammed Thomas and his adventures only vaguely resemble those in the movie.  Latika, central to the movie and on the cover of the book, isn't a character in the book at all.  Most importantly, for me, at least, was the diversity of misadventure in the book versus the film.  The main character bears witness to countless horror's, miseries, and adventures.  He has his share of good luck and of bad.  But he is as often only a witness to events as the main player, and he is as often the author of his own fate as it's victim.  The result of this far more realistic depiction of events was that when the big hollywood ending finally arrived (also far different than the big Hollywood ending of the movie) I was quite willing to believe that such an ending could be possible. Both movie and book do a good job depicting the terrible things that happen in the slums of India.  Both are thought-provoking and neither fails to elicit a reaction from the viewer or reader.  But the movie is Hollywood from beginning to end.  Smooth, slick, and streamlined.  The book offers a more diverse, more reasonable, less fated view of events, and, in the end, is far more satisfying.

Yoram

I liked Eragon and Eldest.  I thought they were good examples of character-driven fantasy books that still managed to pack a lot of action.  Brisingr, the third installment in the Inheritance Cycle, easily surpasses them both.  Paolini has clearly read his Tolkein, probably read Weiss and Hickman.  What he has managed in Brisingr is a novel of sufficient complexity, sufficient political intrigue, sufficient drama that despite my moderate expectations I was compelled almost from the outset.  I recommend this book for any lover of high fantasy, and anxiously await the fourth and final book in the series.

Yoram

I have, going back to my days as a history student, always been interested in the way stories are preserved. What is the history of a person, of a relationship, or of a book if it is not simply a recounting based on whatever anecdotes or facts can be recalled? How often do we, individually or as a society, revise our histories based on a new interpretation of evidence, or new information discovered or remembered? Geraldine Brooks' People of the Book takes a wonderful look at the notion of how history is preserved and how we are able to tell it's story. The book recounts the tale of the Sarajevo Haggadah, following a modern day book conservator and her efforts to both preserve the text and uncover it's past. Her successes and failures, set against the stories of what really happened, are rich reminders of the disparities between the narratives we preserve and the histories they are meant to represent.

Yoram