Hi

I hope you enjoyed reading Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo. If you didn’t manage to read the book in amidst the Holiday rush, I recommend it.

I found his imagery rich in detail and liked the juxtaposition of Lucy and Noonan’s stories. I particularly remember the scenes where Lucy and Noonan (or Bobby) surf Lucy’s father’s milk truck. It reminds me of when, as kids my brothers and I used to bike down the street without hands on the handle bars or rollerblade down a hill secretly wondering how one will stop once you hit the bottom.

Thanks to all those who voted on what types of books they would like to read. As always let me know if there are books that I you’d like to see included. I have a long list that keeps on growing as I come across interesting authors and books.

Your choices:

• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - a wanderer's story full of dreams and advice
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - a novel where books are banned and firefighters are hired to burn them
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - a story of survival in the midst of the Depression

Please vote here for your favourite choice! The vote will be open until Jan. 9th to give everyone time over to Holidays to think about what they’d like to read.

Cheers,

Heather

	January's Avid Reader Book Club Pick will be...? The Alchemist Paulo Coelho Find it from US$1.98 Vote for it The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist. The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams. Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury Find it from US$1.00 Vote for it This novel is a soothsayer, warning of a future populated by non-readers and non-thinkers; a lost people with no sense of their history. At the same time it salutes those who dedicate their lives to the preservation and passing on of knowledge, and testifies to the quiet or passionate courage of the rebel with a cause. Fahrenheit also poses questions about the roles of government: Should it reflect the will of the people? Should government do the people's thinking for them? Water for Elephants Sara Gruen Find it from US$7.61 Vote for it First published in 1967, this novel is about two teenage Jewish boys who form a friendship although they come from very different backgrounds. Reuven Malter is an orthodox Jew while Danny is Hasidic. They first meet during baseball game that quickly becomes more than a simple game. Set in Brooklyn, their friendship is set against the backdrop of WWII, the revelation of the Holocaust in Europe and the struggle for the creation of the state of Israel.