Word Of The Week
Xylomancy: [xyl+mancy] (Noun) Divination by means of pieces of wood. (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, U.S., 1981, Page 2645)
Mann Booker Prize Winners
The Mann Booker Prize was established in 1968 as a result of a meeting between Tom Maschler, a publisher at Jonathan Cape, and what was then the Booker Brothers. Maschler hoped to convince the Booker brothers to put some of the money they had created through their publishing empire back into literary awards.
From that very meeting the Booker Prize was created. The prize has come to symbolize the best that modern fiction has to offer. It’s an award that can dramatically change the fate of either an author or a publisher. Most books that have won the award go on to find critical success in the marketplace.
The Mann Booker Prize is definitely a showcase for the prevailing excellence of modern fiction.
Some Booker Prize Winners that are available at the Belleville Public Library.
2003 Vernon God Little
D.B.C.Pierre
2002 Life of Pi: A Novel
Yann Martel
2001 True History of the
Kelly Gang
Peter Carey
2000 Blind Assassin
Margaret Atwood
1999 Disgrace
J.M. Coetzee
1998 Amsterdam
Ian McEwan
1997 God of Small Things
Arundhati Roy
1996 Last Orders
Graham Swift
For additional information on these titles or other award winning authors, check in at the Readers Advisory desk.
Word Of The Week
Dictatress: (dik-TAY-tres) [noun] A female dictator. (Wordsmith.org)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Release and Review
The pomp and pageantry of the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was everything you would expect from the Belleville Chapters. Children and adults alike dressed as their favorite witches and wizards. All of this culminated in the final countdown till midnight when the book could be bought and taken home to have your first glimpse of the mysteries and adventures it held for our young mister Potter.
At first glance you could drift into the story like peacefully slipping into a warm bath as it opens at the home of the Dursely’s. Through the twists and turns Harry defies Death Eaters and Voldemort alike. Learning from the truths he uncovers on his conclusive journey in what is expected to be the final in the Harry Potter series.
J. K. Rowling has woven a magical world like no other we have seen before. The characters come across as believable in this unbelievable world of magic and wonder. In this the seventh book in the series we are overcome again and again with the complex nature of the mysteries and unknowns that Harry Potter, Hermoine Granger and Ron Weasley seem to encounter on a regular basis.
It is well worth the journey through the pages to unearth the full story of Dumbledore, discovering the Deathly Hallows and seeing the journey through to the very end. Rowling has woven a complex finally that will reach readers young and old at a variety of levels.
As a final aside in this area, I am not entirely convinced we have seen the last of Harry Potter. The ending leaves the author an opening to expand on the life and times Harry Potter as he begins his life outside of Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Word Of The Week
Stress Puppy: (NOUN) A person who seems to thrive on stress but constantly complains about it. (MacMillan English Dictionary)
Midnight Release Of Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Is Imminent
With only a few hours to go until the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows we have all waited with anticipation to discover how the story ends. The New York Times published a review on Wednesday which author J.K. Rowling severely reprimanded.
If you are anything like me you have avoided everything in the media that may have alluded to the final tome in the series. Harry’s quest is about to be unleashed on the world at midnight tonight. I will be there with the throngs of fans eagerly awaiting my first chance to glimpse the initial pages, taking in the finality of events as they progress through the text.
I have had strategy sessions on how to walk my children through coping with Harry’s possible death. I have planned for the fatigue of the late nights reading for the next couple of days. I have made sure that comfy spot on the couch has my name on it and I have unplugged all communication devices with the outside world to ensure that I will not be disturbed while I read.
Unfortunately in the end we will experience sense of lose whether Harry lives or dies, because this book will mark the end of a literary era. Even if J. K. Rowling publishes another book of Harry’s feats in the magical world they will not match the fervour she has created with the initial offerings. So with great anticipation and a little trepidation I will read the 7th book of the Harry Potter series with fervour.
Countdown To Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
With the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to theatres the fervor for the new Potter tome is more feverish than ever. The opinions about the fate of the boy wizard are far ranging and are hotly debated, but the reviews are mixed because the final mysteries of Harry seem to be wrapping up in this installment.
There won’t be any further debates about what will, or should happen next. All will be revealed in this the final installment. It will be the end of an era for those that have grown with the Harry Potter series. There dog eared and often tattered copies have been inspired to read and re-read the manuscripts over and over.
Not since the days of J.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Ring’s trilogy has there been a series that has had as much impact on literature as these volumes have had. With only 57 hours to go until the Deathly Hallows is released we will all have only a short while to wait for the end of a literary era.
However even J.K Rowling herself has refused to rule out the possibility that there will be another volume of Potter lore to come. Even Arthur Conan Doyle resurrected the Sherlock Holmes from his untimely demise so maybe this is not the end after all. Maybe this is just the end of the beginning.
Recommended reading, while you wait.
Abarat : days of magic, nights of war / Clive Barker.
Arthur and the Invisibles / by Luc Besson
Word Of The Week
Umami
(adjective) Sometimes termed savory or brothy, the fifth taste sensation in the tongue after sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. (Curious Notions)
Word Of The Week
Loodle-laddle: (n) [also doodle-laddle, oodle-addle] A contraption; especially a deliberately humorous or evasive name given to an object in order to puzzle a child. (Dictionary of Newfoundland English)
New 7 Wonders of The World
The New 7 Wonders Foundation lives by its own code; “Our heritage is our future.” So it is with great anticipation that we count down the final hours of voting before they announce the New 7 Wonders of the World on Saturday.
The foundation was formed in 2001 by a Swiss Adventure named Bernard Weber. He set forth on a mission to save the Worlds man-made heritage. Funds generated for the New 7 Wonders project will go to finance the restoration efforts World wide. The field of candidates for the New 7 Wonders of the World has been narrowed to 21 finalists.
The 21 finalist are Acropolis, Alhambra, Angkor, Chichen Itza, Christ Redeemer, Coliseum, Easter Island Statues, Eiffel Tower, Great Wall of China, Hagia Sophia, Kiyomizu Temple, St. Basil, Machu Picchu, Neuschwanstein Castle, Petra, Pyramids of Giza, Statue of Liberty, Stonehenge, Sydney Opera House, Taj Mahal and Timbuktu. There is still time to vote prior to the July 7, 2007 announcement of the New 7 Wonders of the World.
