The world is changing, but we’re still here. And we promise to be for a few more years.

Your little neighbourhood bookstore is endeavouring to ‘keep up’ by making a few changes ourselves.

We’ve completely revamped our website, which now includes this blog. You can also get news from us via our Facebook page. If you’re looking for even more, we’ve started the task of uploading several years’ worth of commentary from our kids’ and teen book club into our brand new Goodreads account.

Our webstore has been upgraded to securely accept payment by MasterCard and Visa. You can check what’s in stock, reserve copies and place special orders. But the biggest news is that you can now have your e-book purchases support your local bookstore. When you buy your Google e-books via the link in the sidebar, the e-CampusBookstore sends a small commission back to us, keeping more of your hard-earned dollars in the community.

Inside the store, things are changing too. With the departure of Livres Lacoste, we are expanding our selection of French language books for both children and adults and we are happy to place special orders.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles…

Good Independent Bookstores will survive because they are more than just a place to buy books. They have become meeting places, or cultural centers that book lovers navigate to. At Owl’s Nest, we’re becoming a centre of culture and creativity for not just Britannia, but the larger Calgary community. We host interesting and informative author events. We host a monthly open-mic night for local writers, which is a great place to hear new writing voices in our community — and later you can say you knew about them “when”.

Once Upon a Time…

We also help parents foster a new generation of book-lovers with our kids and teen book clubs. Starting February 24th, we’re also introducing weekly storytime with Cynthia, our resident children’s book expert and professional storyteller. Kids aged 2 through 5 are invited to join her on Friday mornings at 10:30 for some storytime fun.

The Help…

We know you have opportunities to purchase books elsewhere and we thank you for your continued support of a local business. We’ll continue to try to pay you back with exceptional customer service. We really do want to get the right books into your hands. The books you’ll really love. So come on down for another session of what the staff like to call “20 Questions”: What have you read recently? What do you love to read? What kind of book are you in the mood for? We’ll send you back out the door with something great.

And if you’re just not in the mood to read, you can always come down and have a look at our new selection of hand-made jewellery by local artisans, or the unusual home décor such as bookends, vases and original watercolor paintings.

You have so many choices about where to spend your time and money. Thank you for being a friend of the Owl’s Nest Bookstore. If you have a new product idea or any thoughts at all pertaining to how we may serve you better, please call 403-287-9557 or e-mail owlsnestbooks@shaw.ca .

With best wishes for a happy 2012,

Mike, Susan, Judith and the Owl’s Nest Staff

Andi Alpers’ life is falling apart.  She is haunted by the tragic death of her younger brother.  Her guilt has sent her into a spiral of drugs and self-loathing.  In a parallel story, Alexandrine Paradis survives during the French Revolution dependent upon her skills as an actress and spy.  She becomes a servant to the royal family and a companion to the young dauphin, Louis-Charles.  Andi finds Alex’s diary, and is drawn into France during the 1790s. 

- Really like the parallels between the stories
- Description really draws you in
- Book freaked out some readers.
- Loved the musical interconnections and the historical aspect.
- Beautiful and raw. 
- Historical aspect was fascinating
- Unsure that Andi really needed to do the time slip as journal provided that.
- Characters were well developed, both primary and secondary. 
- Setting was very much a character. 

Final scores averaged to 8.8 out of 10. 

The next Fledglings meeting will be Tuesday, February 21st at 4:30pm.  The book up for discussion is Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka. 

In the isolated rural community of Unity, the people of The Movement live a simple life guided by a set of religious principles and laws that are unique to them. Polygamy is the norm, strict obedience is expected and it is customary for young girls to be assigned to much older husbands.

Celeste was born and raised in Unity, yet she struggles to fit in. Perhaps it’s because of Taviana, the girl who has come to live with them and entertains Celeste with forbidden stories, or Jon, the young man she has clandestine meetings with, or maybe it’s the influence of Craig, the outsider she meets on the beach. Whatever it is, she struggles to accept her ordained life. At fifteen she is repulsed at the thought of being assigned to an older man and becoming a sister wife, and she knows for certain she is not cut out to raise children. She wants something more for herself, yet feels powerless to change her destiny because rebelling would bring shame upon her family.

Celeste watches as Taviana leaves Unity, followed by Jon, and finally Craig, the boy who has taught her to think “outside the box.” Although she is assigned to a caring man, his sixth wife, she is desperately unhappy. How will Celeste find her way out of Unity?

If your a teen in grades 10 through 12 and are interested in joining Fledglings, please email us at owlsnestbooks@shaw.ca, call us at 403-287-9557 or just drop into one of the meetings.

MinLi and her parents live in the shadow of the Fruitless Mountain, a bare mountain where nothing seems to flourish.  They work hard, but have barely enough to eat.  Every night, MinLi listens eagerly to the stories her father tells about the Jade Dragon, the evil Magistrate Tiger, and the Old Man in the Moon.  MinLi’s mother hates the stories.  She says they are useless, and only make MinLi a dreamer.  MinLi decides she will find the Old Man in the Moon to try and change her family’s fortune. 

- Really liked how the legends tied into the story.
- Liked the characters, particularly Minli.
- Really kept your interest.
- Liked mystical creatures & magic.
- Liked how the characters evolved and came to udnerstand the true meaning of happiness.
- Very thought provoking.
- Lots of adventure.
- Ended way too soon.
- Good book for all ages.
- Loved the illustrations.
- Liked the multiple storylines and how they tied up. Stories within stories.
- Loved the language.
- Feel good book
- Some parts were slower.
- Liked everything tied up together.

Final score: 9.166661 out of 10. 

The next meeting of Junior Owlets will be on Saturday the 4th of Feburary 2012 at 9:00am.   The book up for discussion is Feather Brain and we we have a special guest, the book’s author, Maureen Bush!

Lucas has dinosaurs on the brain, but he’s a little short on friends. When he gets a new book on how to make model dinosaurs, he’s inspired to make one immediately. He’s not so inspired by his new dinosaur-making kit: all the box contains is a test tube of clear liquid and a few instructions. But when he mixes the liquid into his papier-maché goop, he gets much more than he bargained for, including the most unlikely friend.

If you’re a kid in grades 3 to 6 and are interested in joining Junior Owlet’s, we’d love to have you.  Membership is free and open all year.  Just give us a call at 403-287-9557, email us at owlsnestbooks@shaw.ca or just drop in to one of the meetings.

Todd Hewitt has never seen a woman. His mother was the last to die. He doesn’t remember her. When his people came to the planet to colonize it, everyone was infected with the Noise germ. The infection caused men’s thoughts to become audible. The infection also killed all women. Todd is the youngest, counting down the days until his 13th birthday. The he will be considered a man, and let into the secrets. But the, Todd from the girl in The Swamp.

Comments from the Senior Owlets:
Believable characters.
Really liked the dog, Manchee
Author did incredible job with all characters.
Characters were all very distinct and believable.
Really liked the portrayal of The Noise. The different fonts helped.
Some parts dragged.
Possibly more for a male audience with some of the violence.
Very deep themes.
Very symbolic.
Great discussion.
Made reader think.

Final score: 8.025

For the next meeting (on Tuesday, February 7th, 2012) the book up for discussion is Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli.

Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first.

Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. In this celebration of nonconformity, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the perils of popularity and the thrill and inspiration of first love.

If you’re a kid in grades 6 to 9 and are interested in joining Senior Owlets, we’d love to have you. Membership is free and you can join any time. If you’d like more information, call us at 403-287-9557, email us at owlsnestbooks@shaw.ca or just pop into one of the meetings.

The December selection for Fledglings was I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. 

Ed Kennedy admits he is a screw up.  He drifted in school, didn’t go to university, and now drives a cab because it’s easy.  But all that changes when Ed is hailed a hero after stopping a bank robber.  And now he has received a card in the mail.  It lists times and addresses.  Should he follow them?  Ed is not sure what to do, or what it all means. 

Comments from the Fledglings:

Liked the characters. 
Characters had depth and reasoning.
Liked interchange between characters.
Found them believeable.
Ending was a bit confusing.
Opening chapters sucked the reader in.
The whole idea was intriguing.
Really liked the characters, the plot, the seting. 
Believeable dialogue.
Very funny in places, poignant in others.
Even secondary characters were well done. 
Kept interest to very end. 
Even the stinky dog was great. 
Very deep book, multi-leveled. 
Really like the author’s self insertion. 

Final score: 8.8928571 out of 10. 

The next meeting for Fledglings will be on Tuesday, January 24, 2012.  The book up for discussion is Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. 

BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.
 
PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape.
 
Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present.

If your a teen in grades 10 through 12 and are interested in joining Fledglings, please email us at owlsnestbooks@shaw.ca, call us at 403-287-9557 or just drop into one of the meetings.

You can listen to Wednesday’s programme on the CBC website’s podcast, but here’s a cheat sheet of Mike’s suggestions. Please call us at 403-287-9557 to reserve your copy of any of these great books, as they’re sure to go fast.

Adult: Fiction

Micro by Michael Crichton & Richard Preston
Hardcover $34.99
Modern day environmental/technological thriller set in Hawaii.

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
Paperback $22.95
Award winning dark/humourous western set in 1850s Oregon.

River City by John Farrow
Paperback $24.oo
Historical mystery set in Montreal.

Death Comes To Pemberley by P.D. James
Hardcover $32.00
James’ sequel/tribute to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan
Paperback $19.99
Futuristic retelling of Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.

Adult: Non Fiction

Whitewater Cooks With Friends by Shelly Adams
Paperback $34.95
Third in the series of fast, tasty, easy recipes from Nelson, B.C.

The First Stampede Of Flores LaDue by Wendy Bryden (Local author)
Hardcover $29.99
Biography of the wife of Guy Weadick

Tell Anna She’s Safe by Brenda Missen PB $22.95
Gripping true-crime novel told by a friend of the victim.

The Texting Dictionary Of Acronyms
Paperback $6.99
BFF = Best Friends Forever, LOL = Laugh Out Loud — Excellent stocking stuffer.

Spilling The Beans by Julie Van Rosendaal
Paperback $29.95
Everyday cooking and baking with beans and grains.

The Quest Daniel Yergin
Hardcover $ 44.00
An account of the quest for the energy our world needs.

Children and Young Adult:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney
Hardcover $16.95
Latest in a now-famous series about a rambuctious boy in grade four.

11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass
Paperback $7.99
Caught in a time warp, Amanda relives her 11th birthday over and over again.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Hardcover $27.50
An orphaned twelve-year-old boy trying to survive in the walls of a busy Paris train station.

The Great Rabbit Rescue by Katie Davie
Hardcover $14.99
Humourous account of a missing rabbit, a sick boy and two friends who try to help.

Divergent by Veronica Roth
Hardcover $19.99
Futuristic tale where sixteen-year-olds are forced into “factions”.

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Paperback $10.99
Emotionally troubled modern-day seventeen-year-old time travels into the French Revolution.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Paperback $11.99
Students with erased memories seek escape from a sci-fi-like maze.

If you don’t live nearby (or even if you do!)  you can purchase gift cards from the comfort of your computer.  We can hold the cards to be picked up at the store, or we can mail them to the recipient(s) via Canada Post.

You can pay for your gift cards, or indeed any order in our webstore, with your Visa or MasterCard using our secure encryption system.

At this time, gift cards must be redeemed in-store (ie: they cannot be used on on-line orders).

The summer of 1899 was one of the hottest in rural Texas.  It was also the summer that Calpurnia (Callie) Tate, the only girl in a family of seven children, discovered her grandfather.  Grandfather had always lived with the family, but he was a distant, awe-inspiring presence that she and her brothers feared.  That summer, Callie and her grandfather became aware of each other when she asked the right question about grasshoppers.

Comments from the Senior Owlets:

Particularly liked the humour.
Great story.
Love the characters.
Granddaddy’s and Calpurnia’s relationship is such a joy to read about.
Characters well drawn.
A quiet novel.
Calpurnia symbolizes the evolution of the “new woman”.
Liked the scientific approach.
Like how the quotes from The Origin of Species foreshadowed what would happen.
Really good insight into the life of a young woman in 18993
Scientific detail was a definite plus.

Final rating: 8.3333333 out of 10.

In January, the Senior Owlets will meet to discuss The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness.

Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him — something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn’t she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd’s gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.

If you’re a kid in grades 6 to 9 and are interested in joining Senior Owlets, we’d lo’ve to have you.  Membership is free and you can join any time.  If you’d like more information, call us at 403-287-9557, email us at owlsnestbooks@shaw.ca or just pop into one of the meetings.

Miranda’s world is turned down when her best friend Sal wants nothing more to do with her.  He won’t even talk to her and tell her why.  Now she has to find new people to eat lunch with.  She has to walk home from school by herself, and pass by the homeless man who is always saying weird things.  And who can she tell about the mysterious notes that seem to predict the future?

Liked how it wrapped up all the stories in the end.
Confusing in parts.
Characters were very well developed.
Laughing man was really scary at times.
Excellent book.
Really like concept.
Definitely a book for an older reader.
Really made you think.
Difficult read for younger reader.
More a thinking book then an action book.
Little difficult to understand time concept.
Really like the characters.
Really got a taste for Miranda’s life.
Dragged in places.
Does help if have read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.
Like it better if have read several times.

Final score: 7.917647 out of 10

At January’s meeting the book up for discussion will be Where The Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin.

In the valley of Fruitless Mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life’s questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask him how she can change her family’s fortune. She encounters an assorted cast of characters and magical creatures along the way, including a dragon who accompanies her on her quest for the ultimate answer.

If you’re a kid in grades 3 to 6 and are interested in joining Junior Owlet’s, we’d love to have you.  Membership is free and open all year.  Just give us a call at 403-287-9557, email us at owlsnestbooks@shaw.ca or just drop in to one of the meetings.

Tell us which is your favourite Sherlock Holmes, story, novel or movie (original or pastiche) and be entered to win an advanced screening pass to Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law!

(One entry per person, please.  Five winners will be drawn randomly at 5:30pm MST on Dec. 7th from comments here and on our Facebook page.  Screening is Wednesday, Dec. 14th at 7:00 at ScotiaBank Cinemas Chinook.  Each pass admits two, but does not guarantee a seat, so arrive early!)

Have a Holmes fan on your holiday list?  There are some great new pastiches available.

The Arthur Conan Doyle Estate chose the celebrated, #1 New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz to write The House of Silk because of his proven ability to tell a transfixing story and for his passion for all things Holmes. Destined to become an instant classic, The House of Silk brings Sherlock Holmes back with all the nuance, pacing, and almost superhuman powers of analysis and deduction that made him the world’s greatest detective, in a case depicting events too shocking, too monstrous to ever appear in print…until now.

In this latest adventure featuring the intrepid Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, New York Times bestselling author Laurie R. King takes readers into the frenetic world of silent films—where the pirates are real and the shooting isn’t all done with cameras.