L’initiative Booksellers advise responds to the demand of readers eager for suggestions. Each month, a committee made up of around fifteen booksellers establishes, after many passionate and fascinating discussions, a selection of five books. Essays, comics, children’s and adult novels, from here and elsewhere, these five books are featured in the member bookstores of our network. This initiative is a great opportunity to promote books deemed particularly remarkable, as well as to highlight the essential role of your bookseller. Here is the selection for the month of November.
Holy ducks!
Michaël Escoffier and Geneviève Després (From them)
Is there anything as obvious as two and two font four? Probably what ducks do « Coin Coin». It seems indisputable, and yet… The day a duckling starts to cry a strange “Pouic Pouic »nothing anymore has any meaning in the eyes of the members of this avian population. The elders outraged by such behavior will seek the approval of their king, but will be surprised by his reaction. Organizing a major debate, he will give everyone the floor to decide who from the “Coin” clan Coin » or the “Pouic” clan Pouic » has the bestrs arguments. The punchline will probably cause a big burst of laughter among little readers. A hilarious story that watch that we must know how to remain open even when our habits are disrupted.
Jacinthe CrêteLibrairie Monet (Montreal)
Penelope will find a title (but we could call it Bill)
François Kearney (Howling editors)
Penelope will find a title (but we could call it Bill) by François Kearney has the particularity of shining the spotlight on… a pen! From Thailand to Chicoutimi, we follow the journey of Bill, this inky being who passes from the hand of one character to another. A host of men and women with intertwining destinies parade joyfully through the chapters peppered with anecdotes. In fact, the use of footnotes has never been so distracting. The art of digression reaches new heights with an omniscient narrator invested in revisiting his author’s style. We are witnessing a fictional game that is, to say the least, inventive and comical, which pushes the limits of romance. An original story injected with absurd humor!
Cassandre SiouiLibrairie Hannenorak (Lost)
The gift
Kristina Gauthier-Landry (La Peuplade)
Kristina Gauthier-Landry’s mother, like many women, gave more than she received. Unaware that she has all the gifts, this discreet person has stepped aside to leave room for others, including her daughter. In this poetic story of great beauty, the author gives her a voice and offers one to the women of her lineage who did not dare to transgress the established order. The texts in fragments demonstrate great maturity and the silences allow reflections to emerge. In addition, two pages are devoted to the words that accompanied the writing process. With this tribute book, the author speaks up for all those who have not done so and demonstrates, once again, that she too is gifted.
Julie CollinLibrairie La Liberté (Quebec)
A life well slept
Timothée-William Lapointe (Your Mother)
In this second solo collection, Timothée-William Lapointe digs a little deeper into the borough of Verdun in Montreal (he co-wrote Verdunland with the poet Baron Marc-André Lévesque). Now the only poet in the riverside district, he takes his role very seriously (although with a touch of playfulness). “The dream would be to have / neighborhood poets / who would have fun putting under all the stones / of everyday life a poem / a little funny / a little sad / a little query that / when they would not simply be thrown away / in an arena / to face the poet from another neighborhood.” Lapointe’s poetry is all of that at the same time: funny, sad and quessé that, but above all usually poignant. Here’s another poem to ponder while you wait for the grocery store clerk to find the right code for the exotic fruit: “If Pluto couldn’t be a planet / can I have it?” »
Anthony LacroixLibrairie Boutique Vénus (Rimouski)
Seek you
Kristen Radtke (Quebec America)
A real favorite for the self-confident loner that I am, this graphic essay by Kristen Radtke! She uses sociology, psychology and science to depict loneliness in our contemporary societies. It highlights all aspects of solitude, reminding us that it does not mean the same thing for everyone and inevitably questions the quality of our relationships. An in-depth work, solidly documented, with eloquent illustrations which magnificently nourish the subject as well as the sensitivity of the author.
Chantal FontaineLibrairie Moderne (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu)
