National Network for Equitable Library Service

It is rare that one can pick up a book and find all the answers to the problems of Life. Yet in this one book, we find these answers, and learn a few more things that will keep us up at night. What really happened when Mike Harris woke up after emergency surgery in a hospital still smarting from budget cuts? Why did Linda Tripp turn on Bill Clinton?

Are you a snob? Then why not learn to do it right? Study this revolutionary work and become a Canadian Snob of Distinction! Victoria Branden has traced the history of Snobbery from its pre-human roots to our own era, in our own country, and has enunciated the definitive Theory of Snobbery. She examines its evolution from its crude beginnings to its present confused state, with detailed study of the most important types of snobbery, distinguishing Goodsnobs from Badsnobs, experts from fumbling amateurs.

Come and walk the offbeat world of Mike Strobel’s popular column in the Toronto Sun. Meet the legendary panhandler Shaky Lady; the Weasel, who knows where Jimmy Hoffa is buried; the secretive swinger Sexy Boots; the notorious Bicycle Bandit, who quit robbing banks, got a loan, and opened a bar; and Dr. Hook, the top doc whose professional fate rested on the cut of his jib.

Once again we are blessed with yet another collection of Jim Foster’s ravings. His first book, I hate to complain, but … with its views on everything from bank mergers to the author’s 30-year love affair with Sophia Loren, is being hailed as a classic example - though of what no one is quite sure. Readers will be amazed at the depth of the author’s knowledge on just about any subject and his total inability to keep it to himself. What should you do if a comet falls on you at 1000 mph? What are the best pick-up lines for the man or woman looking for romance?

In this hilarious collection of stories, Old Autos columnist Bill Sherk describes in vivid detail the trials and tribulations of those brave souls who, throwing caution to the wind and money down the drain, made the fateful decision that would forever change the course of their lives. They went out and bought their very first cars.And whether it came from the showroom or the scrapyard, your first car was your ticket of admission into the adult world.

The human side of birding comes to the fore in The Reluctant Twitcher, a serious yet humorous account of birds and birding and the art of chasing rarities. Richard Pope, a lifelong birder, had successfully avoided this latter pursuit for many years but capitulated in 2007 when he embarked on his "Big Year," the object being to record at least three hundred birds in Ontario within that calendar period.

In perhaps the most satirical children’s book of all time, Mark Twain dishes out outrageous, witty, and practical advice for girls with ease. Twain advises restraint for small offences, explains how to use coercion instead of brute force, and recommends that young girls learn from their past mistakes. Written at a time when girls were expected to conform to society, Twain breaks down barriers and encourages young girls to explore the limits of their potential. Mark Twain originally wrote Advice to Little Girls as a tongue-in-cheek parody of commonplace etiquette books.

If you love goofing off and laughing out loud when you’re supposed to be learning something, Meaningless Platter Dudes: Language Transformed on a Platter of Fun is for you.

In his fifth book about language, Howard Richler moves from A to Z with a specifically chosen word for every letter of the alphabet. What especially intrigues him is how words come to mean what they mean, how they lose some meanings and gain others. Always humorous, Richler invites readers into the intimacy of language and allows us to delight in the ever-shifting glories of English. Not since Lynn Truss Eats, Shoots & Leaves has a book about language been so hilarious and informative.

Throughout history, humans have been terrified and fascinated by the plagues they've suffered. Get Well Soon delivers the gruesome and morbid details of some of the worst plagues in human history as well as the stories of the heroic figures who fought to eradicate them.