March is Read Local month
Through a new initiative with public libraries across Nova Scotia, and the Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association (APMA) hundreds of Atlantic Canadianauthored and published eBooks have been added to our provincial public library shared eBook collection. This month, they are featuring four new Atlantic Canadian eBook titles (one per week), with unlimited download access. All you need is your public library card and a compatible electronic device to download the eBook from the library’s online collection. For more information about the program, visit the website, http://atlanticbookstoday.ca/ read-local/. And if eBooks are not your style, we do have traditional print versions of each book, available at the library for regular borrowing.
“This month, they are featuring four new Atlantic Canadian eBook titles (one per week), with unlimited download access.”
March 4-10: Doug Knockwood, Mikmaw Elder (2018), by Doug Knockwood “Freeman Douglas Knockwood was a highly respected Elder in Mi’kmaw Territory. The story of his life is one of unimaginable colonial trauma, recovery and hope. At age six, Knockwood was placed in the Shubenacadie Residential School, where he remained for a year and a half. Like hundreds of other Mi’kmaw and Maliseet children, he suffered horrible abuse. He went on to become a much sought after drug and alcohol rehabilitation counsellor in Canada. Many of Knockwood’s initiatives have been implemented across Canada and used by thousands of people.” March 11-17: The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes (2017), by Bridget Canning “Wanda Jaynes is about to lose her job amidst a mountain of bills and suspects her musician boyfriend might be romantically interested in her friend, Trish. But Wanda’s life changes radically on a routine trip to the grocery store when a gunman enters the supermarket and opens fire. In the ensuing media storm, she’s hailed a hero and miracle worker. But in the aftermath of so much attention, she receives strange emails.” March 18-24: Louisbourg or Bust: a Surfer’s Wild Ride Down Nova Scotia’s Drowned Coast (2018), by RC Shaw “Louisbourg or Bust is RC Shaw’s spandex-free pilgrimage up a haunted coastline. With a Nova Scotia road map in one hand and a fat copy of Don Quixote in the other, Shaw hatches a plan. Then he circles Louisbourg with a black Sharpie and vows to take the fortress back from its malevolent tourist occupiers. No cellphone, no safety net. Just the restless pulse of the Atlantic Ocean as it rips and tears at the coastline of the Eastern Shore.” March 25-31: Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present (2017), by Robyn Maynard “Policing Black Lives, delves into Canada’s veneer of multiculturalism and tolerance, and traces the violent realities of antiblackness from the slave ships to prisons, classrooms and beyond. Robyn Maynard provides readers with the first comprehensive account of nearly 400 years of state-sanctioned surveillance, criminalization and punishment of Black lives in Canada.” (Excerpts from, http://atlanticbookstoday.ca/read-local/) ■ ■ ■ On Friday March 8, we close out the week with a celebration of International Women’s Day, with gentle yoga at the New Glasgow, from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. All are welcome to drop by and join us as we celebrate and honour International Women’s Day by coming together and sharing in the spirit of sisterhood. To begin, the Piktukewaq Women’s Association from Pictou Landing First Nation will share an Opening Ceremony (with smudging), followed by an hour of gentle, therapeutic yoga guided by Rachael MacLean from True Nature Yoga Studios. Dress comfortably, and bring a yoga mat (or two, if you may have a mat to share). We will have some spare mats to loan as well. For more information on upcoming library programs, special events and services, please drop by your local library branch, follow us on Twitter, find us on Facebook, or visit us online at www. parl.ns.ca. Trecia Schell is Community Services Librarian, and Branch Librarian — Books-by-Mail, River John, Stellarton and Trenton public libraries.