Bookishness: Week of February 6, 2012


Tumblr: good for more than just Ryan Gosling memes Stuck as to what Tumblr might be good for aside from Ryan Gosling memes and finding pictures of cute haircuts? The Millions has broken tumblr down from a bookish perspective in their guide to literary tumblrs.

A scientifically foolproof approach to love among bookworms Assuming we’ve all taken the advice of Mr. John Waters (which is to say, with less cursing, we have not gone and shacked up with non-readers—shudder), the coupled up among us can now assess our compatibility by way of a bookish compatability test. Hopeless cases still have time to break up before Valentine’s Day gets too close.

The City Builder Book Club There’s also still time to catch up to the City Builder Book Club, currently reading Jane Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities. The online book club (which started reading the book last week) aims to create a deeper understanding of how cities work, featuring regular blog posts by guides and discussion. Unrelated but related: Jane Jacobs, Undone, a debate about the influence and relevance of Jacobs’ work, this Thursday evening at the Isabel Bader Theatre. The event is free but ticketed, and appears to be sold out, though space on a waitlist may be available—more details through the link.

Finally, the eternal question will be answered Which Canadian celebrity—er, personality—(out of Alan Thicke, Stacey McKenzie, Arlene Dickinson, Shad or Anne-France Goldwater) will convince the others that their’s is the champion title from this year’s batch of Canada Reads contenders? The answer will be revealed this week, January 6 through January 9. The debates will be livestreamed every morning at 10 a.m. on CBC Books, and broadcast on CBC Radio One at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. For those not yet familiar with the books being debated: Canada Reads book trailers!

Writing the post-cancer body The Silent Book: Crafting Memories from a Life with Cancer, with Eva C. Karpinski and Pam Patterson, encourages participants to add their voices to a collaborative autobiography about the post-cancer body. The event takes place Wednesday, February 6, 12–1:30 p.m., at the CWSE, room 2-227, 252 Bloor Street W., Toronto. Free.

Garbage delight Small Print Toronto presents the first in its new workshop series, Children’s Story Jam, hosted by Vikki VanSickle and this time featuring poet and writer Dennis Lee. “Poetry connoisseurs between 4–6 years old” will jam with Lee, workshopping poems from his upcoming collection, Melvis & Elvis. Saturday, February 11, 2012, 2:30 p.m. at The Academy of the Impossible, 231 Wallace Ave., Toronto. $5 for kids. Adults free, provided they “behave themselves.”