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KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

On Pandemics: Deadly Diseases from Bubonic Plague to Coronavirus

By David Waltner-Toews

In the store

Containing important information about the coronavirus, this comprehensive, easy-to-follow primer on pandemics, epidemics, and the panics they ignite around the world also shares solutions for a safer, healthier future. David is a Guelph area resident!

Great Influenza: Epic Story Of The Greatest Plague In History

By John M. Barry

In the store

Spillover: Animal Infections And The Next Human Pandemic

By David Quammen

In the store

Epidemics and Society: From the Black Death to the Present

By Frank M Snowden

In the store

A brilliant and sobering look at the history and human costs of pandemic outbreaks. The World Economic Forum #1 book to read for context on the coronavirus outbreak

Soap and Water & Common Sense: The Definitive Guide to Viruses, Bacteria, Parasites, and Disease

By Bonnie Henry

In the store

BARB - The book that you never thought you'd need is out!....The definitive guide to fighting coronaviruses, colds, flus, pandemics, and deadly diseases, from Canada's newest heroine, Bonnie Henry.

A Journal of the Plague Year

By Daniel Defoe, Jason Goodwin

In the store

The Modern Classics Plague

By Robin Buss, Albert Camus, Tony Judt

In the store

Games People Play - And Puzzles Too!

Settlers of Catan

By Klaus Teuber

In the store

Not only do players try to be the dominant force on the island of Catan but Settlers of Catan is definitely the dominant board game today.

Codenames

By Czech Games Edition

In the store

Preparing for a career in the secret service? A lively and fun game for novice spies and spymasters! For 2-8 players, aged 10+. Other titles include Codenames: Simpsons and Codenames: Duet!

What Do You Meme?

By What Do You Meme

In the store

Sibley Backyard Birding Puzzle: 1000-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle with Portraits of Favorite North American Birds

By David Allen Sibley

In the store

The Office Jigsaw Puzzle: 500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

By Chantel de Sousa

In the store

The 500 pieces will reveal the faces of Michael Scott, Dwight Schrute, Jim and Pam, and all the iconic characters from the greatest sitcom ever....and a bit of relief from these crazy times!

Women in Science Puzzle: Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World Jigsaw Puzzle & Poster

By Rachel Ignotofsky

In the store

Wendy Gold Butterfly Migration 1000 Piece Puzzle

By Galison, Wendy Gold

In the store

The World of Shakespeare: 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

By Adam Simpson

In the store

Piece together the world of Shakespeare in this art jigsaw puzzle depicting the London of his day

Exit: the Forbidden Castle

By Kosmos

In the store

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Page Turners & Pot Boilers

Review: The English Teacher

Article By Barb Minett

Date: 8 Sep 2016

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The English Teacher: A Novel

On the cover of The English Teacher, Gideon Raff proclaims that it as “an extraordinary page-turner," a promise that has occasionally left me disappointed. Teacher is a translated Israeli novel unfamiliar to me, and since I had no idea who Gideon Raff was, I decided to do some research. As it turns out, he wrote the Israeli television series Prisoners of War, upon which Homeland was modelled. I am now indebted to Gideon Raff for not only inspiring one of my favourite television series, but also for introducing me to Yiftach Reicher Atir!

Atir is a retired Mossad Brigadier General and Teacher's introduction states that his writing is based on first hand experience as an intelligence officer. These experiences must be one of his secret weapons as the amount of detail in every scene speaks volumes. The story is deliciously complicated, beginning at the end with Rachel, an undercover agent trying to escape her handler and, indeed, all of Mossad. After killing a German scientist, she wants to shed her spy skin and decides to seek out an Arab ex-lover whom she knew many years ago. To complicate things even further, her handler (who is old enough to be her father) loves her, which is not a relationship that Mossad would condone.

Writers of spy novels are often compared to John Le Carre, but in the instance of The English Teacher, I am confident in that comparison. Atir’s characters are complex and imperfect, much like Le Carre’s. The antagonists created by both writers are never singularly evil or one dimensional. Refreshingly, the work of Le Carre and Atir frequently allows us to feel the loneliness of the undercover agent, and to see how futile the messy world of espionage really is. Highly recommended.

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