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  • Ten Modern Books Every Student Should Read (French version available)

    Ten Modern Books Every Student Should Read (French version available)

    Do you groan when you hear about the books you “should” be reading in High School? Do you roll your eyes when your parents or teachers mention “Catcher in the Rye”, “Fahrenheit 451” or “To Kill a Mockingbird”? While these are indubitably classics, and you should read them, fear not. Here is a list of ten modern takes on those classic themes. Even better, they all have film adaptations!

    1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
    This is a heartbreaking story about two teenagers falling in love in the face of terminal illness. It’s a raw, irreverent look at what it means to really be alive.

    2. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
    Charlie is a mentally challenged patient who undergoes a boost in intelligence in a medical experiment. His journey mirrors that of a mouse named Algernon, also in the same medical trial.

    3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
    Set in 1960’s Mississippi, this story explores lines between race and class during a violent period of America’s history. Three extraordinary women are introduced as they navigate race relations in the suburban south.

    4. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
    This book follows Oskar as he pieces together clues left behind by his father, killed in the 9-11 attacks in New York. He explores themes surrounding the bombings of Hiroshima and Dresden to find a sense of peace while solving the mystery.

    5. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
    This murder mystery, told from the unique vantage point of a teenaged rape-murder victim, displays the grief and frustration of a family who lost a daughter too soon.

    6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
    A post-apocalyptic story of a communist-like government, keeping citizens in line using a yearly survivor game. Likened to Lord of the Flies by some, the story evolves into one of revolution, love, and survival against all odds.

    7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
    This book follows Charlie, a shy introverted student, learning to live his life from the fringes.

    8. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
    Pi is a Tamil boy who survived over two hundred days lost at sea with a Bengal tiger. This is his story, which explores the theme of spirituality and faith vs practicality.

    9. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
    This book, set in the south of 1964, explores racism, family, and divine female power through Lily and her adoptive mother.

    10. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
    A science fiction read that explores childhood, war, and leadership. Ender is a very young genetically enhanced child beginning military training with his friends to become a leader to save the world.

    Hopefully this list provided new reading material, as well as new authors to explore. Happy reading, and while we’re at it, consider checking out: Orwell’s Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, or anything by William Shakespeare. With themes spanning coming of age, jealousy, good and evil, and human morals, these stories never go out of style.

  • Job Profile: Book Publisher

    Job Profile: Book Publisher

    Books are amazing things. You can pick one up and travel to a world of elves, fairies, and exciting adventures. Or you can pick up another one to find out about the history of ancient Rome or about how beavers live and what part they play in the natural world. You can read a long novel or a short magazine article. Most of the time, the stories and information you read have gone through a publisher before they came to you.

    What actually happens when an author wants to get a book published? Sometimes they publish the books themselves, but often they want the skills and knowledge of a publisher to help them with the process. Most publishing companies have different people who each focus on one part of the process. In smaller companies, one or two people might do all of the different steps.

    The first step is usually deciding which books to publish. Sometimes, this means that an acquisitions editor will spend a lot of time reading books that people have sent in to the publisher.  The next step is editing for any problems with the book. These problems could be about the book’s contents, such as incorrect information or a confusing story line. The problems could also be much simpler issues of proofreading, such as writing “pan” instead of “pane” in a story.

    Once the editing is done, the book will go to the design department where people will decide what picture to have on the cover, the size of the type font, and anything else that affects the appearance or design of the book. Even electronic (online) books need this kind of work before they are ready for sale.

    Publishers are good at taking care of the many small jobs that are part of getting books ready for sale. One of these jobs is getting the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) and the Cataloguing in Publication information, which helps librarians to organize the books they buy. Another task is deciding what the price should be.

    After all of these small jobs are done, the book is ready to be printed and marketed.  Marketing is what happens when a publisher lets people know about a new book or magazine. They might put up posters, pay for advertisements, or go on tours to talk about what they have to sell. They might set up tables at special events and have some of the books and magazines for sale.

    How do people become publishers? Sometimes all it takes is knowledge of how to sell books and the money to set up a small company. At other times, it might mean getting a low-level job at a publishing company and then learning enough to get a higher-level job. Sometimes an education in business or literature is helpful. People can work in small, local companies or in big, international ones. If you love books and you also love to organize events and keep schedules, work as a publisher might be the right thing for you.

  • The Truth About Buying Textbooks

    The Truth About Buying Textbooks

    Can you really put a price on knowledge? College and universities seem to think so.

    Textbook prices in post-secondary institution are climbing everyday. Ironically students learn to think outside of the box and fight injustices such as unnecessarily high textbook costs. While there are viable reasons for Canadian textbook prices to continue to soar, they conflict with current ethic and socio-cultural teachings that encourage students to take a stand against price inflation.

    A Canadian entering post-secondary education can expect to spend between $100 and $1000 on textbooks per year. Typically, math and science students will garner the highest costs, while arts students are paying the least. Regardless of your program, textbook costs are far too high for the quality and quantity of material being provided.

    While students would be better to purchase books online, courses often have required materials that demand textbooks unavailable by any source outside of the school’s bookstore. By disabling students from purchasing online, colleges and universities are holding a monopoly on textbook orders, guaranteeing themselves revenue.

    Maclean’s magazine recently ran an exposé on the Canadian textbook distribution system that reveals why they are so expensive. Unbeknownst to most, a relatively obscure set of provisions to the Copyright Act (1999) known as “book import regulations” is responsible for raising the cost of textbooks by as much as 15 per cent. Maclean’s explains that it gives exclusive rights to Canadian publishers to monopolize textbook sales to Canadian schools, calling it “a form of cultural protection.”

    The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) placed the estimated cost of protecting these publishers through the Copyright Act at approximately $30 million a year. $30 million of Canadian students’ money!

    Maclean’s notes that this “private tariff” on books involves no accountability for how publishers use the extra funds. “This money is going to, generally speaking, foreign-owned distributors. They’re collecting it, the author doesn’t get it, the Canadian taxpayer doesn’t get it, and it’s coming out of the pockets of our students.” So there’s the dilemma.

    Is it right to support the Copyright Act in its efforts to preserve and protect Canadian writers and publishers? Is it better to purchase our own books from distributors outside of Canada and be more financially stable? Do we even have a choice?

    CASA is lobbying federal government for a change to the provisions, and until those happen there are a few things you can do to lessen the financial strain of buying textbooks.

    Always look for used books first from a bookstore that’s not officially affiliated with your school, that’s where the best deals can be found. Ask around campus for anyone selling old textbooks and advertise when you’d like to sell yours. If you can read assigned literature right off your computer, do it. Don’t purchase something you can access online option. Be vocal about your textbook price opinions, because awareness on the issues surrounding CASA’s efforts and the Copyright Act may cause the way books are distributed to make as much sense as the priceless material found inside them.