Bedside Table

P.J. Sarah Collins wrote the first draft fourteen years ago. Now, the Vancouver children novelist's What Happened to Serenity? has been recognized with inaugural Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy, Red Deer Press announced today. It was administered by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre with a prize of $5,000, "honour[ing] excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy writing for children and adolescents”.

Early in this memoir,  Brian Brett divulges that he spent his first 20 years "middle-sexed" due to an undiagnosed glandular disorder. While this facet of his formative experience was undoubtedly painful and challenging, he speaks of it as a gift.

As the book continues to unfold in the context of his most recent 18 years as an organic farmer on Salt Spring Island, his stories reflect this same inherent perspective: challenges in a life well-lived are also full of gifts.

Living the Life of Your Dreams by Marilyn Tam, a former fortune 500 CEO and former Nike executive, shares insights into a questions that many people ask themselves: how to achieve success, without losing sight of the important things in life? 

In a concise 37 pages, Tam explains how achieving success can be a fulfilling process, rather than a stressful one. 

Born to a traditional Chinese family in Hong Kong, Tam was the sole daughter in a family that prized sons. She endured many hardships and became an inspiring model of success, rising to executive chair positions at Nike, Inc., Reebok, and Aveda Corp. She explains how having purpose and balance in your life is the key to obtaining both success and leisure.

Tam guides us through discovering and harnessing our inner potential, then utilizing it to lead you where you want to go. She calls this "Life’s Compass". While life often throws unpredictable curveballs, Tam advises that people with a strong sense of this compass will always know where they want to go in life. 

This fall, everyone is picking up a book, and with good cause: The Vancouver International Writers Festival is coming up in October, so let's all help promote Canadian and international writers. Here are BookNet Canada's bestsellers for August.

Top 10 Fiction

"The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
"The Confession" by John Grisham
"The Help Movie Tie-in Edition" by Kathryn Stockett
"Room" by Emma Donoghue
"Private" by James Patterson
"One Day" by David Nicholls
"Safe Haven" by Nicholas Sparks
"Left Neglected" by Lisa Genova
"A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
"The Distant Hours" by Kate Morton

Top 10 Non-Fiction

"A Stolen Life" by Jaycee Dugard
"Heaven Is for Real" by Todd Burpo
"The Book of Awesome" by Neil Pasricha
"The Wealthy Barber Returns" by David Chilton
"Go the F* k to Sleep" by Adam Mansbach
"Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
"Quinoa 365" by Patricia Green
"The 17 Day Diet" by Mike Moreno