Nathan tests your library trivia knowledge and then lets you self-evaluate to assign your own points. Listen in to hear what prizes are on offer.

Longtime library employee Jeremy Tolmie talks to Dahlia about his life and his book called Kicking ASSpergers: One Meltdown at a Time. Find his book on his publisher's website, Jeremy's website, or in the library catalogue.

Jeremy Tolmie has written three previous books—Living with Asperger's Syndrome, Living with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Living on the Autism Spectrum. His goal in sharing his story is to inspire hope in others with autism, and their families.

He resides in semi-independent living in Nanaimo, British Columbia.

We hear ya... Summer can be a busy time and we have some local short fiction to squeeze in while you do something else. Meet winners from the 2022 Islands Short Fiction Contest! They are here for you.

Stories included today:

• The Grimathonian Monster written by and read by Mira Vickers, 1st place in the junior category
• The Push written by and read by Lillith Stoyko-Lang, 1st place in the youth category
  • Read-a-like: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
• Revenge of the Butterflies written by and read by Linnea Wiggers, tied for 3rd place in the youth category
• Servant of the Ants written by Cody Alexander and read by Nathan, 2nd place in the youth category
• Bear written by and read by Robert Bowerman, 1st place in the adult category
  • Read-a-like: Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese

You can read all of the winning stories here on the Islands Short Fiction 2022 Winners page. Thanks to all of the talented writers who shared their work for the contest!

Get right into the live vibe of this event from Pride Month at Courtenay library with author Sydney Sunderland. I Am Everything In Between highlights kids who don't fit into stereotypical gender ideals. The book is published by Rebel Mountain Press in Nanoose.

Find it in the library catalogue, see more info from Rebel Mountain, and find it in your local bookstore!

Kendra talks with Vivi and Catherine of Duncan's amazing bookstore, Volume One. Get ready for some deep-dive recommendations!

Their favourites for adults:

• Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard (non-fiction)
• Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (fiction)
• Bluebird by Sharon Cameron (fiction) ~on order
• People Change by Vivek Shraya (non-fiction/essay)

Their favourites for children:

• The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson (picture book)
• Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney (picture book)
• Bluebird by Sharon Cameron (YA fiction) ~on order

Nathan suggests you check out Broombusters.org to assuage your invasive species guilt for loving the Miss Rumphius book.

[caption id="attachment_948" align="alignnone" width="576"] Image from Broombusters.org website.[/caption]

Are fines fine, or are fines not so fine? Does fining lead to... crime? Find out with Nathan and visit the dark world of library fine crimes. (Did you know that VIRL has no overdue fines for children's and young adult materials? And we're trying it out for adult materials too in 2022!)

Darby shares some fine thrillers (with crimes in them):

1. The Kill Club by Wendy Heard
   • Read alike: Kristen Lepionka's Roxanne Weary series
2. Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
3. The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham-Jones
4. City of the Lost by Kelly Armstrong
5. Hope You're Listening by Tom Ryan

Sooke Librarian Nathalie interviews Victoria-based author Hayden Stone. He is definitely a book-ish person and talks about favourite real-life bookshops along with the fictional one he created for his character Aubrey. You can find his queer romance book An Unexpected Kind of Love for sale or in our catalogue. (Apparently it has a lot of kissing and steamy bits.) Casey tells us about some great full cast audiobooks, which are awesome because there are multiple narrators and it's a bit like a radio play. (Nathan should probably not lie down if he's listening to an audiobook.) Download the Libby App on your phone or tablet here so you can get listening.

1. Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
   • available in eAudiobook and CD audiobook
2. Greenwood by Michael Christie
   • available in eAudiobook
3. A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
   • available in eAudiobook
4. Sadie by Courtenay Summers
   • available in eAudiobook
5. Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
   • available in eAudiobook and CD audiobook

Kamal Parmar is Nanaimo's Poet Laureate and the author of numerous books of poetry. Parmar is also a writer creative non-fiction and has published multiple books in North America, India and the United Kingdom, with topics including childhood memories of India, her impressions of Canada and her experience caring for her mother with Alzheimer's disease.

On Sunday November 28th from 2-3:30pm we will be conducting a virtual (Zoom) screening of the documentary film The Gift of Adversity, which will be followed by a Q&A by the filmmaker. Here are some details about the film and creator:

Following W'Ren's life-changing 2016 diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, he turned to filmmaking as part of his healing journey. Dance with Disease: the Gift of Adversity explores various people's stories of hardship, and their grace and gratitude in the face of adversity.

Here is a link to the event and you'll find the poster attached: https://virl.bc.ca/event/gift-of-adversity-film-screening-and-qa/

Here's a link to the documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbBH2luO7Fg

BOO(k) to you!!!

Casey shares some Spoooooooky Booooooooks:

1. 1. Good House by Tananarive Due
   2. Through the Woods by Emily Carroll
   3. Fangs by Sarah Andersen
      • Check out Sarah's Scribbles too
   4. Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Sarah Khaw
   5. Dr. Edith Vane and the Hares of Crawley Hall by Suzette May

Tell us what YOUR favourite spooky tales are!

Then Darby had a more lighthearted conversation with Shanon Sinn of Victoria, BC about his uniquely spooky and well-researched book The Haunting of Vancouver Island: supernatural encounters with the other side. Be scared and informed! These ghost stories can be "teachers of history".

Put a hold on it here or find it at your local bookstore -odds are Shanon has visited them to stock the book.

The MMITS crew are also fans of the Nanaimo Museum like Shanon is! Check out his twitter and #FolkloreThurs (Folklore Thursdays) from our convo, too.