Hillary Jordan has written a fast paced thriller, an ‘unputdownable’ novel.

The book opens with the main character, Hannah Elizabeth Payne, being found guilty of the crime of murder and hearing that she is to go to prison for 30 days where she will become a Red for a period of sixteen years. The next thing she knows is that she is waking up and discovering that she is red, the solid red of a stop sign, the colour of newly shed blood.

When Hannah is released from the prison, where she had seen no one and talked to no one for thirty days, she realizes that she is free but is still filled with trepidation. Where can she go? Certainly not home. Her mother had made that clear. She would be shunned by the community as a Chrome, a Red.

It is revealed that Hannah loves a married man named the Reverend Aidan Dale. Hannah’s love for this man is so great that she chose prison and ‘chroming’ (becoming red) rather than give his name as an accomplice to the charge of ‘murder’. The reader wonders what kind of man lets someone he professes to love sacrifice her life for him…and that is just one of the many provocative questions raised by this novel.

Feeling she has no choice, Hannah begins a journey towards freedom in Canada. Her journey is filled with terrifying dangers and she has to decide who can be trusted and who is will betray her. Through all these challenges, Hannah discovers her inner strength and her true self.

When She Woke shows what can happen with a totalitarian government and how society behaves towards people who are “judged ” to be of a lesser moral standard by leaders in the community. This book is a gripping read and raises many questions about the effects of narrow values and unforgiving judgements.

The next book is an international bestseller, titled “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin – $17.99

This book chronicles Lawrence Scanlon’s real life experiences, living and helping volunteer organizations in different parts of the world, a month at a time. While some chapters are a bit longer than necessary to make his points, this book is an inspiration, an insight into different opportunities; a starting point for anyone interested in volunteering their time and energy for the benefit of society.

The January chapter recounts Scanlon’s volunteer work at the St. Vincent de Paul Society-Loretta Hospitality Centre in Kingston, Ontario, feeding, housing and clothing, men, women and children. Scanlon gets to know daily visitors and he tells us about Judy, a middle aged woman from a middle class background. Then after twenty years of marriage every thing fell apart in Judy’s life. Divorce led to depression and self-medication with alcohol and drugs and within three years Judy was living on the streets.

A chapter that provoked a great deal of discussion was Scanlon’s time volunteering at the Kingston Penitentiary. He asked one of the older inmates, “What is it like inside?”. The inmate answered, “I can tell you about the rapes, especially of the young. Going inside a Mr. Tough Guy attitude doesn’t cut it in prison because there is always someone tougher than you.” And when he asks how prison personnel work daily with the incarcerated, dealing with the risks and enforcing the rules, he is told they form an impersonal, remote, protective shield.

September is a chapter at The Onguanada Resource Centre in Kingston where no one uses language to communicate but all communicate in their own way. All at Onguanada are profoundly challenged in mind and body.

October chronicles a stint with Habitant for Humanity in New Orleans.

In December, Scanlon spends the month in Dakar exploring the obstacles to improving education of females, and coming to understand the prevalence of poverty, deep and widespread corruption on all levels, and the uncertain economy. But he also talks about his appreciation of the Senegalese tight and meaningful family ties, their neighborhood connections and their generous hospitality.

Every chapter in Lawrence Scanlon’s, A Year of Living Generously provides eye-opening insights into the world of philanthropy and the rich returns to those who choose to give of their time to help others.

Grace River is set in a smelter town in interior British Columbia. In this fast-paced novel, the author takes the reader on a journey into the lives of four friends.

(a) Jessie: she lives with her husband Daniel and daughter Lily and works at Nick’s Diner, a cafe frequented by workers of Axis, the town’s smelter plant.
(b) Jackson: he is a smelter worker and is married to Caroline. Jackson and Caroline have two boys, Travis and Brooks.
(c) Kali: she is a newcomer to Grace River, having moved there with her daughters (following a break-up with their father) from Vancouver Island. Kali works part time at Earth’s Bounty Health Foods and has a boyfriend Mike, who works at the smelter plant.
(d) Daniel: he is the husband of Jessie and is also a smelter worker.

Grace River is a small town, full of redneck workers. The town is unhealthy and polluted, largely as a result of the Axis Smelter Plant, the main source of income for the town.

Life is going on as usual on a hot summer day; men go to work or hang out at Nick’s Diner, the local bar and home for lives which revolve around the plant workers’ shifts. Axis runs twelve-hour shifts, day and night, seven days a week.

One early morning at Nick’s Diner, a newcomer shows up. Immediate speculation begins: who is he and why is he in Grace River? It turns out his name is Liam and he is an American environmentalist. He is in town to take samples from the Grace River. Lead pollution from Axis is a grave concern.

The four friends are also concerned about pollution from the plant but the plant also their source of income. Axis routinely does blood testing for toxins on its workers but it is suspected that the blood test could be skewed in the plant’s favour. Jackson gets tested at another location and finds out that his toxic levels are high.

Then there’s an incident at Axis, which results in a worker being hospitalized with what could be a life threatening sickness caused by exposure to the toxins. As well, Mike starts to act strangely and his friends are worried about him.

With the intrusion of Liam, the environmentalist, into this close-knit community, life in Grace River takes a turn to drama and violence. Insecurities are revealed and in some cases acted on, fueled further by toxic poisoning.

This is a powerful novel, which explores the damage we all do to our environment and the damage, unintentionally, we do to our families and friends.

This readable and informative book by author Gillian Deacon provides well-researched knowledge about many popular beauty products that contain toxins. A very helpful list of the most used toxic substances in personal care products is provided for quick and easy reference as well as a chapter on Label Reading 101. (For those who want details on every cosmetic and how safe it may or may not be, the Cosmetic Safety Database can provide this information – www.cosmeticsdatabase.com.

A chapter on Greenwashing discusses one of the author’s pet peeves. Many well-intentioned consumers buys products because they have been led into believing they will be better for the planet and their family’s health. Greenwashing is corporate trickery. Many companies (a) make claims that mean nothing; (b) commit the sin of omission; and/or (c) create fanfare over certain ingredients while omitting others.

The P’lovers Book Club compared notes about how each of us have been mislead by reading a list of ingredients, believing we were purchasing ‘green’ ingredients, only to find, in small print at the bottom, a list of toxic elements. The author tells consumers to be vigilant about label reading.

Another chapter on ‘Pinkwashing’ is very disturbing! Popular and longtime cosmetic companies put out information about giving part of their profits to Breast Cancer or other cancer groups for research and yet, all the while, their products contain toxic, and often cancer-causing substances.

On a practical level Gillian Deacon gives us recipes for non-toxic and effective products we can make in our home. She reminds us that there is no need to buy overpriced and dangerous products. Also included is a list of safe green companies and products that can be purchased locally.

The book gives a comprehensive overview of what lies beneath the gloss of the beauty industry and how we can reduce the chemical burden on our bodies and the bodies of our loved ones and on our planet.

P’lovers’ next book is ‘Grace River’ by Rebecca Hendry, a novel about the people of a smelter town in the interior of British Columbia and what happens when a young environmentalist arrives in town to investigate the toxin levels in the river.

Mortenson continues and deepens the story he started in “Three Cups of Tea” showing us the challenges, opportunities and positive impacts of building schools in remote parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In particular, he details what happened when he was approached by people from the Hindu Kush, a remote and desolate area of war-torn Northeast Pakistan referred to as ‘the end of the world”. The messengers, who had traveled for days on horseback without stopping, told Mortenson that they were desperate to begin educating their daughters.

Mortenson, of course, wanted to visit the area himself, but knew he would need a guide to help him set up a communications link in Zuudkhan and someone to help him navigate the path to a safe meeting with the Nomadic Tribes. And then Mortenson meets Sarfraz Khan, a man of contradictions with an unusual past: lover of music and dancing; ex-commando; smuggler of gemstones; whiskey drinker and trader of yaks. Over the months and years, Khan and Mortenson have developed a close personal relationship based on complete mutual trust and respect.

Khan proves very helpful in traveling the inhospitable terrain of the Hindu Kush and invaluable in sharing his knowledge of the diverse cultures where each tribal elder has the final word in the lives of members of their tribes. Sarfraz Khan, self-described “man of no much success” has great charisma and the ability to bend other men’s wills to his own. A particular story of how Khan walked for days, while critically ill himself, to get to medical help shows the force of his sheer determination not to die before his work is done.

“Stones into Schools” is both heart-warming and informative. It provides an exploration into Mortenson’s own life, his deep connection with Khan and the people in this almost forgotten part of the world, and the deep passion of their common dream to educate girls and women so they in turn can educate in their communities. It provides a compelling and convincing picture about the power of schools and education to promote peace in war-torn Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The next book is “There’s Lead in Your Lipstick” by Gillian Deacon.

This is a wonderfully written book for anyone who wants to make informed choices about their diet. Typically people choose price over quality, and readily look to meat for their source of protein, but reading this book may well change people’s minds.

Foer wrote the book after his son was born as he became more and more curious and concerned about what his son would be eating. He recalls stories of his own childhood, showing how everyone’s family culture plays out in our food choices. He particularly describes a wonderful grandmother who was always encouraging him to “eat, eat, eat”

Based on lots of first-hand research about the differences between family and factory farms, including how most animals are raised, slaughtered and brought to market, Foer shows the effects of big corporations and how they are a large factor in the food that reaches our markets. It’s not a pretty picture, which makes the fact that family farming is rapidly being replaced by factory farming quite alarming.

Foer tells us that the first poultry factory farming began accidentally. Apparently a producer was shipped 500 chickens instead of the 50 that had been ordered…and that was only the beginning!

Foer’s chapters on Factory Farming are at times unsettlingly graphic as he writes about the conditions the animals are subjected to as they are raised, slaughtered and brought to market. Even though factory farms have government inspectors to ensure that “humane and healthy” rules are practiced, it appears that much is missed.

The health of workers working in unsanitary conditions is also explored as is the health of people living nearby and the bad effect the runoff from these factory farms have on the surrounding environment. Of particular concern are the antibiotics used by factory Farms to stop the spread of disease due to overcrowding and very unhealthy conditions. The overuse of antibiotics is polluting our water and the food we eat, causing serious health concern to humans. This practice continues in spite of the fact that every leading health organization, including the World Health Organization, has asked that this practice be stopped. All one can do is shake one’s head and ask, “What will it take for change to occur?”

The reader’s concern mounts even further as Foer describes the global implications of the growth of Factory Farms, especially given the problem of food borne illnesses, antimicrobial resistance and potential pandemics. His facts are genuinely terrifying. Where does it end?

Not everyone wants to be a vegetarian, but, at the very least, this book makes one want to consider purchasing meat from local and small producers rather than from Factory Farms.

The next book for the P’lovers Book Club is “Stones Into Schools” by Greg Mortenson.

Douglas Coupland brought his extraordinary writing skills to the creative task of fashioning a novel ‘in five hours’ to fit the format of the 2010 CBC Massey Lecture series. No one has ever given fictional writing a voice through the Massey Lectures before!

Player One consists of 5 chapters (think five hours) and entirely takes place in the bar of an airport hotel. The main characters include the bartender who is a recovering alcoholic; a minister who has just stolen funds from his church and is planning to leave the country; a middle-age woman who is there to meet an internet date; and a young woman in a designer black dress who has an avatar and who doesn’t really understand humans but wants to get pregnant to prove to her father that she is human! The fifth character is called ‘Player One’ who serves as a narrator and, at the end of the book, turns out to be one of the characters.

While the characters and their personal situations are interesting by themselves, Coupland adds to the mix a world-wide crisis with the price of oil rising to $900 a barrel which has the effect of ending all supplies of electricity, along with gas for cars and planes. Enter a sniper on the roof and the tension mounts.

Characters discuss the meaning of life, personal values and revelations, and, over the course of the day, the reader witness’s significant changes in their lives. The story gallops along and makes one think about one’s own values and sense of the purpose of life.

The book also includes an Appendix called ‘Future Legend’ which has over 150 new words made up by Coupland along with their intriguing definitions. Coupland is a Canadian creative genius who has not only written over twenty books, but who is also a visual artist, sculptor, furniture and clothing designer, and a screenwriter.

Wangari Maathai, the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and founding member of The Green Belt Movement in Africa, has written a book about the connections between spirituality and the earth. She uses many religions and parables to give the reader a compact history of this relationship. She gives special attention to the role that trees have traditionally played in religious ceremonies.

The author makes the point that spirituality and activism make a great team and much must be done to save our planet Earth from being greedily ravished for profit. Maathai asks her readers to work together, using self-empowerment, to develop peace, spirituality and activism.

She also sees the following as goals for all peoples: (a) commitment to service; (b) responding to the call to serve; and (c) gratitude and respect.

The first sentence of the introduction draws the reader in to the author’s world:

‘The landscape of my youth was an Irish one. The fields were filled with the brilliant chrome yellow of furze.’

Diana Beresford-Kroeger is a botanist and medical biochemist, which means she is an expert in the medicinal, nutritional and environmental properties of trees.

‘The Global Forest’ is a beautifully written collection of essays about a variety of the scientific facts, folklore, and environmental importance of trees and forests. Reading this book provides a gentle and compelling opportunity to learn about trees and their connection to the interconnected lives of people and the planet.

Each chapter is complete and lovely in its own right and yet the words, which dance across the pages, leave the reader hungering for more information.

For example, the chapter on Hedgerows describes them as living continuations of the forest. Hedgerows are seen, especially in Europe, wherever there is agriculture and they act as corridors of life and boundaries for farmers’ fields. One can’t read this chapter and not want to sit beside a hedgerow and stare at the life that teams within it.

In the chapter on the medicinal products and uses of trees, Beresford-Kroeger gives information about how these properties have been and are being used to support mankind. One interesting example of this is the chemical ‘ergotamine’ and its use today in the treatment of migraines.

Each chapter, no matter how specific or scientific, always seems to underscore that forests are also places of quiet refuge for all living things.

Beresford-Kroeger also writes about Gaia and the complex web of all living things. She shows how all countries and nations benefit from forests, and cautions the reader about the ongoing rape of Mother Nature. She laments that there seems to be no end to greed and no meaningful or sytemic beginning to sustainable management of the planets resource bases.

Putting aside her concerns and pessimism, Beresford-Kroeger ends with an uplifting paragraph about how today’s children are being taught better modes of planetary management.

This latest novel from Margaret Atwood is brilliant, is a solemn praise of human hope, and a serious look at our capacity for self-destruction.

The great imaginary power of Atwood’s fiction allows the reader to suspend disbelief and to believe that anything is possible, including a great eco-apocalyptic situation that includes violence, obscenity, comedy, endurance, love and hymns…From ‘God’s Gardeners Hymnbook’.

Adam One, the kindly leader of god’s gardeners, had long predicted a natural disaster that will alter Earth, as we know it. Now it has occurred, erasing most human life.

Two women are spared: Ren, a young trapeze artist locked inside a high end sex club and one of god’s gardeners, Toby, who is barricaded inside a luxurious spa, The Noo-You Spa.

The year of the flood tells Toby and Ren’s stories during the years prior to their meeting again.

Atwood puts her finger on the pulse of the future as she takes her readers through the fascinating lives of Adam one and his beleaguered followers as they regroup. Ren and Toby emerge into an altered world where nothing, including the animal life, is predictable.

Through her skillful writing and descriptions, Atwood enables readers to see, hear and smell the old and new worlds of her intriguing characters. This book is hard to put down because the reader cares about these complex characters and wonders how their bizarre interconnections will unfold.

A highly recommended book for all Atwood fans and those who are interested in how our world as we know it could be transformed.

The next book club meeting is November 8th. The book will be “The Global Forest” by Diana Beresford-Kroeger. All are Welcome!