Redpath Book Display: Students Recommend

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It is the time of the year when you feel like all you’re doing is reading. And yet it’s not really all that you wish to be reading? How about picking up a book for some leisure reading time? But are you confused about what to pick?

Well, look no further! The Humanities and Social Studies Library has put on display some of the top students’ picks to help you sync in with the crowd. Dedicated to bringing students a break between midterms and finals, our November display is curated from the recommendations of McGill students from all genres and book lengths. Basically, it’s got something for everyone!

For the ones you may not find on display, here are some of our ebook titles:

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

A hilarious parody of D.H. Lawrence’s and Thomas Hardy’s earthy, melodramatic novels, the deliriously entertaining “Cold Comfort Farm” is “very probably the funniest book ever written” (The Sunday Times.).

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

Though her family thinks she has gone mad, Valancy embarks on an adventure of discovery. Her newfound independence leads her to a world where anything is possible—even love. But is her new life just another illusion, or has she truly found the Blue Castle of her dreams?

Kitchen confidential: adventures in the culinary underbelly by Anthony Bourdain

A New York City chef who is also a novelist recounts his experiences in the restaurant business and exposes abuses of power, sexual promiscuity, drug use, and other secrets of life behind kitchen doors.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Based on Plath’s own struggles, it chronicles a young woman’s descent into depression and eventually into suicidal behaviour, coupled with her quest to discover herself at a time when self-discovery, for a woman, meant navigating traditional models of social propriety on one side and new ideas of freedom and self-determination on the other. It is widely cited as one of the 20th century’s greatest novels. 

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The novel that scandalized Victorian England In a London studio, two men contemplate the portrait of another–younger and more beautiful–man. 

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  1. Becoming Yellow: A Short History of Racial Thinking
  2. Brave New World: With the Essay “Brave new world revisited”
  3. Le Jouer Et Les Nuits Blanches 
  4. Wuthering Heights
  5. To Kill A Mockingbird

Well, that’s all we have here, but go check out the display to see if your favourite book is there too! 

You can find a full list of the books on display here.

For more information, contact us at hssl.library@mcgill.ca.

Sick of Paywalls? Here’s Three Open Climate Data Sources.

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Did you know there are three open climate data portals that are accessible to all Canadians? In the spirit of Open Climate Justice, this blog highlights the importance of these accessible platforms. Along with these national data sets, at the McGill Library we also have an environmental studies library guide which highlights a few other national data sets and our own collection of geographic information. 

Climate Atlas

The Climate Atlas of Canada, is a great starting point as it combines climate science, mapping, and storytelling together with Indigneous Knowledges and community-based research. Through videos, articles, and stories, you can gain a deeper insight to the lived experiences of climate change, as well as climate action amongst different communities. The map is simple and interactive and gives you insight to how different communities in Canada will experience climate change. The first step to justice is understanding. The Climate Atlas provides a holistic look into our future in Canada. 

Climate Data

The Climate Data website has a vast pool of data that is perfect for a project or just browsing. What is special about this project is that Sectoral analysis is open for anyone to browse and use. It provides excellent background and relevant data to understand how climate change will affect a sector important to you! For example, if your family has a farm in Ontario, you can actually look at how your specific region is modelled to experience climate change and plan for the future accordingly. 

PAVCIS

This website helps facilitate the analysis of all of this data. Through more complex tools, PAVCIS might be more adpt for those experienced in climate analysis or academics. If you have a handle on the mechanics, it’s a powerful instrument for deepening your research and evidence. 

We hope this was helpful in aiding your research process and curiosity and opening

P.S. Don’t forget to check out the virtual book display and blog post by the curators for Open Climate Justice.

House of Horrors: HSSL Edition

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It’s that time of year again! The ghosts are boo-ing, the zombies are asking for “bRaiiNS” and midterms seem much scarier now that they are back in person. But we’ve got your back through all of this. Featured in this post are some of the Top Horror Titles from our collections, and our favourite streaming content! Scroll through it all if you dare *spooky noises**ghost emoji*

Some Scary Reading Stuff

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Perhaps one of the most frightening books ever written and it’s in our collection! Based on a classic but effective premise (house small on the outside but dizzyingly huge and spooky on the inside), this book will make you feel like you’re in an escape room adventure- and it’s a not supremely pleasant one. But that’s what this season’s about, eh?

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Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin

Yes, the movie was great, it was amazing, and it was chilling. But. The. Book. Is. Always. Better! If you’ve loved this plot of a terrified mother facing paranoia as a film, we should tell you the book is better- or worse? You get it. Even though its main twist is known to many, we assure you, the book will still keep you awake at night.

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The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

If you haven’t read Jackson, can you even call yourself a horror fanatic? (And King too, but you’ll see him in a sec!). You’ve read and streamed plenty of Haunted House titles, but we assure you, no one does it like Jackson. She perfects the Haunted House trope, we’re not just talking jump scares, we’re talking unreliable narrator that will make you want to reach for the lights, but also hide under the covers. Read it if you dare!

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Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Do you know what’s even more horrifying than supernatural beings defying natural laws and rendering everything possible? The answer is insufficiently socialised human beings stuck in a race for survival, or as Golding portrays it; a group of children stranded on an island without supplies or adult supervision. This is no Home Alone, this is pure savagery.

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Pet Sematary by Stephen King

The King of horror is here (get it? hehe), and he’s got a long list of titles competing for this spot. But unlike his other works that are rich with humanity in characterisation and deal with narrators that make us question the world around us,  Pet Sematary manages to be his most terrifying novel by dint of its simple, devastating concept: a magical cemetery where buried things come back to a sort-of life—but aren’t quite what they once were. See how King turns one of the most precious things in the world (our pets) into a living, breathing nightmare. 

But these are just some of our top picks. Here’s a list of more titles old and new, pop and classics to satisfy your horror needs this trick-or-treat season.

  1. Dracula by Bram Stoker 
  2. We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver
  3. Night Film by Marisha Pessl
  4. Ring by Koji Suzuki 
  5. Blindness by José Saramago
  6. The Shining by Stephen King
  7. The Only Good Indians by Stepehn Graham Jones
  8. Little Darlings by Melanie Golding
  9. Boo by Shinie Antony et al (Short story collection) 
  10. The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

Some Spooky Streaming Stuff

To get into the spirit, we have picked out some horror/Halloween movies that are free for all McGill students through available streaming services. Cosy up, take some time for yourself this Halloween (or better yet, have a horror movie marathon with your closest buds), and SCREAM with these picks.

To refresh how to use these services click here to read our McGill Films 101 blog post.

Find the favourites in the bibliography here (with much more being added than what is featured): https://mcgill.on.worldcat.org:443/list/18173632

Criterion on Demand

A single click on your VPN and you have access to so many wonderful horror films.

Our favourites on Criterion:

  • Scoob (Tony Cervone)
  • Midsommar (Ari Aster)
  • Ready or Not (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett)
  • The Conjuring (James Wan)

Kanopy

The Monsters Among Us Series is a look into the history of creatures in pop culture and how they came to be!

Some highlighted movies are down below and to check out the rest of the Kanopy horror section, click here: https://mcgill.kanopy.com/category/29299

  • Dial M for Murder (Alfred Hitchcocks)
  • The Love Witch (Anna Biller)
  • A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Kino Lorber)

These are just a few picks to get you in the spirit if you’re looking for spooky Halloween movies using McGill Library Resources. Tag @mcgilllib on Instagram with the #spookystreaming to be featured on this blog post. We’d love to see what the HSSL community is watching this week.

If you have any questions email us at hssl.library@mcgill.ca!

This post has been co-authored by Vanja Lugonjic