Learn some Russian, and some folk music, in just four classes

With more than 200 million speakers, Russian is one of the top ten most spoken languages in the world. It's the language astronauts learn before going into outer space, it's written with the Cyrillic alphabet, and a few words, including "mammoth," "samovar" and "vodka," have also made their way into English.

Starting next month, educator Richard Castro is offering students the opportunity to learn some of this fascinating language through song. The class will start by reviewing the Cyrillic alphabet and learning how to read and say some everyday Russian words and expressions. And then the fun part—the class will see and hear how these words are used in some Russian folk songs and follow along as they hear them sung. Who knows, participants may even end up singing in Russian!

• Russian Through Song starts Friday, November 1. 

Building Bridges of Understanding with Canadian Muslims

The word Islam is an Arabic term that means peace and submission, and the word Muslim means one who attains peace through submission to God, yet there are persistent stereotypes in Western media that associate the Islamic faith with oppression, violence, conflict and struggle.

If you would like to learn more about Islam, and separate the guiding concepts of the faith from the myths and misconceptions, join Shahina Siddiqui—freelance writer, author, spiritual counselor, speaker and educator—in discussing some of the top asked questions about Islam and Canadian Muslims. Over the course of three Saturdays starting on October 12, she will cover an introduction to Islam, women in Islam, core values and Canadian Muslims. The class will also include a discussion on Islamophobia.

Register now for Building Bridges of Understanding with Canadian Muslims.

Governor General's Literary Awards 2019 finalists

The finalists for the 2019 Governor General's Literary Awards have been announced! The prizes are given out in seven English-language categories and in seven French-language categories.

Among the names on the shortlists are Michael Crummey, Amanda Parris, and Winnipeg authors Joan Thomas and Catherine Hunter. To see the complete selection of finalists, please visit GGbooks.ca.

October's Author of the Month: LYNN COADY

Lynn Coady is a Canadian novelist, journalist and TV writer, originally from Nova Scotia and now living in Toronto. Coady's first book, Strange Heaven (1998), was nominated for a Governor General's Award. Her 2011 novel, The Antagonist, was shortlisted for the 2011 Giller Prize and her 2013 collection of short stories, Hellgoing, about characters going through their own personal versions of hell, won the Giller Prize that year. She has published six books of fiction.

Since 2014 Lynn has worked on such TV series as Orphan Black, Sensitive Skin, Michael: Every Day, Mary Kills People, The Disappearance and Burden of Truth.

After her mother’s sudden death, Karen finds herself back in her childhood home in Nova Scotia for the first time in a decade, acting as full-time caregiver to Kelli, her older sister in Watching You Without Me. Overwhelmed with grief and the daily needs of Kelli, who was born with a developmental disability, Karen begins to feel consumed by the isolation of her new role. On top of that, she’s weighed down with guilt over her years spent keeping Kelli and their independent-to-a-fault mother, Irene, at arm’s length. And so when Trevor — one of Kelli’s support workers — oversteps his role and offers friendly advice and a shoulder to cry on, Karen gratefully accepts his somewhat overbearing friendship. When she discovers how close Trevor was to Irene, she comes to trust him all the more. But as Trevor slowly insinuates himself into Karen and Kelli’s lives, Karen starts to grasp the true aspect of his relationship with her mother — and to experience for herself the suffocating nature of Trevor’s “care.”