Book Review–The Picture of Dorian Gray

A book review by Erick Chae

The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of the classics, set in early Victorian England. This novella follows the story of a man named Dorian Gray. He is a fine young man who is from an aristocratic background, but is always positioned with the lower classes. One day, Dorian receives a gift from one of his talented friends: Basil, who gives him a portrait of Dorian himself. Dorian takes pride in his portrait and gratefully receives the gift not knowing how the portrait is capable of changing his life.

This book deep dives into identity, youth, and insanity with various philosophical questions laid out. This novel has a gothic atmosphere with the environment of fear and dark supernatural forces. Throughout the story, Dorian transcends into madness, horror, and finally death which came from his actions. From sweet summer mornings to dark and grisly nightmares, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading about a character who deteriorates as the story goes further. This novella teaches us about the consequences of our own actions and how actually horrifying and influential they are to our health. This novella also teaches us about the dangers of having bad influential friends. We may convince ourselves that they are good, however, to other’s views, they might be awful. This novella is very short with only 288 pages and I would recommend this to people who enjoy short stories that have many meaningful concepts. 

I love how even though this novella was published over 130 years ago, we still learn from this outdated book. Oscar Wilde wrote in a letter that Dorian Gray is a character who he wants to become.

A fun fact about this author is that he knew Arthur Conan Doyle who was the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Conan Doyle wrote of his first impressions of Wilde, noting “His conversation left an indelible impression upon my mind. He towered above us all, and yet had the art of seeming to be interested in all that we could say. He had a delicacy of feeling and tact, for the monologue man, however clever, can never be a gentleman at heart. He took as well as gave, but what he gave was unique.” (via Crime Reads)  He also defended Wilde’s writing against his critics.

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Questions about Sex? Bodies? Health? Relationships?

Find answers from the Library!  Check out our new catalogue collection about sexual health and education.  It includes books and online resources to support student learning about bodies/puberty, menstruation, sexual health & safety, healthy relationships, pregnancy/miscarriage/abortion, and the things people with bodies should know.

If we don’t have a resource on something you think we should have available, drop us a note or use the ‘Request a Book’ options .

 

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“How to Be A (Young) Antiracist” Author Event

Watch authors Ibram X. Kendi and Nic Stone as they discuss their book How to Be A (Young) Antiractist in the Gallery (via Flip) on Thursday, February 16, 2023.

Have questions?  See your English or Socials teacher.

If you want to attend, see Ms Byrne to request a Field Trip form.

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Artona Photos in the Library Feb. 1

Limited Services Only, blue text on orange backgroundDue to the school photo session in the Library the morning of Wednesday, February 1st, access to some Library spaces/resources will be limited.

Please do not send students for book/materials exchange or printing as our spaces will be reconfigured to accommodate the photos.  Thank-you.

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For Learn to Crochet workshop

Here are some links to good crochet instruction websites and also a few good beginner projects.

Planet June is one of my favourites for tutorials. Bonus: she has left-handed tutorials as well.

Some good beginner amigurumi patterns at Little World of Whimsy

10 Easiest Amigurumi Patterns in 2023 (With Step by Step Photos)

 

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Iron Widow–Revisioned medieval China makes a great read

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao is a written hybrid of a sci-fi fantasy world with the story of China’s only female emperor in history. It begins out with a young village girl, bitter at losing her sister. In her attempt to take revenge, she performs the seemingly impossible and rather than be killed for her actions, she ends up in a complex political situation alongside her two partners (this book has a polyamorous trio). The book has a vaguely romance-based plot with a lot of discussion about sexism then and now, and about a young woman learning to overcome the roles that men have placed upon her to make her weak. It is a dark book with some rather mature themes, and I wouldn’t recommend it to people looking for a bit of silly action. However, I still loved this book and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone willing to listen, as the book has good worldbuilding, a well-built storyline, excellent action and moment-to-moment sequences, and good character writing.

The author of Iron Widow, Xiran Jay Zhao, is a Vancouverite author who went to Simon Fraser University, with Iron Widow being their first ever book. Despite this, Iron Widow was a mind-blowing read that will keep you entertained for however long it might take you to read it.

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Library Workshops during Assessment Week

The library will be offering three different activities during assessment week:

  1. Learn to Make Your Own Custom Printed & Cut Stickers Using the Cricut machine. Changed to Thursday afternoon. There’s a picture above of the kinds of things you can make (they’re stickers I made using pictures of the dolls I crochet plus a Grogu snowflake). You will need a device to do your designing on. The Cricut Design Space app can be downloaded onto mobile devices, laptops, tablets. It’s helpful if you download the app and make a free account for yourself ahead of time. Here’s a link to the apps https://cricut.com/en-ca/apps    Please sign up ahead of time so that we know how much supplies we’ll need using this link.
  2. Board Game Afternoon. Wednesday afternoon you’re welcome to come by any time between 12:45-3 to play some board games. You can play one of ours, or bring your own to share with others. No signup needed, just show up and find someone to play with.
  3. Learn to Crochet workshop. Friday Morning from 9-11. Want to learn to crochet? Maybe you already know the basics and want to find some patterns to try, or need help with your technique? Join us to learn the basics. We’ll also have some patterns you can try working on. We have supplies, but feel free to bring your own (especially if there’s some yarn you want to use). Bonus: Ms Gladwin crochets left-handed so if you’re a leftie, she can actually show you how to do it too! Please sign up ahead of time here

You can sign up online, or come by the library, or email Ms Gladwin. deidre.gladwin@burnabyschools.ca

Maximum of 20 participants per workshop.

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Book Review–The Sunbearer Trials

A review by Annika Andersen

Hello, today I will be giving a review of The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas. The Sunbearer Trials is a book about ten randomly selected demigods that must compete in a series of difficult trials to find out who the next Sunbearer will be, or the person who protects the world from darkness. However, the demigod who comes in last will be sacrificed and their body melted down to keep away the evil gods.

The main character, Teo, is a Jade demigod, whereas most competing are Gold demigods.

The Sunbearer Trials is actually fantastic, with fun protagonists, interesting hooks, an incredibly diverse cast, and a beautiful mix of fast-paced action with relaxed breaks in between, which are excellent for building tension between characters and learning more about them than just how much of a threat they are. Although it is not a love story, it does have romantic undertones, which are written in so that it never feels like the storyline has to stop so that two characters can have a romantic moment. On top of that, much of the romance is funny and laughably cringy, or a way for two characters to have an honest discussion with each other. And as I said earlier, the cast is incredibly diverse, with characters of varying sexuality, gender, or background that makes it so interesting to read. Even the background characters are surprisingly complex, and bursting with personality in the few lines that they are referenced. It creates a fun atmosphere for the story, where it feels that a world exists beyond where the characters are.

All things considered, I absolutely loved this book and I strongly recommend it to anyone reading.

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