PAPER CHASE: Physician, write a funny, tragic book thyself

A Winnipeg ER physician pulls back the curtain in a self-published memoir of the funny, tragic and bizarre events of his career.

Donovan Gray, who works at the Victoria Hospital, draws on experiences in Winnipeg, rural Ontario and remote northern communities in Dude, Where's My Stethoscope?

On his website, he describes the book as an answer to questions non-doctors might pose: What's it like to save a life? Is a real ER like the ones on television? And is anybody really having sex in those hospital storage rooms?

Plenty of patients -- and colleagues -- are curious about the answers. Gray says the book sold 400 copies in its first three weeks alone. Copies are available from Amazon and from dudewheresmystethoscope.com. Gray will do a reading from the book at McNally Robinson, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m.

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen fans will be celebrating this week.

Austen's most beloved and influential work, Pride and Prejudice, turns 200 on Monday. As part of the celebration, Penguin Classics has released an anniversary edition of the subtle comedy of manners that made Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy two of English literature's favourite lovebirds.

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Winnipeg publisher Peanut Butter Press will launch illustrated picture books by two Winnipeg teachers today and next Saturday at McNally Robinson Booksellers.

Whose Trees Are These?, written and illustrated by retired teacher Erna Michalow, introduces children to the role of trees in the environment, showing both what keeps them alive and how they maintain life. She will launch the book at 2 p.m. Jan. 26.

Next Saturday, Feb. 2, at 2 p.m., author Kathleen Ward and illustrator Rosemary Ellis will launch I Know My Grandma Loves Me, which depict's a child's relationship with her loving and fun-loving grandmother.

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Local writers and celebrities will read everything from Shakespeare to Dr. Seuss to lyrics from Metallica songs at a fundraiser for the Manitoba Writers' Guild, Feb. 1.

Tickets for Words in the Flesh, which kicks off at 7 p.m. at the Clarion Hotel, are available from McNally Robinson and MWG board members for $20.

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If you're on the verge of giving up on your New Year's resolution to read more, a Random House Canada publicist might have just what you need.

Ainsley Sparkes, online marketing co-ordinator with Random House Canada, has created a "Reading Bingo" card that offers 24 reading suggestions. Readers fill up the card, not with specific titles, but with specific categories of books, such as: "a book that's outside your comfort zone," "a book recommended by a local bookseller," and "a book of poetry."

As with most bingo cards, the centre of the card is a free square, but Paperchase readers could always consider it the "read a Manitoba book" square.

booknewsbob@gmail.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 26, 2013 J8