Central Library's 1st Floor Women's Washroom will be closed Monday morning (July 21). Please use the washrooms on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors.
HPL's catalogue is not available Sunday July, 20 5:00am - 10:00am due to system maintenance. Thank you for your patience.
Filming will take place near the Locke Branch from July 13 to 16, which will impact traffic flow and parking. We apologize for the inconvenience.
- North side of Homewood Avenue between Lockes Street South and Kent Street
- North/South side of Stanley Avenue
- East side of Kent Street between Stanley Avenue and Homewood Avenue
The parking lot elevator at Terryberry Branch is not working. Members will need to use the accessible ramp at the Mohawk entrance and the inner elevator. We're working to get it fixed quickly.
Please note that the audio volume levels on our public computers are having issues. The estimated time of disruption is unknown at this time. Thank you for your patience.
The accessibility ramp at Mount Hope Branch is damaged. The handrail is not available. The ramp will not be available while being repaired. We aim to fix it quickly.
Hamilton Reads 2021 - Blaze Island
Miranda lives on a small island in Newfoundland with her father Milan/Alan, a weather scientist living in hiding. When a stranger washes up on their doorstep during a Category 5 hurricane, her world is forever altered. A compelling retelling of Shakespeare's The Tempest, Blaze Island is a timely story about environmentalism and community.
“Riveting and morally complex, Blaze Island is a beautiful, kaleidoscopic work that offers a resounding reply to the question of how literature might wrestle with the deepest threat facing the planet, anthropogenic climate change. In the absence of saviours and easy consolation, what Bush has created is an allegory of hubris and humility and an exhilarating space in which to re-imagine multi-species relationships and stories.”
— Kyo Maclear, author of Birds Art Life

Join a book club to discuss Blaze Island or The Tempest.
If you want more reading suggestions with similar themes to those found in our Hamilton Reads 2021 title, Blaze Island by Catherine Bush, watch these Reads We recommend videos in which HPL Staff provide a synopsis of each suggested read. You can also watch Hamilton reads-related events and presentations on the full Hamilton Reads 2021 playlist on YouTube.
Recommendations and read-a-likes