The Makerspace at Central Library is currently out of White Vinyl Paper for prints.
Extended Access at Freelton Branch is now active for the day and accessible for members using their library credentials.
Due to maintenance, the Barton Branch will be closed on Wednesday, January, 7. Please visit Central Library or Kenilworth Branch for your library needs. www.hpl.ca/hours
Photocopying and Scanning is not working at Westdale Branch. We aim to fix it as soon as possible.
Daily print balances for black and white and colour printing change January 2, 2026. The new daily print balance is 40 cents. Members receive four free black and white copies or two free colour copies.
Large format and vinyl printing pricing also change on January 2. Visit https://www.hpl.ca/makerspaces for updates.
Bookmobile is off the road from December 25-27, December 31, and January 1st. Visit www.hpl.ca/bookmobile for our Holiday Schedule.
Due to the setup for the Noon Hour Concert, the Fourth Floor at Central Library will be closed on Friday, January 2. Makerspace and Newcomer Learning Centre will remain open. Floors 1-3 have spaces to work and study.
All branches close on Thursday, December 25, for Christmas. This includes branches with Extended Access.
All branches close on Sunday, December 28, 2025. This includes branches with Extended Access.
All branches close on Thursday January 1 for New Years Day. This includes branches with Extended Access.
All branches close on Friday, December 26, 2025 for Boxing Day . This includes branches with Extended Access.
All HPL Branches close early on Wednesday, December 24 at 1pm. Visit www.hpl.ca/hours for our Holiday Schedule.
All HPL Branches close early on Wednesday, December 31 at 1pm. This includes branches with Extended Access.
Branch Study Halls are paused Friday, December 19, 2025 through Monday, January 5, 2026. Central Library Study Hall hours resume Spring 2026.
www.hpl.ca/study-halls
Bring back your borrowed library items (due Oct 1 or later) within 28 days to avoid a replacement or lost fee. We'll remove the fee when you bring back your overdue items.
Hamilton Reads 2023 - Nothing the Same, Everything Haunted
Motl is middle-aged, poor, nerdy, Jewish and in desperate need of a shave. Since having his balls shot cleanly off as a youth in WWI, he's lived a quiet life at home in Vilnius with his shrewd and shrewish mom, Gitl, losing himself in the masculine fantasy world of cowboy novels by writers like Karl May--novels equally loved by Hitler, whose troops have just invaded Lithuania and are out to exterminate people like Motl. In his dreams, Motl is a fast-talking, rugged, expert gunslinger capable of dealing with the Nazi threat. But only in his dreams.
An imaginative and deeply felt exploration of genocide, persecution, colonialism and masculinity--saturated in Gary Barwin's sharp wit and perfect pun-play--Nothing the Same, Everything Haunted: The Ballad of Motl the Cowboy is a one-of-a-kind novel of sheer genius.
- Penguin Random House Place a hold on a physical copy or eBook of Nothing the Same, Everything Haunted: The Ballad of Motl the Cowboy.
The Author
Gary Barwin is the author of 26 books including this year’s Hamilton Reads selection, Nothing the Same, Everything Haunted: The Ballad of Motl the Cowboy which won the Canadian Jewish Literary Award. His national bestselling novel Yiddish for Pirates won the Leacock Medal for Humour and the Canadian Jewish Literary Award, was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award for Fiction and the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and was long listed for Canada Reads. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario.
Join a book club to discuss Nothing the Same, Everything Haunted: The Ballad of Motl the Cowboy.
- If you are interested in discussing this year’s Hamilton Reads selection with your fellow bookworms, there is a book club near you.
- Staff Lists featuring this title.
- Recommended if you like this title.







