It took until my late 20s to admit to myself something I’d been trying to deny for years: I love pop music. Yes, it’s true. And I refuse to be ashamed any longer! When I was a teenager, I ran in the rock/indie crowd. We worshipped either male-fronted bands or manic pixie dream girls. It was patently not acceptable for me to admit that I was secretly grooving to whatever Lady Gaga hit was out at the time. Well, guess what? Lady Gaga is an Oscar winner now, and rock has—for the first time in history—fallen to the conquering hip hop superstars.
Since pop music is mainly associated with women, it’s never taken as seriously as traditionally male genres. It’s met at best with flippancy and at worst disdain. And for a long time, this was my attitude as well. But I realize now that pop can be all the things normally associated with the more “serious” genres: progressive, subversive, political, empowering. This really shouldn’t be a surprise to me. I mean, if we jump back in time 20 years you’ll see me making up Spice Girls routines in the living room, yelling “girl power!!” and exalting the power of female friendships. I didn’t know it at the time, but the seeds of feminism were being planted, and all through Top 40 smash hits. But it took years of undoing whatever damage internalized misogyny had done to me, to see pop music not just as some silly, fluffy nonsense but as an important addition to the music landscape.
In honour of Canada 150, we’re rounding out the year with a celebration of Canadian literature. On November 25th, the Vaughan Public Libraries is excited to be hosting acclaimed Canadian author 
Although the book is about both Rose and Pierrot, it’s Rose who is the heart of the story. She is a character just buzzing with energy—you half expect her to somersault off the page into your living room as part of one of her acts. Pierrot is less dynamic than Rose, but he’s affable enough to charm his own way around Montreal. O’Neill creates characters who do terrible things without ever losing their innocence, and so you’re always rooting for them to make it through whatever predicament they’ve gotten themselves into. O’Neill’s historic Montreal is alive as well, the chill of a Canadian winter almost tangible through the writing. The story will fully transport you to another time in our country’s history.