Doug, my wonderful and charming fiance (brownie points), reads significantly more than I do. So I asked him one day when we were on the 5 1/2 hour drive to our cottage if he would let me post a list of his favourite books on my blog. When he agreed, we started drafting his list right away. That was 5 months ago. We forgot to finish it, and when I was going through some papers a few days ago I found the list we started making. So today he finally finished it for me, and I am now presenting it to you. The list is in no particular order and it is 51 because Doug has a slight case of OCD when it comes to even numbers (he can't even set his alarm clock to an even number!).
So finally, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you...
Doug's Top 51 Preferred Book Of All Time (...so far!)
1. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
2. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
3. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4. Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
5. All My Sons by Arthur Miller
6. The Adventures of David Simple by Sarah Fielding
7. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
8. I, Claudius by Robert Graves
9. The Short Reign of Pippin IV by John Steinbeck
10. Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
11. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
12. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
13. The Europeans by Henry James
14. The Americans by Henry James
15. All the Kings Men by Robert Penn Warren
16. The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene
17. Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell
18. Animal Farm by George Orwell
19. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
20. Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
21. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
22. Silas Marner by George Eliot
23. Persuasion by Jane Austen
24. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
25. Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
26. Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
27. The Odyssey by Homer
28. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
29. The Wings of the Dove by Henry James
30. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
31. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
32. Native Son by Richard Wright
33. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
34. Deliverance by James Dickey
35. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
36. Poison Wood Bible by Barbare Kingsolver
37. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
38. Secret Diary of Adrian Mole (Series) by Sue Townsend
39. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
40. A Man For All Seasons by Robert Bolt
41. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
42. Utopia by Thomas More
43. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
44. Still Alice by Lisa Genova
45. The Quiet American by Graham Greene
46. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
47. Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
48. From Here to Eternity by James Jones
49. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
50. Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
51. Barney’s Version by Mordecai Richler
Friday, November 26, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Canada Reads 2011: The Contenders
Today the contenders for Canada Reads 20011 were announced... and my guesses were WAY off! Oh well...
Just the same, here is the list of the contenders and defenders. Listen to CBC Radio One on February 7th, 8th, and 9th 2011 at 11:00am (EST) for the hour-long debates. The defenders will engage in afierce battle to the death radio debate about the books that will result in one final winner; the Canada Reads 2011 CHAMPION! (Sorry, I'm a little over zealous...)
Without further delay, meet the books and their defenders:
The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
Published by: McClelland & Stewart
Defended by: Ali Velshi (Awards Winning CNN Anchor)
About (from the publisher):
This book beat out work by Douglas Coupland and Will Ferguson because it is very, very good — a terrific Canadian political satire.
Here’s the set up: A burnt-out political aide quits just before an election — but is forced to run a hopeless campaign on the way out. He makes a deal with a crusty old Scot, Angus McLintock — an engineering professor who will do anything, anything, to avoid teaching English to engineers — to let his name stand in the election. No need to campaign, certain to lose, and so on.
Then a great scandal blows away his opponent, and to their horror, Angus is elected. He decides to see what good an honest M.P. who doesn’t care about being re-elected can do in Parliament. The results are hilarious — and with chess, a hovercraft, and the love of a good woman thrown in, this very funny book has something for everyone.
The Birth House by Ami McKay
Published by: Knopf Canada
Defended by: Debbie Travis (Design Mogul)
About (from the publisher):
The Birth House is the story of Dora Rare, the first daughter to be born in five generations of Rares. As a child in an isolated village in Nova Scotia, she is drawn to Miss Babineau, an outspoken Acadian midwife with a gift for healing. Dora becomes Miss B.’s apprentice, and together they help the women of Scots Bay through infertility, difficult labours, breech births, unwanted pregnancies and even unfulfilling sex lives. Filled with details as compelling as they are surprising, The Birth House is an unforgettable tale of the struggles women have faced to have control of their own bodies and to keep the best parts of tradition alive in the world of modern medicine.
The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou
Published by: NeWest Press
Defended by: Georges Laraque (Former NHLer and Philanthropist)
About (from the publisher):
Digger, an 85 kilo wrestler, and Sadie, a 26-year-old speed swimmer, stand on the verge of realizing every athlete’s dream—winning a gold medal at the Olympics. Both athletes are nearing the end of their careers, and are forced to confront the question: what happens to athletes when their bodies are too worn to compete? The blossoming relationship between Digger and Sadie is tested in the intense months leading up to the Olympics, as demanding training schedules, divided loyalties, and unpredicted obstacles take their draining toll. The Olympics, as both of them are painfully aware, will be the realization or the end of a life’s dream.
Essex County by Jeff Lemire
Published by: Top Shelf Productions
Defended by: Sara Quin (Indie Musician, Tegan and Sara)
About (from the publisher):
Where does a young boy turn when his whole world suddenly disappears? What could change two brothers from an unstoppable team into a pair of bitterly estranged loners? How does the work of one middle-aged nurse reveal the scars of an entire community, and can anything heal the wounds caused by a century of deception?
Critically-acclaimed cartoonist Jeff Lemire pays tribute to his roots with Essex County, an award-winning trilogy of graphic novels set in an imaginary version of the Ontario county where he was born. In Essex County, Lemire crafts an intimate study of one community through the years, and a tender meditation on family, memory, grief, secrets, and reconciliation. With the lush, expressive inking of a young artist at the height of his powers, Lemire draws us in and sets us free.
Unless by Carol Shields
Published by: Random House of Canada
Defended by: Lorne Cardinal (Gemini Award Winning Canadian Actor, Corner Gas, North of 60)
About (from the publisher):
Reta Winters has many reasons to be happy: Her three almost grown daughters. Her twenty-year relationship with their father. Her work translating the larger-than-life French intellectual and feminist Danielle Westerman. Her modest success with a novel of her own, and the clamour of her American publisher for a sequel. Then in the spring of her forty-fourth year, all the quiet satisfactions of her well-lived life disappear in a moment: her eldest daughter Norah suddenly runs from the family and ends up mute and begging on a Toronto street corner, with a hand-lettered sign reading GOODNESS around her neck.
GOODNESS. With the inconceivable loss of her daughter like a lump in her throat, Reta tackles the mystery of this message. What in this world has broken Norah, and what could bring her back to the provisional safety of home? Reta’s wit is the weapon she most often brandishes as she kicks against the pricks that have brought her daughter down: Carol Shields brings us Reta’s voice in all its poignancy, outrage and droll humour.
For more info, go to CBC - Canada Reads
Just the same, here is the list of the contenders and defenders. Listen to CBC Radio One on February 7th, 8th, and 9th 2011 at 11:00am (EST) for the hour-long debates. The defenders will engage in a
Without further delay, meet the books and their defenders:
The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
Published by: McClelland & Stewart
Defended by: Ali Velshi (Awards Winning CNN Anchor)
About (from the publisher):
This book beat out work by Douglas Coupland and Will Ferguson because it is very, very good — a terrific Canadian political satire.
Here’s the set up: A burnt-out political aide quits just before an election — but is forced to run a hopeless campaign on the way out. He makes a deal with a crusty old Scot, Angus McLintock — an engineering professor who will do anything, anything, to avoid teaching English to engineers — to let his name stand in the election. No need to campaign, certain to lose, and so on.
Then a great scandal blows away his opponent, and to their horror, Angus is elected. He decides to see what good an honest M.P. who doesn’t care about being re-elected can do in Parliament. The results are hilarious — and with chess, a hovercraft, and the love of a good woman thrown in, this very funny book has something for everyone.
The Birth House by Ami McKay
Published by: Knopf Canada
Defended by: Debbie Travis (Design Mogul)
About (from the publisher):
The Birth House is the story of Dora Rare, the first daughter to be born in five generations of Rares. As a child in an isolated village in Nova Scotia, she is drawn to Miss Babineau, an outspoken Acadian midwife with a gift for healing. Dora becomes Miss B.’s apprentice, and together they help the women of Scots Bay through infertility, difficult labours, breech births, unwanted pregnancies and even unfulfilling sex lives. Filled with details as compelling as they are surprising, The Birth House is an unforgettable tale of the struggles women have faced to have control of their own bodies and to keep the best parts of tradition alive in the world of modern medicine.
The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou
Published by: NeWest Press
Defended by: Georges Laraque (Former NHLer and Philanthropist)
About (from the publisher):
Digger, an 85 kilo wrestler, and Sadie, a 26-year-old speed swimmer, stand on the verge of realizing every athlete’s dream—winning a gold medal at the Olympics. Both athletes are nearing the end of their careers, and are forced to confront the question: what happens to athletes when their bodies are too worn to compete? The blossoming relationship between Digger and Sadie is tested in the intense months leading up to the Olympics, as demanding training schedules, divided loyalties, and unpredicted obstacles take their draining toll. The Olympics, as both of them are painfully aware, will be the realization or the end of a life’s dream.
Essex County by Jeff Lemire
Published by: Top Shelf Productions
Defended by: Sara Quin (Indie Musician, Tegan and Sara)
About (from the publisher):
Where does a young boy turn when his whole world suddenly disappears? What could change two brothers from an unstoppable team into a pair of bitterly estranged loners? How does the work of one middle-aged nurse reveal the scars of an entire community, and can anything heal the wounds caused by a century of deception?
Critically-acclaimed cartoonist Jeff Lemire pays tribute to his roots with Essex County, an award-winning trilogy of graphic novels set in an imaginary version of the Ontario county where he was born. In Essex County, Lemire crafts an intimate study of one community through the years, and a tender meditation on family, memory, grief, secrets, and reconciliation. With the lush, expressive inking of a young artist at the height of his powers, Lemire draws us in and sets us free.
Unless by Carol Shields
Published by: Random House of Canada
Defended by: Lorne Cardinal (Gemini Award Winning Canadian Actor, Corner Gas, North of 60)
About (from the publisher):
Reta Winters has many reasons to be happy: Her three almost grown daughters. Her twenty-year relationship with their father. Her work translating the larger-than-life French intellectual and feminist Danielle Westerman. Her modest success with a novel of her own, and the clamour of her American publisher for a sequel. Then in the spring of her forty-fourth year, all the quiet satisfactions of her well-lived life disappear in a moment: her eldest daughter Norah suddenly runs from the family and ends up mute and begging on a Toronto street corner, with a hand-lettered sign reading GOODNESS around her neck.
GOODNESS. With the inconceivable loss of her daughter like a lump in her throat, Reta tackles the mystery of this message. What in this world has broken Norah, and what could bring her back to the provisional safety of home? Reta’s wit is the weapon she most often brandishes as she kicks against the pricks that have brought her daughter down: Carol Shields brings us Reta’s voice in all its poignancy, outrage and droll humour.
For more info, go to CBC - Canada Reads
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Canada Reads 2011 - Top 10
I am a little late in posting the top 10 for Canada Reads 2011. This year will be a competition of previous books. The final 5 will be announced this Wednesday, November 24th 2011.
I submitted my entry for the CBC's contest to guess the final five. Below I have listed the final 10, and any marked with a * are my guesses for the final 5.
Come back and visit on Wednesday as I will be posting the final 5 so that everyone can get reading!
The Final 10:
The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
The Birth House by Ami McKay*
The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill*
Bottle Rocket Hearts by Zoe Whittall
Essex County by Jeff Lemire
Life of Pi by Yann Martel*
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden*
Unless by Carol Shields*
To read interviews and articles and/or participate in discussions and contests, go to the CBC Books - Canada Reads 2011's main web page by clicking here.
I submitted my entry for the CBC's contest to guess the final five. Below I have listed the final 10, and any marked with a * are my guesses for the final 5.
Come back and visit on Wednesday as I will be posting the final 5 so that everyone can get reading!
The Final 10:
The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
The Birth House by Ami McKay*
The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill*
Bottle Rocket Hearts by Zoe Whittall
Essex County by Jeff Lemire
Life of Pi by Yann Martel*
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden*
Unless by Carol Shields*
To read interviews and articles and/or participate in discussions and contests, go to the CBC Books - Canada Reads 2011's main web page by clicking here.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Awards: 2010 Governor General's Literary Awards - Fiction
More awards announced! The GG awards were announced yesterday.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2010 Governor General's Literary Awards in Fiction:
Cool Water
By Dianne Warren (Regina, SK)
Published by Phyllis Bruce Books - HarperCollins
Book Description (Source: http://www.harpercollins.ca/)
Juliet, Saskatchewan, is a blink-of-an-eye kind of town -- the welcome sign announces a population of 1,011 people -- and it’s easy to imagine that nothing happens on its hot and dusty streets. Situated on the edge of the Little Snake sand hills, Juliet and its inhabitants are caught in limbo between a century -- old promise of prosperity and whatever lies ahead
But the heart of the town beats in the rich and overlapping stories of its people: the foundling who now owns the farm his adoptive family left him; the pregnant teenager and her mother, planning a fairytale wedding; a shy couple, well beyond middle age, struggling with the recognition of their feelings for one another; a camel named Antoinette; and the ubiquitous wind and sand that forever shift the landscape. Their stories bring the prairie desert and the town of Juliet to vivid and enduring life.
This wonderfully entertaining, witty and deeply felt novel brims with forgiveness as its flawed people stumble towards the future.
Ru
By Kim Thuy (Longueuil, QC)
Published by Libre Expression
Description du livre (Source: http://www.edlibreexpression.com/)
Ru est composé de très courts récits liés un peu comme dans une ritournelle : la première phrase du chapitre reprend le plus souvent l’idée qui terminait le chapitre précédent, permettant ainsi de faire le pont entre tous les événements que la narratrice a connus : sa naissance au Vietnam pendant la guerre, la fuite avec les boat people, son accueil dans une petite ville du Québec, ses études, ses liens familiaux, son enfant autiste, etc. La vie de l’auteure est bourrée de gens charmants, singuliers, de situations difficiles ou saugrenues vécues avec un bonheur égal, et elle sait jouer à merveille avec les sentiments du lecteur, oscillant entre le tragique et le comique, entre le prosaïque et le spirituel. Écrit sur un ton féminin, maternel, chaleureux, poignant et très original, qui dépasse la tranche de vie traditionnelle, Ru dénote un grand talent dans l’art de raconter, où le souvenir devient prétexte tantôt au jeu, tantôt au recueillement. Un récit d’une adorable et candide survivante, un récit qui contient toute la grandeur de la vie.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2010 Governor General's Literary Awards in Fiction:
By Dianne Warren (Regina, SK)
Published by Phyllis Bruce Books - HarperCollins
Book Description (Source: http://www.harpercollins.ca/)
Juliet, Saskatchewan, is a blink-of-an-eye kind of town -- the welcome sign announces a population of 1,011 people -- and it’s easy to imagine that nothing happens on its hot and dusty streets. Situated on the edge of the Little Snake sand hills, Juliet and its inhabitants are caught in limbo between a century -- old promise of prosperity and whatever lies ahead
But the heart of the town beats in the rich and overlapping stories of its people: the foundling who now owns the farm his adoptive family left him; the pregnant teenager and her mother, planning a fairytale wedding; a shy couple, well beyond middle age, struggling with the recognition of their feelings for one another; a camel named Antoinette; and the ubiquitous wind and sand that forever shift the landscape. Their stories bring the prairie desert and the town of Juliet to vivid and enduring life.
This wonderfully entertaining, witty and deeply felt novel brims with forgiveness as its flawed people stumble towards the future.
By Kim Thuy (Longueuil, QC)
Published by Libre Expression
Description du livre (Source: http://www.edlibreexpression.com/)
Ru est composé de très courts récits liés un peu comme dans une ritournelle : la première phrase du chapitre reprend le plus souvent l’idée qui terminait le chapitre précédent, permettant ainsi de faire le pont entre tous les événements que la narratrice a connus : sa naissance au Vietnam pendant la guerre, la fuite avec les boat people, son accueil dans une petite ville du Québec, ses études, ses liens familiaux, son enfant autiste, etc. La vie de l’auteure est bourrée de gens charmants, singuliers, de situations difficiles ou saugrenues vécues avec un bonheur égal, et elle sait jouer à merveille avec les sentiments du lecteur, oscillant entre le tragique et le comique, entre le prosaïque et le spirituel. Écrit sur un ton féminin, maternel, chaleureux, poignant et très original, qui dépasse la tranche de vie traditionnelle, Ru dénote un grand talent dans l’art de raconter, où le souvenir devient prétexte tantôt au jeu, tantôt au recueillement. Un récit d’une adorable et candide survivante, un récit qui contient toute la grandeur de la vie.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Awards: The Giller & The Writers' Trust 2010
Congratulations to this year's winners of two very prestigious book awards; The Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize 2010 and the Scotiabank Giller Prize 2010. Well done!
The Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction prize 2010:
Room
By Emma Donoghue
Published by HarperCollins
Room is an emotionally powerful story of five-year-old Jack and his mother, who has been held captive in an eleven-by-eleven room for seven years. To Jack, Room is all that is real, but when he turns five he starts to ask questions, and his mother reveals to him that there is a world outside. Told entirely in the inventive, often funny voice of young Jack, this is not a horror story or tearjerker, but a celebration of resilience and the love between parent and child.
Scotiabank Giller Prize 2010:
The Sentimentalists
By Johanna Skibsrud
Published by Gaspereau Press
Johanna Skibsrud’s debut novel connects the flooding of an Ontario town, the Vietnam War, a trailer in North Dakota and an unfinished boat in Maine. Parsing family history, worn childhood memories, and the palimpsest of old misunderstandings, Skibsrud’s narrator maps her father’s past.
Napoleon Haskell lives with Henry in the town of Casablanca, Ontario, on the shores of a man-made lake beneath which lie the remains of the former town. Henry is the father of Napoleon’s friend Owen, who died fighting in Vietnam. When her life comes apart, Napoleon’s daughter retreats to Casablanca and is soon immersed in the complicated family stories that lurk below the surface of everyday life. With its quiet mullings and lines from Bogart, The Sentimentalists captures a daughter’s wrestling with a heady family mythology.
PS - Betcha can't find a copy! :)
The Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction prize 2010:
By Emma Donoghue
Published by HarperCollins
Room is an emotionally powerful story of five-year-old Jack and his mother, who has been held captive in an eleven-by-eleven room for seven years. To Jack, Room is all that is real, but when he turns five he starts to ask questions, and his mother reveals to him that there is a world outside. Told entirely in the inventive, often funny voice of young Jack, this is not a horror story or tearjerker, but a celebration of resilience and the love between parent and child.
Scotiabank Giller Prize 2010:
By Johanna Skibsrud
Published by Gaspereau Press
Johanna Skibsrud’s debut novel connects the flooding of an Ontario town, the Vietnam War, a trailer in North Dakota and an unfinished boat in Maine. Parsing family history, worn childhood memories, and the palimpsest of old misunderstandings, Skibsrud’s narrator maps her father’s past.
Napoleon Haskell lives with Henry in the town of Casablanca, Ontario, on the shores of a man-made lake beneath which lie the remains of the former town. Henry is the father of Napoleon’s friend Owen, who died fighting in Vietnam. When her life comes apart, Napoleon’s daughter retreats to Casablanca and is soon immersed in the complicated family stories that lurk below the surface of everyday life. With its quiet mullings and lines from Bogart, The Sentimentalists captures a daughter’s wrestling with a heady family mythology.
PS - Betcha can't find a copy! :)
Review: Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'neill
This book is heartbreaking. Lullabies for Little Criminals is Heather O'Neill's debut novel. It won Canada Reads 2007 plus a slew of other awards, rightly so.
It's the story of Baby; a young girl growing up in Montreal's Red Light District. Baby faces realities that "regular" children (even many adults) don't ever come close to experiencing. Baby's mother died when Baby was very young. Baby struggles constantly with the idea that she is motherless, questioning it frequently. Baby's father, Jules, is a young parent and heroin addict who is more nurturing high than clean. Baby's lack of good guidance is apparent throughout the story especially when Baby's personal reflections intermingle childhood curiosities with adult analogies. Living sometimes together and sometimes apart, Jules and Baby's living situation changes many many times throughout the book, which seems to span the length of roughly 2 years. From foster homes, to dingy hotels, to homeless shelters, to rehabs; there is never a place called "home". This is proof of the instability in Baby's life. Baby is constantly left to her own devices, most often during times when support and strong role models are most essential to her well being. She makes many poor choices mostly due to her lack of (good) guidance. Throughout the story, Baby meets many characters who never become fixtures in her life; kids in a foster home, street kids at a community centre, homeless people, prostitutes, school friends, drug addicts, social workers, etc. The only two characters who play a constant role in Baby's life are Jules (her father) and Alphonse ** SPOILER ALERT** (her adult lover and eventual pimp). This seems to cause a lot of tension for Baby considering how different both characters are in regards to the roles that they play in Baby's life.
The book's ending is somewhat hopeful, although you don't truly feel like Baby will ever recover from what she has been through. You don't feel like you, the reader, will recover either. Baby is a representation of all kids in these circumstances, which I am afraid to say is probably more common than we are willing to admit.
This book is not for the faint of heart. It is graphic, disturbing (especially the detailed descriptions of the physical and sexual abuse of kids), and at times can be uncomfortable to read. Based on my very limited knowledge of street life, it feels like it may also be frighteningly realistic. This book is a mix of the everyday realities of puberty and the world of drugs, prostitution, abuse, and street life for any kid in these. This is a suggested read for anyone stuck in the bubble like me; sheltered by a life where a support network of great friends and family is a given. This book makes you want to reach out and take care of Baby, and never let her go.
Book Information
Title: Lullabies For Little Criminals
Author: Heather O'neill
Year of publication: 2006
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 352
Awards: Canada Reads 2007
Purchased at: Can't remember
Rating: 4.5 / 5
Thursday, October 21, 2010
2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize: The Shortlist
It's that time of year again! The Giller Prize shortlist has been released. The winner will be announced on November 9th, 2010 at the annual Gala in Toronto.
Here are the finalists:
David Bergen for his novel:
THE MATTER WITH MORRIS
(Phyllis Bruce Books/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.)
When Morris Schutt, a prominent newspaper columnist, surveys his life over the past year, he sees disaster everywhere. His son has just been killed in Afghanistan, and his newspaper has put him on indefinite leave; his psychiatrist wife, Lucille, seems headed for the door; he is strongly attracted to Ursula, the wife of a dairy farmer from Minnesota; and his daughter appears to be having an affair with one of her professors.
What is a thinking man to do but turn to Cicero and Plato and Socrates in search of the truth? Or better still, call one of those discreet “dating services” in search of happiness? But happiness, as Morris discovers, is not that easy to find.
David Bergen’s most accomplished novel yet is an unforgettable story with a vitality and charm and intelligence all its own. Bergen proves once again that he is one of our finest writers, dazzling us with his wit and touching us with his compassion.
Alexander MacLeod for his short story collection:
LIGHT LIFTING
(Biblioasis)
Light Lifting, Alexander MacLeod’s long-awaited first collection of short fiction, offers us a suite of darkly urban and unflinching elegies. These are elemental stories of work and its bonds, of tragedy and tragedy barely averted, but also of beauty, love and fragile understanding.
Sarah Selecky for her short story collection:
THIS CAKE IS FOR THE PARTY
(Thomas Allen Publishers)
Sarah Selecky’s first book takes dead aim at a young generation of men and women who often set out with the best of intentions, only to have plans thwarted or hopes betrayed.
These are stories about friendships and relationships confused by unsettling tensions bubbling beneath the surface. A woman who plans to conceive ends up in the arms of her husband’s best friend; a man who baby-sits a neglected four-year-old ends up questioning his own dysfunctional relationship; a chance encounter at a gala event causes a woman to remember when she volunteered for a nightmarish drug-testing clinic; another woman discovers that her best friend who is about to get married has just had an affair; a young teenager tries to escape from her controlling father and finds an unexpected lover on a bus ride home; a wife tries to overcome her dying mother-in-law’s resistance to her marriage by revealing to her own strange aural stigmata; a friend tries to talk another friend out of dating her cheating ex-boyfriend; and a superstitious candle-maker confesses to a tempestuous relationship that implodes spectacularly.
Sarah Selecky is a talented young writer who evokes a generation teetering on the shoals of consumerism and ambiguous mores. Reminiscent of early Atwood, with echoes of Lisa Moore and Barbara Gowdy, these absorbing stories are about love and longing, stories that touch us in a myriad of subtle and affecting ways.
Johanna Skibsrud for her novel:
THE SENTIMENTALISTS
(Gaspereau Press)
Johanna Skibsrud’s debut novel connects the flooding of an Ontario town, the Vietnam War, a trailer in North Dakota and an unfinished boat in Maine. Parsing family history, worn childhood memories, and the palimpsest of old misunderstandings, Skibsrud’s narrator maps her father’s past.
Napoleon Haskell lives with Henry in the town of Casablanca, Ontario, on the shores of a man-made lake beneath which lie the remains of the former town. Henry is the father of Napoleon’s friend Owen, who died fighting in Vietnam. When her life comes apart, Napoleon’s daughter retreats to Casablanca and is soon immersed in the complicated family stories that lurk below the surface of everyday life. With its quiet mullings and lines from Bogart, The Sentimentalists captures a daughter’s wrestling with a heady family mythology.
Kathleen Winter for her novel:
ANNABEL
(House of Anansi Press)
In 1968, into the beautiful, spare environment of remote coastal Labrador, a mysterious child is born: a baby who appears to be neither fully boy nor girl, but both at once. Only three people are privy to the secret -- the baby's parents, Jacinta and Treadway, and a trusted neighbour, Thomasina. Together the adults make a difficult decision: to raise the child as a boy named Wayne. But as Wayne grows to adulthood within the hyper-masculine hunting culture of his father, his shadow-self -- a girl he thinks of as Annabel -- is never entirely extinguished, and indeed is secretly nurtured by the women in his life.
Haunting, sweeping in scope, and stylistically reminiscent of Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex, Annabel is a compelling debut novel about one person's struggle to discover the truth in a culture that shuns contradiction.
Best of luck to all!!!
Here are the finalists:
David Bergen for his novel:
THE MATTER WITH MORRIS
(Phyllis Bruce Books/HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.)
When Morris Schutt, a prominent newspaper columnist, surveys his life over the past year, he sees disaster everywhere. His son has just been killed in Afghanistan, and his newspaper has put him on indefinite leave; his psychiatrist wife, Lucille, seems headed for the door; he is strongly attracted to Ursula, the wife of a dairy farmer from Minnesota; and his daughter appears to be having an affair with one of her professors.
What is a thinking man to do but turn to Cicero and Plato and Socrates in search of the truth? Or better still, call one of those discreet “dating services” in search of happiness? But happiness, as Morris discovers, is not that easy to find.
David Bergen’s most accomplished novel yet is an unforgettable story with a vitality and charm and intelligence all its own. Bergen proves once again that he is one of our finest writers, dazzling us with his wit and touching us with his compassion.
Alexander MacLeod for his short story collection:
LIGHT LIFTING
(Biblioasis)
Light Lifting, Alexander MacLeod’s long-awaited first collection of short fiction, offers us a suite of darkly urban and unflinching elegies. These are elemental stories of work and its bonds, of tragedy and tragedy barely averted, but also of beauty, love and fragile understanding.
Sarah Selecky for her short story collection:
THIS CAKE IS FOR THE PARTY
(Thomas Allen Publishers)
Sarah Selecky’s first book takes dead aim at a young generation of men and women who often set out with the best of intentions, only to have plans thwarted or hopes betrayed.
These are stories about friendships and relationships confused by unsettling tensions bubbling beneath the surface. A woman who plans to conceive ends up in the arms of her husband’s best friend; a man who baby-sits a neglected four-year-old ends up questioning his own dysfunctional relationship; a chance encounter at a gala event causes a woman to remember when she volunteered for a nightmarish drug-testing clinic; another woman discovers that her best friend who is about to get married has just had an affair; a young teenager tries to escape from her controlling father and finds an unexpected lover on a bus ride home; a wife tries to overcome her dying mother-in-law’s resistance to her marriage by revealing to her own strange aural stigmata; a friend tries to talk another friend out of dating her cheating ex-boyfriend; and a superstitious candle-maker confesses to a tempestuous relationship that implodes spectacularly.
Sarah Selecky is a talented young writer who evokes a generation teetering on the shoals of consumerism and ambiguous mores. Reminiscent of early Atwood, with echoes of Lisa Moore and Barbara Gowdy, these absorbing stories are about love and longing, stories that touch us in a myriad of subtle and affecting ways.
Johanna Skibsrud for her novel:
THE SENTIMENTALISTS
(Gaspereau Press)
Johanna Skibsrud’s debut novel connects the flooding of an Ontario town, the Vietnam War, a trailer in North Dakota and an unfinished boat in Maine. Parsing family history, worn childhood memories, and the palimpsest of old misunderstandings, Skibsrud’s narrator maps her father’s past.
Napoleon Haskell lives with Henry in the town of Casablanca, Ontario, on the shores of a man-made lake beneath which lie the remains of the former town. Henry is the father of Napoleon’s friend Owen, who died fighting in Vietnam. When her life comes apart, Napoleon’s daughter retreats to Casablanca and is soon immersed in the complicated family stories that lurk below the surface of everyday life. With its quiet mullings and lines from Bogart, The Sentimentalists captures a daughter’s wrestling with a heady family mythology.
Kathleen Winter for her novel:
ANNABEL
(House of Anansi Press)
In 1968, into the beautiful, spare environment of remote coastal Labrador, a mysterious child is born: a baby who appears to be neither fully boy nor girl, but both at once. Only three people are privy to the secret -- the baby's parents, Jacinta and Treadway, and a trusted neighbour, Thomasina. Together the adults make a difficult decision: to raise the child as a boy named Wayne. But as Wayne grows to adulthood within the hyper-masculine hunting culture of his father, his shadow-self -- a girl he thinks of as Annabel -- is never entirely extinguished, and indeed is secretly nurtured by the women in his life.
Haunting, sweeping in scope, and stylistically reminiscent of Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex, Annabel is a compelling debut novel about one person's struggle to discover the truth in a culture that shuns contradiction.
Best of luck to all!!!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Review: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
I just finished reading the Scarlet Letter for my American Literature class and I really enjoyed it. The story is about a woman named Hester Prynn who is being punished for getting pregnant out of wedlock in a Puritan New England community. She is branded by being forced to wear a piece of fabric on her dress with the letter “A” for adultery, which is her crime. The book goes through the beginning of her life with her daughter Pearl and how they are viewed by their rigidly religious community. For the first half of the book the story hinges a lot on who the father is (which isn’t overly difficult to guess after the first 20 pages or so). It is also a social commentary on the backwards morals of the 17th century. There is even a villain in the story, although I consider the entire community to be blood thirsty and villainous from the very beginning. The role of nature and the part it plays in the story is also fascinating; is nature good or evil?
I felt like I was reading a fairytale set during the first years of what is now the United States. When I say fairytale I mean Brothers Grimm and not Disney. It doesn’t end with happily ever after. If you are like me and are fond of the old fairytales where the stories aren’t watered down like their contemporary counterparts, then you will enjoy this book. It’s scandalous and magical!
Book Information
Title: The Scarlet Letter
Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Year of publication: 1850
Purchased at: The Tank @ McMaster University
Rating: 4/5
Monday, August 23, 2010
Mockingjay - FINALLY!
By this time tomorrow I will have a copy of Mockingjay (the 3rd book in the Hunger Games trilogy, releasing tomorrow). I have to work at a Gift Show all day in Montreal, but as soon as the show is done I plan to run (not walk) to Chapters on St Catherine to get myself a copy of that book. If you haven't started to read these books yet, I highly recommend them. They will consume you!!! :)
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Review: The Comfort Table by Katie Lee
I spent the Canada Day long weekend this summer at the cottage looking through cook books… Why am I telling you this? Well, I always love trying new recipes and flipping through my cookbooks up there because I have the energy (and the time!) to try new recipes and to perfect old favourites. I also realized that I always seem to be reviewing novels here on my blog and never any non-fiction that I read including cookbooks. I know it’s not the same kind of reading but cookbook reviews can be just as (it not more) useful than novel reviews. No one cares about my opinion of books, but I can sure help save you 30 or so bucks on warning you about bad cookbooks (and also encourage you to spend your money on the good ones!). So I have made a decision to start sharing my favourite cookbooks with you as well. So if you don’t like cooking, just ignore those bits. But if you are like me and have a bookshelf in your kitchen dedicated only to cookbooks (No joke… See photo!) then you have come to the right place. I am going to start with one of my favourite cookbooks called “The Comfort Table” by Katie Lee.
There are many reasons this cookbook is on my list of favourites. Not only are the recipes delicious, but she hits all seasons and events (major and mundane), and she also focuses on whole food ingredients. If you are anything like me, you would be disgusted to open a cookbook that calls for a can of Campbell’s soup or Kraft Macaroni and Cheese as ingredients to a recipe. Bleh. Yuck!
The other super cool thing about this cookbook is that for every occasion she puts together a meal rather than just one recipe. She also suggests a drink recipe and a play list of songs that fit the occasion. A lot of recipes have beautiful photos to entice you (and to make sure what you made looks somewhat correct). The occasions/events range from “Breakfast with Friends” to “Romantic Dinner for Two” to “Chinese New Year”. You can also just pick individual recipes to make one at a time. I recommend the “Rustic Apple Pie” or “Dijon Brussel Sprouts”!
This cookbook is a must have for entertainers, potluckers, and lonely chefs alike. While some of the recipes do require some cooking experience, nothing is overly complicated that after a few tries anyone couldn’t figure it out. But lookout… It is definitely not a weight loss cookbook! The Comfort table is suitable only for those who love decadent and delicious meals!
Book Information
Title: The Comfort Table
Author: Katie Lee
Year of publication: 2009
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Purchased at: Indigo Bay & Bloor
Rating: 5/5
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Review: In Plain Sight by Mike Knowles
In Plain Sight is a mob story set in Hamilton, Ontario and is part of a series of books with the same main character. He is a vigilante who gets played by the mob and the police to serve their purposes, but always seems to be one step ahead. There is a bit of history to the story that you are missing if you haven’t read the previous books in the series, but these bits do not seem crucial to understanding the story in this book.
This was my first time reading a book that takes place in a city that I am very familiar with. It was sort of strange to read about the lethal underground mob life in Hamilton (where I currently live). Because I don’t see Hamilton as a city plagued by anything other than poverty, this story of a city taken over by the mob was hard to take seriously. I found myself laughing at a lot of parts in the book, though I’m sure the story wasn’t meant to be funny. I don’t think this review will be un-biased in the same way I might review something that takes place in NYC or Vegas. I know it’s not fair, but I simply can’t imagine any of these things taking place where I live the way they would in a glossy Hollywood movie. It’s like watching a Canadian Movie and seeing a briefcase filled with colourful Canadian bills; it doesn’t have the same harsh effect as those crispy green USDs. It’s hard to imagine the places you grocery shop, where the first apartment you lived in is, or even your gym, being the same places where undercover hit men have shoot outs, store cash, and plots come to dramatic and violent endings. I know it’s fiction and that if I only read “realistic” novels, then I wouldn’t be reading much at all but it’s more difficult to rate a story taking place in your everyday environment. I’m not trying to seem naïve (I have heard many things about the mob in Hamilton), but I just don’t think I can take a book too seriously when it tells me about gun fights and high speed chases on Barton Street. Or, that the main character went to Shoppers Drug Mart (one of those super centre ones, the book clarifies) for supplies including a gas can (to set a house on fire), rope (to tie someone up), and a plain black baseball cap (for camouflage).
What I will credit Knowles for doing is writing a book in a series where you have no real need to read the other books first to understand what’s going on. For some this might actually be a negative trait, but others might appreciate not having to commit to several books to enjoy a story. From the beginning of the book you know exactly what is going on with very little use for any history from the previous books in the series. This book is short, to the point, and has absolutely no filler. I have to be painfully honest that I don’t think based on this book I would read any other books in the series. The plot was extremely simple and the ending wasn’t overly shocking. The story relies mostly on the consistent and extreme violence. I felt more like I was reading a newspaper article than a made up mob story. I think the story was clear and for those looking for a quick read can offer some light entertainment, but it won’t be on my recommended list.
Book Info
Title: In Plain Sight
Author: Mike Knowles
Year of publication: 2010
Publisher: ECW Press
Purchased at: ARC
Rating: 2/5
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Hunger Games Book 3 Title: Mockingjay
I'm sooooooooooo excited! If you haven't already heard, the third and final book in The Hunger Games trilogy is due out this summer and it's called Mockingjay.
Here is a brief description of what is to come:
"Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year. "
The book releases August 24th, 2010!!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Review: The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
This book was originally written in Swedish, titled Enhet. It is a very disturbing prediction of the possible future for any society focused primarily on procreation and population augmentation above all else. While it is mostly set in what seems to be Sweden, it could easily apply to North American society as well. Especially to Canada where there are many who fear that not enough canadians are having children.
The Unit is a dystopian novel set in the not too distant future. It is a democratic society with no flying cars, no freaky foods, and nothing terribly unfirmiliar except the existance of a horrible place called the Unit. If you are are a woman who turns 50 (or a man who turns 60) and have no children, then you are labelled "dispensable" and are permanently sent to the Unit on that milestone birthday. The Unit is a term used to describe facilities scattered throughout the country where "dispensables" are sent to be used as guinea pigs in various human experiments and where they are also used as organ donors. "Dispensables" live in the Unit until their "final donation" is given; a donation where an organ is taken that the donor cannot possibly survive without (liver, pancreas, heart, etc.) and the rest of the body is bagged and banked for future need. The terror that would normally be caused by a place like the Unit is smoothed over with every freedom and luxury that a person could ever ask for. There is unlimited free shopping, unlimited entertainment, free gyms, beautiful gardens, delicious food, private quarters with no rent, and everything else a person could desire aside from freedom and the right to live. The Unit is a superficial no-stress zone designed to brainwash these people into submitting to death. Ultimately, these people have no power over their fate. Suicide is impossible with the top notch Big Brother style security system and all these people can do is wait for their turn to die, when their organs are more valueble than they are. The book looms with sadness all the way through to its tragic ending.
In the book they also show the consequences of making people feel that procreation is the ultimate societal goal. By making procreation mostly about self-preservation, the book shows some interesting cause and effect scenarios because people become so over-burdened by the thought of being sent to the Unit. The number of kidnappings and teen pregnancies rapidly rise, the rate of STDs soars due to abnormally high levels of sexual encounters and multiple partners, and family values decrease because people who don't want kids are having them just to save their own skin.
What's funny is that the society in the book is very much focused on the idea of democracy as a shield; since the majority decided in favour of the Unit through democratic politics then it's okay. There is also an emphasis on morality and human rights when it comes to the treatment of those in the Unit, even though all dispensables are really there as objects for the abuse of society. The book also mixes up what humans value most. For example, healthy and highly intelligent people are being physically used for unhealthy folks with lots of children because the latter is considered to be more valueble to society. What is also interesting is that the most commonly donated organs in the book are kidneys and livers, and it doesn't take a doctor to know that those are organs commonly destroyed by human habits. I don't think the author did this by accident.
I think it was also interesting that during Dorrit's escape, she is using the North Star to find her way to freedom, drawing a direct parallel to the slaves on the underground railroad. What was also interesting is that this book is supposed to be a book written and left behind by the main character after her final donation, similar to the manuscript found in The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.
This book also shows the power of relationships. This book shows the bond between partners, the bond between friends, the bond between mother and child, and the bond between man and dog (strange I know, but this part really reached out to me). It also shows how powerful human support really is when you read about the interaction between all the inhabitants of the Unit.
All in all, The Unit is a very powerful book.
This book is a great add to any dystopian lit list. It's a must read for anyone who loves Orwell, Atwood, and the many other authors who remind us of the fragile balance between freedom and security.
Book Information
Title: The Unit
Author: Ninni Holmqvist
Year of publication: 2006
Year of translation: 2008 by Marlaine Delargy
Publisher: Other Press
Pages: 268
Purchased at: Chapters-Indigo
E-Book or Real Book (that's right, real book): Real Book
Rating: 5/5
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Mel... e-reads! (Kobo Style)
Just a little FYI for those of you who don't follow me on Twitter... I purchased a Kobo e-reader the other day (the last one available for a few weeks). Unfortunately I am stuck with black because white (or porcelain as they call it) is sold out. The Kobo is the newest edition to the growing wealth of e-readers on the market. It is brought to you by Chapters-Indigo & Borders, and will soon be challenged (May 28th 2010 to be exact) by the highly anticipated iPad from the competitive folks at Apple. The major appeal is the simplicity of the product (it is just for reading) and the fantastic price of $149.00. Also... it's pretty.
When I finish my paper copy of "The Unit" (which is really good so far by the way!) I will be reading my first ever e-book, although I am not sure yet what it will be. The first time needs to be special, intimate, and deeply satisfying. So hang tight because I will let you know if the Kobo is a no-go. And e-reading in general for that matter.
Also, I am taking a lot of flack for buying an e-reader to begin with, so if you are an e-reader then please let me know what you love about e-reading so that I can properly defend myself.
I am also accepting tips on how to read the Kobo in the bath. Someone suggested a Ziplock baggy, but where is the romance in that?
Thoughts anyone?
Coming Soon! Marilyn Monroe in "Fragments"
I am pretty excited to share with all of you that there will be a new book out in the fall about Marilyn Monroe. I am pretty excited about this because to be perfectly honest, I don't know that much about her. I have always found her to be one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen yet have never taken the opportunity to learn about her as a person. I suppose this sounds sort of silly considering she is a celebrity and we can't really know someone by reading about them. But I think I am going to take the opportunity when this book releases to learn about the "legend of" Marilyn Monroe.
"Fragments" is due to release October 2010. It will be published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux and edited by Courtney Hodell. "Fragment" will be an assortment of letters, lists, notes, journal entries, rare photos, and more. Some parts of the book will be copies of original documents in Marilyn's handwriting. All content comes from the priod between her teen years (starting in 1943) and her tragic death in her L.A. home in 1962, when she was only 36.
A biography about Marilyn entitled "The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe" by J. Randy Taraborelli was released in August 2009 with the hardcover due out this summer. Taraborelli also wrote well received biographies about Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor, and Madonna.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Outlander by Gil Adamson
All I have to say is (but not really because there is a full blog post)… Wow! Excellent book!
I really enjoyed The Outlander by Gil Adamson. Right from the beginning I was locked in to the story of Mary Boulton. She is a young woman who has just killed her husband and is now on the run from his brothers; a pair of vengeful twins with flaming red hair and cold dispositions who will stop at nothing until they find her.
Mary snapped and killed her abusive husband after the death of their newborn baby. It can be presumed that the baby died due to the violent rapes and constant abuse her husband committed against her, even during her pregnancy. She shot him in the leg with his own gun and let him bleed to death slowly on the floor of their cabin in the woods. She buried him behind their little cabin in the woods and after the discovery of what she had done, she runs away knowing what fate awaits if she is caught.
Part of the driving force for Mary’s initial madness is the discovery that her husband is not only abusive, but also unfaithful. The life in which Mary ended up was far from what she expected, having grown up in a middle class home as an only child. Her family had its difficulties, but nothing compared to what she faced with her new husband after their marriage. Mary running away after killing her husband ends up being her pathway to true freedom and independence.
Along her travels Mary meets some excellent characters, including the Reverend, the dwarf, the cat-skinning giant, and last but not least, William Moreland (a.k.a. the Ridgerunner).
This wild tale is set in the beginning of the 20th century, when it’s shocking for a woman to wear pants and stand up against her husband no matter how abusive. The book takes the reader into the mountains of western Canada to enjoy the view of the land and explore the madness of a broken woman on the run as she struggles to find food, shelter, refuge, and her sanity.
I grew really attached to Mary as I read this story because she is a strong woman who makes you feel for her, but not pity her.
Gil Adamson’s talent is well proven in this great Canadian story. I am looking forward to reading her short stories as well. I recommend this book to anyone looking for adventure, love, and strong women who wear pants.
Book Information
Title: The Outlander
Author: Gil Adamson
Year of publication: 2008
Publisher: House of Anansi
Pages: 400 pages
Awards: Canada Reads Nominee 2009, Amazon.ca Books in Canada First Novel Award 2008
Purchased at: Chapters
Rating: 5/5
Friday, April 2, 2010
Gone for so long...
Okay Okay... I know I vanished from the face of the book blog world for about 3 months, which is HORRIBLE considering how dedicated I was to this! Truth be told, I was reading Pride and Prejudice and I also took up Yoga. I read books about Yoga while reading P&P which caused some serious delays in my reading time!
BUT... I am back! and will be reviewing again soon, I promise! I just picked up The Outlander by Gil Adamson, which is really exciting so far! (Please don't spoil it since it seems SO many people have already read this one!) It was a contestant for Canada Reads last year. This reminds me that I only made it through two of the five Canada Reads books for this year. At least I read the winner!... That counts for something right? I know this makes me a bit of a blogger loser for slacking off. Ugh... Anyway, enough with the excuses. I am off to bed to read and I promise to have more for you shortly!
BUT... I am back! and will be reviewing again soon, I promise! I just picked up The Outlander by Gil Adamson, which is really exciting so far! (Please don't spoil it since it seems SO many people have already read this one!) It was a contestant for Canada Reads last year. This reminds me that I only made it through two of the five Canada Reads books for this year. At least I read the winner!... That counts for something right? I know this makes me a bit of a blogger loser for slacking off. Ugh... Anyway, enough with the excuses. I am off to bed to read and I promise to have more for you shortly!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
R.I.P. J.D. Salinger
It is with great sadness that I am posting to inform you of the death of a literary great; J.D. Salinger. He died yesterday of natural causes in his home in New Hampshire at the age of 91. He is mostly known for his very famous book, "The Catcher in the Rye". He has spent most of his life quietly hidden away from the press and people, hating his own fame.
R.I.P. J.D. Salinger
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott
I was so happy to finally read a book I enjoyed so much. Good to a Fault is an honest look at people, stereotypes, and as its title suggests, what it really means to be good.
Good to a Fault is about an impressively (and annoyingly) kind but lonely middle-aged woman named Clara Purdy. At the very beginning of the book Clara’s car, and her life, collide with the Gage family (3 kids, 2 parents, and a hostile grandmother). The book is set in motion not only by the car crash but also by the discovery that the family’s matriarch, Lorraine, has cancer. Clara very kindly welcomes the struggling Gage family into her own home while Lorraine spends what is presumed to be her final days in the hospital seeking treatment for her illness. Clara is subjected to countless ungrateful acts by certain members of the Gage family but embraces her new life. Clara quickly falls in love with the children and treats them as though they were her own, mending her personal wounds from her missed chance of having a family. When there is a shocking turn of events closer to the end of the book, the reader is faced with a lot of questions about personal values and stereotypes. The reader is also faced with the bigger question about the difference between what is good and what is right, and how to decide the difference and similarities between the two in tough situations.
This book engaged my emotions in a way no book has in a while. At times it infuriated me (as I am not nearly as patient or understanding as Clara). At times it made me sad. But also, it made me laugh-out-loud and put a smile on my face. Also, being the OCD neat-and-tidy freak that I am, this book made me realize that spilled milk is, well, just spilled milk. Life is messy, and incidentally, that’s what makes it more interesting and memorable. My dad bought me a mug that says “A Clean House is the Sign of a Wasted Life” and this book proves that (nothing like taking life wisdom from a novelty mug).
This book taught me a lesson about how easy it is to unknowingly stereotype people from different walks of life without acknowledging it. It is easy to convince yourself that you couldn’t possibly think that way, but this book slaps you with a great big “YES YOU DO THINK THAT WAY – NOW DEAL WITH IT!”. The part in the book that comes to mind for this **SPOILER ALERT** is when Clara goes to the hospital to find Lorraine better and ready to go home to reclaim her family and resume her life. Lorraine tells Clara that she isn’t entitled to raising the children just because she dresses better, has more money, is well spoken, etc. After reading this part in the book, the reader realizes that it’s easy to root for Clara because of these things, but that it isn’t right. I thought about how I assessed the situation with the children in the book and realized that these were the reasons I used to legitimize my feelings that Clara should keep the kids as well.
The only thing I didn’t buy into was the religious aspect of the book. I know in her interview for Canada Reads, Marina Endicott mentioned that this book has a lot to do with God, but I didn’t feel that way at all. Aside from religious poems/passages throughout the book and the fact that Clara and her peers are all churchgoers, I didn’t see anything in this book that made me think about God or his existence.
I couldn’t finish this post without saying how much I enjoyed the dynamic characters in this book. Endicott has a phenomenal ability to sculpt characters make them feel so real that you know them personally. All of the characters are perfect pictures of regular people in everyday life. However, if I had to pick a favourite character then it would be Darwin. He was so important to this story. He kept everything balanced. Without Darwin, this story would not have been the same; there would have been a lot more hostility and a lot less warmth. I also think an honourable mention is in order for the Bunts for their impeccable hypocrisy. Everyone has a couple of these people in their neighbourhood (I hope it’s not you) and in a story about domestic life and its imperfections, nasty neighbours fit in perfectly.
I think Good to a Fault is a fantastic pick for Canada Reads 2010, and although I have only read one other book on the panel so far, I think this will be a difficult read to top. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read, no pun intended.
Book Information
Title: Good to a Fault
Author: Marina Endicott
Year of publication: June 2009
Publisher: Broadview Press
Pages: 416
Awards: 2009 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize Best Book Award -- Canada and the Caribbean
Purchased at: Chapters Queensway
Rating: 4/5
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Breakwater House by Pascale Quiviger
The Breakwater House is a series of smaller stories all linked together, and it jumps through time and space. This book was originally published in French, and as always I think I should read the French version and compare. Without reading the original language there is no way to be sure, but I feel like something has been lost in translation; that there is something I’m missing from this story. Also, it always freaks me out when the characters are clearly meant to speak a certain language (based on their location, their written surroundings, their names, etc.) but speak English in the story like its some freaky alternate reality. But that’s beside the point.
I think an issue I have with this story is the amount of experiences that I can’t relate to. I think this book would probably resonate more with readers who feel that their lives are reflected in it. I also found the emotions in this book to be pretty extreme all the time; meaning the emotions and actions of the characters when faced with life challenges were a little unrealistic. Life has its ups and downs, but this book is an emotionally charged roller coaster that doesn’t coincide with real life. I hate to say the story was overly dramatic, but it was. The girls live in a romanticized world that doesn’t jive well with the realities of life they are dealing with. This makes the story seem exaggerated. This story is about women, but in my opinion isn’t an accurate depiction of (most) real female relationships.
I don’t love this book, but it isn’t terrible either. I am certainly not disappointed I read it. One of the things I like most about it is how touching the relationship between Claire and Lucie is. Most little girls have that one best friend when they are kids with whom they feel a strong bond. Some remain friends for life, but sadly most en up drifting apart. It’s a sad truth that comes with growing up. But this book steers away from reality. The bond between Claire and Lucie transforms as the girls grow up and the two girls become so obsessed with their friendship that they aren’t even able to have romantic relationships with men (and unless I missed the cue, both girls are heterosexual). I have a hard time believing this.
The ending of this book doesn’t feel complete. This book is supposed to be a tragedy of sorts, with redemption and growth at the end. You are supposed to feel the transformation and healing of a character, but because it doesn’t feel realistic from the start it’s difficult to appreciate the growth and change in the characters.
I probably wouldn’t recommend this book to friends, unless I feel that somehow they could relate to it. The imagery was beautiful, and I’m sure there are people out there that find this story deeply touching, but it’s just not for me.
Book Information
Title: The Breakwater House
Author: Pascale Quiviger
Year of publication: 2010
Publisher: Anasi
Pages: 198
Rating: 3.5/5
** Please note this book is an ARC, and may vary greatly on final publication. **
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Quirk Classics
So I was looking around the web for upcoming book releases when I found out the newest Quirk Classic has been announced. I must admit that I haven't read any of these yet but it seems like everyone I know has. To be honest, to me these books are talent piggy backing, but what do I know... (I'm sure Zombies will come after me for saying that!) So here is the info on all of the Quirk Books (and other) for those of you who are interested...
UPCOMING QUIRK CLASSICS:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls
by Jane Austen and Steve Hockensmith
Releasing: Feb 5th, 2010
In this terrifying and hilarious prequel, we witness the genesis of the zombie plague in early-nineteenth-century England. We watch Elizabeth Bennet evolve from a naive young teenager into a savage slayer of the undead. We laugh as she begins her first clumsy training with nunchucks and katana swords and cry when her first blush with romance goes tragically awry. Written by acclaimed novelist (and Edgar Award nominee) Steve Hockensmith, Dawn of the Dreadfuls invites Austen fans to step back into Regency England, Land of the Undead.
Android Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy and Ben H. Winters
Releasing: June 8th, 2010
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters co-author Ben H. Winters is back with an all-new collaborator, legendary Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, and the result is Android Karenina—an enhanced edition of the classic love story set in a dystopian world of robots, cyborgs, and interstellar space travel. As in the original novel, our story follows two relationships: The tragic adulterous love affair of Anna Karenina and Count Alexei Vronsky, and the more hopeful marriage of Nikolai Levin and Princess Kitty Shcherbatskaya. These characters live in a steampunk-inspired world of robotic butlers, clumsy automatons, and rudimentary mechanical devices. But when these copper-plated machines begin to revolt against their human masters, our characters must fight back using state-of-the-art 19th-century technology—and a sleek new model of ultra-human cyborgs like nothing the world has ever seen. Filled with the same blend of romance, drama, and fantasy that made the first two Quirk Classics New York Times best sellers, Android Karenina brings this celebrated series into the exciting world of science fiction.
AVAILABLE NOW:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies -- "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton-and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers-and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead. Can she vanquish the spawn of Satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry? Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you'd actually want to read.
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters
"Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters" expands the original text of the beloved Jane Austen novel with all-new scenes of giant lobersters, rampaging octopi, two-headed sea serpents, and other biological monstrosities. As our story opens, the Dashwood sisters are evicted from their childhood home and sent to live on a mysterious island full of savage creatures and dark secrets. While sensible Elinor falls in love with the Edward Ferrars, her romantic sister Marianne is courted by both the handsome Willoughby and the hideous man-monster Colonel Brandon. Can the Dashwood sisters triumph over meddlesome matriarchs and unscrupulous rouges to find true love? Or will they fall prey to the tentacles that are forever snapping at their heels? It's survival - and only the swiftest swimmers will find true love!
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
by Seth Grahame-Smith
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Releasing: March 2nd, 2010
Indiana, 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother's bedside. She's been stricken with something the old-timers call "Milk Sickness.""My baby boy..." she whispers before dying. Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother's fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire. When the truth becomes known to young Lincoln, he writes in his journal, ""henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose.".." Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House. While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon "The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln," and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years. Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the "true" life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.
BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE:
It has also been announced that the movie adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" will be produced by Natalie Portman, who will also star in the film. According to IMDB, the movie is set to be released in 2011.
For more information on Quirk Classics, go to their site: http://www.quirkclassics.com/
UPCOMING QUIRK CLASSICS:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfulsby Jane Austen and Steve Hockensmith
Releasing: Feb 5th, 2010
In this terrifying and hilarious prequel, we witness the genesis of the zombie plague in early-nineteenth-century England. We watch Elizabeth Bennet evolve from a naive young teenager into a savage slayer of the undead. We laugh as she begins her first clumsy training with nunchucks and katana swords and cry when her first blush with romance goes tragically awry. Written by acclaimed novelist (and Edgar Award nominee) Steve Hockensmith, Dawn of the Dreadfuls invites Austen fans to step back into Regency England, Land of the Undead.
Android Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy and Ben H. Winters
Releasing: June 8th, 2010
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters co-author Ben H. Winters is back with an all-new collaborator, legendary Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, and the result is Android Karenina—an enhanced edition of the classic love story set in a dystopian world of robots, cyborgs, and interstellar space travel. As in the original novel, our story follows two relationships: The tragic adulterous love affair of Anna Karenina and Count Alexei Vronsky, and the more hopeful marriage of Nikolai Levin and Princess Kitty Shcherbatskaya. These characters live in a steampunk-inspired world of robotic butlers, clumsy automatons, and rudimentary mechanical devices. But when these copper-plated machines begin to revolt against their human masters, our characters must fight back using state-of-the-art 19th-century technology—and a sleek new model of ultra-human cyborgs like nothing the world has ever seen. Filled with the same blend of romance, drama, and fantasy that made the first two Quirk Classics New York Times best sellers, Android Karenina brings this celebrated series into the exciting world of science fiction.
AVAILABLE NOW:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies -- "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton-and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers-and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead. Can she vanquish the spawn of Satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry? Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you'd actually want to read.
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters
"Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters" expands the original text of the beloved Jane Austen novel with all-new scenes of giant lobersters, rampaging octopi, two-headed sea serpents, and other biological monstrosities. As our story opens, the Dashwood sisters are evicted from their childhood home and sent to live on a mysterious island full of savage creatures and dark secrets. While sensible Elinor falls in love with the Edward Ferrars, her romantic sister Marianne is courted by both the handsome Willoughby and the hideous man-monster Colonel Brandon. Can the Dashwood sisters triumph over meddlesome matriarchs and unscrupulous rouges to find true love? Or will they fall prey to the tentacles that are forever snapping at their heels? It's survival - and only the swiftest swimmers will find true love!
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
by Seth Grahame-Smith
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Releasing: March 2nd, 2010
Indiana, 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother's bedside. She's been stricken with something the old-timers call "Milk Sickness.""My baby boy..." she whispers before dying. Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother's fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire. When the truth becomes known to young Lincoln, he writes in his journal, ""henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose.".." Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House. While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon "The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln," and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years. Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the "true" life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.
BUT WAIT... THERE'S MORE:
It has also been announced that the movie adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" will be produced by Natalie Portman, who will also star in the film. According to IMDB, the movie is set to be released in 2011.
For more information on Quirk Classics, go to their site: http://www.quirkclassics.com/
Sunday, January 10, 2010
My book goal for 2010...
So, being the New Year and all I figured I would share my book goal with all of you.
I plan to read 55 books this year, which translates to just over a book a week. When I say this out loud it sounds like so few books for an entire year. In the book information for each review I am going to include a countdown. Also, if I can figure out how to make a thermometer thing for the page then you might get to see one of those too.
How many book do you read a year? Leave a comment and let me know!
I plan to read 55 books this year, which translates to just over a book a week. When I say this out loud it sounds like so few books for an entire year. In the book information for each review I am going to include a countdown. Also, if I can figure out how to make a thermometer thing for the page then you might get to see one of those too.
How many book do you read a year? Leave a comment and let me know!
The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin
Well, I am on a winter vacation (I know, 1 week after the holiday break, yeesh)… I have the wonderful opportunity of being able to write my posts from a beautiful cottage kitchen looking out at a spectacular winter view. So peaceful… Here, have a look:
Hollow Chocolate Bunnies is a twisted, perverse, and violent, interpretation of the “real” lives of toys and nursery rhyme characters in the city where they cohabitate, rightly named “Toy City”. I decided to read it when it was recommended by someone in our office.
The book is about a young boy named Jack who travels a long way to find the big city, where he hopes to make his fortune and start a new life. To his surprise, the city is actually “Toy City” and its citizens are nothing like him or anything he expected. Toy City’s population is made up of toys, nursery rhyme characters, and a few humans affectionately called “gormsters”. Immediately after his arrival in the city he meets Eddie Bear; a walking, talking, drunken teddy bear that is also the assistant to a famous detective named Bill Winkie (who has gone missing). Jack is thrown into a murder case involving the rich elite of the city; the nursery rhyme characters. One by one a mysterious killer is plucking them off in grotesque, ironic, and funny (I must admit) ways. It’s up to Eddie and Jack to find and stop the killer before it’s too late (and before the offer of reward money is retracted of course!).
The first ¼ of the book was fantastic. There is action right away and you feel like you’re in for a wild ride. It’s dirty and disturbing, but also hilarious. I wouldn’t normally pick up sci-fi for fear that I have to immerse myself in a world that goes way beyond the story in the book. You know, the ones that leave you feeling inadequate to discuss because there are enough supplements and online communities to write a seven part series on the types of toilet paper the characters use. But I digress… (Grey Poupon anyone?) Truthfully, I thought this book would be a good choice because of its incorporation of the classic nursery rhyme characters that most people are already familiar with. It’s just a perverted, adult nursery rhyme.
To say this book wasn’t good isn’t fair, because I found it to be extremely creative and also appealing to the sinful side we all have. But beyond that, it was kind of boring. The middle of the story drags on, which I find incredibly irritating when I’m reading. I feel like my time is being wasted and a story that could have been good is watered down with empty content. Give me a shorter book, not filler. Honestly, after you get past the initial shock value of the story, you aren’t left with much. Even the title is a letdown. Hollow Chocolate Bunnies are only a small part of the story, and not in the way you expect. I personally was looking forward to the idea of some punk chocolate bunnies with a bone to pick. The cover sort of leads you to believe this with the cute chocolate bunnies with piercings and wearing motorcycle jackets. (I know, I know… don’t judge a book by its cover!) I suppose I will have write “Badass Chocolate Bunnies” myself… Just kidding (maybe)…
This book was just OK. I found myself hating it as soon as I finished it, but now that I am taking a step back and thinking about it, it had some good moments and certainly wasn’t the worst thing I have ever read. I probably wouldn’t recommend this to anyone, but I’m not sorry that I read it.
Book Information
Title: The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse
Author: Robert Rankin
Year of publication: 2003
Publisher: Orion Publishing Group
Pages: 352
Awards: SFX Magazine Best Novel Award (2003)
Purchased at: Barnes & Noble (Prudential Center, Boston, MA)
Rating: 3.5/5
Sunday, January 3, 2010
The Book of Chameleons by Jose Eduardo Agualusa
I read The Book of Chameleons by Jose Eduardo Agualusa because it happened to be on a staff pics shelf and my fiancé (Doug) suggested it. It sounded like the kind of book I would normally enjoy. It was a quick read, but at the end of it, I felt that having no knowledge in Angolan culture prevented me from understanding a lot of the components of the story.
The book circles around revolutions that I have no knowledge of, as well as a history and culture that I know nothing about. Also, the talking lizard is supposed to be the reincarnated Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges, who I had never heard of until reading this book. Since my blog isn’t a scholarly article by any stretch, I looked Borges up on Wikipedia, trying to figure out if I could get any more from the story by learning more about him. It added a bit of understanding to the lizard’s personality; his fears, his pleasures, and the strange bits he shares about his past. But it didn’t offer much more understanding for the story as a whole.
The book’s main character is Felix Ventura, an albino black man (you have to read it to understand how that works) who makes a living selling fabricated pasts. He falls in love with a kind and beautiful woman (according to the lizard) and gets a shady new client; complications ensue. Because the book’s plot has a few twists and not much in between (it’s very short), it’s difficult to talk about without giving it all away, so I won’t go into any further details. From what I did understand, it was an okay story. But it felt kind of empty because most of it (I think) went over my head.
I don’t know how I would feel about recommending this book to anyone with no knowledge of Angolan culture or of Jorge Luis Borges. I didn’t hate reading this book, but I also feel like my time could have been better spent reading something else. If you do have knowledge in the subject matter, then I say try it out and let me know what I missed. Otherwise, I say skip it. Even though it has a talking lizard…
Book Information
Title: The Book of Chameleons
Author: Jose Eduardo Agualusa
Translated by: Daniel Hahn
Year of publication: English Translation, June 2008
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 192
Awards: The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2007
Purchased at: Indigo Bay & Bloor
Rating: 3/5
Happy New Year!
Hey folks! It’s a brand new year, so let’s begin with what’s appropriate:
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Now that that’s out of the way, let me apologize for the delay in posting reviews. Like most of you (I hope!), I took some time over the holidays for some R&R, which means I read more and reviewed less…
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy reviewing very much and am deeply thankful to anyone who takes even a moment of their day to read my blog. It’s just that writing reviews takes slightly more mental capacity than sitting on my butt in front of a fire with a strong delicious coffee, tonnes of junk food, and some good books (and also a bit of Supernatural… love those Winchester boys! I can’t believe I told you that…). But I’m back, ready to review, and looking forward to this year with plenty of new books to read and review.
Happy 2010 everyone!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Now that that’s out of the way, let me apologize for the delay in posting reviews. Like most of you (I hope!), I took some time over the holidays for some R&R, which means I read more and reviewed less…
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy reviewing very much and am deeply thankful to anyone who takes even a moment of their day to read my blog. It’s just that writing reviews takes slightly more mental capacity than sitting on my butt in front of a fire with a strong delicious coffee, tonnes of junk food, and some good books (and also a bit of Supernatural… love those Winchester boys! I can’t believe I told you that…). But I’m back, ready to review, and looking forward to this year with plenty of new books to read and review.
Happy 2010 everyone!
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