Shakespeare Junkie

I used to have a Complete Works of Shakespeare. It was a gift from when I was in Grade 12 or 13. It saw me through my four year, Honours degree in English and History from the University of Western Ontario. It contained a pressed flower from my bridal bouquet, marking the passage from Hamlet that was the basis for my wedding invitation. Somehow, inexplicably, it was placed in a donate box and lost forever. I made this revelation about 4 years ago when this idea began percolating in my brain.

Another New Year

Well, I didn't quite make my #26in2012 goal.  I did better than 2011. In 2011, I finished my 25th book on New Year's Eve. In 2012, I was a third of the way through my 26th book, Albert Brooks' 2030 (review to come), which gave me an unfair head start on my #26in2013 goal.

This is my only New Year's resolution: actually finish 26 books in 2013. I figure third time's a charm. In order to get myself really in the mood, I went shopping.You may notice that it's all Can Con which historically is unusual for me. However, with so many great writers and novels out there, how can you resist?

The big question is, which one first?

Summertime and the Readin' is Easy

The lazy, hazy days of summer are upon us (evidence, the lack of posts).  I'm heading to Greece with the family for three glorious weeks of beach time.  With three kids (the youngest is almost 18 months), I'm not sure how much time I'll get for reading.

For those of you who do have reading time over these dog days of summer, here are my top three picks:

Pigeon English

I have never been one for the point of view novel.  I like a third party narrative where you can get the whole lay of the land.  I find, when a point of view approach is taken, if it's not done well, can become rather one-note.  ROOM is one of those exceptions.  So, buoyed by the enjoyment of that, I decided to pick up Pigeon English.  This is another point of view novel, told from the perspective of 11-year old Harri, who has emigrated to London from Ghana with his mother and older sister Lydia.  Coincidentally, a quote from Emma Donoghue appears on the cover :).

The Paris Wife

Yikes!  Two weeks since my last post!  Not sure what happened there other than possibly the excitement of hockey season being over and revelling in the temporary window of extra time.

I have been thinking a lot about Paris lately.  This is largely due to the fact that I recently read The Paris Wife.  Also, it's been almost two years since my last time in Paris.  Anyone and everyone who knows me, knows that Paris is my very favourite city in the world.  In fact, I would love to be a wife in Paris.

The minute I land, I am full of joy (except for the time when I am in Charles de Gaulle airport but then as soon as I am out, I am back to being full of joy).  It was during that trip two years ago that I threw myself the best party I have ever had in my life (well, maybe except for my wedding), to celebrate turning 40.  It is also during that trip that I received a surprise birthday present in the form of conceiving my third child.

Sing You Home

Where did this week go?  I had this blog post half written in my head in preparation to post right after our Wednesday night Yummy Mummy Book Club Twitter meeting.  Then....poof.  The week was over.

In my March Break post, I mentioned that I had read best selling author Jodi Picoult's latest, Sing You Home.  It was an exciting YMBC meeting.  Our fearless leader, Wanda, really out did herself for this one.  She struck a deal with Simon & Schuster Canada to get us complimentary copies of the book.  Then, when Picoult was touring in Canada, she coordinated passes for YMBC members to go to the readings.

March Break

Well, it's March Break here.  I have to admit I've been a bit stymied this week on what to post.   Here is what I have on my list of books I've read and haven't reviewed yet:

The Flying Troutmans, Miriam Toews
The Day The Falls Stood Still, Cathy Buchanan
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
Unmarketing, Scott Stratten
Evil Plans, Hugh MacLeod
Sing You Home, Jodi Picoult

Here's my dilemma.  The Flying Troutmans and The Day the Falls Stood Still were also YMBC picks and we had the discussions long ago.  I feel like full reviews are a bit late.  Everyone has read Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (and the rest of the series) so I don't think I can say anything substantial that would make for a compelling review.  Unmarketing and Evil Plans are more on the business side of things and I have been considering saving reviews of them for the relaunch of the blog on my business site (whenever I can get that done).  Lastly, Sing You Home is for another YMBC chat and it's not scheduled until March 30 so I don't want to jump the gun on that one.

Gods Behaving Badly

I have had a very good stretch of reading lately.  However, they haven't exactly been the lightest stories.  To give myself a break, I decided to read Gods Behaving Badly.  On the surface, it had all of the things I was looking for to take a break from the intense fiction I had been immersed in:  a little fantasy (Greek gods), some romance and just general silliness.

It definitely delivered on the silly factor.  Although I thought I wanted to read something light and airy, I think I may have swung too far on the pendulum.

Not all mothers are good

I debated on if I would ever do a post about this book.  I read it last year after the birth of my third child (a happy surprise).  I thought about doing a post around Mother's Day because it is a story told by a mother.  However, today is my baby boy's first birthday and it has given me pause to reflect on my own efforts in motherhood.

We Need to Talk About Kevin is not like any book you will ever read.  I honestly believe that it is a testament to the talent of Lionel Shriver as a writer.

ROOM

I had actually planned to post my fifth installment of "Giddy for Giller" with a review of Kathleen Winter's Annabelle (sneak preview:  the book is stunning. I'll say no more for now).  However, I have recently been caught up in a firestorm of love for Emma Donaghue's ROOM which culminated in what I will call an "emergency" session of the Yummy Mummy Book Club (#YMBC for you Twitter folks) last week.

I had no idea what ROOM was about when I picked it up.  I just saw a lot of Twitter activity about how much people loved it.  I didn't even read the sleeve.  I just started reading.  I am glad I did it that way.  If I had a clue, I don't know that I would have fallen so completely in love with Jack, the young voice of the novel.

Stand By Your Man

I recently read Jennifer Weiner's Fly Away Home for my Yummy Mummy Bookclub.  I've talked about the YMBC in another post here.  I had never read Jennifer Weiner before but I had seen the movie "In Her Shoes" based on her book.

Fly Away Home chronicles the voyage of Sylvie, after it is revealed that her politician husband had an affair with a much younger woman who he then helped get a job at a prestigious law firm.  He comes clean with Sylvie and his two daughters: Diana the hyper Type-A control freak, over achieving, ER doctor (who is by the way also having an affair) and Lizzie a recovering addict.

The Fragile Mind

Forgetting has been on my mind a lot lately.  My grandmother is suffering from advancing dementia.  A number of my friends have parents and grandparents who suffered or are suffering from various forms of dementia. The Globe and Mail last year did a very good series on dementia and has had recurring articles on the health and social crises dementia is presenting to our government and society.  

The G&M also recently published a little blurb about why Lisa Genova writes. Lisa Genova is the author of Still Alice, a beautiful and poignant story about Alzheimer’s disease.  Her grandmother became ill with Alzheimer’s.  What’s really interesting about Genova is that she never intended to be a writing.  She has a PhD in neuroscience and was working in the health care industry. 

The Work of a Master

I am a big John Irving fan.  Through thick and thin, books I hate to books I love.  The World According to Garp is on my Desert Island list from a previous post (you can see it here).   John Irving has written 12 novels and I’ve read eight of them. 

Despite the fact that I think Irving is an absolutely brilliant story teller, my reading experience with him has been uneven.  Garp is, in my opinion, one of the classic American novels.  I completely and utterly hated A Prayer for Owen Meany.  I almost didn’t finish it.  I never abandon books – I always finish them.  The Cider House Rules and A Widow for One Year were stunning stories.  So beautifully written.  The Fourth Hand was just, meh.  I found Until I Find You everything I love and dislike about Irving’s writing all packaged up in one: passages of brilliance mixed with stretches of total mediocrity.

Every Family Has Their Thing

No family is the perfect model of Leave it to Beaver. Every family has their dysfunction, quirks, skeletons and mine is no exception. Maybe that's why I relished the prospect of reading Middlesex.

Middlesex is, in a lot of ways, the classic family epic. Not quite as "epic" as a Leon Uris novel (think Trinity) but full of rich history, secrets, hardship and humour. Unlike some family epics, Middlesex doesn't really deal with a family business, backstabbing siblings or the like. Rather, this family's dark, dirty secret is a genetic mutation caused by some bizarrely incestuous relationships. Dormant for years, it surfaces in Calliope Stephanides.

Can Music Tame the Savage Beast?

In light of the fact that Remembrance (or Veteran's) Day is fast approaching, it seemed appropriate to talk about one of my last reads, The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway. War comes in all shapes and sizes with all sorts of characteristics. Some hit directly at home and some are merely news stories on CNN. That's kind of how I viewed the conflict in Sarajevo. I was shocked and horrified but it wasn't a part of my daily psyche the way Iraq and Afghanistan seem to be.

Galloway paints a vivid and heartbreaking portrait of a beautiful, historic city under siege and the toll it takes on its inhabitants. The story follows three main stories: one of a man just trying to get water for his family, the second of another man who having sent his family away is facing the risks associated with day to day survival. The third story is of a young girl, "Arrow" who becomes a renowned sniper and dedicates herself to protecting her city, her way.

The most poignant vignette though is the small side story of a cellist who, from his flat window, watches as a shell lands, killing 22 innocent people while standing in a bread line. He takes a little known but tragic piece of music and sits in the mortar hole, determined to play it every day for 22 days to honour the dead. Word gets out about the cellist and when he plays, it seems the whole city goes silent. His act becomes so important, Arrow is assigned to protect him and ensure that he does not become a sniper's target. For one brief moment in time, this musician's simple act of protest and memory becomes the most important thing.

It never ceases to amaze me how seemingly civilized people, in a modern society, can become base and brutal without regard for human life. War is not just about military maneuvers, politician, soldiers fighting for some greater good. It is also about the real people who live through it. The Cellist of Sarajevo does a beautiful job of telling that story and reminding us that remembering should not be limited to those who die fighting, but also those who die just trying to survive.

The Cellist of Sarajevo
Steven Galloway
Knopf Canada

Potato Peel Pie...Yum!

At Christmas time I decided I was going to make more of an effort to read things that are more current, i.e. published in the last year or so. I had seen The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society on the store shelves and had been tempted and finally picked it up. I’m so glad I did as I absolutely LOVED it.

Part of the reason I loved it is that the story unfolds through a series of letters. There is no single narrator telling the story. There is a central character, Juliet, ironically a newly famous writer in post-World War II England. Through correspondence to her editor, best friend and a set of new found friends on Guernsey, what unfolds is a poignant story of regular people trying to heal very deep wounds, regain a sense of normalcy and find love, in the aftermath of World War II and the Nazi occupation of the island of Guernsey. All of the various correspondents are brought together deftly and the choice of narrative is unique and fun. This book is charming and the humour and sensitivity of Juliet is really lovely. Absolutely one of my best reads of the year.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Mary Ann Shaffer
Random House

The Eye of the Beholder

On the repeated recommendations of many friends, I finally read The Lovely Bones by Anne Seybold. I was warned that it was disturbing but fantastic and a must read.

It was definitely fantastic but unlike some of my friends, I didn’t find it disturbing. The fact that the story’s narrator is a 14 year old girl who has been brutally raped, murdered and butchered really should make it disturbing. But, honestly, I found this book absolutely lovely. The narrator tells her story from just before her murder, through her murder and after, as she watches her family from heaven, through the years and observes, with the naiveté of a child, (which is what she will always be) the impact of her death, until closure.

Seybold’s narrator is simply brilliant. Her narrative evolves from bewildered to sad to angry to empathetic with a child’s matter of fact tone. She is actually very funny and charming in her observations of the world she was once part of, and still feels a part of, despite no longer having the physical presence in the family.

I almost was sucked into expecting some fantastically unrealistic and happy ending and was so happy that didn’t happen. Above all, Seybold remained true to her characters and did not compromise them for a nice tidy ending. And although a little girl was murdered, and family suffered tremendously, the story did come to a conclusion that I cannot describe as anything but extremely satisfying. Thus, happy, disturbing, truth, beauty, etc., really are in the eye of the beholder.

The Lovely Bones
Anne Sebold
Little, Brown and Company US

Back to School

Better late then never right? I had a fabulous vacation and read a TON! I ran out of stuff to read and found myself scrounging through Doug's books and anything that was lying around. Let me get caught up though because I left a bit of a backlog. So let's get started.

Since it's September, the back to school, back to work, back to sweaters, back to jeans, back to jammed up schedules, I thought I would start with Sloane Crosley's I Was Told There'd Be Cake. What does this have to do with back to school? Well, it's a book of essays. I was an English major and back to school also went back to writing.

A word of advice when reading a book of essays: do not read them all in one sitting - especially this book of essays. I read this book on a flight somewhere (I can't remember now). It didn't take me long - largely because they all sounded the same. Maybe if I would have read one or two and put it down, it wouldn't have been so, what word can I use, tiresome.

Having written a fair share of essays in my time, I don't know that I would categorize Crosley as an "essayist". Call me old fashioned, but when I was in school, an essay introduced a position, provided a well thought out and persuasive argument to support the position, and drove it home with a compelling conclusion. Whining about what a loser in love you are, how you lose your keys all the time and how your family is comprised of a bunch of whack jobs, does not make for riveting prose.

At the end of the day, the last thing I cared about was a whiny, privileged, white girl living in Manhattan. So, if you see it and you are drawn in by the rave reviews about Sloane Crosley's wit and humour my advice is to pick one story, read it and put it away. You would have gotten the same out of it as I did reading the whole thing.

I Was Told There'd Be Cake
Sloane Crosley
Berkeley Trade

Who Cares?

My last post was a little on the long side. It could have been longer but I decided to quit while I was ahead before it degenerated into a blithering rant.

So, this one is going to be pretty short. My last read was A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby who also wrote High Fidelity (one of my favourite movies) and About a Boy. I was really looking forward to it. My husband Doug read it first and was pretty lukewarm. It was a little discouraging but Doug and I disagree as much as we agree on books. So I tried to go in with an open mind.

Throughout the whole book, I kept thinking…I don’t care. I don’t care about the plot; I don’t care about the characters. I don’t care what happens; I thought the premise was dumb. Four total strangers meet on New Year’s Eve because they were all planning on jumping off the same building. All of the characters are shallow, boring and completely predictable. There are moments where I had some sympathy but I can count them on one hand.

It was kind of like eating a big bowl of pasta that keeps regenerating. You eat and eat but it doesn’t seem like you make any progress getting through that bowl. That’s what reading this book was like. Reading and reading and thinking, when is thing going to be finished? Oh well. They can’t all be Pulitzer Prizes right?

I'm on my way to Europe and I have a couple of things in my bag from my brother-in-law Jim. He's made some good recommendations to me in the past so I'm looking forward to digging in on one of my many flights this week.

A Long Way Down
By Nick Hornby
Riverhead Books

Ignorance, Fear and Stupidity

Perhaps this is a harsh title for this post but I couldn’t think of any other way to title it without it sounding like a thesis on the flaws of colonialism, racism, protectionism, war and the effects on society. All this from reading a book called Small Island by Andrea Levy.

Small Island chronicles a small group of people whose lives intertwine in and around World War II. The style is interesting and easy to read although I found I had to re-read lines a couple of times as Levy's dialogue is written in Jamaican patois. The story is told from the first person and shifts amongst the perspectives of the handful of characters. Most of the characters are endearing, funny, flawed, their relationships fairly simple but made extremely complex by the circumstances of war and colonialism. In this case, the colonial relationship is primarily that of England and Jamaica with a little bit of India thrown in as well.

Although Canada was a colony of England and to some extent we Canadians still pride ourselves on our Commonwealth history and relationship with the Mother Country, our modern experience is not that of the typical colony.

I am sure that when a country sets out to colonize (ie. take over) another country, it is always in their mind, with the best of intentions (either for them or the colony). That is to get the best of that colony for the mother country. But what’s in it for the subjects? Well, in the case of this novel, for the most part, nothing.

Jamaican men, loyal to the King of England, volunteer to go and fight in a war to protect humanity. Initially embraced by their mother country, you can sense a certain wariness and high handedness. Throw in the added complication of the American influence and you can imagine the trouble you get into.

You could argue that Levy’s portrayal of the ignorance and protectionism of the British people, which drives their racism is too biased. Well, maybe; but racism exists as an extreme. It is as much a product of what is not taught as what is taught. The Empire failed it’s people and colonies like Jamaica by reducing everything down to colour. If you look different in my country, you are scary and therefore must be bad. This should never have happened, or at worse should have been a blip in history. Unfortunately, the blip is alive and well…fueled by ignorance, fear and stupidity.

Small Island
By Andrea Levy
Review