Suzanne Collins - Hunger Games, Catching Fire & Mockingjay

Well, I've read them. It took me only 4 or 5 days and I have to admit right up front, I loved them. So much fun. Just googled them to make sure I had Collins name right and her website describes them as... Gladiator” meets “Project Runway” in Suzanne Collins's gripping dystopian novel “The Hunger Games." Ha. Funny but somewhat pretty spot on. If you haven't succumbed to what I imagine is a teen-sensation, do it. It's fun. It's addicting and it's the kind of read that just takes you away. M. turned me on to them and I thank her for it, so much fun Seus!

White Noise, Don Delillo

Mom picked me up at JFK on Friday. Had been about a month since I'd seen her and we were rapidly catching up on everything we could because we only had about 14 hours together this visit. I mentioned that I read White Noise while I was down in the BVI's, and asked if Mom had read it. She has read it. She read it while she was in the hospital, between Meg and I. Don Delillo weaves a hysterical, theatrical tale that truly made me laugh out loud repeatedly. This was the same for Mom, and she associates White Noise with anger towards my Dad - for giving her such a funny book, that caused her excruciating pain each time she laughed.

I originally sought out White Noise because it is one of the books on Jonathan Franzen's favourite books that I posted early. Was thinking of making this my summer reading list... but I have already started to stray from that. There are just so many good reads out there. Too many to chose from.

The Help, Kathryn Stockett

Called the 'other-side' of Gone With the Wind, this was a great summer read. Took me a long time to get into it (I think I was past the 150 page mark when I finally felt like I had a stake in the story), but once I got to that point - I could hardly put it down. It is a story of courage, conviction, compassion and cruelty. I know the movie version is in production now, and I am glad for that. It was a good read, but a great story that I think will make a very good movie.

Read this on H. & L.'s recommendation while we were sailing down in the British Virgin Islands. I got through most of it during the long, hot nights on the boat after the very quick sunsets (no twilight down there!) It was a great trip, very beautiful and fun to learn about sailing.

I really want to re-read Gone With The Wind now. I read it while on a Bio-Ethics trip down in Florida and remember being totally enthralled. The Help motivated me to start doing a bit of reading about American History. Especially about the civil rights movement, but also just about American history in general. There are very large gaps in what I know. Am also hoping to find some other Southern stories - they always get me. All in all, suggest reading The Help before it comes out in theatres.

Body of Evidence, Patricia Cornwell

After The Corrections, a serious mid-west downer, I needed a light read. So, I picked up a light, fluffy, somewhat morbid crime-thriller. Best part of this read was the similarity in the title to Dad's last show. Otherwise, was glad to finally read one of L.'s favourite authors. Not sure if I'll continue on with the series, but it was a fun one!

Catching Up: Campaigning in Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke.

It's been a while since I updated, but I've been busy! For the month of April I volunteered with Christine Tabbert's campaign in the rural, and incredibly beautiful, district of Renfrew-Nipssing-Pembroke. I learned a ton. It was a fabulous experience, even though we didn't get the outcome we were hoping for... I am scared to see what the next 4 years are going to look like for Canada. That is besides the point, however. While I was up in Pembroke, I managed to get through a couple of reads...

The Appeal, John Grisham
Borrowed this one from Nana, and like she said it was a light and kind of fun read. Was a good one to be reading while my brain was working at full capacity 18 hours a day on the campaign.

In A Strange Room, Damon Galgut
Unlike The Appeal, in A Strange Room is not a light read. I picked it up at the Strand as a last minute impulse grab - the cover got me. Simply said, I loved it. Easily one of my favourite reads. I actually can't wait to read it again. His writing is beautiful. Stunning. I lent it to A., in the hopes that she would enjoy it as much as I did (we often don't agree on books)... and am still awaiting her review.

The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen
Didn't like The Corrections as much as Freedom, but still really enjoyed it. Franzen is a masterful weaver of massively depressing tales.

The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje

I will always associate Michael Ondaatje with L. and the fundraiser she worked on in the summer of 2004(?) with Ondaatje. I remember picking up The English Patient that summer, getting 50 or so pages into it, and then putting it down. It just wasn't doing it for me. I've kept it on my bookshelf ever since then, hoping that one day I will feel the motivation to pick it up, and low and behold, a couple of days ago I did.

I made it all the way through this time, and while I didn't love it, it was a still a good read. The best part about it was, honestly, was that I felt like I could relate to a lot of the setting and the characters. It is set in the hills above Tuscany, (where I have visited a few times), the main character is from Toronto and has spent much time canoeing in Georgian Bay, there is a kindhearted Sikh from Punjab who describes the Golden Temple in Amritsar just the way I remember it, and last but not least, the main love interest is named Katharine. Kathath- A -rine, just like me.

Since starting to work at a bakery here in town, I have to get used to waking up early. Like seriously early. Like being at work by 6am early. That means that although I had yesterday and today off, I still woke up at 7:15am. Oh well, the light here is beautiful in the morning. Ventured into the city yesterday to meet up with M. and snapped a couple shots, like the one above. Beautiful and sunny, but very chilly. Please oh please, let spring come soon!

Rebbecca, Daphne du Maurier

Last week we went to see the new Jane Eyre in theatres. I totally enjoyed it because I had no idea what the story line of Jane Eyre was, and it is definitely a great story. When we walked out of the theatre M. told me that I 'had to read Rebecca.' She's said something along the lines of - it's like Jane Eyre, but better. And so it was! I was totally hooked from the very beginning, and read it basically in 3 sittings... the longest one being from 11:00pm - 2:30am after a very delicious but sugary and caffeine loaded chocolate brownie tart. I was hoping for a good romance, and M. said I was going to be disappointed if that's what I was looking for, but I do think it is a fabulous romance. The parallels to Jane Eyre are easy enough to see, and really add another layer to Rebecca. I'm glad I saw Jane Eyre so that I could see what du Maurier was pulling on. I have to read Jane Eyre now, and just picked up a copy at Borders yesterday.

Just want to quickly say that this is one of the best suspense novels I have ever read. I was literally on the edge of my (bed), turning the pages as rapidly as I could so that I could get to the end. And let me just say, that it is not a satisfying ending! I've been thinking about Rebecca since I finished it early yesterday morning and I can easily say it is one of my favourite books I've read in the last year, if not one of my favourite books ever. I think I will give it a re-read after I've read Jane Eyre.

Great suggestion M.

Dharma Bums, Jack Kerouac

"The night of the big party came. I could practically hear the hubbubs of preparation going on down the hill and felt depressed. 'Oh my God, sociability is just a big smile and a big smile is nothing but teeth, I wish I could just stay up here and rest and be kind.' But somebody brought up some wine and that started me off."
- Jack Kerouac, "The Dharma Bums"

It's been a while since I read On the Road. A. was reading On The Road when she was in NY a few weeks ago, and while we were browsing at the Strand she picked up a nice hard cover copy of Dharma Bums. I decided to try it out because I was preaching to A. about how much I love Kerouac, and then realized I have read a very limited amount of his work.

I really liked Dharma Bums, but there were a few lines that really stayed with me (like the above quote). It is kind of a beautiful, meandering tale that touches on some very large subjects. It makes you think. And, I like that. Am now reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Hunter S. Thompson and Kerouac were supposedly buddies, and I have a book they co-authored on my bedside table right now. Dharma Bums and Fear and Loathing seem like total opposites stylistically, but they give you that same feeling that you are reading something that is a part of something bigger than just the book itself.

"One Day," David Nicholls

Lainey recommended this one. Highly recommended it: "I’ve read One Day twice already, clutched it everywhere with me at one point because it’s so f-cking good." L.Gossip

I, on the other hand, did not think it was that good. In fact, I think it was kind of just, blah. But, I do think it will make an awesome movie. R. always says that bad books make great movies. I am a sucker for love stories though, so I did race through One Day pretty darn quickly. Not because I was so enraptured with the story, or the characters, but because I just wanted to know how it ended. And it ended just like I thought it would.

Like Barney's Version, I wanted to read this one before the movie's released. Unlike Barney's Version, it is not a book I would really recommend. Unless you are already down, perhaps sick, stranded on the couch, and the remote is just a little too far to reach... then go for it! If not, just wait for the movie. Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess play the leads Emma Morley & Dexter Mayhew. Good casting. Amazing poster. Looking forward to it.

"Just Kids," Patti Smith

I picked this one up at the Strand the other day, after reading her interview with Jonny Depp in Vanity Fair and liking the way she writes. I read it pretty quickly, while crashing at my sister’s place in the West Village. ‘Just Kids’ is partially an ode to NYC, so it was nice to be here while reading it. I read most of it while soaking up the sun on the Highline, and yes, it is February but the city has been amazingly warm for the past couple of days.

I don’t usually take notes while reading, but I did during this one. I now have a long list of places to checkout, books to read, and artists to research; let’s just say, this one made me feel slightly lacking. Smith just had such an interesting life, at such a young age. She was younger than I am when she moved into the city alone, penniless and serendipitously met the man who was to become the ‘artist of her life’ (one of my favourite lines). Soon after, she began making art and moved within an incredible circle of artists. I felt especially low after reading this one because I am at a point in time where I really don’t know what I’m going to do next, and have no real inspiration. In no way did Smith have it easy. Her early years sound so cold and, hungry… but it seems like she was never lacking in inspiration. That’s not even it. She clearly lays out that there were periods when she was without motivation, unable to write, or draw… but her life just seems so rich, in retrospect I guess. I think that is largely because of where she was living with, and who she was surrounded by. Bumping into Ginsberg in a deli, sitting in on Janis Joplin’s jam sessions, and, oh ya, having Robert Mapplethorpe as your life partner offers a certain amount of creative stimulation.

In the course of the story Smith tells, the scene in NY changes. The era of The Chelsea as a safe harbor for starving artists ends, and an era of great political apathy begins. I am sitting in Grounded right now, and a little old woman just shouted “bring back the 60’s – protests,” as she walked out the door. How appropriate. Although, after reading ‘Just Kids,' I feel like for something really good to happen, we’ve gotta bring back the 70’s.

"Barney's Version," Mordecai Richler

Just landed in New York after a long trip (via Dallas) from Calgary. Miss K and jx3 already!

"The Red Tent," Anita Diamant

The Red Tent is the story of Dinah, the only daughter of the biblical superstar Jacob. Dinah's 'life' (this is historical fiction, told in the first person) strays greatly from the one line or so about her in the bible which suggests that Dinah was raped by a foreign prince and disowned by her family. But, for Diamant, Dinah is a proto-feminist, a powerful midwife and most importantly, the cherished daughter of four women. For me, this is really a great story about motherhood. It was the perfect time for me to read this, because I am in Calgary visiting my beautiful friend K. and her amazing family. Would really recommend this one.

Franzen's Fav Books

Click Here

While doing a little reading on Franzen and his take on the American Mid-West, I came across this fab blog - www.blographia-literaria.com. Of the many interesting things to be found on this blog is this list of Franzen's favourite books. A little inspiration for further reading perhaps?

"Freedom," Jonathan Franzen

Finished: Jan 25

"Crime and Punishment," Fyodor Dostoevsky

Finished: Jan 18th

I started to read this one the month before I left for my trip. I ambitiously brought it with me to Korea, but decided to leave it there with L. instead of carrying it with me to Cambodia. It was a bit heavy of a read for the road, but for some reason, I picked up another copy of it in a book exchange in Selcuk, Turkey. For the rest of the trip, I read a couple of pages now and then, but I always had another book on the go as well. Long story short (ha), I was determined to finish it over the holidays and so, I did. The story is incredible. I enjoyed it thoroughly even though I found it hard to read... as in I fell asleep almost every time I picked it up.

enough with the numbers

Counted the books I was reading while I was on my trip, but I am going to stop doing that. Just about to get on a plane to Calgary to visit K & J and their babes. Book for the trip -The Red Tent.

reading list 3

21. Seeing, José Saramago
Read while on a 'blue cruise' in Southern Turkey. Very interesting writing style, haven't read anything else quite like it.

22.The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon
Another one I'd seen around the house. A good read, but not great in my opinion.

23. The Museum of Innocence, Orhan Pamuk
An incredible read. Gifted it to mom for Christmas. Even though I got annoyed with it at parts, and was tempted to skim sections, I would still consider it one of my favourite reads of this trip. A. didn't like it nearly as much, if at all. Set in Istanbul and a large part of why I like it is probably that I just love that city.

24. The Private Patient, PD James
This was the first PD James I've ever read even though L.A. loves her. I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed it and wouldn't hesitate to pick up another one.

25. Seven Years in Tibet, Heinrich Harrer
I picked this one up in Bangkok when I thought we might be heading into the Himalayas... we ended up heading for the Middle East instead and so I found myself daydreaming about Tibet while on safari in Western Egypt. It was a bit surreal.

26. Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, Marina Lewycka
Why I read this one, I'm not quite sure. Light read, to say the least. Glad when it was over.

27. The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
Recommended to me by a shopkeeper in Dharamsala as his favourite book. I raced through it. A great book to read while India, although it is set in the South and I was in the North. Still very insightful and actually quite sad.

28. The Glass Palace, Amitav Gosh.
Recommended by A. I absolutely loved it. Beautiful in so many ways (including the cover art - above).

in a local newspaper in turkey...

I found a copy of this article by Ayaan Hirsi Ali in one of the local newspapers in Turkey. It was originally published in the Wall Street Journal and I was surprised to come across it in Olympus, a small beach town in Southern Turkey. I found it interesting not only because Infidel was still on my mind, but also because Women's Rights, Islam and the Muslim world at large was a hot topic for Ayesha and I while traveling in the Middle East. We were immersed in this new world for the first time and were both drawn into it completely and appalled by it.

Huntington's Clash of Civilizations was widely unpopular and I think Ali is straddling the line between being liked and being hated. She is the kind of scholar we want to see succeed - a woman from a visible minority who overcame a very challenging upbringing to ultimately fight for equal rights for many oppressed subgroups. I don't necessarily agree with Ali in this article, but I think she asks good questions. Reading this while in Turkey, after visiting Malaysia and Indonesia, and before traveling to Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan, this article asked for what we were in some way doing... looking into life on "the other side."

I left the Middle East with more questions than I arrived with. More questions, which for me means more reading.

reading list 2

Next installment from the trip... Saigon to Beirut.

12. Ghost Wars, Steve Coll
The full title of this one is, ‘Ghost Wars: The History of the CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to Sept 11, 2001.’ That lengthy title might give you some idea of what kind of book this was - a modern political history on a really heavy subject. It was beautifully written. If I ever write a political history, I would want it to read as easily as this one did. Very informative, but very depressing. Would highly recommend it to anyone iınterested in the subject or to anyone who has read the newspaper articles on Afghanistan and said - what the hell is this article trying to tell me?

13. Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali
A couple of summers ago, Linds read this one while we were up at Gambier. She loved it and we got into a fairly heated argument with her mom & Hil about it. Erin passed it on to Ayesha and I in Thailand and it was amazing. Again, quite a depressing read on a bunch of really heavy subjects like war, genocide, immigration, fgm, physical & mental abuse, murder and most significantly to the author - Islam, to mention only a few of the subjects touched on. Recently I stumbled across an article written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali in the Times, which is amazing ın itself considering how little I’ve actually been reading the news on this trip. In this article Hirsi Ali was talking about how Huntington’s Clash of Civilization is basically coming to fruition between the West and Islam right now. Reading Infidel really gives you some insight into why Ali feels we are on the verge of WWIII.

14. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
A quıck, fun read. Very different from the two I read before it and I was incredibly thankful for the change of pace. Bitter, dry, Brıtish humour was just what I needed.

15. Theodoore Boone, John Grisham
Yes, this is a kids book. Yes, it is the only John Grisham I have ever read. I read it in one sitting on a rainy morning in Laos really only because it was right in front of me and I was too lazy to go up to our room to get my own book. I actually want to read some other John Grisham novels now - I enjoyed Theodoore Boone that much.

16. The Pilot’s Wife, Christine Lahti
An Oprah’s Book Club Book - enough said? I think so.

17. Siddon Rock, Glenda Guest
A great random find. Bought this one in Vientiene at the same time that I bought The Pilot’s wife. It was a really enjoyable read and offered some insight into life in nowheresville Australia. Most interesting parts were those that touched on aboriginal relations in Australia.

18. Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes
Oh boy, where to start with this one. Well, first of all, it took me a full month to get through it. Most of the time I was dreading picking it up and some crazy determination to get through it was the only thing that made me do it. As a whole, I though it was awful! Repetitive, verbose, and generally boring. However, there are some amazing scenes. If you are ever planning on taking on this serious challenge I strongly suggest picking up an abridged version. Save yourself from serious frustration!

19. I Know This Much Is True, Wally Lamb
This is one of those books that I have always wanted to read. Why? I really don’t know. I have seen it around my parent’s house and always thought it looked interesting. It actually was really interesting. Not a substantial read, but I had a hard time putting this one down.

20. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
Read this one for two reasons 1. because Meg is currently in Dublin and keeps posting fab Oscar Wilde quotes 2. because it was one of the few english language books at a book fair we stumbled across in Taksim Sq., Istanbul. To put it simply - loved it.

the past 11 months

On Dec 20th I landed in NY after almost exactly 9 months abroad. While traveling, I kept track of what I was reading. Even though it is kind of cheating, I thought it would be nice to paste here my 'reading lists' from the trip. Here's the first one. Looks like I read these between April 21st when I landed in Seoul and July 1st when we were in Singapore. Above is a shot from Cambodia.

1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
The beginning of my addiction to this trilogy. Great suggestion Dad!

2. A Fraction of the Whole, Steve Toltz
Picked it up at the Wildlife Center. Okay read, good story but long. Was fun that it was set partly in Thailand.

3. The Girl Who Played with Fire, Stieg Larsson
Addiction continues. Least fav of the 3.

4. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Berniers
Fun read also from the Wildlife Center. Great romance - need to see the movie now!

5. The French Lieutenant’s Woman, John Fowles
Got this one on Koh Phi Phi. My Nana was after it for xmas last year, and since she is pretty much the highest authority I know on literature, I thought I would give it a try. Very interesting. Loved it, hated it, not sure how I feel about it now.

6. The Red Pony, John Steinbeck
Beautiful. Need to read more Steinbeck.

7. The Notebook, Nicholas Sparks
Oh boy, embarrassed to admit that I read this one, but it was the only English language book I could find on Tanote Bay and I needed somettthing to read. Not nearly as good as the movie; whoever adapted that novel into a screenplay was a genius.

8. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster
Beautifully written but long and drawn out. Did not love it when I was reading, but I’ve found myself thinking about it a lot since I finished it. The idea of searching for the ‘real’ India has really stayed with me because it seems that every place we go, there is a line drawn between the tourist Bali (for example) and the real Bali.

9. The Girl Who Stepped on the Hornet’s Nest, Stieg Larsson
Fav of the 3. Could hardly put it down. Ayesh is racing through it right now. Sad the author never got a chance to write more.

10. My Antonia, Willa Cather
Pretty to read. Willa Cather is such an interesting character, need to know more about her.

11. All the President’s Men, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
Picked this up on our way down to Padang-Padang on Bali. Was desperate for something to read, and had actually been thinking about Watergate for some reason the night before. Because it is written by journalists, it is definitely a different kind of read. Am glad I read it, but it was a toughie. Somehow, I managed to pick up another book written by a Washington Post report (Steve Coll, ‘Ghost Wars’) and am struggling through that one page by page.

a place to keep track of what I've read

This is a place for me to keep track of what I've been reading. I've tried all sorts of journals, logs, cue cards and other means of recording (many of them gifts from L.), but so far nothing's stuck. Recently I've just been holding on to all my books. In all actuality, I think this is probably the best way of keeping track of what I read but now I have boxes and boxes of books and no place to put them. I also borrow books and lend books and lose books... so I thought I would give this a try.

I do read at other time of the day, not just at night. The name ‘each night before bed’ just popped into my head at the same time writing a book blog did, and I don’t feel like taking the time to think of something more fitting. Especially since this will really just be a place for me in cyberspace.

There’s something unnerving yet satisfying about blogging. It feels like a personal journal, but it’s out there, in the open, for anyone to discover. I’m not hoping anyone stumbles across this site, but if they do, I’m hoping they will see years and years of what I’ve read.