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.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
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!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
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.
- 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.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
"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.
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.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
"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.
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.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
"Barney's Version," Mordecai Richler
Just landed in New York after a long trip (via Dallas) from Calgary. Miss K and jx3 already!
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