Laura From Away
Inverness, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
Last year, I read a great novel set in Cape Breton called Anna From Away. I arrived here in Inverness yesterday and attempted to re-create the cover. How did I do?
Oryx and Crake Read-Along: Post One (Introduction)
It’s time to get cracking on Oryx and Crake! Go to Readinginwinter.com for all the particulars, and apologies for formatting etc as I am writing this from my phone while on vacation.
My Copy
I’m reading on my Kobo, though it’s occurred to me that I should pick up a paper copy. Ereaders are great, but they are terribly for flipping through to find quotes. Unlike Moby-Dick, i probably can’t find the whole text of this one fee online, so I’ll have to pay up.
I saw the mass market paperback on the “Summer Reads” table at Chapters, which is odd, as I don’t really think of Atwood as beach read material.
What I Know About the Book
Not much at all. I noticed that “oryx” is in my phone’s dictionary, so maybe it’s a real word. I’m trying to stay away from google and go in blind.
I know it’s a trilogy, followed by The Year of the Flood and Maddadam. I don’t read many series so I’m intrigued and wary of the commitment!
My Experience Reading Atwood
To paraphrase a great 90s movie, Atwood is a totally important Canadian writer. I’ve read The Handmaid’s Tale (loved, but don’t remember well) and Surfacing, an early novel that I found a little too weird, and I like weird. Not having read more Atwood is one of my (not so) secret shames when it comes to CanLit.
What I Hope To Get Out of the Read-Along
I hope to absolve my CanLit guilt, improve my ratios of Canadian and female authors read this year, and find out what the heck an oryx is. Oh, and have fun!
Sperm Whale Selfie
Sperm whale skull, New Brunswick Museum, Saint John.
#Shelfies of Shame
I’m off to the whaling grounds of Cape Breton Island soon, and will miss my usual Reading Roundup for July. I’ll do a mega roundup at the end of summer. In the meantime, for all you book voyeurs, here is an exclusive peek into my secret shame, my basement closet full of books. This is my back catalog – mostly stuff I picked up at Wee Book Inn in the late 90s and early 00s. And yes, it’s all shoved into a closet, books stacked on top of each other, not even real bookshelves. The horror. The horror.
Beware the book closet of doom
I see Clan of the Cave Bear! Nice.
Lots of baby books. That dates this shelf a little later than the others.
Can you spot my favourite book of all time in this mess?
And I had to pull a couple books out for a closer look: Continue reading
Moby Dick Read-A-Long Chapters 121-136: Fin. Get it? Plus: Grand Prize Winner Announcement!
Lost at sea? For all the details on this read-a-long, including schedule and sign up, click here. Then, share your thoughts in the comments, or better yet, link to your own post.
We made it! The read-a-long is over!
Congrats C.J.! Your shirt is on its way.
Before I get to the exciting finish of the book, I have an even more exciting annoucement. The winner of the Moby Dick Read-A-Long Grand Prize, a Moby Dick t-shirt from Out of Print Clothing, is C.J. of ebookclassics! C.J. is a Canadian book blogger who is working her way through 100 free ebooks that came with her ereader. She’s a champion readalonger, and is now reading along to The Odyssey AND will be taking on Tristan and Iseult for the Classics Retold event. C.J. always had the best and most obscure Moby-Dick references from around the web. My favourites were the X-Files clips.
So: the book. This section captivated me. I ended up finishing way ahead of schedule because I just couldn’t stop. The last three chapters were thrilling. Everyone who says classics are boring and don’t have enough plot development? Um… you’re sort of right, but if you can get through the first 120 chapters I PROMISE it’s worth it. Continue reading
Moby Dick Read-A-Long Chapters 106-120: Chaos
Lost at sea? For all the details on this read-a-long, including schedule and sign up, click here. Then, share your thoughts in the comments, or better yet, link to your own post. Oh, and the last post is next week, which means I’ll announce the winner of the draw next week. If you haven’t posted or commented yet, you might want to get on that! Continue reading
A Reading Soundtrack: Part II
A Reading Soundtrack was one of my favourite posts to write ever, and I got some good feedback from my readers. I even introduced an American reader to a relatively obscure Canadian band, Wake Owl. I feel like the CRTC owes me some money for pushing the CanCon!
The Book: The Paradise Engine by Rebecca Campbell (my review)
The Song: Of Space and Time by City and Colour Continue reading
Moby Dick Read-A-Long Chapters 91-105: Inferno
Lost at sea? For all the details on this read-a-long, including schedule and sign up, click here. Then, share your thoughts in the comments, or better yet, link to your own post.
Things get heavy in this section. We’re nearing the home stretch, and you kind of get the sense it’s not going to be a happy ending. I feel the weight of allusions and imagery and stuff I probably don’t fully “get” in this section, but I loved it. I can’t pick out a particular quote, but I felt like we’re decending into hell.
There are some lighter moments in this section too, particularly, when Ahab finds a BFF who lost an arm, but I’m focusing on the dark stuff – as usual! Continue reading
Reading Roundup: June 2013
50 Shades and 1001 Books rubbing shoulders. Scandalous!
The Moby Dick Read-a-Long continues through July, but so far? So fun. We’ve got a small group, but I love having the weekly writing prompt, and I’ve had discussions both illuminating and hilarious with my readalongers. I’m not used to having to talk about a book before I’m finished, so it’s taking me out of my comfort zone. That’s a good thing, I believe.
I’ve actually finished Moby-Dick, way ahead of schedule, and I’m not sure how I’m going to sum it up. It’s one of those classics that’s so widely regarded that it seems presumptuous to even give it a rating. Who am I to give it four stars? Continue reading
What Do You Read After Reading Moby-Dick?
I finished Moby-Dick way ahead of schedule. I’m still writing weekly posts for the next little while, but in the meantime, I need something to read. So, what does one read after a long, difficult, literary classic? Here is what happens when a book snob looks for a “fun” read.
My criteria:
- Short
- Easy
- Fun
- No whales
The candidates:
1. The Worst Book Ever Written Continue reading
Reading in Bed 