Reading Roundup: April 2013 and Edmonton Reading Scene

Last month, I was feeling pretty smug about getting back on track with reading. I still am, actually, because I read FOUR books this month. But, I only blogged twice. I have so many ideas, abandoned drafts, and book reviews to catch up on. I’ve decided to focus on writing for the next little while. The timing is pretty great, because I’m hosting a Moby Dick readalong starting this month, which means weekly blog posts (gulp.)

It’s tough, because I can’t write from my phone, so I’m limited to when the kids are in bed. We’re trying to limit Ben’s computer time, so I have to set an example. I’ve been reading more by sneaking it in  – that Kobo is in my purse at all times! – but it’s hard to carry the laptop everywhere. Maybe I need to take a “just a little bit everyday” approach like I did with reading. Wish me luck!

Books Read

Kelly Oxford Everything's Perfect When You're A Liar

I hate this cover more than anything in the book.

  • Persuasion by Jane Austen. 3.5/5 stars, I have nothing bad to say about it, but it didn’t really get to me. Great heroine, though.
  • Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams.  3/5 stars. This was my Classics Club Spin pick. I actually liked the second book in the series, The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul, much more. The strength of the books is largely in the main character, and he was oddly absent for much of the first book.
  • The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje. 5/5 stars. Boom. Review (and rebuttal to The Book-a-Week Project’s review) coming soon.
  • Everything is Perfect When You’re a Liar by Kelly Oxford. 3/5 stars. I was sort of dreading this, in case I hated it, but the worst thing I can say is that it was uneven. Also, it weirdly reminded me of Ian McEwan’s Atonement, for some really specific reasons, but even just in general, Briony was a little liar who wanted everything to be perfect, too. Must find time to elaborate!

Books Obtained

The Turn of the Screw BBC

Um how do I obtain this adaptation, that apparently has Lady Mary AND Matthew from Downton?

  • The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. So far, I’m not really into it. But it’s like 100 pages long, so I’ll stick it out.
  • Frances and Bernard by Carlene Bauer. My first library book in ages!  I’m really excited for this one. It’s an epistolary novel, which isn’t always my favourite. Also, “epistolary”  reminds me of “episiotomy,” which is never a good association. But the reviews are strong, and I could probably use some mega romance before getting into the mega whale.

Books I Want to Read

Villette Charlotte Bronte

I’m usually indifferent to “random portrait of a lady” book covers, but I love this one.

  • Villette by Charlotte Bronte. I abandoned Villette after the first chapter, when I realized it’s a 600 pager and wasn’t sure I could finish before the Moby Dick readalong. That’s the thing with e-readers. There’s no weight, no flipping through pages, so a 100 page novella and a 600 page brick look and feel the same. Anyway, I will come back to Villette, because the first chapter was amazing.
  • Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon. Vineland was my favourite read on 2012, so it’s pretty sweet that he’s got a new one coming out so soon. The first page was released online and it’s a little strange… but that’s par for the course.
  • The Rest is Silence by Scott Fotheringham. Rebecca Campbell mentioned this book in her Q&A. I read the premise (rogue bacteria destroys all the plastic in the world) and I’m already hooked! I don’t usually read dystopian or science fiction or however you want to classify this, but it sounds crazy.

 

Edmonton Reading SceneNeWest Spring Spectacular

  • Readings, signings, live music, tasty beverages… Less than two weeks until NeWest Press Spring Spectacular. I reviewed two of the books being celebrated, Belinda’s Rings and The Paradise Engine, and I’m so excited to meet the authors. The Edmonton Book Bloggers will be there. Won’t you come, too? May 15th, 7pm, Roast Coffee House.  Facebook event page.
  • Speaking of the EBB crew… Edmonton Book Bloggers were in the news! Kristilyn did us all proud by telling our story in the Edmonton Journal.
  • Thanks to the magic of Twitter, I found out about an annual literary event in Edmonton, the Henry Kreisel Memorial Lecture, that, much like the MacEwan Book of the Year, had me thinking “How am I only finding out about this NOW?” Each year, the U of A’s  Canadian Literature Centre puts on this FREE event, bringing a prominent Canadian author in to speak. On April 16, Edi Edugyan, author of Half-Blood Blues, talked about “home” and how that word and that idea has informed her work. She covered German history, slavery, immigration, and Canadian identity in her hour-long lecture. Her memories of visiting her ancestoral home in Ghana for the first time really came alive for me. The strangeness of being an outsider who looks like an insider was as compelling as the anecdotes about their wild taxi driver were hilarious. I would love to read a story along those lines! Check out Winter Distractions for fellow Edmonton Book Blogger’s Kristilyn’s take on Esi’s lecture.

What’s Next on Reading in Bed

Moby Dick! The read-a-long starts on May 20th, so finish up whatever you’re reading and watch for the sign up post next week.

The Paradise Engine by Rebecca Campell

The Paradise Engine Rebecca CampbellMy rating: 4/5 stars

Release date: May 1, 2013

Publisher: NeWest Press

Thank you to NeWest Press for sending me an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: 

While working to restore an historic theatre in a seedy part of the city, a graduate student named Anthea searches to find her best friend, lost to the rhetoric of an itinerant preacher and street mystic. Almost a century earlier, Liam, a tenth-rate tenor, visits the same theatre while eking out a career on the dying Vaudeville circuits of the day. In both eras, an apocalyptic strain of utopian mysticism threatens their existence: Anthea contends with a nascent New Age movement in the heart of the city while Liam encounters a radical theosophical commune in the deep country along the coast of British Columbia, who appear to be building … something.

The Paradise Engine unfolds across a colourful backdrop of labour organizers, immaculately-attired cultists, ambitious socialites, teenage lovers, basement offices and innumerable coffee shops.

If you like stories with a clear resolution, this book may frustrate you. This one’s all about the build up, with multiple perspectives weaving in and out and around each other and almost converging. That’s not a criticism; it’s what makes the book brilliant. The Paradise Engine takes place in a world with two possibilities: either everything in life is a coincidence, or nothing is. And both possibilities are terrifying. Continue reading →

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

North and South miniseries

“Maybe I could take you seriously if you wore a smaller hat.”

My rating: 3/5 stars

Published in: 1855

Synopsis (via Wikipedia):

Forced to leave her home in the tranquil rural south, Margaret Hale settles with her parents in the industrial town of Milton where she witnesses the harsh brutal world wrought by the industrial revolution and where employers and workers clash in the first organized strikes. Sympathetic to the poor whose courage and tenacity she admires and among whom she makes friends, she clashes with John Thorton, a cotton mill manufacturer who belongs to the nouveaux riche and whose contemptuous attitude to workers Margaret despises. The confrontation between her and Mr Thornton is reminiscent of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, but in the broad context of the harsh industrial North.

North and South is the first classic I read in 2013, and I haven’t been moved to write about it. My 3/5 star rating is a pretty big burn – I expect the 1,001 Books to be at least a 4. Otherwise, I simply don’t agree that I must read it before I die. I can wait till another lifetime to read books that are just “good”. Continue reading →

Reading Roundup: March 2013 and Moby Dick Read Along Preview!

I’ve struggled to keep up with reading since having kids. This month, I feel like I’ve finally hit my reading stride after four years of pregnancy and parenting. I’ve been held back by legitimate things, like exhaustion and postpartum depression, and self-inflicted things, like television and Twitter.

My epiphany (I almost wrote “a-ha moment” and now I hate myself) is that if I want to read, I need to read *instead* of watching TV, *instead* of scrolling through hundreds of tweets. I need to read not just before bed, but at lunch, and in the morning.

I read a challenging book this month, The Magic of Saida. And I read it fast. It felt great. I’m totally out of the loop with the #GoT and #WalkingDead overtaking my Twitter feed right now, but that’s okay with me. (I will move Heaven and Earth to watch Mad Men, though. We all have our vices.)

Books Read

  • The Magic of Saida by M.G. Vassanji. 4.5/5 stars, review coming soon. Was nothing like I expected, terribly difficult to get into, but worth it.
  • The Paradise Engine by Rebecca Campbell.  4/5 stars, review also coming soon! Deliciously moody and dark, just how I like it.

Books Obtained

  • The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje – signed copy! 
  • Moby Dick by Herman Melville – from Wee Book Inn

Books I Want to ReadThe Girls

  • Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. Peer pressure addition, though I’ve also recently been told I should save it for a rainy day in my next life time.
  • The Dinner by Herman Koch. Lots of buzz on this one.
  • The Girls by Lori Lansens. Recommendation from Brie at Eat Books. Conjoined twins coming of age story? Yeah, gonna read that!
  • Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison. Stumbled on this on Goodreads and it sounds brutal. Good brutal.
  • Naive. Super by Erlend Loe When Kristilyn at Winter Distractions calls something her favourite book, I’m listening, cause she reads a whole lot of books!

What’s Next on Reading in Bed

  • Catching up on reviews. First up is North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. I’ve been putting this off, but it’s my first Classics Club read, and while I’m not a big fan of the book, I am a big fan of the main character. She’s got lady balls (not literally.)
  • I’m reading Persuasion by Jane Austen, even though I should be reading Dirk Gently by Douglas Adams, as it was my Classics Club Spin pick. I’m loving it. It’s hitting a lot of notes that I wished North and South did.

Moby Dick Read Along Preview: May Long Weekend 2013

After much consultation (i.e. Googling and asking the Edmonton Book Bloggers) I have made a few decisions about this Read Along. Here’s what you need to know. A real post is coming soon.

  • It’s all going to start on May Long Weekend (that would be May 24 for international readers. I see you, two Singaporeans who landed here today!) 
  • It will end on July 22nd. On the 23rd, I’m heading to the wilds of Cape Breton Island and plan to be reading something far trashier than Moby Dick.
  • There will be a give away for a sweet Moby Dick T-shirt from Out of Print Clothing.

So go on, find yourself a copy. Start early if you’re worried about finishing on time, but really, it’s not going to be that formal. 

Asides

  • Michael Hingston didn’t like Belinda’s Rings as much as I did, but you should read his review because he makes some really good points. The only part of his review I strongly disagree with is describing the book as “amiable,” because that’s something I would say about a puppy or something. Kind of a burn! This is another excellent review.
  • Speaking of Belinda, I’m super excited that I’ll get my copy signed on May 15 at NeWest Press Spring Spectacular! Four authors with new books coming out this year will be on hand, including Corinna Chong and Rebecca Campbell, and there will be live music too. I will definitely be out past my bedtime.

CanLit Confessions

The English Patient by Michael Odaantje

The cover is totally blah, too.

Tomorrow night I’m going to the MacEwan Book of the Year event featuring Michael Ondaatje. Not only will I be at an event with grown ups and out of the house after 7:00pm, I will also get to hear the iconic Canadian author read from his book The Cat’s Table and take home a signed copy. I hope it fares better than my last signed book (see the footprint incident.)

I have to tell you something, though. I’ve never read any of Ondaatje’s books. It gets worse: I started The English Patient but didn’t finish it. I am a book-finisher, so when I DNF, that’s pretty bad. I read the synopsis for The Cat’s Table and it sounds pretty far removed from The English Patient, so I want to give it a try. I’m still going to feel like a straight up poser at this event, though.

Here are a few more shameful CanLit Confessions. Please share yours!

1. I’ve only read two of Margaret Atwood’s books, and I only liked one of them (The Handmaid’s Tale, duh.) Surfacing was a little too out there for me, and her books are just not high on my list of priorities right now.

2. I hated Fifth Business by Robertson Davies. Yeah, I was forced to read it in high school, but I was also forced to read books that became favourites (CanLit classic The Stone Angel was one,) so I can’t use that excuse.  I just read the plot summary over on Wikipedia and I think a reread is in order. I forgot about the “he wanted it so badly” part. That’s a killer line.

3. I hated The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordechai Richler. I was forced to read this in high school too. In fact, I often get Fifth Business and Duddy mixed up, which is pretty silly, now that I’ve read the plot summaries of each. No desire to reread this one though.

4. Until recently, I’d never heard of M.G. Vassanji. I just finished his latest novel The Magic of Saida. It was difficult to get into, and challenging to read, and brilliant, just brilliant. The guy has won two Giller Prizes. Where the heck have I been?

5. I’ve only read one of Alice Munro’s books. Too Much Happiness was so utterly devastating that I’m kind of scared to read more, though I know that I must.

6. I don’t understand all the fuss about Ann-Marie MacDonald’s Fall on Your Knees. I should have loved it. I wish I had loved it. I did not.

7. I have no clue how to pronounce Ondaatje. I guess I’ll just call him Mike.

Belinda’s Rings by Corinna Chong: Review, Author Q&A, and Giveaway

Belinda's Rings by Corinna ChongMy rating: 4/5 stars

Release date: March 15, 2013

Publisher: NeWest Press

Thank you to NeWest Press for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: 

Half-Asian teenager Grace (but she’d prefer it if you called her “Gray” instead) is not a perfect little supermom-in-the-making like her older sister Jessica, and would rather become a marine biologist than a mother—although she does understand how to take care of her special-needs kid brother Squid better than anyone else in her family. When her mother Belinda abruptly runs out on her family and flies across the Atlantic in order to study crop circles in the English countryside, Grace is left alone to puzzle out her life, the world, and her unique place within it. With a warmth and a boisterous sense of humour reminiscent of Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness and Peter Hedges’ What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? author Corinna Chong introduces us to two lovable and thoroughly original female characters: persnickety, precocious Grace, and her impractical, impulsive mother Belinda—very different women who nevertheless persistently circle back into each other’s hearts.

Before I start the review proper, let me get a few cliches off my chest: Stunning debut. Unflinching. Courageous.

Belinda’s Rings is about a lot of things. It’s about being a parent and being a sibling and being a child. It’s about mental illness and race and marginalization. It’s about perfect circles on the ground and lights in the sky and creatures in the sea. But most of all, it’s about mothering. And in a media environment that is sorely lacking in any nuanced discussion of motherhood (“Mommy Wars,” anyone?) it is so satisfying to read a take on motherhood that had me nodding in agreement and wincing in horror all at once. Continue reading →

Writer’s Corner at Edmonton Public Library

Last Sunday I escaped the house and family (kids were napping, don’t pity my husband too much) to talk about blogs with other adults  at a Writer’s Corner event. I love Riverbend Library, but usually I’m there wrangling a three year old while wearing a one year old, so sitting in my own chair with only my self to keep track of was BLISS.

Our host, Omar Mouallem, is the Writer in Residence for Edmonton Public Libraries. The panelists are two very successful bloggers, Sharon Yeo of Only Here for the Food and Dave Cournoyer of Daveberta. Neither of these blogs are in my regular rotation, but, I have a lot of respect for them. They are passionate and knowledgeable about their  subjects, and they both just seem genuine. They don’t seem to be in it for the social media fame (such as it is in #yeg) or the ad revenue or to get a book deal (not that there is anything wrong with that!) but just really want to write and have an audience for their writing.

The audience of 20 included many familiar faces… most of them familiar from their Twitter avis. The discussion was about “finding your niche” in the blogosphere, but there were plenty of general tips. Here are my favourite pieces of advice:

  • Blog post titles should be straightforward. Puns and wordplay don’t come across very well like they might in print. This makes me sad, because I love coming up with clever titles. I don’t always succeed, as this post proves, but a good title helps focus my thoughts and set a tone for the piece. But Dave is absolutely right. I see it in my own stats. Clever titles don’t draw people in. My most popular post to date is one of my Reading Roundups. Nothing fancy there. Which leads me to my next lesson…
  • People love lists. Sharon posts a Food Notes list of updates and news every Monday. It helps her be consistent, and provides a valuable service for her readers. I see this on my blog too; it’s not my meandering essays on David Foster Wallace that are getting page views, it’s the Reading Roundup lists and the reviews. The basics.
  • The crowd was quite divided on whether links should open in a new tab or replace the existing tab. Things almost got ugly. I think we reached a consensus on opening links in a new window.
  • Blog rolls are old fashioned. Does anyone even call it a blog roll? I have a list of blogs and websites, but it’s not always that up to date. Dave admitted he hadn’t looked at his list in a while… or ever, since setting it up.
  • Dave suggested using categories and tags to drive traffic to your posts, and that having the tags directly under the title makes it easy for the reader to see what your post is about. If love this one. I often get a little cheeky with my tags, and I can’t run the risk that someone doesn’t see my handiwork! Now if I can get WordPress to comply…

It was a great event. And did I mention it’s FREE? Writer’s Corner happens on the last Sunday of the month, and will be at Stanley A. Milner library from now on. The next one is about travel writing. One of you who actually travels should hit that up…

Reading Roundup: February 2013, with Bonus Literary Events!

I’m back at work and feel like I’m struggling to read my minimum ten pages per day, yet I still have updates! And on the 1st of the month, too! WHO AM I?

Books Read

  • North and South BBC Elizabeth Gaskell

    I liked the mini series better. Blasphemy, I know!

    North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. 3/5 stars. This was my first official Classics Club selection, and I didn’t love it. There are only so many times I can read the word “languid” before it loses all meaning (and I like the word languid!) But I did appreciate the main character, who was thoroughly modern. Review to follow!

  • Belinda’s Rings by Corrina Chong. 4/5 stars. Loved it. Completely original and completely familiar at the same time. The only book I can compare it to right now is White Oleander. I know some people didn’t like White Oleander, but I did, so that’s a compliment. Review and hopefully author Q&A to follow!
  • The Magic of Saida by M.G. Vassanji. In progress. I’m struggling to get into this book. I’m not sure what’s holding me back. The writing is great and the story is compelling. Maybe I’m getting bogged down in details, as I am wholly unfamiliar with Tanzanian history and culture. I’m not giving up yet!

Books Obtained

None!

  • But one is on its way. The kind people at MacEwan Book of the Year are sending me a copy of Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb. I know very little about it, but I love the title! 

Books I Want to Read – adding to the To Be Read pile

  • Frances and Bernard by Carlene Bauer. Book Riot says, “Buy It. Buy All The Copies You Can Find, and Use the Extras To Decorate Your Town With Amazing Prose.” And I say, okay then.
  • Jonathan Strange & Mr Norell by Susanna Clarke. This was suggested to me when I was let down by The Night Circus.
  • Bumped by Megan McCafferty. It’s YA, but I’m intrigued by the premise – in a society where adults have become infertile, teenage girls become surrogates in droves. Brought to my attention by this post at Book Riot (love that site!)

Bonus: #Yeg Literary Events

I’ve noticed an upswing in literary events in Edmonton. Here are just a few.

  • Pecha Kucha NigPecha Kucha Night 15 yeght 15 is at The Expo Centre on March 7, 2013. Jason Lee Norman will speak about the 40 Below Project (if you’re paying attention, you might remember I submitted a story. It was rejected, but the email was VERY nice,) and Caylie Gnyra from Little Cree Books will speak about “Language Ally.” And look at the gorgeous  Night Circus inspired poster!
  • Rosina, the Midwife by Jessica Kluthe launches at Spinelli’s Bar Italia on March 23rd, 2013. I probably can’t make it, but I am really looking forward to this book! Check out the Facebook page for the event.
  • The MacEwan Book of the Year for 2013 is The Cat’s Table by Michael Odaantje, and the author will appear on March 21st at MacEwan downtown campus. I’m buying my ticket tonight. For $22 I will get a copy of the book, get it signed, and hear Odaantje talk about it. What a deal! There is also a FREE panel discussion about the book on March 7th at 12:30pm. All the details are here.
  • Check out the Metro Writers in Residence website for lots of writing-focused events. I attended a discussion about blogging this past Sunday. Not only was it free and super informative, but I met one of the Writers in Residence, Omar Mouallem, and blogger extraordinaire Shareen Ayoub – go check her out; I guarantee you’ve read nothing like it! Mini-review of the blogging session to follow!

And now, I have reading to catch up on. And sleep. Not necessarily in that order.

The Fault in Our Stars: Use Your (Literary) Allusion

The Fault in Our Stars John Green

Rating: 4/5 stars. 

(Yes, I’m going to start giving ratings. Rating scale to follow, but it’s pretty self-explanatory. Also, spoilers. In case there are few of you who haven’t read this book yet. )

The Fault in Our Stars is a great book.

That may seem like an obvious thing to say. It is a bestseller, received rave reviews, and is a top ten list favourite. But I want to be clear. It’s a great book, no qualifiers. It’s not a great YA book. It’s not a great cancer book. It’s a great book. Continue reading →