Oops, I Missed One

Holy Cow - an Indian Adventure by Sarah MacDonald:  I forgot that I read this book is well.  I meant to include it in my last post.  If I forgot it a few weeks later, how long would I remember reading it if I don't write it down?  Time for a blog.  I loved this book when I first read it in 2003 (2004?) and I loved it again ten year later.  The story (non-fiction) is about India and travel, but it's also about learning from different religions.  After immersing herself, Sarah MacDonald offers up her thoughts on what draws her about India's different religions, and what doesn't really sit right with her.  I love it for that reason - I learned some things about various religious beliefs and also for the fun travel adventure end of things.  The 20 000 Dong that I found in my book (from my SE Asia trip in 2005) made me travel every more.  I thought I might be rich (not really), but I looked it up and it's worth less than a loonie at the moment.  Read it!

The Manticore by Robertson Davies: I also just finished the last (technically book two, but I didn't find that it mattered) or the Deptford trilogy.  I expected greatness and I got it.  I did not realize how old this book is.  It was originally published in 1972.

What I've Been Reading in this Long Blog Drought

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay:  Pick this up if you dig historical fiction like I do.  I saw the movie first.  Conveniently, my parents owned the book.  The story is set around the Vel'd'Hiv' round up in Paris (July 1942).  If you want my copy, I'll gladly pass it on.  Not if I don't know you.  That would just be weird.

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire:  I love everything that this guy writes.  It's an alternative looks at Cinderella.  I plan to eventually get to everything this guy writes.  Wicked is still my favorite.  Btw, Nat, I'm pretty sure I "borrowed" this from you five years ago in Calgary.  Somehow it came with me to Toronto.  Sorry about that.

World of Wonders by Robertson Davies:  Following a conversation with my Dad about how much I loved Fifth Business, I was reminded that I've been meaning to read this book since I got back from Portland.  It was kind of cool to read this book so close (less than 2 km) from UCC where Davies went to school.  It makes him seem....more real.  If you are Canadian, this is a must read.  If you are not Canadian, read it anyway, because it's a great book.  Next up, the Manticore (I think technically book two, but it mattered not).

In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje:  As I am a geography dork, I think Toronto is the perfect place to read this book, set it Toronto in the 1930's.  The story includes the building of the Bloor St. Viaduct and the R.C. Harris Water Treatment plant.  The later was of particular interest to me, having toured it just a few years ago for Doors Open.  It was really cool to see.  Complete will incredibly expensive-looking marble everywhere (which is in the book).  Even the ground are cool.  Well worth taking the street car to the end of the universe.  Good thing JarJar was such a good sport about it.  Back to the book!  I do feel that I should warn you about a nasty sex scene or two.  In a couple of places, In the Skin of a Lion reminded me of the Swedish movie-version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  My reactions were similar, and I think in each case not exactly what they were going for.  My reaction: "Oh nasty.  That's just nasty.  NO!  no. no... Nasty".   

Part of the reason I wanted to write about these books is so that I remember that I read them.  My memory is just not what it used to be.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

At risk of sounding like I indiscriminately adore every book I read, The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling is really quite fantastic.  I've really been on a roll lately, choosing top notch books to read.  This is the this book in a row that I can't say enough good things about. 

I put a hold on this book at the library after learning J.K. had published her first post-Harry Potter novel.  I was number 1043.  I thought it would take forever, but it was only a few months and well worth the wait.

I was quite uncertainly if I would like the book, simply because I am such a fan of Harry Potter. How could it compare?  Wait, why would it compare?  This is a completely different literary offering by an excellent story teller.  Plus, the books open with someone dying of a ruptured aneurysm.  I was hooked quickly. 

The Casual Vacancy is about a small fictitious* English town called Pagford, and how the character's lives are changes following the death of a respected citizen.  At heart, I think the novel is about the difficulties of the separation of rich and poor.  Who would want to live next to an impoverish area with drugs, crime and people on welfare?  Certainly not the fine middle class people of Pagford.  Unless, perhaps, they are socially responsible and might help?

It makes for a great book.  If J.K. Rowling published a cake mix recipe, I would read it.

*well, nothing comes up on Google Maps.

Grade: A.

Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman

Long Way Round was the perfect non-fiction follow-up to On the Road.  I'm practically ready to sell my life and hit the road.  I don't know what that means, but I'm ready.

Long Way Round is a great travel story and a jewel for a geography dork like me.  It's inspirational, especially if you enjoy traveling, planning projects or just dreaming about something and then making it happen.  I suspect anyone who likes motorcycles would enjoy the book.  Ewan and Charlie's love of motorcycles bleeds off the pages.

In short, two friends decide to take an around the world trip on a motorcycle.  The book is a first hand account of the struggles they encounter and the people they meet along the way.

I liked that Ewan and Charlie mention and/or visited some of the places that I have been: Crieff, Scotland (called "Ewan McGregor's home town on my bus tour), Calgary and even Libby, Montana.   The most interesting bits of the book are Mongolia, Russia and the Ukraine. 

I heard that there is a tv show and a second book - Long Way Down (Africa!).  Yes, please.   

Grade: A (Either I lucked out again or I love everything I read). 

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Kerouac is great: On the Road is well worth a read.  It's worth it if you like fiction (everyone), or enjoy the literary offerings of Canada (okay, Kerouac is American, but both of his parents were from Quebec.  At least according to wikipedia.  Only facts on wikipedia, right?). 

I'd heard that Kerouac is good, although I can't remember where I got that.  On the Road is also being turned into a Hollywood film, not alone a reason to read it.  It did make me remember the title while fishing around in the library for something to read.

The start of the book made me want to take a road trip.  Then the vast majority of the characters display traits of crazy people, which at least partially cursed this urge (for some reason).  For example, they drive and drive and don't stop to sleep and drive the next day.  My thoughts turned from "road tripping is so fun" to "that sounds awful/I am tired just thinking about it."

One thing I found interesting about On the Road was how I found myself rooting for Dean Moriarty, in spite of his m.a.n.y. character flaws.  The guy is nuts, selfish, beyond irresponsible and at several points, a real asshole.  Yet I rooted for him the entire book.  Well played, Kerouac, well played.

Overall grade: A

Holiday Reading

An astute blog reader (ahem: stalker) might know that I read much of late (or at least finished many books).  This has what my reading-for-funsies of late has looked like:

Embracing Your Potential by Terry Orlick:

This is an interesting read, especially for athletes, yet also for anyone who has to be 'on' or do any sort of performance.  Thanks to Alena for the recommendation.  Check it out if you need a mental boost, as long as you are the sort of person that can look past photographs from the 80's for the message.  An embarrassing admission: I still haven't finished this book.  I need to put it on hold at the library again.  An ironic admission: the first time I tried to get this book, I got an email from the Toronto Library that said, "you failed to pick up your hold on "Embracing Your Potential" on time".  Damn. 

Speaking Out Louder: Ideas that Work for Canadians by Jack Layton:

Did you know that Jack Layton used to be an environmental consultant?  I did not.  I'm not finished this book either.  The first 215 pages have been excellent.  Jack Layton has some really cool ideas.  It's well worth checking out.  I tackled this book over the holidays at a snail pace.  I brought it to Trinidad with me and read all of 20 pages on the flight home.  I'm going to take it out from the library again next week to finish off.  While I'm very interested in the subject matter, it was quite apparent to me that I needed some nice, breezy fiction.

Nice, Breezy Fiction by Sue Grafton

No, sorry.  It was called V is for Vengeance - the latest Kinsey Millhone mystery in the alphabet series.  Not to be confused with V is for Vendetta.  I guess V is for a lot of things.  For a well-written fiction read to relax, try a Sue Grafton.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

This one sounds familiar, I'm sure.  Did you have to read it in high school?  Or University?  Not I.  I picked the Grapes of Wrath in high school English, but I traded it for 1984 after about a day.  I swear, the first 12 pages were about dust.  I want to give it another try after reading Of Mice and Men.  I vaguely knew the story, but not the ending.  I picked it up from the library yesterday and returned it today.  It's a quick, 107-page read - I'm assuming it's a novella (that short).  The man has a way with works.  Read two pages and you will be sucked in.  Classic. 

1982 by Jian Ghomeshi

Jian Ghomeshi grew up listening to David Bowie, and 1982 is his biography/coming of age story.  I grew up listening to Moxy Fruvous will I delivered flyers in Bowness.  Now I love listening to Q.  I also love reading Canadian biographies.  I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. 

I even listed it in the top five books I would bring to an island (a conversation from the other day).  The Toronto public library had sent me the email that my hold was in.  That was Tuesday.  1982 is that short of a read.  And as for the desert island...well, I'll need kindling.

1982 is entertaining enough, but it's not really what I expected.  The title promises that we are going back in the day, and we do.  Fair enough.  I wanted a full biography with details of Ghomeshi's adult life too.  Or at least a bit more about how he came to do Moxy Fruvous and Q.  This book is very much about Jian's formative years and less about his successes.  Fine -as a reader, I don't get to pick what the book is about - fair.

My main disappointment is over a couple of passages in the book.  One was a game of road hockey, the other sneaking into a movie.  Ghomeshi introduced both of these stories and then starts up about them again a chapter later like they haven't been mentioned.  Yes, "Cat People" .  Thanks.  I recall from 20 minutes ago. It just doesn't flow.  It reminded me of chapter 2 in the first Harry Potter* book, where Ron Weasley is once again introduced as Harry Potter's best friend.   It's fair in HP1 though - HP1 is written at a grade 5?  6?  reading level.  If a brain patient says "yes, we know Jian, you just mentioned", then I think it's safe to say you are repeating yourself. 

Ghomeshi does do a great job of sharing his obvious love of music.  David Bowie might sell a lot of tracks on iTunes to people who just read 1982. 

It's a decent book.  I wanted a great book.

2.5/5**.

*I'm not trying to trash HP at all.  All three of us choosing books to take to an island picked HP4.

**I'm still going to listen to Q all the time. 

Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer

I found Imagine in my search for brain books.  Actually, it was a really pushy Chapters salesman who pointed it, and e.v.e.r.y. other book in the section out to me.  I really wanted him to leave.  I don't think he had a clue (about anything), let alone that he was wasting time with a customer who was getting ideas for what to borrow from the library.

Imagine is neuroscience meets creativity with a side of behavioural studies.  It's really interesting stuff, and it just might inspire you to have confidence in your own creativity.  If you like reading about interesting studies, you'll enjoy the book.  Yes, it's one of those.  His chapter topics are great too, from how Bob Dylan came to be such an amazing song writer to why we live in cities.  The only part that I wasn't enthralled with was the chapter about Pixar.  If you've already read Steve Job's biography...well, the location of Pixar's bathroom is only so interesting.     

Lerher is a smart guy - he studied at Columbia and Oxford - but he's being accused of being pretty dumb too.  Jonah Lerher has been under some pressure to rename his 2009 book "How We Decide Whether to Cheat or Not" after allegations surfaced of plagiarism, inventing quotes and recycling his own old material.  If it's on Wikipedia, it's a fact, right?  Here is another example of criticism from slate.com.  Would a Rhodes scholar cheat?  I really hope Lerher didn't cheat, but I'm not sad I read the book.  Perhaps he's researching his next book Why We Cheat.  Well, I enjoyed James Frey's A Million Little Pieces even if it was a work of fiction.

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

She's Come Undone was one of those books that followed my around for years before I finally gave in and read it.  The cover is distinctive, with a face in the clouds above a blue ocean.  I'd see it all over.  Eventually I saw it enough that I figured I ought to read it.  I found a paperback copy at a book exchange quite some time ago.  I finally got to reading it, inspired by moving; if I finally read the book, it would be one less thing to move/store.  I did not finish in time to save from moving it, but now I can find it a new home.

There's a reason I saw this book everywhere.  I see why it was so popular.  Well, I'm sure I saw a lot of it because having "Oprah's Book Club" on a cover will bring in a lot of readers.  Also - it's a good read.

I wasn't sure that I would like She's Come Undone.  The protagonist has many qualities that I do not admire.  She's of average intelligence at best, grumpy, antisocial, often rude, and very overweight. The entire piece of fiction is filled with characters that are challenging to root for.  In spite of all of this, I found myself drawn in to the story and wanting Delores (the main character) to turn her life around.  I bet that is exactly what Wally Lamb wanted.

You might like it if you liked The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.

You might not care of it if you have a Y chromosome. 

Grade: B.

Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw by Will Ferguson

Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw makes me want to travel around Canada, even more than I did before.  I see why this book is a Canadian best-seller.  It's a no-brainer (oh ha ha) to pick it up for a geography dork like me.  Anyone wanted inspiration for a trip or just to learn a little more about Canada would do well to give it a read.  Did I mention that Will Ferguson is really funny?  Pick it up for the humour, and tell your friends that it's for the history and geography.  My favourite chapters are on Victoria, BC and Churchill, MB. 

Always Looking Up - The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist by Michael J Fox

Teen Wolf writes?  Marty McFly wrote a great biography?  I shouldn't be surprised - I think Marty McFly could do anything.

Always Looking Up is simultaneously a declaration of optimism as a life outlook and a short joke.  It's a great title, considering the book is both inspiring and funny. 
The book is about Fox's life, focusing on the last ten years and his path following his retirement from acting, largely due to his battle with illness.  It's a very inspiring story, especially Fox's creation of the Micheal J. Fox Foundation Parkinson's research.  It's worth reading to learn more about Parkinson's alone, but there's more to it than that.

I could relate a lot to this book.  There were lots of little things, but a big one is that he's had brain surgery.  Secondly, much of the quarter of the book on Fox's political activism surround fighting it out for stem cell research (a stem cell transplant was paramount to my Mom's treatment for Multiple Myeloma). Also, I like to read books about Canadians.  Fox is intimately tied to the country he now lives in, but he was born in Canada touches on his childhood a bit in the book. 

I didn't see this book coming.  I picked it up off the shelf at the library, which I almost never do.  I laughed, I learned, I was inspired and entertained.  I highly recommend that you give it a shot.

U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton

I still wasn't ready for a hard read, and not only do I enjoy this series, but I had this one just sitting on my book self.  I'm pretty sure my parents passed it on after they finished it.  I'm glad they did.  I'd say this is the third or fourth in the alphabet series that I have read.  If you like breezy fiction like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo or Twilight, you would enjoy the series.  As a bonus, there is absolutely zero tweeny vampire sex.  If you need to relax or ride the subway, go for a murder mystery with a kick-ass female private investigator. 

Falling Backwards: A Memoir by Jann Arden

Jann Arden's biography was the perfect read for me after six weeks of reading Midnight's Children.  I enjoy alternating fiction and non-fiction, and Falling Backwards was a quick and relaxing read.  Jann Arden isn't just a celebrity, but also a Calgarian celebrity.  She even still lives there.  Well, Springbank.  Still.

The book is Jann's story of life, and he struggle to find her way and succeed.  It's primarily about her growing  up, but also the story of her family and how her success came to be.  She has an interesting story, and it certainly doesn't hurt that her writing is humourous.  The jacket says "laugh-out-loud funny", but it is trying to sell you a book.

I was surprised to learn how late in life Jann realized that music was her path.  She had some interesting turns along the way (a stint on a fishing boat? what?)  She doesn't hold back with both the good stuff and the struggles.

Pick it up for a breezy non-fiction.

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

I just finished Midnight's Children yesterday after at least a month of reading.  It's about 500 pages of small print, so it took a really long time to finish.  I even owe a small fine to the library, even after renewing two times.  It was worth it to finish the story - I liked the ending.

Midnight's Children is a fictional story intertwined with the history of India and Pakistan.  It's the story of Saleem, born at midnight at the exact moment of Indian independence.  Because of this unique timing, he has.....superpowers.  Saleem is tightly connected to the history of his country.  Midnight's Children is both of their stories weaved together.

I was really hoping I would love this book like I loved A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry.  There are a lot of similarities, yet I loved A Fine Balance and only enjoyed Midnight's Children.  Mistry's novel is even longer, but it took me far less time to read.  Yes, it could have been the brain explosion factor, but also, Midnight's Children lost me once or twice.  It occurs over such a long period of time that it felt like Saleem-the-boy and Saleem-the-man have drastically different stories.  After the boy's story ends, I lost interest enough that I read another book in between (yes, as long ago as my last book post).  I can't give a book an A that I fell off of twice*.  Yet I'm glad I stuck around for the ending.  If your looking for a book with substance and history, give Midnight's Children a try.

Grade: B+

 * I would have done better with this book if the breaks were more abundant and the chapters shorter.  It's a tough one for people with attention span issues...I doubt I'm the only one.

Brain Rules by John Medina

Dr. John Media is a research consultant, a professor and a writer.  I'm curious if he is a medical doctor or a Ph.D., but my very minimal internet researched failed to find that out.  He teaches bioengineering at the University of Washingon School of Medicine.  Do you have to be a medical doctor for that?  Either way, I'm impressed: the man is qualified to write this book.

Unlike the last brain book that I read, this one is not about brain injury.  Medina lays out 12 principles to get the most of of your brain and applies each rule to business and scholastic applcations.  Even without a specific focus on injury, this book was still very useful to my troubled head. 

Some of the rules are kind of obvious:  #4 - we don't pay attention to boring things, and #7 - we don't pay attention to boring things.  Yet Medina has really interesting things to say in every chapter.  Some of his points I had heard before, and many I hadn't.  He backs up his points with really interesting scientific studies.  On top of that, the man can write!  He takes complex brain science and makes it readable for the brain patient*.

*layperson?

If you teach, like to learn, or just need a good non-ficton to read, try Brain Rules.

Fifth Business by Robertson Davies

Fifth Business was the second of three books I purchases at Powell's and a steal at $3.95.  It's the first book of Davies Deptford trilogy; I can't wait to get my hands on the other two.  I like reading the books of Canadian authors, but somehow Robertson Davies had escaped me until now.  If you find yourself in the same boat, read Fifth Business.  By all means borrow my copy if you live in Ontario. 

Fifth Business is a novel about a three men from the fiction Ontario down of Deptford.  I had to consult my iPhone to confirm if Deptford was a real place.  The title refers to the protagonist and it's primarily his story, but the supporting characters are interesting as well.  Fifth Business is an entertaining read with an excellent ending.  Like most novels I enjoy, it gets a bit weird.  Read it!

Overall grade: A

Head Cases by Michael Paul Mason

Head Cases - Stories of Brain Injury and it's Aftermath is the first of three books that I purchased at Powell's.  The first that I have finished reading that is.  I had to go to Powell's twice to get it.  I meant to look for a book on brain injury the first time I was in the book store, but I....forgot.  Hence the book.  Speaking of memory, I had a hard time remembering the author's name.  John William Donald? Or was it Bill Daniel Aaron?  The man has a lot of first names, but no last name.  How is a brain patient to remember?

I enjoyed the book.  I must have, to have finished it already.  Mr. Mason is a brain injury case manager, which is an interesting position in itself.  Each chapter is the story of a person with a brain injury.  Collectively, there were two themes: brain injuries suck, and the U.S. health care system is sorely lacking in their care.  So no news there.  The stories also included Mason's accounts of meeting each patient, and of course, what happened to them.  In some cases, he also includes a theme, which felt a bit forced.  For example, in the story of Pony Soldier, a native American who ends up in jail for a crime he can't remember, the good stuff is mixed with Mason's personal trip to a sweat lodge.  It feels a bit contrived.  Yet the story of Pony Soldier is captivating. 

I'm certainly planning to read a few more books on this topic.  Any recommendations?

Overall: B+

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

This book is such a classic, and I'm a fan of Atwoods, yet this was my first reading of a Handmaid's Tale   I knew the story (mostly), and I thought that I had read it.  I picked it up at the end of last summer from a "free" box outside a house in my neighbourhood.  I really like that informal system in Toronto.  I chose that book to bring with me, not because it was a classic that I meant to read ten years ago, but because it was a small book that I happened to own and fit nicely in my very limited luggage.  ha!  Atwood is the queen of futuristic distopian societies.  Read it!

The Time We All Went Marching by Arley McNeney

I picked up this book because I read a little review of it in the Globe. This little review:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/the-time-we-all-went-marching-by-arley-mcneney/article2241358/

I like historical fiction, and I r.e.a.l.l.y. like reading Canadian authors. It's pretty cool that Arley McNeney made the Canadian wheelchair basketball team a.n.d. is a published author. I bet she would get along with a lot of the exceptional athlete/smarties that I know.

I liked the book, but I didn't love it. I enjoyed that she tells a story that shows a lot about the hard lifestyle of Canadian miners in the 30's. But, there were bits where I wished the story would pick up some how. I was as if I desperately wanted to think it was a fantastic book....but I just didn't quite. It does pick up bit near the end. (That might be a telling sentence of my opinion). I really didn't like the ending, unfortunately. Maybe you will! Let me know once you've read it.

I like the book enough that I will read her other one. Also - she's really young. I think in ten years, she could right something Atwood-good.

City of Thieves by David Benioff

I walked into a book store in San Diego and was drawn to City of Thieves. I'm not even sure why, but I'm glad that I got the book (I love the Toronto library) once I got home. It's a war story and an adventure story, but not ra-ra violence, plus it's very well written*. Read it!

*unlike this sentence.