Here's a total change of pace: David Sedaris' collection of short stories that will have you laughing out loud while reading on public transit, or while reading in bed at night. I have never read David Sedaris' work, and this was a quirky and creative start. I will seek out more of his writing as it was a fresh point of view that was playful and engaging. Many of these stories reminded me of old nursery rhymes that are fundamentally brutal in nature with grim outcomes and cautionary conclusions. They were really fun to discover. Summary from Goodreads.com: "Featuring David Sedaris's unique blend of hilarity and heart, this new collection of keen-eyed animal-themed tales is an utter delight. Though the characters may not be human, the situations in these stories bear an uncanny resemblance to the insanity of everyday life.
In "The Toad, the Turtle, and the Duck," three strangers commiserate about animal bureaucracy while waiting in a complaint line. In "Hello Kitty," a cynical feline struggles to sit through his prison-mandated AA meetings. In "The Squirrel and the Chipmunk," a pair of star-crossed lovers is separated by prejudiced family members.
With original illustrations by Ian Falconer, author of the bestselling Olivia series of children's books, these stories are David Sedaris at his most observant, poignant, and surprising."
Ian Falconer is very talented! Here are a few of my favourite illustrations:
After: The Snake who Decided that Mice are Dinner
Before: The Mouse who Insisted on Keeping a Snake as a Pet
Thanks goes to Lisa Hailey for recommending this memoire.
I was not familiar with Pat Summitt. I don't watch NBA basketball, nor do I watch college ball. Truth be known, I don't really know the difference between a basketball and a beachball. So coming to this book, I was entirely unfamiliar with the notoriety of this woman and her incredible dominance in the field of women's college basketball.
Here's a summary thanks to GoodReads.com:
Pat Summitt was only 21 when she became head coach of the Tennessee Vols women's basketball team. For 38 years, she has broken records, winning more games than any NCAA team in basketball history. She has coached an undefeated season, co-captained the first women's Olympic team, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and has been named Sports Illustrated 'Sportswoman of the Year'.
She owes her coaching success to her personal struggles and triumphs. She learned to be tough from her strict, demanding father. Motherhood taught her to balance that rigidity with communication and kindness. She is a role model for the many women she's coached; 74 of her players have become coaches.
Pat's life took a shocking turn in 2011, when she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, an irreversible brain condition that affects 5 million Americans. Despite her devastating diagnosis, she led the Vols to win their sixteenth SEC championship in March 2012. Pat continues to be a fighter, facing this new challenge the way she's faced every other--with hard work, perseverance, and a sense of humor.
Her accomplishments are too many to list, but here are a few highlights;
Pat Summitt is the most winning coach in the history of NCAA Division 1 college basketball, boasting 1098 victories from 1974 until 2012. Olympic Gold Medalist in 1976 games. Eight-time NCAA Championships, Seven-time NCAA Coach of the Year, Named the Naismith Basketball Coach of the Century, Awarded the 2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama, and the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
Pat Summitt is a gritty, uncompromising coach. She admits that she would push her athletes beyond their personal limitations and bring out new levels of performance--the true role of a coach. She described how she would brake the individual players down, then rebuilt them to be better team players and stronger athletes. From the players perspectives (that pepper the memoire), in coaching them on the court, Pat Summitt taught them life skills, and help the players to do better in so many aspects of their lives. A true testament to Summitt's contribution to each player: 100% of her players graduated from University of Tennessee and 78 of her players went on to become teachers and coaches.
The autobiography itself was co-authored with Sally Jenkins, and is well written. Summitt admits that she has difficulty remembering day to day details, as a result of her suffering from early onset Alzheimer's which was diagnosed in 2011. However, she says that she remembers all of the people that have played a role in her life as a coach, and her memoire demonstrates this.
As a critique of the work, I would say that it's heavily laden with a litany of people and players, and because I don't know anyone from the sport, I found the endless list of people hard to track and somewhat confusing. With player turn over every year, I lost track of most of the players. Maybe if I was more familiar with the stars of NCAA, I would have tracked them more easily.
I would have liked more personal details on Pat's ongoing relationship with her family members, but perhaps this was covered in her previous work.
I commend the University of Tennessee for supporting and accommodating Summitt despite her health condition, and I wish that more employers were so generous to those employees who have been loyal contributors before diagnoses. Perhaps their treatment of Summitt and their willingness to provide ongoing support will serve as a bench mark for other institutions and private companies.
The most beautiful passage of the book was its final 3 lines. Regardless of whether you believe in God, these words are beautiful. I wish Pat Summitt peace in her future, and when it's her time to fly, I hope she reaches her chosen destination. If anyone can, it would be Pat Summitt.
Full disclosure: I'm not of fan of historical reads. Although I was hopeful as I do enjoy biographies, unfortunately I was really disappointed by this one.
A telling of the lives of both Mary Wollstonecraft and her daughter Mary Shelley.
Sadly, this biography was especially challenging as it is greatly lacking a critical and effective editor. The author is clearly an expert on her subject, but she gets bogged down with the details and loses the readers. I found the work seriously confusing as it jumps between the two women and jumps back and forth in time--leaving the reader to remember who all the characters are and what they were doing when the last connected chapter ended. To complicate matters, the author bores the reader to tears with endless minute details that add nothing to the overall understanding of the circumstances. It didn't help matters with half of the characters having the same name or willingly changing their names half way through their lives. (Ok, so that's not the author's fault, and I can't possibly hold her responsible for my resulting confusion on this.)
Mary Wollstonecraft: The Rebel
Clearly, the author has spent much time reading all of the correspondence of Wollstonecraft and Shelley. I was very disappointed that her endnotes are in fact, not noted throughout the text and as such are not helpful to the reader. Gordon has lost perspective and the ability to focus on the formative events. This weakness undermines the effectiveness of this biography.
Mary Shelley: Author of Frankenstein
Overall confusing and unsatisfying. Here's a example of a great 350 page work that has been diluted with an extra 300 pages of confusion and boring detail. It's in need of a serious edit and overall tightening of details.
No spoilers in this one...It's spoiled before your start. It gets one star because there is no zero star option.
I love my local library. The Vaughan Public Library is a wonderful community resource, that runs a wide variety of programs. I've participated in many; some when my children were infants and I wanted a mom and baby morning out, some when I wanted to chat about a book that was read by others. My public library is a treasure, and I am grateful that I have access to it.
Most recently, I am participating in the Vaughan Reads program which runs every year, and offers a city-wide book reading opportunity. This year's title is Flee, Fly, Flown by Janet Hepburn, and I can't wait to attend the author's reading and discussion group this November 19 at Pierre Burton Library.
Here's Amazon's summary of Flee, Fly, Flown:
Lillian and Audrey hatch a plot to escape from Tranquil Meadows Nursing Home, "borrow" a car, and spend their hastily planned vacation time driving to destinations west. They set out on their journey having forgotten that their memory problems might make driving and following directions difficult. Then they meet up with the unsuspecting Rayne, a young man also heading west in hope of reconciling with his family. Without minimizing the realities of old age, dementia, and frailty, Lillian and Audrey's story is rich with laughter, adventure, and hope.
I found this novel to be a heart warming story of friendship, adventure and the struggle to maintain dignity while enduring the ravages of dementia. Hepburn successfully builds authentic characters with rich histories.
I really enjoyed the quest theme of making a trek through northern Ontario. This novel reminded my of Margaret Lawrence's Stone Angel. I recommend it.
What does it mean to be the Woman Upstairs? Well, for Claire Messud, it means that you are the quiet spinster that no one really knows, and who no one really cares about. It's the woman who is dutiful, and loyal to her responsibilities, but that is devoid of excitement and frivolity. The Woman Upstairs is Messud's novel about Nora Eldridge, a prim and proper school teacher who wants to be needed, and who needs to love someone.
In her vulnerable and raw state, she falls in love with a family: Reza, her young student, Sirena the artist, and her husband Skandar that academic. In Nora's way, she has a one-sided love affair with each of the family members, which ultimately leave her alone, empty and finally enraged.
Diorama: Nora's Chosen Art Form
Nora is a repressed artist of questionable skill. Her art is repressed, and contrived--not unlike the life
she has created for herself. She toils at making detailed dioramas (yes, those shoe box scenes that are very popular in grade 3). She gets little to no satisfaction from making them, and yet, doesn't seem to realize that she needs to find a more liberating form of artistic expression.
Cambridge: Nora's Hometown
This novel is a great character study of a middle aged woman who is trapped in an isolating life, of her own creation. She has every freedom imaginable, and yet she fails to find satisfaction and happiness. Her mother who has recently passed away warned Nora not to let her life pass her by without really savouring it. Before her death, she expressed her frustration at not experiencing more in her life and yet, Nora seems to be floundering through her years.
Claire Messud
This novel is a good character study, even if at times a little frustrating because Nora is really mixed up. I found that there were some really insightful bits too. But the one fatal flaw of The Woman Upstairs is that is has little to no plot. It is truly an encapsulation of 2 years of Nora's uneventful life. Now clearly, I'm no expert in writing, but no plot is a huge problem for a fictional novel. It leaves the reader a bit flat and wanting at the end.
Sunday, 16 March 2014
Found the quick video, and was tickled that it's from Springwater Library
About four years ago, I was wandering around in Leslieville, and stumbled upon a gem of an independent book store: Flying Dragon Bookshop. As soon as I went in, and found the mounds of great reads, I knew I had found a treasure. I soon struck up a conversation with the owner, and she was happy to recommend a great book for my Book Club's Christmas Exchange meeting that December.
While we were chatting and going over possible selections, she mentioned to me that her favourite book of all time was Neville Shute's A Town Called Alice. Huge praise, I thought, considering the well-read source. I asked for it, but sadly, she didn't have any in stock. I made a mental note to come back and get a copy the next time I was in the area.
Flying Dragon Bookshop was a Treasure
Time goes by, and as we have seen recently, independent bookshops are feeling the market crush of Amazon and Chapters. The next time I was in Leslieville, I was heart broken to see the once magical storefront empty, and the space stripped to the bare fixtures. Flying Dragon had flown away, and with it, another source of great reading and recommendations. No note in the window, and no sign of it some
I never forgot about the owner's recommendation of A Town Called Alice. About 4 months ago, I popped it the Vaughan Public Library, only to find that there isn't a copy of this novel in their collection. Knowing that librarians can make almost anything happen if you ask nicely, I asked if there was a way to get me a copy of this title. After some digging, the librarian assured me that we could put in a request through the Inter-Library Loan program and find a library system in Ontario that might lend me a copy. Amazing…Good old fashion reciprocity between public service providers. I thought that didn't happen anymore!
Baysville: 50 Km South of Huntsville Ontario
Two weeks ago, I got the call that my book had arrived. I was thrilled and immediately dashed down to the library to pick up my long awaited book.
It's been a long time coming, and I can't wait to tell others about it. Thanks to Baysville Public Library for sharing…I haven't a clue where this book came from…But I'm grateful to them all the same!
I've been a bit slow to blog lately, mostly due to the busy holiday season that is upon us. But also, I have been working to learn how to crochet lately. I got it in my head that I wanted to learn, so I shared a cup of tea with my friend Karen, and after a few bumps in the road, she got me going in no time.
I'm proud to say that I've made a few hats and a head band, and I am frantically finishing a bunny and his carrot home--Alex, my son requested this one! It should be done this evening, and safely under the tree for tomorrow night.
I have updated my Book Club's reading list for 2014. If you scroll down, you will find on the left side of the screen, a widget that lists our reading for the upcoming year. We had a great book exchange meeting early on in December. I received A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett. I will be sure to get to it early this year.
My gift from the Book Club
(Just finished Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, so I'll be reviewing it very shortly.)
I wanted to share a few random snaps from around town:
My local library's idea of a Christmas Tree. I love it!!!
My Friend Kim's idea of a Christmas Tree (It's Jack Daniels)
My Kids love when I set up my Christmas Village
I took my daughter Abi down to the CBC radio open house called Sounds of the Season earlier this year. She loved seeing how radio is made. They had a display of the 5 finalists for Canada Reads. Here they are:
I am going to try to read these before the jury debates and selection. I have already read Half-Blood Blues, and will continue with Annabel next.
Also while shopping at VV, I found a quirky looking book that I bought solely based on it's cover: Skippy Dies by Paul Murray. Not sure what it's about, but I want to give it a go!
Just finished Susan Glickman's most recent novel the Tale-Teller. Selected as the Vaughan Reads book for December 2013, Susan Glickman will be speaking at the Bathurst Clark Resource Branch of the Vaughan Public Library on December 8 2013 at 1 pm. Mark your calendar now, as this is a great opportunity to speak with Susan about her research efforts, the creative process and the novel's fascinating twists and turns.
The Tale-Teller is a story spun around the real life experience of Ester Brandeau, the first Jewish woman to Canada in 1783. Here's a little about Brandeau, as sourced from the Jewish Virtual Library:
Esther Brandeau was actually the first Jewish woman to arrive in Canada in 1783. She was born in France and was able to come to the New World only because she disguised herself as a young boy. She named herself Jaques la Frague and became a well-liked apprentice on her ship and in the area of present day Quebec. Soon, however, Esther's mask was removed and both her gender and religion were revealed.
As the lone Jew in the country, authorities in "New France" arrested her and attempted to convert her to Christianity. Esther was adamant in her refusal to convert. She wanted to live in Canada as a free citizen, but she also wanted to remain Jewish. The new government could not approve of her religion, and after a few years of correspondence with authorities in France, she was finally sent back to her home in La Rochelle.
Esther Brandeau is an ideal representation of a woman who would do anything for her freedom except sacrifice her belief in Judaism. (Source: Taitz, Emily, Sondra Henry, Cheryl Tallan. The JPS Guide to Jewish Women. PA: Jewish Publication Society of America, 2003.)
I am going to confess that I usually run away screaming from anything akin to historical fiction. I usually find this genre predictable and repressive, steeped in English "stodge" that always seems to deal with the elite class struggling against the monarchy or the church. It makes me crazy, and it usually bores me to tears.
However, Glickman delivers a refreshing and creative treat to her readers. The Tale-Teller was creative, entertaining and unique. It held surprises and led the reader through many adventures. The female characters were strong and well drawn. I enjoyed the telling of pirate attacks, camel rides through deserts, clashes with slave traders, grim nuns in Canadian convents, lunatic asylums etc. This story really has it all.
Just when I was convinced that the story was headed for the dreaded Hollywood romantic roundup, the author stays true to her character's independent spirit, and wraps the tale up fittingly. Glickman cleverly holds back some central details, keeping for the reader a delicious surprise or two that build a solid and satisfying conclusion. It is efficiently written, and well edited.
I recommend this novel highly. The "Added Value" here is that the reader will discover a piece of Canadian history that has been neglected and untold for hundreds of years. Well done Ms. Glickman!
It's not too late to run out to the Vaughan Public Library and grab a copy of Susan Glickman's novel The Tale Teller. Vaughan Reads is in full swing and it's latest selection is proving to be a delightful one.
I am only half finished, but I can tell you that it's a creative and imaginative historical story that is both captivating and well written. No compromising on this work; it really is great!
Susan at her Desk
Can't wait to meet the author also. As a part of the VPL Vaughan Reads program, there will be a meeting and discussion with Susan Glickman in December. What a treat! Here's a little preview of SG…She sounds like a fun character! http://www.susanglickman.com
Here's a total change of pace: David Sedaris' collection of short stories that will have you laughing out loud while reading on public transit, or while reading in bed at night. 
