October 16, 2006
Homesick
bMay I introduce the incredible Laura Conchelos, who has become blogolicious of late. Mainly just cuz she’s moving to the South Pole this week. If you know Laura Conchelos, you are probably not altogether surprised to hear that, and if you don’t know Laura Conchelos, you should. Sometimes she comes to my house bearing organic non-perishable goods she canned herself. I adore her. In addition, the ever-brilliant Erin has moved blogs, so update all links accordingly!
André Alexiswrites that the best English book in Canada probably shouldn’t be French, and that translators are getting shafted. India Knight has edited an anthology called The Dirty Bits for Girls: “And of course one of the marvellous things about finding out about sex through books was that it instilled a love of reading”. On growing up on MOR radio. The Governor General’s shortlist– and no women! oh my. Now reading Barometer Rising and Nixon in China: The Week that Changed the World.
October 13, 2006
Freaky
Got a terrible case of the lurgy; we’ve had snowstorms already and last night the power was out for six hours, so we went out to Mexitaco at Bloor and Shaw, which was fun, and then we came home and I had to read by candlelight, re-rereading actually- Away by Jane Urquhart (pour l’ecole).
Ne pas pour l’ecole, I just finished reading Blue Angel by Francine Prose, and it was incredible. Written in third-person, Prose gives an illusion of objectivity that duped me at times, and once I realized I’d been taken in, I felt sort of dirty. The narrative voice was an absolute feat, but moreover the book was funny, smart and twisted, and the writing workshop was priceless. The satire was complicated and many-edged, and left me feeling uneasy, which, coming from a bundle of paper, is a powerful impact.
October 10, 2006
Shore Tweak
Now rereading Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (for school), and enjoying it as I always enjoy meeting Atwood’s work again. It changes just as I do. Coming up is Blue Angel by Francine Prose, because I am fond of fictional creative writing workshops (as in Mean Boy and Finishing School).
Fabulous pieces by writers I admire: Lionel Shriver on on the weirdness of Christ-loving teens; Heather Mallick from an atheist’s point of view; and Ms. Mallick again with a kick in the pants for women, feminist and otherwise. Lynn Crosbie on a certain lack of puissance in the pro-choice movement. The Booker Prize is awarded to Kiran Desai. All the nominees digested. On Hungarian cinema. Penelope Lively likes the new Mary Lawson in The Guardian. Jenny Diski has a blog. Apparently, only one of the ten best British novels of the past 25 years were written by women.
October 5, 2006
Shine On
Hooray for productivity! Because I was so good yesterday and did all that had to be done (reading, writing, laundry), I got to go to bed with Shine On Bright and Dangerous Object by Laurie Colwin, which has been an absolute pleasure to read so far. And it’s brilliant to read for pleasure when you’ve earned it.
Learn how to write an ekphrasis. Russell Smith on tenses. Here for Random Acts of Poetry.
October 4, 2006
Such is the life
The book people outdid themselves and my copy of The Sea Lady arrived yesterday, but I can’t bring myself to read it. I remember finishing The Red Queen last winter, and the terror of having all the Margaret Drabbles behind me, and I don’t want to face that again. I will savour the prospect of this novel for a while I think, seeing as I am up to my elbows in CanLit and won’t have the time to savour the actual reading anytime soon. But I am so looking forward to reading it, and inevitably adoring it. And don’t think my expectations are set too high; Ms. Drabble has never failed to meet them.
I am writing this entry on a break from writing, which today is devoted to. I have been reasonably successful at resisting the urge to google Tina Yothers and other relevant pop culture figures (this is a lie; this morning I watched Family Ties clips on YouTube, but such acts have been kept to the minimum. Damn wireless internet) and I am being pretty productive. Laundry has just been installed in our basement, so no more trips to the laundrette for me, though there is a rumour that the dryer is broken already we shall see. Am a bit tired, as thunderstorms awoke us and ours at 6:30 this morning for the second day in a row. Now reading Green Grass Running Water by Thomas King, and I’m really enjoying it. I’ve never read anything by him before.
Plenty of book news: The Giller Shortlist is announced. Coverage at CBC. Book City’s founder’s favourite books. Top ten fictional poets. The problem with literary how-to guides.
Must go wash dishes and then investigate dryer situation. Such is the life of a student/housewife.
