Read the Giller

I finished The Bishop's Man last night. I stayed up to finish it because I wanted answers. They came, not what I expected exactly. It was good. It took me a bit longer to get into it than I would have liked, but once in (about 1/5 of the way in) I was totally in. I recommend. I am going to read The Disappeared next. It's one of the other nominees. I will let you know if I agree with the choice of the winner once I get through all 5 nominees, but I will have to go out and buy the other 3 first.

Christmas Books - 2009

I just finished Bone by Bone by Carol O'Connell. Very good. She writes so well.

And now onto the Christmas books. I asked for the Giller Nominees for Christmas and received 2 of them (The Bishop's Man and The Disappeared). I have started The Bishop's Man by Linden MacIntyre since it won and all that. I am only a few pages in, so I will report back later on that. I got a book on Musicals and a book on Screenwriting and the next book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (written by Eoin Colfer since Douglas Adams has passed on). My Mom gave me the 2nd book by the author of The Time Traveller's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger?) and my brother gave me one of Carrie Fischer's autobiographies. In addition, I got some Indigo Gift Card $$ so I can go buy more books. A good haul.

I was happy, too, that both boys got several books for Christmas. Oliver got the next 2 Wimpy Kid books and he has been reading them. He also got another Encyclopedia Brown book. Ah! Memories of my childhood! It was good to see him reading on the recent trip to Olds. A true 'Strand'.

Books, Books, Books...

I've been busy but I have a read a few things. I finished The Complaints by Rankin. It was good. I hope this character continues as I think it gives him somewhere to go. I also read Necessary as Blood by Deborah Crombie. Good read. Something happens and the 'crime' is interesting. I am currently reading the 3rd book in the Time Travelling series that I started a while back - The Time Quake by Linda Buckley-Archer. I recommend this series to any kid-lit fans out there. It is really well written and I find it to be a quality series.

Here I Go...

I am reading The Complaints by Ian Rankin. I am also reading Trofmiuk's Waiting for Columbus. I am trading back and forth, but it is hard not to go for the Rankin 'cause I love his writing. I read the second book in the Gideon Trilogy and I need to go get the third. Those are ones I recommend for kids who read (9-11 and up).

Sweeney Reading... Hard to do so late at night...

I started Thomas Trofmiuk's Waiting For Columbus, but had to put it aside until after Sweeney closes. I was getting to bed so late that I kept having to re-read pages so I bought book one of a children's book series (9-14 yr range) called The Time Thief (The Gideon Trilogy) by Linda Buckley-Archer and it is going much better. Once Sweeney wraps up and I finish the kid's book I will return to Columbus.

Can't Quite Face Joyce Yet...

So I am reading the latest Kathy Reichs, 206 Bones. When Sweeney is done and I can read more than 3 pages before falling asleep I will attempt something more challenging!

Gah!

I am reading The Tenth Gift by Jane Johnson right now, but the GAH is really because I bought Ulysses (James Joyce) as recommended by my drama prof and it is scaring me just by existing. I might not be able to start it for a little while and it is no doubt going to sit on the shelf and glare at me!

Junk Food for My Brain...

I have a confession to make. I really liked The Da Vinci Code. I know, I know, Dan Brown and John Grisham and about 50% of what I read is really junk food for my brain, but I like Smarties and salt and vinegar chips, too. Anyhow, on that note, I just finished The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. It was part of my birthday present from Mark and I got it early because he went to COSCO last week. It was okay - not as action packed as Da Vinci, and I figured out the 'big twist' really early on (like within the first 1/7 of the book) so that was not the shocker it should have been (too many clues, Dan!). I also kind of knew what the lost symbol was going to be and the reveal was a let down. However, it was a good way to shut the brain down over the last week and I needed that! The discussions of religion and spirituality are in line with my own views and I appreciated that, however, one wonders if he needed to write that big of a book to communicate his agenda (he has a sizable hammer).

Read a few more...

I read The Virgin's Lover by Phillipa Gregory. She is good reading when I am busy because it's interesting and doesn't require a massive amount of brain power. I also had to read The Seagull by Chekhov for Drama 407. Over the next few weeks I will be reading the entries for the From Cradle to Stage competition so my book reading may suffer. After Saturday I am no longer Secretary for Walterdale so I may have a bit more time, but until Sweeney is done I am not counting on it.

Right now I am reading Malice by Lisa Jackson (second attempt) and I am making my way through it a little fast.

Looking for recommendations...

Got any suggestions? I love finding new good authors so let me know who or what to read.

I Usually do more reading in the Summer but Fringe has eaten up a lot of my time...

I have three books on the go

1. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (I bought the DVD and now am re-reading the book to figure out what was the same and what was different in the movie)

2. Malice by Lisa Jackson (I am finding it very hard to get into. I thought it would be good summer junk food reading, but I am reconsidering)

3. The Book of General Ignorance by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson (I like this one. Everything you think you know is wrong! I actually bought it for Mark on my trip, but started reading it because I couldn't get into Malice)

More Kings and Queens....

I read The Other Boleyn Girl and then The Boleyn Inheritance by Phillipa Gregory. These are prequels to The Queen's Fool. I may or may not get The Virgin's Lover to round out that series, but I like the historical fiction. All the books have sent me to wikipedia to look up facts and dates, because I want to know what is true and what is fiction.

I am now reading Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos. It is really good. You know the cover, 4 pairs of rubber boots on a hardwood floor against a soft green wall. I highly recommend, even though I suspect I will cry at least once before the end of the book. It is a very thoughtful look at some real people who might appear to be superficial or unreal to begin with, but once you get underneath they are so much more.

After Those Boleyn Girls she wrote this...

I am reading The Queen's Fool by Phillipa Gregory. It is one of those historical fictions that follows the succession of Mary and Elizabeth (Henry VIII's daughters from Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn) after the death of their younger brother Edward. The story is told through the eyes of a young girl, a Holy Fool, who has visions and is brought to the court at 13 by Lord Robert Dudley. I quite like it. I am not usually into the whole historical fiction because I never know what is true and what is fiction, but I have surfed a few sites online to check certain facts and it is compelling and interesting. I picked the book up in Safeway in the book bin for cheap after seeing The Other Boleyn Girl. Not a bad investment.

Oh yeah, I finished Big Man Coming Down the Road. Very good. It's a Canadian work, too. Didn't realize that at first.

Looking through the shelves...

I am now reading Big Man Coming Down the Road by Brad Smith. It has been on my shelf for some time and I thought I would pick it up. I have not had much time this week for reading because I have been very tired with all the painting at the theatre. So far so good. I like the writing and the characters seem interesting. There is much to keep me involved in this book. Hopefully I finish it before the end of the month!

A Different Perspective...

I read The Boy with the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. Very, very good. It's a short, quick read and it shakes you a little bit. I highly recommend. Even if you don't like it, it won't take too much of your time.

I Want to Kick Jodi Picoult in the Shin...

because of how she ended My Sister's Keeper. I hear that the movie ends differently. Probably because they knew how mad the audiences would be if it followed the novel. Other than the ending I really liked it. The shifting narration worked really well and kept me engaged. It also allowed me to appreciate all the characters, particularly Sara (the mother) for whom I may not have had much sympathy otherwise. I will read another Jodi Picoult someday, but not right away. I'm still mad.

Yummy for my mind...

Finally read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I bought it a couple of weeks ago, and I actually put off starting it and read some other stuff instead because I knew once I started it meant the book would be over sooner rather than later. I really liked it and wanted it to be longer. Every word, ever sentence, every page was good writing and the characters were real. Yes, I know it's a children's book, but Gaiman could kick J.K. Rowling's butt, easy! Don't get me wrong, I like Harry Potter, but I will take a one-off Neil Gaiman over the entire Potter series. He's just that good!

Afghanistan, those burkha days...

I just finished A Thousand Splendid Sons (Khalen Hosseini). It is by the same guy who wrote The Kite Runner. It was so sad and so good. It ended leaving you invested in the characters so that you wanted to know more about what happened to them. I do not know what it would be like to live in that kind of a culture, where women are chattel and valued only as bearers of sons. This book, if it is a true telling, confirmed for me my fears about what the burkha means. If just one woman is wearing it because her husband/father has made her then that is one woman too many. I realize some may wear it because they want to. But how can we be sure the choice is a free one? How can we not fear that the cloth covers bruises and broken teeth? It would be one thing if the men were also wearing such things, but it is clearly so one sided. Shiver. What will those men do with the parental rights granted by Bill 44? Will they keep their daughters home and prevent them from being educated? That is the fear I have.

A Few More

I just finished the Walterdale book - For Love, Not Money by Wayne Arthurson. I was not sure how it was going to be, but I really enjoyed it. It did wish there was a little more recent history in proportion to the early years, but it was written well and the early stories were captivating. Wayne did a nice job with the 3 threads woven into the book. There is one that is primarily chronological (but which doesn't quite reach the present in any depth...); there is one that follows the production Sinbad from auditions to close (which focuses intensely on a small set of the present Walterdale members); and there is one that deals with emerging themes (and that occasionally touches on more recent history). It makes me hope for a sequel in 10-15 years with perhaps some stories from people actively engaged in Walterdale now. Perhaps we should have some controversies during my term so that a good tale from it can be included!

I am also listed 3 times in the book (as director, playwright and dramaturge) and I appear in one photo from Black Hearts in the Green Room. Crimes of the Heart also has a nice picture included. There are some people who are in far more photos than others. It is kind of like a high school year book that way.

I Can't Remember All of Them....

I forget about this one so it's been a while. Anyhow, here are a few I remember. I have read a few scripts for the season selection. I don't want to say what exactly but you will know five of them when the season is announced. I also read the last two scripts required for Drama 103 - How I Learned to Drive and Top Dog/Under Dog. I am currently reading A Lion Among Men (third in the Wicked series). I just finished the 2 most recent of the J.D Robb ... in Death series (Salvation in Death and Promises in Death). I haven't really felt like I have had a lot of time for reading lately (that is, reading outside the curriculum for my drama class). Too busy.

Wickedly Rolling Along...

Too busy to race through books, I am now reading Son of a Witch, the second of the Wicked Series by Gregory Maguire. I like Wicked for the most part. Some of it went off on these political tangents and it lost focus in the latter third, but I liked it. I am hoping Son of a Witch gains more push soon.

Plays and more plays...

I read Major Barbara, Cloud Nine and Scorched. These are 3 of my plays for Drama 103. I also started reading Wicked by Gregory Maguire. It has been sitting next to my bed for awhile and I finally picked it up and started. Not bad so far. Tonight I will go and see Scorched at the Citadel. The script was really good so I am hopeful.

Homework Reading...

I am halfway through Major Barbara (GBS) as required for my Drama 103 Class which starts this Tuesday. I am not sure what we need to read first, but I started with this one because it was listed first on the reading list. I still need to find one of the texts and hopefully it will be in at the bookstore this week or next. Hopefully that won't be the first one.

Christmas Books

Got Doors Open for Christmas and I am almost done that now. It is very Ian Rankin, not Rebus, but good. He can write and I appreciate that. I got a few others plus a gift certificate so I shall make my way to Chapters/Coles in good time. I also received my online order of 3 of my Drama books for this term. I want to read the plays ahead of time to be prepared for any discussion. I learned to do this (reading ahead) in my fourth year of university and it really helped. With the way my life is a re-read is easier to fit in than a first read.