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.