The Book Thief...

I picked up The Book Thief by Markus Zusak a week or so ago because it had been on my radar for a little while and I saw it and nothing much else that interested me while I was killing time in a Chapters. I was a little worried when I started it 5 days ago because of the opening style and the narrative voice was a little unexpected, but once I got into it I was hooked. This morning, while getting a pedicure, I finished the book and felt the tears. I am not sure what the ladies in the salon thought. It was a lovely and sad read. I highly recommend.

Greek Mythology and Swedish Mysteries...

I just finished Rick Riordan's kid-lit series Percy Jackson and the Olympians. There's a 5th that I haven't found yet, but I tore through 1-4 pretty fast. I quite liked the interwoven Greek Mythology and modern kid issues. He did a nice job with making it accessible and fast-moving as well as getting some Greek Myth in there too. Probably a little old for Oliver but maybe when he's 12 he'd be up for them. He's deeply involved in The 39 Clues series, which I also picked up. It's a pretty cool little series with codes and problem solving and major adventures - perfect for an 8 year old with a slightly older reading level.

I also just finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson and I am currently reading The Girl Who Played With Fire. These books have been showing up for the past few years and I avoided them because the covers didn't appeal to me. My sister-in-law recommended them as did my mother and when I found out they were mysteries I was interested. Plus they were on sale at Chapters! I quite liked the first and I hear the second is better... here's hoping!

After the Winter...

After I finished The Winter Vault I went on a bit of a junk food reading blitz. Suffice it to say, I really didn't know why that book was a Giller Nominee... oh well, there is no accounting for taste! Anyhow, I just finished And Another Thing, by Eion Colfer which is the 6th in Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy trilogy... yes, it's trying to be that cute. The book fit well in the series in tone and plot and character. Colfer did a nice job.

I still need to find the 5th Giller Nominee.

I have also been reading a lot of plays - submitted ones and ones for my class. Here is a sample (but not all of them):
The Rez Sisters
Les Belles Souers
Hosanna
Leaving Home
Vimy
Perfect Pie
Lion in the Streets
Village of Idiots
The Threepenny Opera
Cabaret
Nine
The Penelopiad
Ali and Ali and the Axes of Evil
and a whole bunch more...

Struggling...

Still working on The Winter Vault. It is slow going because there is no pull through this book. Not really enjoying it and hoping it will be done soon. Maybe tonight. It is a good one to get me to sleep...

If I'd Been the Only Judge...

of the Giller Prize, then The Golden Mean would've won. Okay, I still have 2 of the books to read, but I am 30-40 pages into The Winter Vault and let me just say, it's no Fugitive Pieces! I have no idea what this book is going to be about. I have to invest in the characters before I invest in the book and so far it reads like a history book... save that for a little later, when I am committed. At this rate I am going to be putting it down without finishing.

The Golden Mean was really good, and it broke the previous feeling I had about The Canadian Novel after reading The Bishop's Man and The Disappeared. Perhaps it was because the story was more linear and concrete, but whatever the reason, it was very engaging and interesting and even though my concept of what the golden mean was very different and never even brought up int he book, that's okay. It was an interesting take on Aristotle and Alexander the Great and that period of time. Interesting note: I was prepared not to like it because I saw this TV interview of all 5 nominees and Annabel Lyon seemed defensive and a bit abrasive, but perhaps she was just nervous (or maybe she is abrasive, but a very good writer!).

Why Wasn't that one a Giller Nominee?

I just finished Waiting for Columbus by Thomas Trofmiuk and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. It took me a bit to get into it but I think that had more to do with the fact that I was so busy when I started it. I finished it this morning. Very, very, very good. It was waaaaaaaaay better than The Disappeared! Hmmmmm.... Who makes those decisions?

I got 2 more of the Giller nominees and have started The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon. I'll let you know how that goes. So far so good.

The Disappeared - Giller Nom #2

So I whipped through Kim Echlin's The Disappeared in one day/evening. It was a small book that could have been even smaller since so much of it was aching love for the disappeared. I was not disappointed with it, but not thrilled either. I get it, I get it... he was wrongly ripped from you and you love him with the aching love of a 16 year old even though you are 27ish and also 50ish looking back. Not sure if I would have read it if it hadn't been on the Giller List. I also noticed a similarity in the 'Canadian Literature' style of writing between this one and The Bishop's Man. Tangled memories, emotive writing, a mystery, blah, blah, blah... Okay. So I wouldn't say either was bad, I thought The Bishop's Man was better, but I am curious to see if I notice the same 'tricks' in the other 3 nominees...

I think my real challenge with The Disappeared was that I really didn't like the main character. I think it is stupid and selfish what she did in the book and I didn't think that an adolescent love affair should be the basis for the extremity of her choices. If I knew that person I would slap them and say 'get over it', 'do something productive, like Will or even like Serey!'. She was just a whiner who put herself and others at risk.