Best of the Year

I like to tally up my year's reading statistically...well, somewhat so, anyhow. It's entertaining to see what you've done over the year and to refresh your memory of some of the gems that were found over a year's reading. Once again, I've read more fiction than non-fiction, and more female authors than male. Pretty much normal. But I did read a lot more poetry than I do generally, not sure why, but it was enjoyable! Here is my record of 2011:

Total Reading: 159

Authors

Female: 97
Male: 58
Nongendered (collections, multiple authors, etc.): 4

Genre etc.

Fiction: 95
Non Fiction: 54
Poetry: 10

In translation:

Russian: 4
French (Quebecois): 3
Dutch: 2
Portuguese: 2
German: 2
Norwegian: 1
Korean: 1
Ukrainian: 1


My Own Books: 66
Library Books: 93

Rereads: 7

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The last week of the year is also my favourite time to think about the "Best of the Year" -- the best that I've read, as judged according to my personal taste and reading experience. These are titles that spoke to me in some way, either with fantastic writing, memorable characters, or an overall "something" that has stuck with me. Sometimes it just reflects how much fun I had reading! So this is not a Best Literature Ever list, it's a Best Books for Me This Year list. Hope you will enjoy.

10. The Right-Brain Business Plan / Jennifer Lee
I'm including this one because it was so meaningful in my business planning this year. I enjoyed it so much that I bought myself a copy that I continually refer to. It's a creative, inspiring way to look at business planning.

9. The Artificial Silk Girl / Irmgard Keun
Pre-Nazi Germany is the setting for this epistolary style novel. I said upon reading it: "Keun is a great discovery and provided a bracing reading experience."

8. Blackout & All Clear / Connie Willis
Excellent, excellent 2 volume novel that I loved -- as I have all of the Oxford Time Travel series. This was a fabulously enjoyable reading experience, even if I didn't talk about it in my blog!

7. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows / Alan Bradley
Love Flavia De Luce, and this was a wonderful addition to the series...Christmas in a big old house, fun stuff.

6. To This Cedar Fountain / Kate Braid
This collection was full of poetry based on my favourite Canadian artist, Emily Carr. I love Carr, and I was intrigued by Braid's eloquent take on her life via poetry.

5. Anya's Ghost / Vera Brosgol
I never did review this one, but it was a graphic novel that actually drew me in -- I loved it.

4. The Rose Garden / Susanna Kearsley
No-one can write romantic suspense/time travel like Kearsley. Great addition to her oeuvre!

3. Kaleidoscope / P.K. Page
I can't repeat often enough how much I love P.K. Page. This book is a huge collection of her work, vital to any fan of Canadian poetry, in my opinion. Gorgeous stuff.

2. The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt / Caroline Preston
This unusual book caught my fancy this year, and the illustrations were out of this world. I adore the Twenties and this fed my fascination with the era.

1. The Forest Horses / Byrna Barclay
I know we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover -- but I totally judged this one on its evocative cover, so much so that it made me decide to read it! And I'm glad I did...one of my definite favourites this year.


Hope you all had a wonderful reading year as well, and here's to marvellous new bookish discoveries in the New Year. Happy 2012 to all!

TBR Twenty, 2012

Emily of Telecommuter Talk held an "Attacking the TBR" Challenge two years ago which really helped me clear off some of the books I'd had sitting on my shelves for a long time. I enjoyed my reading, and the numbers of books I read from my own collection increased.

Although this particular challenge isn't running this year, I am going to use the same idea for 2012 -- make a list of 20 books I want to read from the shelves I already own. It's a great way of keeping track of what is still on the shelves awaiting my attention. I've joined the Unread Challenge this year and these books will count for that -- but this is my working list just for myself of books I own and want to read next, books that don't fit in to any other Challenge listing. (and I am trying to include only titles I own for all of my challenges, as well, for the most part anyway)

The first six are titles from last year's list that I didn't quite get to - they will remain on the list for this go round and see if they get their turn this year.


1. All the Names / José Saramago

2. Mystery Stories / David Helwig

3. Translation of Dr. Appelles / David Treuer

4. The Postmistress / Sarah Blake

5. Exit Lines / Joan Barfoot

6. Passing On / Penelope Lively

7. According to Mark / Penelope Lively

8. With you the moments of my life are fading / Roy Lewis

9. A Large Harmonium / Sue Sorenson

10. The Line / Olga Grushin

11. Everything Beautiful Began After / Simon Van Booy

12. The Ladies of Grace Adieu / Susanna Clarke

13. The Enchantress of Florence / Salman Rushdie

14. The Tortoise and the Hare / Elizabeth Jenkins

15. Mr. Skeffington / Elizabeth von Arnim

16. The Go-Between / L.P. Hartley

17. Excellent Women / Barbara Pym

18. The Cast Stone / Harold Johnson

19. Dandelion Wine / Ray Bradbury

20. The Disapparation of James / Anne Ursu


And some non-fiction, which I don't count as part of the 20 but as extras, in case I'm more in the mood for non-fiction at some point:

1. Must Write / Edna Staebler

2, The Arcanum / Janet Gleeson

3. The Paper Garden / Molly Peacock

4. Pursuing Giraffe / Anne Innis Dagg

5. Little Comrades / Laurie Lewis

6. Intersecting Sets / Alice Major

Challenges Ahead, v. 2012

New Challenges:

There are a few Challenges that are new to me this year that I just can't resist. But there are also some old favourites that I'm going to continue on with for another year. Here are the Challenges I'm attacking this year!


What's In A Name 5 hosted by Beth Fish Reads

Here's How It Works:

Between January 1 and December 31, 2012, read one book in each of the following categories (no lists required but I always enjoy making my list of possibilities so here they are) :

A book with a topographical feature (land formation) in the title:
Bone Coulee / Larry Warwaruk
Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country / Louise Erdrich
A View of the Harbour / Elizabeth Taylor
Read: Invisible Mountain / Carolina DeRobertis

A book with something you'd see in the sky in the title:
The Moon of Letting Go / Richard Van Camp
Aurora Montrealis / Monique Proulx
When Rain Clouds Gather / Bessie Head
Read: Prisoner of Heaven / Carlos Ruiz Zafon

A book with a creepy crawly in the title:
Feathered Serpent / Xiobin Xu
Serpent and the Scorpion / Claire Langley-Hawthorne
Read: What the Bee Knows / P.L. Travers


A book with a type of house in the title:
The Opposite House / Helen Oyeyemi
The Last House / Michael Kenyon
In the Spice House / Marnie Woodrow
Read: Limpopo Academy of Private Detection / Alexander McCall Smith

A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title:
Read: Textbook of the Rose / Joann McCaig
Letters of a Portuguese Nun / Myriam Cyr
The Chocolate Wars / Deborah Cadbury (because I always have chocolate in my purse, don't you?)

A book with a something you'd find on a calendar in the title:
Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis / José Saramago
Read: The New Moon's Arms / Nalo Hopkinson
Aleta Day / Francis Marion Benyon


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Eastern Europe Challenge 2012 hosted by The Black Sheep Dances

Amy at The Black Sheep Dances is carrying this 2011 challenge over into another year due to popular demand -- yay! I love reading fiction from this part of the world, and as this year I aimed to read four books and ended up reading five, in 2012 I'm aiming at the next level: reading 8 by year's end. Some of my possibilities:

1. The Case of the General's Thumb / Andrey Kurkov
2. A Country Doctor's Notebook / Mikhail Bulgakov
3. The Master & Margarita / Mikhail Bulgakov
4. Dead Souls / Nikolai Gogol
5. Dreams of my Russian Summers / Andrei Makine
6. Russian Winter / Daphne Kalotay
7. Any of the books in Language Lantern's Women's Voices in Ukrainian Literature series

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Tea and Books Challenge hosted by Birgit at The Book Garden (a new-to-me blog!)

This one is too enticing to miss; look at the gorgeous button! The challenge is to read books of over 700 pages, no rereads, large print or audio allowed. Too bad about the rereads -- there are a couple I'd like to get back to, but oh well, I'm signing up as a "Berry Tea Devotee" (ie: 4 books over the year). My possibilities:

1. Sir Charles Grandison / Samuel Richardson (1159 p)
2. Daniel Deronda / George Eliot (727 p)
3. Celestial Harmonies / Peter Esterhazy (846 p)
4. The House of Nire / Morio Kita (765 p)

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Truth in Fiction Challenge hosted by Amanda at the Fig & Thistle (another new-to-me blog!)

This Challenge has a great concept: read one fiction and one non-fiction book that are thematically related and then blog about them as a pair. There are 7 levels, but I'm going to stick with "Freshman" level and just see if I can get one pair read and reviewed. Any more than that would just be a bonus. Not sure what they will be yet!

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2012 Fearless Poetry Exploration hosted by Serena at Savvy Verse and Wit (a great poetry promoter)

And because I love poetry, I have to sign up for this one too! It's easy: I'm signing up to read & review 2 books of poetry over the year, plus be a part of April's Poetry Month blog tour. Fun stuff - I do enjoy sharing poetry on this blog.

Poetry I read in 2012
Omens in the Year of the Ox / Steven Price
Monkey Ranch / Julie Bruck
Dear Hermes / Michelle Smith
Halfway to the East / Marusya Bociurkiw



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This Challenge is just what it sounds like: read the unread books you have sitting around your house -- as many as you can. I'm going to join in on this one because I'm making an effort to include possible titles for all of this year's challenges from the books I already own. So far there are only a couple of titles listed for all of my challenges that I do not already own. And I am continuing on with my "TBR Twenty" for this year as well (more on that later) so we'll see how I do with this!

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Ongoing Challenges:

I know I'll repeat the Canadian Book Challenge when it flips over on July 1st - it is one of my favourites, definitely.

There are also a few seasonal challenges I like to join, most specifically the very Autumnal RIP Challenge held by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings (though I only read 3/4 this year).

But more on those later in the year!

Challenges Finished

I signed up for various Challenges this year, and as usual, completed some and completely failed at others! The important thing was, though, that all of them appealed to me for some reason and got me looking around at new reading potential. I don't like to overextend myself and feel obliged to read for any reason -- but I am pretty relaxed about reading challenges. I consider them fun ways to broaden my knowledge of books on various topics, and to encounter new bloggers and reviewers in a very enjoyable manner. So I continue on with Challenges!

This year's Challenges (and their results!) are as follows:


Canadian Book Challenge 5 (by John Mutford at Book Mine Set)

I love this challenge -- it's still ongoing, as it runs July 1st - July 1st each year in honour of our country's birthdate. I know I'll sign up for it again, as usual. The requirements are to read at least 13 Canadian books. The kind of reading you do is completely up to you, and there ends up being a huge variety of titles shared. My theme this year is "Small Press-Palooza" and I'm encountering many of the wonderful small presses which Canada has in abundance. And my total is at 13 already!



What's In A Name 4 hosted by Beth Fish Reads

I've enjoyed this challenge in all of its years so far. It is so oddly random -- choosing a book by a feature of its title -- that it feels like a game. I always have fun with it, and this year I actually read all 6 books for the 6 categories which were selected.

(The updated titles are noted on my original post)




Science Book Challenge hosted by Jeff of Scienticity

Alas, I've failed miserably at this one -- not sure why, as I usually love to read science books...guess I was distracted this year! I managed to read one title, Einstein Wrote Back by John Moffat, a physicist at an institute near me.

Nordic Book Challenge hosted by Zee at Notes from the North

I like Nordic fiction, and thought this would be a great impetus to explore a little further. Unfortunately I didn't get to read all the books on my "possibilities" list but I did get to a few, and also found some wonderful new titles that I now want to try! I only read 1/3 for this challenge!



Eastern Europe 2011 Challenge hosted by Amy at The Black Sheep Dances

I had high hopes for this one: I love to read books set in this area. I did read quite a few and even have a few outstanding reviews for books I've recently finished...but I know I won't get reviews done in 2011! Anyhow, I read and reviewed 5 good books for this challenge so beat my target of 4 -- and good news, this challenge is continuing for 2012 :)
(updated titles)

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to All!

May you have time to relax and read this holiday season!

Petunia's Christmas

It's Christmas Eve day! Happy almost Christmas, everyone :)

I had great plans to post a bunch of last-minute, end of year reviews, but somehow the time is just flying by and I am just not going to get to any of them. Besides, I've hardly been reading over the past week or two...so much going on...wonderful, seasonal fun, but it does cut into the reading!

In any case, I'm going to simply share one of my favourite Christmas picture books with you to celebrate Christmas Eve -- a vintage piece (out of print) that I was lucky to find in hardcover recently! Upon rereading I see that it really is vintage in its style and illustration. So here is:

Petunia's Christmas / Roger Duvoisin
New York: Knopf, 2004, c1952.

I love this tale: Petunia the goose goes out for a walk on a snowy winter's day and discovers Charles, a handsome gander, at a neighbouring farm. They fall in love but --alas -- Charles is being fattened for Christmas!

Petunia decides to rescue him and tries a few techniques, which don't work, then decides she will earn the money to buy him from the farmer. She makes wreaths, paper angels, stars, paper Christmas trees "and other Christmas things" and finally gathers enough coin to buy Charles.

She and Charles are married on Christmas Day, to great revelry with their own farmer and farmer's wife joining in. This was always one of my favourite images in the book -- a double page spread that I loved to look at. Here is one side of the illustration (what you can't see is right at the bottom of this page there's a tiny cat playing dominoes with a mouse - loved these details)


I think this book was the beginning of my journey toward vegetarianism -- couldn't stand the thought of anyone eating Charles! :) It's also a great book for young entrepreneurs; Petunia's creative initiative saves the day, and it is only through her hard work that the story ends happily. But aside from all the themes that appear to my adult eye, this book is simply entertaining and I loved it as a child. So happy I have a copy this year!

Try your local library or second-hand book dealer to get your hands on a copy. Until then, I thought I'd share, for your general amusement, a youtube clip I just discovered. It's a vintage television program which shared stories and in this episode, "Marian the Librarian" is reading the original version of Petunia's Christmas. It's all in black and white though, so do try to find the real book for its great colour images. A note about this video: be prepared to laugh at the opening sequence in which a witch captures Marian and locks her up in a tower to feed her story addiction....quite hilarious!

As Far as the Heart Can See

As Far As the Heart Can See / Mark Nepo
Deerfield Beach: Health Communications, c2011.
264 p.

I must be one of the last people around to have heard of this author -- he's been featured on Oprah and is apparently quite well known in his field -- how did I completely miss him? In any case, I recently read this book due to my particular interest in how story informs our lives. This book is a collection of 45 short pieces, some only a paragraph or two, some a few pages long, and each of them is a teaching story. Each holds some meaning that is then investigated further through the three things following each story: journal questions (for personal reflection); table questions (to be shared with friends and stimulate discussion); and directed meditations.

Nepo says "Stories help us. They are teachers. They are medicine. They keep us connected to what matters. They keep us awake. This has always been true. And so, As Far As the Heart Can See is a book of stories and parables about staying awake and staying close."

I loved this book because of its simplicity. The brief tales acted as a seed to grow reflection by the reader -- as I read it fairly quickly and by myself, I mainly focused on the journal questions (and of course, as this is my specific interest I was immediately intrigued). I didn't work with every single story, but with a few that I found meaningful personally. But there is lots of opportunity to explore further. If you want to see examples of what's inside this book, at Mark Nepo's website he has two stories (both of which I loved) in full, complete with the journal, discussion and meditation suggestions. Give them a read and get an idea of how this book is set up -- see if it appeals to you.

I really think that this would be a perfect book at this time of year, especially as the New Year approaches. During the last week of the year, a special time for me, it feels as if there is a pause to reflect and investigate one's life. At New Year's Eve, I prefer a contemplative evening rather than parties. With all of the gatherings going on, this book would provide a wonderful after-dinner moment for a congenial group; after good dinner discussion, sip some liqueurs and ponder a story together. Or read one with each course! I'd love to use this with a group and see what it sparks for others.

This is a great example of the power of story and how it helps us to consider our lives in a new light. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to delve deeper through narrative, or who wants a way to open discussion with others in a non-confrontational manner. Use it for your own explorations in your journal, or with others -- the questions for both can be used interchangeably and offer lots of inspiration for thought.


**review originally published at Four Rooms Creative Self Care

A Year in First Lines

And it is that time of year again, to do a blogging round-up by sharing the first line of the first post of every month. It always reveals something about the arc of the year, at least as it pertains to my reading life. I usually wait until the week after Christmas to share all these year-end wrap up posts, but I was working on this one on a lazy week-before-Christmas afternoon and thought I'd share right now :)

The "rules" are simple: Take the first line of each month's post over the past year and see what it tells you about your blogging year.

January:

A suitable book with which to begin a new year full of bookish talk and reviews, The Dodecahedron is all about books, text, and the elusive nature of written truth.

February:
Chinese New Year this year falls on February 3rd, and to continue a tradition, here is a book list featuring rabbits, in celebration of the Year of the Rabbit.

March:
All of [Penelope] Lively's work seems to focus on the vagaries of memory; how remembering occurs, what the past means to us in the present, what is remembered and what is not.

April:
This post is part of a blog tour for Marthe Jocelyn's latest book. [Scribbling Women]

May:
This is an extraordinary book [The Forest Horses by Byrna Barclay]

June:
For my first day [of the 30 Days of Creativity Challenge], I wanted to ease into things...to create something small that I'd never tried before.

July:
Today is the opening Readathon for the kickoff of the Canadian Book Challenge 5!

August:

My recent holiday took me away from my blog for longer than I'd expected!

September:
Hurrah! It's hard to believe but it's RIP (Readers Imbibing Peril) time again.

October:
This is the last posthumous work by Saramago -- I recently read his memoir, translated after his death; it was very Saramago, and I enjoyed it very much.

November:
This charming book -- from the author probably best known for Love, Loss and What I Wore -- came to me via TLC Book Tours.

December:
This is a charming book; I received it via John's Canadian Book Challenge, quite a while ago, and have finally finished it!

That pretty much sums up the year: lots of books and reading; a little excursion into creative pursuits and holidays in the summer; and finishing up with two apparently charming books! Quite reflective of this year's reading progress :)

If you try this, please leave a link so we can all enjoy your first-line round-up as well!

Flying with Amelia

Flying with Amelia / Anne De Grace
Toronto: McArthur & Co., c2011.
313 p.

I've read all of De Grace's books and I really like her style. This novel follows in the tradition of her earlier ones, in that it is a collection of linked short stories. But this one is very ambitious: it attempts to tell us a story of Canada throughout the 20th century. It works beautifully.

It opens with "Across the Atlantic" (1847), in which an Irish family makes its way to Canada in the cramped hold of a ship, where lack of food and sanitation lead to a number of deaths. It is this family which begins the tale, and descendants pop up in later stories. While it is not a straightforward narrative following one family, part of the fun is recognizing the connections between earlier stories, the references to the locations and family members which influence later characters.

Stories take place all across Canada, from the East Coast where immigrants arrive, to the West Coast and all points in between, including North. One of the stories that I found most enthralling was the title story, presented mostly as letters between a woman from Nova Scotia and a man from Saskatchewan, befriending one another, sharing recipes, sending gifts, and eventually agreeing to meet halfway, in Ottawa. It's set right around 1934 and the On to Ottawa Trek, and as soon as I realized this I began to get anxious. (pitfalls to studying history!) It was so well done, though.

Each of the stories had a character who would catch your interest and prove memorable. I can think of most of the storylines immediately; young William, who meets Marconi -- newspaperman Murphy and rich Helen, in 1929 -- James, Fig & Myra in the draft dodger era -- the Millennium and a marriage at the point of collapse --it goes on and on. Each tale was a treat. I really enjoy DeGrace's narrative voice, and perhaps because I was a history major, I love the examination of each era from a micro-history point of view, from the perspective of one person's or family's life. The book finishes off -- very satisfactorily brought full circle --by the story "Across the Atlantic" (2012) It shows the descendants of the original family traveling back across the Atlantic, in the opposite direction, in search of their roots. Lovely thought.

This book as a whole has a great sense of breadth; the expanse of the country and the spread of historical moments over many years is expressed very well. DeGrace chooses smaller historical moments so that the story she is trying to tell isn't overwhelmed by pre-knowledge or overly familiar settings. In this way, I thought that each era was portrayed as a living and breathing present experience, no "heritage moments" to be found. There is a feeling of respect for all the varied people and the small everyday lives that have made up our history, and this feeling illuminates the entire book. I really appreciated this read, and savoured it slowly. Definitely recommended to my fellow Canadians (especially for Xmas gifts - great for those readers who may hesitate to pick up longer novels) or to anyone intrigued by historical fiction and/or the linked short story. Excellent read.

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For this year's Canadian Book Challenge I've chosen as my theme "Small-Press-Palooza" Thus, for each book I'm including a link to the small press who has published it. Take a look -- there are wonderful small presses all over Canada! I know McArthur & Co isn't exactly "small press" but they are not a subsidiary of any of the "big three" so I am counting them :)

Gold Boy, Emerald Girl

Gold Boy, Emerald Girl / Yiyun Li

Toronto: Random House, 2011.
256 p.

This is a set of short stories by Chinese writer Yiyun Li. I'd seen it mentioned a long while ago and thought it sounded appealing. Then Eva of A Striped Armchair gave it a rave review and I knew I'd have to take a look!

I like short stories, even if I don't read them as often as I read other forms of fiction. This collection was wonderful: no one story overwhelmed the others, or seemed pale in comparison to the others. The opening story, "Kindness", was long and in-depth. It told the story of a woman who is fairly unconnected to those around her, unhappy in a passive way. She is looking back on her experience training in the Red Army with other young women, at a time when they were all conscripts. The subtle clues to relationships and individual differences were outstanding; in a time when everyone was supposed to be identical comrades Yiyun Li is able to create an atmosphere of individuality revealed in small, particular moments.

In many of the stories, older women feature prominently. They are reviewing their lives, or wondering what went wrong, how they've missed out somehow. But the characters are all different people, despite their commonalities. There is no one character that always seems to be speaking for the author. I really admired her skill at creating settings that were alive, that seemed to be the natural place for each character to exist in. Most of the stories were set in China, but a few had American elements as well, and one of these ended up being a favourite for me. By chance, it's the title story, "Gold Boy, Emerald Girl", a phrase denoting an equally handsome married couple.

This is a tale of a older woman, a former professor, who matchmakes for her 44 year old son. He's been in America for many years and has decided to return to China, where he moves in with his mother and tries to decide what to do next. As the story progresses, it's revealed that he is gay, but he still goes along with his mother's decision that he should marry a former student of hers. The student is herself a middle-aged woman, who has a strong affection for the professor. The three of them will live with this new configuration, but not necessarily happily ever after:

They were lonely and sad people, all three of them, and they would not make one another less sad, but they could, with great care, make a world that would accommodate their loneliness.

This kind of calm, assured writing which never promises that things will be perfect is found throughout the collection. I enjoyed this read and all of the varied characters introduced to us. The Chinese setting was matter-of-fact and not "exoticized", as Eva mentions as well. Very rewarding read and I know I'll be looking for more by this author.

Isabel Dalhouse's Charming Quirks and Forgotten Affairs

Working with Random House is wonderful: they have so many great books that they send for review. I'm particularly fond of Alexander McCall Smith, as many of my readers know, and I was fortunate enough to have the last two Isabel Dalhousie books sent to me. I read them immediately upon receiving them, but have just realized I never reviewed the last one! So here is a double feature -- the last two books in the Isabel series considered as a pair...

The Charming Quirks of Others

Toronto: RandomHouse, 2010.
256 p.

In this installment, Isabel is asked by an acquaintance to look into the backgrounds of three candidates for the principalship of a school -- the school has received a letter which hints that one of the three candidates has something shameful in his past that will embarrass the school (but of course it doesn't specify which one). Isabel must search out the secrets of the three men, one of whom coincidentally turns out to be her niece Cat's new boyfriend.

At the same time, Jamie is suggesting to Isabel that it's time to get married, a thought that isn't greeted with as much rapture as might be expected. Isabel has to deal with her ambivalence about this possibility, balanced with her definite devotion to him and to baby Charlie.

As usual, there is a lot of pondering of the fine shadings of ethical response to the various situations Isabel encounters. She ties herself in knots about things, at times, that to others would appear fairly simple. But that's part of her charm: she's a deliberate, thoughtful, woman who experiences some guilt about her easy life (inherited wealth, secure life situation). And of course, the incidental characters in this story are full of interest as well -- McCall Smith is able to communicate his fascination with everyone's stories, and make the slightest person seem intriguing. There are some moments that catch at your heart in this book, and make you wish for life to go a little more easily for certain characters.

The Forgotten Affairs of Youth
Toronto: Random House, 2011.
261 p.

In this book, just released in Canada today, Isabel is investigating the parenthood of an Australian philosopher she has just met. This philosopher, Jane Cooper, is studying in Edinburgh, and looking for traces of her past: she was adopted out as a child and her adoptive family moved to Australia shortly after. Isabel, of course, can't resist, and starts digging into the past. It's an interesting dilemma. Who are we without a sense of our family? What role does genetics play in self-identity?

The only slightly false note for me here is Jane's explanation that her adoptive parents are divorced and both have new partners and thus their relationship with her has drifted into something resembling casual acquaintance. Really? They've parented her since birth and are so easily distracted by a new partner that they don't consider her their child anymore? I wasn't totally convinced by it.

Meanwhile, niece Cat hires a replacement for regular staff member Eddie at her deli, and the new fellow -- a part-time model -- is a horrid creature. But he's awfully handsome, and Isabel worries about Cat's propensity for outer beauty over inner worth.

Charlie is beginning to speak -- at least to say more than "olive" -- and Grace continues to be an important member of the family, even sharing investment tips she's received from beyond the grave at her latest spiritualist meeting. But are they reliable?

The book closes on a happy note as Isabel and Jamie finally decide the time is right to formalize their relationship and with only Grace as attendant, legally wed. This scene in the church, with witnesses pulled in from the churchyard, is delightful. Once again, an enjoyable visit with Isabel and her peculiarly individual thought patterns..... these books are very quotable and very thought-provoking, though some of the characters (ie: Cat!) are so annoying! So great to be able to read another episode in Isabel's story, and the only problem now is waiting for the next one ;)

To This Cedar Fountain

To This Cedar Fountain / Kate Braid
Vancouver: Polestar, c1995.
95 p.

This was a serendipitous discovery for me, and I'm not sure why I've never heard of it before! It's too bad that this is now out-of-print. It's a deeply felt poetic Canadian response to a Canadian artist.

It's a collection of poetry which is a response to and a dialogue with Emily Carr. I hope that everyone knows about the artist and writer Emily Carr -- she is an amazing Canadian painter who I absolutely love. She also wrote a number of books in her later life which are just as wonderful as her painting. She was fiercely independent and original, despite both opposition and indifference from the art world in her era.

She wrote something that has become one of my very favourite quotes:

Do not try to do extraordinary things, but do ordinary things with intensity.

It's clear that poet Kate Braid is similarly enthralled by Emily Carr. This collection of poetry takes inspiration from Emily's art -- most of the poems are named after a painting, and one of them is a found poem from Emily's published journals. There are a few coloured prints of some of the works which Braid is responding to, which is nice. And each poem is faced with a quote from Emily's writings -- either something that Braid is responding to directly, or a few lines which illuminate Emily's thoughts about the painting that is the subject of the poem. It works wonderfully, and Braid's own experience working with her hands (she's a carpenter) shows in her understanding of Emily's struggles and inspirations. I think there is a resonance between Emily's love of the living forest and Braid's familiarity with wood as well. There's a connection that you can feel between these two artists. In fact, in one poem called "Wood Interior", Braid finishes with these lines:

Now I know who you are.
Another woman who knows wood.

Once I read this I looked further into Braid's work, and she has written another book of poetry inspired by Emily Carr and Georgia O'Keefe. She's also written a juvenile biography of Carr for a Canadian series. So the sense of connection obviously continued!

I enjoyed the earthiness of these poems: the physical connection to nature that Emily's paintings reveal is highlighted in some of the poems. Braid also draws out the feeling of isolation and loneliness that Carr's writings reveal; she had a hard life going her own way. The poems express Braid's thoughts about each painting -- sometimes a description of her own viewing of it, sometimes a look at the feelings Emily is trying to express through an image. There is a combination of two poems at the centre of the book which are marvellous: the first, a found poem directly out of Carr's work, and the second a glosa which uses some of the lines from the found poem to create an intimate dialogue with Emily's writing.

This book feels like an artistic collaboration between the two: the tone and the interaction between the words of both writers are at exactly the right pitch. I really enjoyed this book and Braid's interpretation of her experience of each painting. This book is a lovely idea that is wonderfully executed. Now to go see another Emily Carr exhibition....

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For this year's Canadian Book Challenge I've chosen as my theme "Small-Press-Palooza" Thus, for each book I'm including a link to the small press who has published it. Take a look -- there are wonderful small presses all over Canada!

Polestar Book Publishers was bought out by Raincoast in 2000, then disbanded when Raincoast decided that they were no longer publishing Canadian works, rather sticking to distribution and repackaging. Farewell, Polestar.

Here's more on Emily Carr!

Penguin Lost

Penguin Lost / Andrey Kurkov; translated by George Bird.
Brooklyn: Melville House, 2011.
160 p.

This is the follow up to Kurkov's first novel about Misha the penguin, Death and the Penguin. I read and enjoyed that book a while ago now, and was eager to get to this one, which I ended up reading via Netgalley.

I enjoyed it a lot, though it had a different feel than the first: for one thing, Misha is "offscreen" a lot of the time (thus the title) and I missed his silent seriousness. In this book, Viktor Zolotaryov has returned from his Antarctic exile where we left him at the close of Death and the Penguin. Conveniently he has also come into a lot of money so off he goes back to Kyiv, where he finds his foster daughter Sonya and her adult companion Nina living in his apartment with a new man. He wanders around Kyiv, gets involved with a young prostitute, falls into a handy job writing for a politician wanting re-election (which comes with room and board), then heads off to Chechnya to find Misha -- rumour has it that Misha was last seen there, in the midst of the conflict.

There is a lot of action in this tale, unlike the first one which felt melancholy, stolid and full of Soviet resignation. Viktor travels around outside of Kyiv for most of the tale -- from Antarctica to Moscow to Chechnya and eventually to South America. Actually, it reminds me a lot of another of Kurkov's books that I've recently read, The Case of the General's Thumb, with all the farcical coming and going and a full cast of eccentric bad guys.

Still, once Viktor arrives in Chechnya he ends up working at a makeshift crematorium in the woods and things get pretty dark and serious. He patiently waits for this newest trial to pass so that he can contact Misha's last known owner, a mobster. Eventually he does find Misha, living in a dog enclosure with protective huskies.

From then on there is a lot more complicated finagling to get Misha back to Kyiv with him -- and eventually to get them both out of Kyiv altogether. While parts of this scheme were pretty amusing, it was awfully convenient to have a beautiful young woman decide to marry him and take him along on a sea journey to South America. Still, this led to the poignant ending in which Misha finally finds freedom. I admit I got a bit teary saying goodbye to Misha at the end. Viktor I could take or leave, but Misha was truly endearing.

I've been waiting to read this book for a couple of years now, so took my time and reacquainted myself with the characters slowly. Even with the different feel to this book I really enjoyed it and was glad to find out more about Viktor's progress and miraculous survival! There was a lot of broad humour to be found in this one and I found it entertaining. Though the first book was deeper and felt more "Literary", this was a fine follow-up that I still liked a lot. Misha was the symbol of Viktor's search for meaning and connection, and it seemed that Viktor was only able to let his responsibility to his penguin go once he had forged a new life outside of Ukraine. Interesting conversations about nationality, one's place in the world, and responsibility to others could ensue if you decided to discuss this one over drinks! I really like Kurkov's writing and find lots to think about even in his lighter novels. This one, having Misha in it, was of automatic interest and lived up to my expectations. Definitely one I'd reread someday.

Iceberg Tea

Iceberg Tea /Annelies Pool
Yellowknife: Prelude Books, c2010.

176 p.

This is a charming book. I received it via John's Canadian Book Challenge, quite a while ago, and have finally finished it! (John's review can be found at his blog as well) It's made up of light essays originally published as columns in magazines and newspapers, all about the life of a woman in the Canadian North. Pool discusses Northern-ish things like the Ice Road, snow, stockpiling firewood, the Northern Lights, and iceberg tea (tea made with water gathered by chipping chunks off of handy icebergs, of course!) But she also reveals details about herself and her marriage, as her husband Bill makes regular appearances in her tales.

One of my favourite essays was -- no surprise -- about her love for books. She recalls how she saved up to buy herself Nancy Drew novels at the thrift store as a child, and how this habit of reading has formed her. She states that she may not be "a great or important writer, but I have been able to make a living with words." There's another bookish tale about a time she freaked herself out by reading Stephen King into the wee hours and thought a vampire was at the window....I'll relieve your anxiety by telling you it wasn't a vampire.

There is also a delightful essay about immigrating to Canada at the age of four (they were Dutch) and her mother's challenges adapting to the language and to the strange customs in Canada -- repeating "Oh, that's how they do it in Canada", a phrase the author finds herself saying even fifty years later!

The writing is down-to-earth, often very funny, and Pool has a great sense of gentle self-mockery. She talks about everyday events and things we're all familiar with (Facebook, imaginary lotto winnings) and yet makes her observations amusing and/or touching.

Through her writing you get a glimpse at an everyday life in Yellowknife and the very sweet relationship shared by Pool and her husband. It is a book that I think people interested in normal, average lives (as much as any of us are average) would love. It's written honestly, clearly, and with great affection for living itself. Pool has an eye for the small things of life, and a gift of appreciation. Really an enjoyable book, very suitable to pick up and read one or two brief pieces with a cup of (regular) tea each day.

I appreciate John's CBC Challenge for introducing me to a book I am certain I wouldn't have uncovered otherwise! So many interesting tales have been shared through the five years of the Canadian Book Challenge -- this is the latest wonderful discovery.

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For this year's Canadian Book Challenge I've chosen as my theme "Small-Press-Palooza" Thus, for each book I'm including a link to the small press who has published it. Take a look -- there are wonderful small presses all over Canada!

Read more about Prelude Books here