Goose Lane Website Launch and Special Offers!

I read a good number of Goose Lane books* over the course of a year.  Usually, one or two of them make it on my top reads list. You've probably already noticed me recommending or lauding or getting enthusiastic about something Goose Lane every so often.  So when I was told they were launching a new website, complete with promotional sales, I thought I'd let you know so you can take advantage, too.**  This all starts tomorrow, January 30, at www.gooselane.com . . . worth a look!


* A note about Goose Lane:  the oldest independent publishing house in Canada, they also happen to be based in good ole New Brunswick! As for some of the more recent Goose Lane books I've posted on/about . . . the brilliant Tide Road by Valerie Compton, the also brilliant Guesswork by Jeffery Donaldson.  


** And here's what the press release says about the promotional offer:  "To celebrate our launch, we’d like to extend a special offer. For every day the week of January 30, we will be offering one book a day at a special highly-discounted price. Roadsworth, YOU comma Idiot, The Famished Lover, Miller Brittain, The Black Watch, Beaverbrook: A Shattered Legacy, and Ganong: A Sweet History of Chocolate will each take over one day of the week with a drastically discounted price to help celebrate our new look
and attitude. All this, in addition to our regular feature of free shipping on orders of $60 or more. To take advantage of these offers, simply create an account with Goose Lane. By doing so, you’ll also ensure that you are regularly updated on upcoming special offers."  Sounds good to me!

This n That

• Something for those of us who love (are addicted to) lists:  Lists of Note

• And something for those of us who like reading what good writers have to say about writing: a  quick, but good interview with Valerie Compton (author of Tide Road).

• I've been reading steadily but eclectically lately.  Most recently, Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose and Simon Pegg's Nerd Do Well.  Both engrossing reads, though very different indeed.  

What I liked about Eco's novel was his richly realized medieval setting, the playfulness of giving us a medieval monk version of Sherlock Holmes, and the inclusion of all that wonderful talk about books, books, books.  What I'm ambivalent about is something that can often happen with postmodern novels . . . the consistency of story and character can get loss in an agenda of futility (I know, agenda and futility are something of a paradox, but there you have it).  I just didn't believe in the unravelling of William of Baskerville's approach as he reached the end of his conclusions about what was happening to the monks.  His approach of uncertainty about knowability would kind of preclude the seeming confusion he betrays near the end.  Or perhaps I missed something . . . always a possibility. :)  I did enjoy what Eco seemed to be aiming for with the fetishizing of learning as a kind of pseudo-religious act. 

The novel's complexities deserve more attention than I'm giving them at the moment, of course. But perhaps I will return to this novel later. (I'm not sure I loved it enough for that, though.)

Simon Pegg's autobiography/memoir was great fun.  He writes engagingly about his past, the influences on his creativity, and the fun he's had working with childhood icons.  The first 2/3 of the book are the best, I think, but the read was enjoyable in my opinion.  I found myself laughing frequently, as well as pondering some of Pegg's astute observations about contemporary pop culture.  The fact I enjoyed it wasn't a big surprise, how much I enjoyed it was.

Recently and Currently

• Currently Listening To: various Sarah Harmer tunes

• Recently Read and Almost/Sort of Enjoyed:  Mnemonic: A Book of Trees by Theresa Kishkan.  While a memoir organized around significant moments connected to particular trees sounded like a good idea, it failed to make itself feel significant to this reader.  There were sections where the obvious love of language and nature made it transcend itself.  I liked the all too brief section on memories of Greece, and I did enjoy the various references to music, singers, and other writers who had inspired the author, but overall it didn't really come together for me.

• Currently Reading:  I'm still making my way through Northrup Frye's The Great Code: The Bible & Literature.  Loving it, of course.  How can one not love a book with quotables like this:  "But history itself is a period of listening in the dark for guidance through the ear."  And I've started in on Henry Miller's travel memoir The Colossus of Maroussi (not having read any Miller before, I'm not sure what to expect) as well as Umberto Eco's lauded mystery The Name of the Rose.  I'm only in the very early pages of both the Miller and the Eco so I can't say whether I'll stick with them and enjoy them, but it's looking good so far.

• Currently Considering:  Signing up for the library service on Kindle.  Anyone have any thoughts on the value of getting involved in this?  Does it pay for itself? Are the selections worth it?  There is a free trial available, so I suppose I should give it a go and see . . . but my book addiction makes me reticent to jump into new obligations. 

• Recently Watched and Enjoyed:  I actually found myself liking Cowboys and Aliens.  Mr. Inkslinger and I rented it for an evening of light entertainment and found ourselves warming to the odd mix of western and sci-fi. It has a few narrative flow issues (in case you haven't seen it -- and actually want to -- I won't mention details about a particular resurrection scene), but I have to say that Daniel Craig is pretty reliable when it comes to making a character compelling and ultimately believable.  I'm not sure I can say the same for all the cast members, but it was a fun film.

• Currently Anticipating:  I've ordered a clutch of books from BookCloseOuts.ca and am eagerly anticipating their arrival:

Once On A Moonless Night by Dai Sijie


Charlotte and Emily: A Novel of the Brontes by Jude Morgan


The Last Days of the Romanovs: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg by Helen Rappaport


The Secret Plot To Save the Tsar by Shay McNeal

I happened across a reference to an Emily Dickinson poem, and had to read (and then share) the rest of it:

Some keep the Sabbath going to Church --
I keep it, staying at Home --
With a Bobolink for a Chorister --
And an Orchard, for a Dome --


Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice --
I just wear my Wings --
And instead of tolling the Bell, for Church,
Our little Sexton -- sings.


God preaches, a noted Clergyman --
And the sermon is never long,
So instead of getting to Heaven, at last --
I'm going, all along.

Rambles

It's been a theatrical kind of week, I think, what with reading two plays in a row . . . I'm not sure what put me in the mood for Chekhov and Stoppard, but in the mood for them I was and ended up reading my way through The Cherry Orchard and The Real Inspector Hound.  Perhaps it was all that talk about plays and theatre in Tam Lin? Or perhaps I'm just itching to get out and see a good performance of something good?  Either way, I enjoyed the reading. But it has left me wanting more Stoppard (if not Chekhov).  Perhaps a visit to The Book Depository site is in order?  More books seems like a good idea . . . 


I've also been enjoying the collection of Holmesian stories in A Study In Sherlock.  It's ended up being far more enjoyable than I'd expected. I particularly enjoyed Neil Gaiman's take on the Holmes theme.  I keep intending to read more Gaiman and then I get sidetracked by another book or author. This is typical of my reading life.  I'm thinking I should become more organized.


Until then ... Stoppard on starting a play:

It's Been Awhile . . .

 ... since I posted a favourite (or any) poem. So I thought I'd begin again this year with a great, if obvious, one . . . 


Let Me Not To the Marriage of True Minds by William Shakespeare


Let me not to the marriage of true minds 
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove: 
Oh, no! it is an ever-fixéd mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

I love books that reference, include, and/or generally make use of great works of literature within their narratives.  It's one of the reasons I love Byatt's work so much (though not the only reason). I feel like I'm being exposed to a great library of thought and imagination every time I dip in.  Pamela Dean is another author who makes the inclusion of great works a part of her narrative.  Her characters quote Hamlet, read quasi-obscure tomes, find language exciting, intoxicating.  And, therefore, I find her writing rather exciting.

I've just been re-reading Tam Lin, her retelling of the Scottish ballad.  There are so many reasons to love this novel, the mastery with which Dean makes a claustrophobic academic environment the setting of the transformation of Janet from schoolgirl to adult, the intentionally shadowy characterization of the fairy followers, the mix of prosaic life with the supernatural in a way that creates atmosphere without ever straying into the over-the-top category.  But I still love it mostly for the obvious fun the narrative has with literary allusions. Even better, the allusions are an integral part of the plot (in most cases, if not all), and are also big clues to what the story is really about. 


Sex and literature, possession and love, studying versus goofing off.  This is, at times, a typical story of college life, but it is infused throughout with wit and wisdom and, yes, the otherworldly.  It is so much more than a coming-of-age novel. It has things to say about literature and the arts, the role they play in life/reality.  It's one of my favourites in many ways (though I still prefer Dean's Secret Country Trilogy to this novel, if only because this novel feels like it needs to be longer).  I also enjoy how she can make a perfectly benign campus begin to embody the spookiness of the story.  It charges the feel of the novel without having to resort to repeated suspenseful moments that serve no purpose (like most chase scenes in action films).


An example, one of the moments I love in the novel:

'Clever Will, a devil indeed, but a most sweet contriver.' 

'Are you on terms of such familiarity with all your favorite poets?' said Molly.

Robin provided her with an open and delighted grin, and said, 'No, indeed. I'd never speak of Miss Austen so, nor Dr. Johnson, nor even Master Coleridge, though he thought better of himself than he ought to have. But our Will, you see, wrote those Sonnets, and after reading of them, it's hard to be formal with him.'

'I suppose it's no ruder than calling them by their last names, like the critics do,' said Molly. 'As if they were suspects in a murder case.'

Reading Stats and Top Reads of the Year

I'm not sure I stuck to any of my reading goals this year, but that's not particularly unusual.  I'd intended on reading more nonfiction, more Atlantic Canadian poetry and fiction, and I'd planned to be more selective in general.  I'm still too often responding to that 'compelled to finish every book I start' weakness, which is a big time waster.  That habit must be broken!  There are great reads out there and the time wasters are just in the way.

Number of Books read: 112

Books by men: 55

Books by women: 56  

Books written or edited by both: 1

Books in translation: 6

Books that were re-reads: 17

Fiction read: 92


Goodness, I guess my goal of reading more nonfiction really did fall by the wayside.  Must do better!

Of the Fiction . . .

Novels (literary and otherwise): 63 

Poetry: 9

Plays: 3

Short Story collections: 4

Children's/YA fiction: 13

Nonfiction read: 20

Of the Nonfiction . . .

Essays/lectures/letters: 4

History/Biography/Memoir: 8

On Literature and/or Poetry: 2


Gardening/Outdoors/Food: 6


Books By Year of Publication


21st century: 52


Second half of 20th century, 1950-1999: 18


First half of 20th century, 1900- 1950: 28


19th century: 11  


I'd intended on reading more 19th century.  And I thought I had. But, like the nonfiction, somehow that goal got away from me.  


Pre-19th century: 3

TOP FIVES: 


The top 5 prose fiction reads from this past year (regardless of year of publication and excluding canonical and/or quasi-canonical). Listed in no particular order (oh, and not including re-reads):

• That Forgetful Shore by Trudy Morgan-Cole (pub: 2011)
• The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (pub: 2005) 
• Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams (pub: 1987)
• The Green Knight by Iris Murdoch (pub: 1993)
• When I Was Young & In My Prime by Alayna Munce (pub: 2005)   

Top 5 poetry reads of the year. These are in no particular order (excluding re-reads/classics/canonical):

• Guesswork by Jeffery Donaldson (pub: 2011)  Donaldson is simply one of the best poets writing in Canada right now.
• Maps of Invariance by John Smith (pub: 2005)  Just mind-blowingly wonderful.  What he does with the prose poem (and I'm not even much of a prose poem fan)! Brilliant collection.    Dense in the best sense of the word.
• A Page from the Wonders of Life on Earth by Stephanie Bolster (pub: 2011) 
• Games of Chance by Gerard Beirne (pub: 2011)
• Horoscopes for the Dead by Billy Collins (pub: 2011) Yes, I have a weakness for Collins.  

Top 5 nonfiction books read this year (not including re-reads):

• The Price of Honesty: Life, Laughter and Liquid Lunches by Ralph Costello (pub: 2011)
• Bound To Last: 30 Writers On Their Most Cherished Book ed. by Sean Manning (pub: 2010)
• The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time by Judith Shulevitz (pub: 2010)
• Serve It Forth by M.F.K. Fisher (pub: 1937)
• Glenn Gould by Mark Kingwell (pub: 2009)

Reading goals for the coming year: Let's see if I can stick to last year's goals in the coming year.  Especially the being more selective part.  Read a little less, read a lot better, and live much more.  Yes, that'll be the goal. And I want to get in more classics.

I wish you all a fun, safe evening of celebrations, and a brilliant, book-filled new year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Wrap Up The Year Meme

Since I came across this meme a couple of years ago, it's become something of an annual fixture.  So, as usual, here is my wrap-up-the-year meme --

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?


Track (via the fascinating realm of the medical ultrasound) the growth of the Little Inkslinger and anticipate his/her arrival in this great big wild world.  

2. What countries did you visit?


This question is beginning to mock me.  This year was yet another wash-out for travelling.  We'd intended on a trip down the east coast of the U.S., but events conspired against us.

3. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

What we lacked in 2011 was a Little Inkslinger.  Hopefully, if all goes well, we'll get to meet the Little Inkslinger in 2012.

4. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Surviving a weird health episode and expecting the Little Inkslinger. 

5. What was your biggest failure?


Not recognizing what was wrong with my leg before it became much more complicated, contributing to an invalid-like existence for much of 2011 (a little too Victorian, if you know what I mean).

6. What was the best thing you bought?

An honest-to-goodness, made-out-of-real-wood splendidly healthy crib for the Little Inkslinger.  (Those cribs made from pressed boards and chemicals worry me).

7. Whose behaviour merited celebration?

Mr. Inkslinger, again.  Supportive doesn't even begin to cover it. 

8. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

Least said, soonest forgotten.  

9. Where did most of your money go?

a).Same answer as last year (I'll sing this tune til the song changes):
Student loans (and the subsequent trials related thereto) soak up a lot of time and cash (and had I known it was going to be like this I would have expected/demanded a great deal more from my university experience).


b).Oh, and preparing/buying for the Little Inkslinger.

10. What song will always remind you of 2011?

There are so many to choose from.  But I guess I'll go with Fleet Foxes' White Winter Hymnal. A friend introduced me to this song earlier in the year.







11. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

a). I believe I'm happier, if a little tired and cranky off and on from lack of sleep and general discomfort. b). Pregnant. 'Nuff said. c). Richer in every way except monetary. :)

12. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Writing. Hiking. 

13. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Worrying. Fretting. Borrowing trouble . . . The usual.

14. What was your favourite TV program?

I don't think I had a favourite TV program this year. Oh, perhaps the BBC's Sherlock. 

15. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Still intending to keep hate out of the emotional diet. 

16. What was the best book you read?

See upcoming top five post.

17. What did you want and get?

We'll see . . . 

18. What did you want and not get?

If #17 comes through, there is very little to say to this question. 

19. Best Musical Discovery?


Mumford & Sons.  Or The Decemberists.

20. What was your favourite film of this year?


As usual, the films I watched this year ranged all over the place in terms of genre and year of release.  I'm not sure which was my favourite.  I did enjoy the following immensely:


Broken Flowers (2005)
The Girl in the Cafe (2005)
Drive (2011)
Barton Fink (1991)
TiMER (2009)

21. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

What did I do on my birthday?  I believe I had a low-key celebration with Mr. Inkslinger and my sister.  It involved eclair cake and a new piano.

22. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Less anxiety and better health.  

23. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

'Will it fit over the baby bump?'  That's pretty much it.

24. What kept you sane?

Sanity is definitely overrated.

25. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?


This year? Hmm . . . Benedict Cumberbatch, perhaps. :)


26. What political issue stirred you the most?


I remain unstirred. But the American Republican race is nothing if not entertaining seen via Jon Stewart.

27. Who did you miss?

Still my mum. Even more as I get closer to becoming a mother myself.

28. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.


Any control you think you have over your life is usually an illusion.  

Holiday Happy

Relaxing with family, playing board games, eating peanut brittle.  There was even a light dusting of snow that arrived just in time for Christmas. Our low-key Christmas was certainly enjoyable despite some of the (temporary) restrictions that go along with my current health.  I even somehow found time in between the trimming, eating, and wrapping paper-ripping to finish reading John Le Carré's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy which I quite enjoyed.  (I'm looking forward to watching the new film with Gary Oldman sometime in the nebulous future when I am able to sit through approximately two hours at a time. So I thought it'd be a good idea to prepare by reading the novel first.) 


And, of course, to cap off the joy, many of the presents under the tree were books!

From the mystery-loving aunt: the new P.D. James, Death Comes to Pemberley and even though I've not previously read any James this is a welcome addition given the subject matter and setting.  I've started in on it already and I have to say James seems to know how to recreate a Jane Austen mood. 

And there was a Guy Gavriel Kay (Sailing To Sarantium) from the sister.

Mr. Inkslinger, always seeking to expand my horizons, included a variety of delicious-looking books.  Among them:   The Man From Beijing by Henning Menkel, A Study In Sherlock edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger, and a book I've definitely been wanting to read titled Mnemonic: A Book of Trees by Theresa Kishkan.

Anticipating more games and reading in the days ahead!  Holidays are nice.

Image(s) courtesy VintageHolidayCrafts.com

Wishing each of you a holiday filled with good food, good reads, and great people.

You know how when you come across a book that is a pleasant surprise, is so much better than you were expecting (not that you were necessarily expecting something terrible), you have a tendency to find yourself growing extra enthusiastic about it?  Recommending it to friends and family with a 'it's so much better than you might think!'  Well, this was one of those books.  A friend handed it to me with a 'check this out' approach.  I looked at the cover and description and thought, 'I'm not really sure this is my kind of book. A newspaper guy reminiscing about various things New Brunswick? Interesting isn't the first word that comes to mind.'  And yet it was just that, interesting. Engaging, warm, funny.  Sure, the author sometimes writes about public figures I've either never heard of or only have a passing knowledge of, but it's the way he writes about them that wins you over.  And the personal anecdotes, the memories of his childhood, his family, growing up in the Depression, are absolutely engrossing.  

It's the memoir of the late Ralph Costello, a big name in Atlantic Canadian journalism, called The Price of Honesty: Life, Laughter and Liquid Lunches.  And it's one of the best nonfiction books I've read all year.  He certainly had a way with words. It's like O'Henry meets Paul Harvey, or something along those lines. There are chuckle-out-loud moments when he points out the vanity and foibles of the small and great, but there's always a warm-heartedness about it all that is absolutely refreshing in these cynical times.  What comes across is the affection Costello had for most of these people, whether family member or friend and colleague or political leader.


I inhaled the book in two days and was rather sad when I reached the last page.  Of course, the lovely thing about books is you can just go back to the beginning and start all over again.

Now THAT'S a novel!  I've just finished what is just about the best Canadian novel I've read this year.  It's That Forgetful Shore, Trudy Morgan-Cole's story about two friends whose seemingly linked life paths diverge in the aftermath of educational opportunities and economic concerns, WWI, and the inevitable twists and turns of individual choices and secrets.  Kit and Triffie, from a small fishing village in early 20th century Newfoundland, are twin souls, best friends, and share a love of learning, books, and adventure.  Inevitably, life tests their ambitions and their loyalties.

The characterization is organic, the story is compellingly straightforward and (thank the literary muses all) gimmick free (I can't tell you how tedious I'm beginning to find the current climate of lit fict in Canada with its often overwrought 'experimentation' of prose forms and language, coupled with the obvious MFA influence on what is 'authentically Canadian' .  . . but I digress).  Secrets, lies, betrayals, scandal are woven seamlessly into the natural progression of a human life.  These people are believably real, with motivations that make sense.  


Kit and Triffie make their way in a world divided by gender, class, war, and money.  While Kit makes good on many of her childhood dreams only to find that those dreams aren't quite as satisfying as she'd hoped, Triffie finds herself locked in a world defined by fishing, the weather, and debt. Her only escape is the emotional release of a religious life that none of her friends or family understands. How will a childhood friendship endure the inevitable slings and arrows?  What is the importance of friendship, anyway?  Such a human tale is That Forgetful Shore. So enjoyable. A story I could really sink into and think about and live through with the characters.   

A Christmas Frame of Mind

Due to my last two reading choices (see below), I'm thinking of interesting books that are about/set during or feature Christmas and thought I'd work up a list.  It's proving harder than I anticipated:


A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens  (the most obvious choice!)
The Story of a Plush Bear by Laura Lee Hope (A number of the toy books by Hope either begin with or involve Santa Claus and his workshop full of elves.)
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Envious Casca by Georgette Heyer (I've just read my way through this one.  A mystery set over Christmas holidays at a rich man's house.  Fun stuff.)
I am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley (Also just finished.  It's a fun, light addition to the Flavia books, and set during the Christmas holidays as well.)


Or maybe just books significantly set in winter or wherein winter plays an almost character-like role:


Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
A Certain Slant of Light by Cynthia Thayer
The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys


And I know I'm forgetting/unaware of a whole passel of them . . . any suggestions out there?


And a non-Christmas link to a great essay by Jeffery Donaldson.  For those who, like me, just love literature and words and talking/writing about same . . . click here.


Oh, and one more thing!  For those of you who (again, like me) like paperdolls, Inside A Black Apple is offering a free download.