Persepolis 1 & 2 - Marjane Satrapi

I first came across Persepolis in a friend's apartment. It was a tiny place and one wall had a huge poster with a scene on it that looked to me like it was right out of a graphic novel.  When I asked my friend what the poster was from, she said it was her roomie's and she thought it had something to do with a movie. 

I later read Nylon Road (loved it) when I was getting into graphics, which was just after I first started university (I don't know why I wasn't into them earlier...just never knew anyone who read them, I guess. I went out and just bought Sin City after I saw the movie because I loved it, and I've been hooked ever since).  The author of Nylon Road mentioned being inspired by Persepolis (which rang a bell because of that poster), and I made a mental note to read it somewhere down the line. 

Well, whatever, years passed....then I'm working at a bookstore and come September 20 parents a day are coming in looking for Persepolis because it's on some of the grade nine reading lists. It's hard for the customers to find because a. most parents shopping at the Yorkdale mall would have no clue where to find the Graphic Novels section even if they thought to read the signs and b. Persepolis is a memoir so it's shelved under Biography anyway. 

I had a few interesting conversations with parents about the book. Many were dubious about the idea of a 'comic book' being part of their kids' curriculum. I tried to tell them that a graphic novel is just a different way of telling a story.  Like a movie, it captures aspects of a story that words alone cannot. It forces the writer to use every once of skill in order to get the point across in fewer words, with fewer scenes. It is a tale condensed, distilled. At the same time an excellent graphic novel never feels like there is something missing. I love that they are becoming part of our kids' curriculum: what a great way to appeal to different kinds of learners, and to teach that there are many outlets for the human voice.  

I finally ended up reading the books after seeing them (both) in Starlight books not long ago and just buying them on the hunch they'd be worth the space on my bookshelf. My bookshelf that is still non-existent. But that's a whole other issue. I know that Persepolis comes in a mass-market type paperback that combines the two volumes, but I saw these at the used bookstore - cheap, beautiful, great condition and thought who cares. 

Graphic novels are great because they're so quick to read. I read this whole story in one afternoon and felt a little lost after because I got so into her (the author/illustrator's) life.  She describes her girlhood growing up in Iran on the eve of revolution, being sent to France by her parents for her safety, returning to Iran a lost and confused young woman.....Her story is unique because of her experiences in such a country and the people who surrounded her who allowed her own uniqueness to thrive. These books never would have happened without her parents being who they were. What remains is an often chilling, sometimes hilarious account of one woman's life (so far). I love when I read things like this and find it so utterly relateable. It seems no matter where, or when you are growing up or what happens to you there are just some things we can all understand. 

The only downside was the ending. I wanted to know more about her adult life, how she ended up being a writer, an artist, how she came to write her own story. As this was a few months ago now that I read these, I've since discovered Goodreads, the best website ever. I found out that Ms Satrapi has published another book titled Embroideries that I plan on reading at some point as well. 

(I can't get the photo to rotate, driving me nuts)

Thoughts on Nutrition

This should probably be titled Thoughts on Procrastination, or something better able to reflect the fact that I took these books out from the library probably February/March and am only writing about them now. I'm going to be super brief about it because there are a ton of other books I've read and want to write about to catch up to myself.

I was reading these books at about the same time in the late winter because I was feeling frustrated about food....feeling like every time I turned around there was something else saying this is bad for you, or that is an essential vitamin....and of course that is something we hear a lot.  I wanted to know more for myself, so I started reading various things about nutrition and whatnot. The End of Overeating I had noticed constantly while working at the bookstore and it had also been recommended by a coworker there, which is how I ended up deciding to take that out.  The Everything Nutrition Book I took out because I knew it would be the most efficient way to get the information I was looking for - the Everything and For Dummies series are really great - like starting with Wikipedia to get the basics of something, but with further depth and authority.

The End of Overeating was an interesting look at the rise of obesity, the inner workings of the food corporations, and the actual science of our thoughts about food. I was astonished to learn that consuming excessive amounts of sugar, salt and fat literally changes the pathways in your brain and thus the way that you even think about food. As our bodies don't need very much sugar, salt or fat (and the man-made types of all three are the major culprits in this) it doesn't take very much at all to be 'excessive.'  I had also never thought of the food industry before in the same way I think of most corporations. But they still do all get together at big corporate conferences and discuss all they've learned and better ways to keep people buying. Or eating, as the case may be.

After reading that book I tried a test: the authour talks a lot about sugar addiction and compulsive eating - I wanted to just kind of casually see how long I could go without eating extra sugar.  I have had some kind of extra sugary treat almost every single day since I first had that thought. I generally eat very well as a rule, but I just couldn't seem to not eat that cookie or donut or whatever. It amazed me. Still does, really, since I'm still saying 'let's not eat any sugar today' and still eating it. It really brought home a lot of the points made in the book, and has doubled my certainty that it is essential to let your mind control what you eat, rather than the other way around.

The Everything Nutrition Book was like a Human Diet 101. If you were from another planet and wanted to know what the dominant life form on Earth needs to eat to survive, this book would serve your purpose. I did end up skipping the chapter on minerals because I'm not planning on getting that crazy about my nutrition. I was more interested in what a proper serving of this or that should be (size-wise), how your body uses vitamins and whatnot. It was exactly what I needed and I also used the Canada Food Guide to get an idea of how many servings of fruit and veg, etc. I should be eating each day.  It's amazing how much less of everything we really actually need.

I was doing great for a while, during and after the reading of these books. They were (are?) part of my plan to get in overall better health. I started running again and significantly improved my cardio; I was working out at home and discovered yoga (omg I love it) and had lost five pounds......but then I started this new job and have gained back those pounds by eating cookies at work all the time. The whole thing is not about losing weight but it was a really nice way to show that everything I was doing was working....and probably a really good lesson about how easy it is to drop the ball.

Phase II will commence shortly, with a renewed effort to eat better and a return to running/regular exercise/quitting smoking. Now that I've gone back to write about these books it's refreshed my memory a bit, even though it still feels like I read them forever ago.

Sookie Stackhouse Love

I have been reading the Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire series in and out of all the other books I've been reading since around the end of December.  I finally finished the last available book in the series a few weeks ago and am now feeling that frustration of falling in love with a series and getting to the point where you then have to wait for your next piece of it.  Of course there are many others who have been waiting far longer than I will have to - the next book comes out this spring.

Those girls/women who were devoted fans of this series originally piqued my interest many months ago at (of course) the bookstore.  Many people came in either because they already knew the series and knew what they were looking for, or they had started watching True Blood and wanted to try the books.  From conversations with all these different people I had an image formed of the series and what it would be like - same as hearing a lot about someone you haven't met yet.  But I still thought 'vampires aren't really my thing' and brushed it off.  I should know better by now.

Because of that same vague anti-vampire resentment (fueled by watching all these teens come in everyday looking for nothing but vampire junk novels) I hadn't watched any of the True Blood tv series despite many people going on an on about it the past few years it's been out.  That all changed one night when I stopped in at my friend Tasha's place one afternoon in the fall.  I meant to visit for a few hours and ended up getting home around 3am.  I woke up on the couch the next morning to a disastrous hangover and the effort it took to find my glasses convinced me I wouldn't be going too far from the couch that day.  I should add that it wasn't a typical event for me.  It turned out that Adam and Tash had loaned me the first season of True Blood.  These friends work in the film industry and are always good for a recommendation, but I probably would never had ended up watching the series if I hadn't had such a good time with Tasha that night.  Watched half the first season that day.  And I knew I'd have to read the books.

When I went to hockey one Wednesday night just after Christmas I noticed my girlfriend was almost finished reading the first book, Dead Until Dark. I asked to borrow it and to my pleasure she finished the last few pages and handed it to me.  I was hooked right away.  There's so much to love about these novels.  I was consistently surprised as I worked my way through the series to find so much depth and realism to the story.  It reads almost like an alternate history; an America where vampires and shapeshifters have 'come out' to the general public and are now carefully orchestrating their assimilation into mainstream society.  Certainly a complicated task.

Ms Charlaine Harris has created some fabulous commentary on many issues that have plagued society probably for as long as we have been living in societies.  She breathes life into these characters and truly makes them walk.  Sookie Stackhouse is a wonderful everywoman kind of heroine.  The reader feels for her as she tries to navigate her job,  the never-ending work of home ownership, the currents that come with living in a small town, and a dating life complicated by the fact that all her beaus are supernaturals.

All of this is further complicated by her 'disability,' her telepathy.  Instead of this fantasy skill being jarring in contrast to the rest of her very normal-girl character, it seems to work in harmony with it and she comes across even more clearly as the regular girl next door. The way Sookie struggles with the problems created by her telepathy (like everyone who knows her thinking she's kind of slow/crazy, for example) somehow makes her come across in ever more vivid colour. This trick of Harris'; of taking something extraordinary and using it with such deft ability as to make it blend in realistically with the blandness of our familiar everyday lives is a huge factor in the success of her writing.

I would never have anticipated loving these books so much.  I love being surprised like that.  They are great for reading that's clear, fast, pulls you in but has depth to it.  They're full of action and mystery, but also hot and sexy -- and often completely hilarious.  Basically they've got it all, and then some.  Loved this little jaunt through Charlaine Harris' supernatural imagination and can't wait for the next book.

A Few Other Thoughts
- I originally thought the illustrated covers were strange, unattractive and childish.....knowing the plots of the books changes everything; they are perfect and they fit perfectly with the fairy-tale feel that underlies the series.  Sookie Stackhouse is a modern girl in a modern fairy tale - the girl who lives alone in an old house in the middle of a thick, dark wood, with all manner of creatures coming up to her front porch at night. I loved the sort of dark traditional touches that brush through in some places.
- I was impressed by Charlaine Harris' website (http://www.charlaineharris.com/) which is really well maintained and full of information.  At some point I'd really like to try her Grave Sight novels; they are now definitely on my list. She's also written tons of short stories set in the Sookie Stackhouse world; I'm going to try a few of those at some point too.  I liked that her dedications and acknowledgments always came across as very carefully thought out as well as heartfelt.
- Finally, these books have ruined the series for me.  Even my boyfriend had gotten into True Blood and we'd watched ourselves up to date but now I couldn't care less for the next season.  They've veered so far off the track laid out by the plots of the novels I know I'll just be frustrated when I watch again.  I hate when that happens.  They could have easily followed everything very closely and still had a great tv season without making up wild storylines. They've caught the characters very well but the situations they are in are very different.

The Sisters Brothers - Patrick DeWitt

I have some mixed feelings about this book. They may partly be due to the fact that it was so long between first coming across this book and actually getting to read it - a buildup of hype in my mind that overwhelmed the novel itself.  Or it might just be one of those ones that doesn't completely ring the bell for you.

The cover drew me in.  It first caught my eye the week it came out, sitting on a table in the fiction section in the store where I was working.  Bright, bold, intriguing - I picked it up again and again, touching it, reading the jacket, showing it to people. But for whatever reason, I didn't read it.  Then it was nominated for and won a whole bunch of awards.  Then I left the bookstore and moved to Newmarket.  Then I saw it was on my booklist, that tattered thing, and looked it up in the local library catalog.  There was one copy and fourteen people in the waiting list.  I added myself to that list and somewhat forgot about it.

Until I went in a few days ago, and the librarian told me my hold was in. YES!! I read it the next day in almost one sitting but still haven't taken it back for the next person (feeling guilty about that as it's here by my elbow as I write this).

Part of my initial intrigue about this book was my love of westerns.  My boyfriend introduced me to the western when we started dating, and now movies like Young Guns and the original Butch Cassidy are big favorites.  I had never read a western novel, though I'd planned on reading True Grit one day.  So this was a first in that way - and I found the book interpretation of the genre as satisfying as the movie versions.

The Sisters Brothers really stands out.  It is full of startling things and interesting contrasts.  The narrator has a unique voice, an oddly formal one that contrasts with his own depiction of his life and profession.  He is complex, compelling and rich.  His thoughts and narrative are peppered with startling bits of philosophy, poetry and love.  At the same time, his actions are unpredictable and there's no way to map them.  I was so engrossed with being in his head while he told the story.  

The book itself is unpredictable; characters appear fully formed for only a few minutes, their stories remarkable and their role intact.  Each page might bring sudden graphic violence or surprising affection.  The plot is meandering, taking its time, twisting like a river, bumping up over the rocks beneath the surface.  I loved the setting; the brothers are trekking through 1850s America.  They visit and somewhat take part in the beginning of the gold rush in California.  The settings are vividly drawn and the brothers move perfectly against them - this would make a great movie.

I said I had mixed feelings because when I finished the book I felt a little bit like nothing had actually happened.  Of course things happen, but as I say, the book kind of moves along at it's own pace, dropping startling moments/characters/events throughout and keeping you reading.  Siblings appear in various ways throughout the book and form a strong theme that is really at the heart of what gives the book such substance and has certainly earned it all those awards.  I think it's ability to startle the reader is a big factor in it's uniqueness. You can be completely unprepared for whatever happens next - whether it's making you just laugh (it can be very, very funny) or cringe at the sudden outburst of violence.

I think it just wasn't what I expected.  At the same time, I really, really enjoyed it.  I can definitely appreciate a book that surprises me and can keep doing it.  I also like the all-encompassing kind of story it is - a journey, dysfunctional family, secrets, greed, violence, love.....settings so vivid you can almost feel the dust coating your throat....

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Ever since I started reading Jane Austen's books, I think that each newest book I've read is the best one.  I started reading them just maybe two years ago, beginning with Mansfield Park.  My roommate had the film and we both watched it all the time.  Then I read Emma and thought I liked that one best.  Then Sense and Sensibility.  Now Pride and Prejudice.  I completely understand why so many hundreds of thousands of people over now hundreds of years have been reading and loving these books.  


I picked this up at the library for the Florida trip because I've somehow gotten into the habit of reading classics on vacation and I'd recently watched the movie version with Keira Knightly which had increased my wanting to read it.  I saved it for last, and didn't start reading it til we had begun the drive back home.  I took my time finishing it, too, taking breaks and reading other books, drawing it out.  Can't understate my instant love and affection for this book.  How crazy is it to talk about being affectionate about a book?  But that's how I feel.


During the time I was reading it I went into the local used book store I've been frequenting since I moved here and happened to take a look at what they had.  I'd been checking when I was in, because there are some books I know I'm going to buy and I'm just waiting for the right cover - I know I'll eventually have all the Jane Austens so I've been just picking them up over the years.  Anyway, they had this simply beautiful copy there of Pride and Prejudice and I took it home for $5.  So I'd started reading the library copy and finished with my own. 


Pride and Prejudice hardly bears description, and I'm going to just go on for a second about some of the things I love about it: Jane Austen's wit. Her tongue-in-cheek humour.  The Bennet family dynamic.  The luxurious settings of Pemberly and Netherfield Park.  Elizabeth Bennet's sharp intelligence.  Her controlled tongue she can wield like a knife.  Her blindness.  MR DARCY.  The sheer and utter delicious romance of this book. 


On Ms Austen herself: I did some reading after finishing Pride and Prejudice (with a satisfied sigh) and I was disappointed to find that the life of Jane Austen herself seems so sad in many ways.  It's tragic to think of how many of her letters have been burned and lost forever - I can't help wondering if they were burnt to protect her secrets or those confided in her - probably both.  Worse still is the fact that to our remote view her own life seems completely devoid of the kind of romance she writes about with such passion.  I am still full of curiosity about her and will have to find a good biography at some point in the future.


For now I'm drawing out the rest of my reading....I'm aware of having the one-time-only experience of being able to read a fantastic book for the first time.  It's different every time you read it after that, in a good way, but still never the same as the first time.  So I'll wait a while before reading Persuasion or Northanger Abbey.  Save them for later. 

A note on bookmarks: 

I used to fold the corners down, and collect but never use bookmarks.  When I started university I always had tons of postcard ads for various theatre productions I was working on or thinking about seeing, and I started using them as bookmarks.  Now I've progressed to the point where I have a manilla envelope full of stuff I've saved (tickets, postcards, birthday cards) or collected (cool business cards, drawings, whatever, oragami).  When I read a book for the first time and it doesn't have a bookmark I dig through my envelope and find one that fits with the book somehow (in my mind).  In this way I'm slowly working through my personal library and every book is getting a page marker.  It's turning out to be a cool way to save and give a purpose to all that little paper ephemera I like or want to keep.  The picture below is the bookmark I gave to Pride and Prejudice (it fits well folded up).  I still fold down corners; when I come across a line in a book that just hits my soul I turn down the bottom corner of the page. 

   

Twenties Girl and Can You Keep a Secret - Sophie Kinsella

When I was at the library getting books for Florida, it occurred to me that some Sophie Kinsella would be perfect for the beach.  It ended up being a good choice.  I read these two during the week we were there in a variety of places: lounging by the ocean, laid out on the couch in the apartment, curled up late in bed one night...


I'm putting them both here in the same post partly because I'm sick of this backlog and just want to catch up, and partly because all the Sophie Kinsella I've read so far is similar in feel if not in plot or substance.  I only just read one of her books for the first time last year after my curiosity was piqued by the sheer amount of women coming into the bookstore looking for her titles.  I read Remember Me and understood why. 


Kinsella writes completely hilarious books with scenes that border on outrageous while still managing to seem like something that could happen to you.  Though her books are definitely chick lit that is not to say that they don't have great twists and likeable characters you end up cheering for.  It seems that a common thread of her writing is the idea of being somewhat lost, with or without realizing it, and searching for one's self/purpose/jumping off point.  This is the kind of authour where you know you could pick up any of her books and enjoy it.  


I liked both of these and they were exactly what I wanted - a good story with a quick continuous flow that makes it a low-key read.  Her humour is just a fantastic bonus; I love Kinsella's real-girl heroines.  For some reason I picture them all as the girl from the Confessions of a Shopaholic movie, though of course they are portrayed differently and read as separate people.  I just can't shake the mental image kept picturing the characters as that one girl.   The Confessions series, which I haven't read, is very popular and those are probably Kinsella's most-read books.  She's a British authour with most of the books set in London and (fun fact) also writes under the name Madeline Wickham. 


Just some quick thoughts on the ones I read - Twenties Girl is a kind of modern ghost story, lots of very cool twenties detail thrown in, brings home that idea of never knowing everything about someone, even a family member, of there being so much to a life - of having to ask the right questions to know a full story. It made me want some vintage dresses so bad. 


Can You Keep a Secret was maybe a little more fast-paced and has some great scenes with semi crazy roommates - a good portrayal of the nuances of many different kinds of relationships and the perils of honesty. 

Juliet, Immortal - Stacey Jay

When I took the previous few books back the library, I was on a mission.  I was leaving for Florida the next day and I needed enough books to last me the drive there and back along with 7 days pure vacation. This sounds like a ridiculous amount of thought or caring to put into such a task but obviously, I am serious about my reading.  I wanted books for the 24-hour drive that would pull me in so deep I wouldn't be able to stop reading and the hours would fly by. It can be so, so satisfying to be able to just read a whole book through uninterrupted and I didn't want to end up with crap books that I would regret taking up room in the small bag I was taking.  


Unfortunately, a lot of the books I had in mind when I went in to the library that day were unavailable. To some extent, I had to wing it.  However, there was one book I had had on hold - it had been released the day before as I hadn't had time yet to come in.  I decided to start there and went up to the teen section to find it, thinking it would be perfect for the drive down.


Teen books have come a long, long way since I first started reading teen books.  I'm jealous of kids these days who now have ever-increasing square footage devoted to them in bookstores.  It used to be one pitiful row of shelves.  Many of the girls I used to work with loved teen books and we'd of course talk about them while we were working.  Juliet, Immortal I came across on my own while reshelving some books and the cover caught me (I'm starting to really see that that's a theme with me).  It's just gorgeous.  The jacket sounded promising, and I made a mental note to read it at some point.  


So, many months later, I'm in a car with my boyfriend and two friends of ours, trucking down the I-75 and I'm reading this book.  It has a really interesting premise that is a little foggy in some ways - essentially Romeo and Juliet existed, their original story closely follows the one we are familiar with except for a crucial detail: at the final moment, Romeo betrayed Juliet.  He murdered her in exchange for an eternal existence, flitting in and out through time.  What he didn't count on was that Juliet would be saved before her last spark of life could go out (by her Nurse) and would be offered a chance at a similar existence.  Think of Romeo working for the powers of evil and Juliet working for the powers of good, and them having to fight against each other for several hundred years.  This concept is part of the book that is very interesting, but could be much stronger. 


That is all setup for the main part of the story, which takes place in our present time with Romeo and Juliet occupying the bodies of teens in the same town and each working with a very different motive.


All in all, it definitely kept my attention, mainly because of the whole idea of Romeo and Juliet being immortal.  The best part, or most effective part, might have been the role of Romeo cast as an evil character. Still for all it's great bits and pieces, I would have loved to see this story fleshed out more, standing on a stronger foundation. It would have made a fantastic and possibly classic adult book, written in the right way.  It seems like there are a lot of teen books that are like this, and I'm not sure if that reflects publishers' greed or a general ambivalence toward the quality of what teens get to read or a little of both. Probably both with a leaning towards the former. 


Side note: for some reason I didn't even think to bring a book light, and was mostly finished when it got too dark to read. I was lucky that my friends had some mini flashlights in the car (partly because we're theatre technicians and it's the kind of thing you just have around, partly because they as a rule tend to be over-prepared). 

Girls in White Dresses - Jennifer Close

Surprise, surprise, it's been a long time since I've been here to write.  I'm many books behind and a whole lot has happened in the few weeks since I last took a minute to write about what I'd read.  It seems like such a simple concept and yet it seems I make it so hard.  However, I have made (yet another) resolution to try very hard to do just this one simple thing, and take those few moments, and just write it out.  It is one of many simple resolutions I have been making lately which, if all goes well, will combine to create some favorable change/forward action in my life.  

Besides all that, I was initially drawn to this book, like many others, when I came across it at the bookstore I used to work at.  It has a beautiful cover, and I think my very first thought about it was just, 'I want that dress.'  The affair with this particular book carried on like many others, in the form of me continuously picking it up and reading the jacket, then adding it to that booklist I made when I eventually got around to making it, and then finally getting from the library probably about a month ago now, in that same batch as Stargirl and the Paper Garden. 

I think I actually read this right after the Paper Garden and before Stargirl, but I can't really be certain because of the time that's now passed.  I do know I read it pretty much in one go and just stayed up way too late, curled up in my living room.  It was easy to do because of the way the story is told. The narrative follows a group of girls through thier twenties.  It is told almost in scenes...each piece of the whole story told in little pieces; the bare minimum needed to get the essence of the fact of what's happened.  It is a surprisingly elegant and fresh take on some fairly common threads.  The effect is very fresh.  I loved it.  I found everything in it - it could be funny, or heartwrenching, or a scene from my own life.  This is a book that feels like a good long talk with your best girlfriends.  Glad I finally read it. 

The Paper Garden - Molly Peacock

This book had been on my list for so long that I had forgotten what it was, or why I put it on there.  A few weeks ago I googled the title (which was the only thing I had written) and then got the book from the library.  As soon as I saw the cover I was reminded of the numerous times I had picked it up and read the jacket during long hours at my previous job; remembered how much I had wanted to read it.

I felt like it took me forever to read; I must have carried this book around for over a week, dragging it from place to place and cracking it open whenever I had a chance. It's not that it's particularly long, but I was reading in short bursts and would stop for a day or so from time to time.  I was also showing it to everyone who came near me because each chapter is preceded by a beautiful colour plate of a bright flower against a back blackground - I would push the flower under people's noses, wait for them to oooh and ahhh, tell them, 'that's made out of paper' and get a kick out of their amazement.

This is really an amazing story.  Mostly biography, part memoir, it follows the life of Mary Delany, a minor aristocrat living in 1700s England.  She had an extraordinary and long life packed with the triumphs and tragedies that make up our years.  In her case, they are all the more interesting because of her class and location in time.  She was essentially sold at the age of 17 to an alcoholic 60-year old, horrific, to be sure, but luckily he died a few years later and she found herself at 23 to finally be able to live in her own skin and have more freedom in terms of choosing how to live her life.  Luckily that life, for the most part, had steady upswings and it seems she found many years of happiness. It was only in her final years, her early 70s, that she began a project that would give her lasting fame in the art world and beyond - she began making collages of paper flowers.

The biographer, Ms Peacock, became entranced by these collages and over time came to ask herself the question, how was Ms Delany able to make them?  Not strictly in the literal sense, of what kind of paper did she use, or paint, or where did she get the glue....but what drove her to the creation of these remarkable flowers, so unlike anything else that exists?  The authour's quest for an answer led her through years of correspondence and research, and enabled her to tell this story of Mary Delany's life.

I love biographies, and have particularly enjoyed reading those of women who managed to break ground in their relatively restrictive time periods.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was entranced by this woman's life, courage, resilience and capacity for love.  Her art is in every way a reflection of her personal story, and it's beauty all the more astounding for it's composition.

My only dislike about this book was the way the authour wove her own story into that of her subject's.  Some of the connections she made between her own life and Ms Delany's felt contrived, and it reads almost like she is speaking up out of turn.  I see why she wanted to illustrate why she became so interested in Mary Delany, but her story could have been summarized into an afterword or chapter at the end of the book in order to let the main story shine clearer.  Her writing is engrossing and poetic (of course, she's a poet) but I definitely felt that it would do more justice to the main story of Delany's life if bits of the authour's semi-memoir weren't interspersed throughout like jutting rocks.

Still, it is testament to the strength and power of the story of Mary Delany's life that I would still love to own this book despite everything I just said above.  I would also love, love love to have some prints of her flowers to put up in my apartment. My favorite were the roses; they match my tattoo.

Love, Stargirl - Jerry Spinelli

I've had this sitting around my house for a while because I got it from the library when I went and got All Clear.  For whatever reason it just took me a while to get into it, but when I finally did I read it in an afternoon (as I said, I have a lot of time on my hands just now).

I loved the Stargirl book when I was a kid and I think it's part of the stack of teen books my dad is letting me store at his place until some future time when I have the extra space.  Also loved There's A Girl In My Hammerlock by the same authour, though I couldn't describe exactly why.  But when I saw there was a sequel to Stargirl, I had to read it.

Unfortunately I can't say I loved it. It's good, no doubt, nice afternoon read. It's cool to re-visit the story, the character.  She's definitely an interesting character, and she comes through clearly in the book as if no time has passed.  This book is told from the perspective of Stargirl herself, too, which is cool as well.  I think the main reason I felt a little disappointed by it was because I thought it was going to be further on in time; that she and Leo would re-unite by the end, or be together as adults.  So it wasn't what I was expecting.  It's essentially more of the same but told by Stargirl rather than Leo.  At the end there's that same sense that they will be together again...at some point.  Definitely nice to get a bit more of the classic story though.

The interesting thing about the Stargirl story is that in my experience it's pretty universally well-loved.  I even stayed briefly with a bizarre girl in Calgary who had re-named herself Stargirl because she liked the book so much.  I find myself hoping she knows there's another and has read it, because I'm sure it would make her really happy.  Meeting her also made me wonder how many other real-life Stargirls are out there.

My favorite part of the book: the dedication.  Love, Stargirl is dedicated to the sixteen grandchildren Mr Spinelli and his wife have at the time of printing.  How great is that?

Sisterhood Everlasting - Ann Brashares

When I was almost done reading The Golden Compass, I was fired from the Swiss Chalet where I had been working for just under a month as a server.  I had been in 'training' the entire time and was only on my 5th shift serving tables by myself when they (the owner and her son) called me into the office at the end of it to say they didn't feel I was catching on quick enough and they didn't feel comfortable putting me on the night shift.  It was very, very awkward.  I've never been fired before, have never had someone say I wasn't picking something up, or even that I wasn't doing well (at anything)......so it was a pretty new experience.

When I walked out and got into my (freezing) car I also realized it was something of a relief knowing I'd never have to see those particular people again.  I have been very lucky in my working career to have always worked for (and with) exceptionally great people, and I know first-hand how valuable a fantastic manager is.  So I suppose it was only a matter of time before I had the polar opposite experience.  The upside to everything was that I've discovered that I really liked working as a server, and as a part-time job it definitely suits me (I love being busy, and working hard). So hopefully I'll find a position somewhere better in the near future.

Anyway, I mention all that because it is the reason I've had so much empty time on my hands lately.  That night I went home and finished Golden Compass; the next day I woke up knowing I wanted to do nothing but lay on my sunny couch and re-read this Sisterhood book, and let my wounded ego rest.

Every Wednesday I go and join a group of awesome girls in a shabby arena; huddled on unforgiving benches we gossip and watch our boyfriends/friends/brothers play hockey.  Before Christmas I caught a glimpse of this book in my boyfriend's sister's bag and had a conversation with her about how much I had loved it.  On Christmas day at her parent's house I was very very happy to receive it as a gift from her, and I've been wanting to read it again ever since.

My girlfriends and I all tore through the Sisterhood books as they came out when we were in our teens; I remember when the first movie came out we all skipped and went to see it together.  Brashares writes with so much love, and so much reality - everything her girls go through resonates with truth.  This is one reason my friends and I related so strongly to the stories; we could clearly see ourselves, and our friendship, reflected within them.

This last book is like an unexpected gift. It is a fantastic and unique experience to get to re-visit characters you 've loved for so long, and to re-visit them as adults is even better.  Yes, it's true, this book is heart-wrenchingly sad and chock-full of grief.  But that is something that resonates with me too, and sometimes it's a comfort to read what you've felt and lived through, even things that hurt.  I've always loved the lines full of grace and poetry that her books are full of.  I'm in the habit of folding up the bottom corner of pages in books that just ring through my head, and all my copies of her books are full of these bent pages.

This book was the perfect thing for my first day of semi-unemployment (I do work at a theatre but it's only for a few shifts a month).

So lucky for me that my love's sister is so very awesome.

The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman

I read this early last week, and have read several others since, failing my intention to write immediately after finishing a book.  I fear what it says about me to lose track so soon.  Especially considering the fact that I have been doing basically nothing the past week and have had lots of time to come here and write my impressions. I've thought about it so many times but just couldn't bring myself to do it til now. So here I am.

Read this early last week; it's one of the books I bought with my gift certificates from the local used bookstore just after the new year. I actually picked up the whole series in mass-market paperback, with great old-school covers, but I only read the first one; will get to the others eventually.  Now that they sit in my possession I'm just happy knowing they're there.

I first read the series back in high school. We had to read The Golden Compass for my gr 10 English class, and when I finished it I just went through and read the others because I always have to know what happens. I remember my teacher (who was generally disliked and heavily mocked by myself and peers) talking to my mother at the parent-teacher interview that year about how I had finished the rest of the series.  He was saying something along the lines that he hoped we had talked about it because he felt it was a 'dangerous' book.

He meant dangerous in the context of the fact that he is a Reverend and I guess wanted to make sure my mom wasn't letting me get any crazy ideas about religion from the books.  She said something about not censoring what I read, and he said something about 'well even so, you wouldn't want her reading something like Clockwork Orange' at which point my mother turned to me and said, 'have you read Clockwork Orange?'  The Reverend immediately blushed and said 'no, I wasn't trying to suggest that you'd let her read that - ' which my warrior mother nipped in the bud by saying 'I only ask her because I've got it on the bookshelf at home.'  And I quietly cheered.  And of course searched it out as soon as we were back home, and read, and loved.  It was one of my first experiences with the idea of people trying to censor children, or teenagers; with the idea of a book being dangerous, of an idea being dangerous....a concept which continues to enthrall and delight me.

Besides those other memories associated with this book, the strongest one was probably how much I had loved the idea of daemons, and how bad it made me want one.  The whole world is so clearly drawn, Lyra's character one you become quite attached to.  All the characters, really, including that of poor Roger.  I was very happy to find I enjoyed this book just as much as I did back in grade ten, and felt so satisfied re-visiting it.

Happily Ever After - Nora Roberts

After reading a few books in a row with heavier plots and some themes of destruction (Postmistress, Out, Blackout/All Clear -- even The Prestige was creepy!) I took a break by rereading this book because it is perfect girl candy, and I am, after all, a girl.

I read this series of four books (The Bridal Quartet) early last summer - perfect beach reading - and I must admit I loved them.  I've read one or two Nora Roberts books before, not usually my first choice though and I forget how I ended up reading these. I think probably a customer at work told me about them, and then I know I got them all from the library that was right at the end of my street at the time.  I remember that I read them out of order, and drove around the corner to the other close-by library to get the last one I needed to read when mine didn't have a copy and I had a random day off.  Yes, I'm a nerd.

But they're good books, soft and romantic, any woman I know would find them irresistible.  They're about four old-time friends who get to all live on the huge estate left to one of them by her parents, and together they run a wedding company called Vows.  Each woman takes care of a different aspect of the business, with one a florist, one a chef, one a photographer, and one a planner/organizer extraordinaire.  They live dreamy bliss, getting to live near their closest friends in a beautiful setting while enjoying plenty of success from their business.  Each of the four books tells the story of one of them falling in love with their dream guy.  This is what I mean by total girl-chocolate-candy goodness in book form.

I love the pretty picture that's painted, the setting really stirs my imagination, the friendship is so strong and well depicted; it reminds me of myself and certain women I am lucky enough to have in my own life.  I got all four of these (with one of my xmas gift certs!) from the used bookstore I discovered soon after moving to Newmarket.  Actually, that day that I came across it I met an old friend (but we haven't lived in the same city for many years, so we are in the process of re-connecting) on her lunch break - she works right near my place - and we went to a plaza across town where she needed to do an errand.  While waiting for her I discovered Starlight books, and one of the books I bought that day was a copy of Happily Ever After to give to that friend.  I love giving people impulsive gifts for no reason.  And I felt like she was maybe feeling a bit anxious about general life problems, and thought this book would be perfect for her to unwind with.  As I handed it to her, she lit up with 'I love Nora Roberts!' but she hadn't read the series yet so I felt like it was a good choice.

I'm sure I'll be reading these as a random pick-me-up for ages.

All Clear - Connie Willis

This book threw my whole week off because I was so happy my library had it I went to get it as soon as I could, and stayed awake til 3am reading.  Such a bad decision. Coming so soon after New Years, and in a week when I'm getting up just after 7 to drive my love to work before going to work myself...it just destroyed me.  I still feel like it was worth it to read that book in big chunks like that though. It was so, so good.  Love them both and already loaned Blackout to my stepmother, and have been telling almost everyone else I've talked to about the books.

All Clear picks up the story right away and carries it along with the same brisk pace.  The two books truly read like one story in two volumes, which is my favorite kind of series.  It is full of tension, mystery, suspense, heart-aching glimpses of history,  and surprising touches of romance.  It has a great ending that ties everything up well and has a nice little twist to it.

Blackout and All Clear come together as a strong story from start to finish with all kinds of great concepts and plenty of intrigue. Loved them!  --- I was just thinking I've been really lucking out with the books I've read lately, all the ones I've been reading for the first time have been just bloody fantastic.

Everyone Loves You When You're Dead - Neil Strauss

I was actually reading this weeks ago and was in the last chapter when I put it down to read The Prestige.  This isn't something I usually do; stop reading something.  But I had wanted to read The Prestige for so long, and I felt like I needed a break. The layout of the book made it easier to put it down for a bit too. I definitely meant to get back to it sooner than this week, though. Christmas happened, and I got Blackout from the bookstore, and it's taken me longer than I wanted to sit down and finish the Neil Strauss.  I kept renewing it from the library, and finally ended up finishing it earlier in the week when I was done Blackout and waiting to go to the library to get the sequel. But it wasn't that I wasn't enjoying Everyone Loves You.

Actually, it's one of those ones I'll probably buy at some point - it's just too good not to own.  Neil Strauss compiled from over 280 interviews a book full of little moments, heartbreaking, hilarious, utterly true moments.  The people with whom the moments happen is what makes it completely remarkable, not to mention compelling.  You can follow the authour into little encounters with almost any musical great, from almost any genre, as well as not a few with actors and other celebrities.  Each interview is like a little scene, and the book has been put together in such a way that they are able to be grouped together into larger pieces, those being the chapters, and then the entire thing fits together to tell a unique story through the combined effect of each little piece of an interview.  It must have been an incredible task, but it is fantastic to have this remarkable book to be able to read.

Reading the interviews with old-school rock stars like Robert Plant and Bowie made me want to listen to all these old records I've been carrying around for years. Unfortunately, when I cleaned out my mom's old house, I kept only a few of my favorites from her massive record collection, and didn't keep the record player.  I obviously wasn't thinking straight.  She loved those records.  I saw my dad a few days ago and mentioned to him this book and that it had made me take out the records I have to look at (I hadn't unpacked them yet from our move in November) and regret not having the record player.  Turns out he has had one in his basement this whole time. But I was grateful that after all this time I'll be able to listen to the vinyl again, and it came about inadvertently because of this great book I was reading.

I loved the way all the separate interviews came together as a whole. The dexterity with which the authour draws out the person (or people) he is talking to is amazing.  His interviewing and journalism skill is clearly apparent and calls for big respect.  I definitely want to read some of his other books; maybe starting with The Game, which I remember a male coworker telling me about: "I felt like such a slut even reading it."

In some ways, it is simply a book about the human condition. Hundreds of people, emotions like anyone elses', with extreme conditions surrounding them.  So many glimpses into scattered lives.  Many of the people have valuable things to say about creativity, passion, working, living...I felt it.  An excellent read.

Blackout - Connie Willis

I had made myself a promise (and one to my boyfriend) that I would only buy books that I had already read, absolutely loved, and had to own.  In his mind, it means less books infringing on his space over the years to come.  In mine, it means more space for the books I do completely love.  It's win win.  I have a little list that I'm slowly adding to my personal library with.

Now, I worked with a lot of great people at the bookstore, and one of the best things about it was that they were all huge book nerds too.  Though I don't miss the many hours of boredom, I do miss the conversations with my coworkers that would fill up some of the time.  What a group of smart, interesting people.  We would get talking about books and be able to show each other the ones we were talking about, having virtually anything we could want at our disposal.  I heard about a lot of great books this way.  I'm lucky because I will read almost anything, or maybe I should say I will read anything; anything that catches my interest.  I mean as opposed to a lot of people I've met who tend to prefer to stick to a particular genre.  But because I have such a wide range, talking with all the different people I worked with and being shown books from every genre imaginable just diversified my reading; having me dip into areas I'd never have come across on my own.

All that is somewhat besides the point.  I just wanted to say that it was through one of these book-talks with a great girl I worked with that I picked up this book for the first time.  Emily was reading it and told me enough that I was very intrigued and mentally added it to my 'to-read' list, which I hadn't actually started yet.  Later, just before I left the store, I saw the book again and actually wrote it down.  Last week, I went to the local used bookstore (which I just recently discovered, and is amazing, but I'll have to write about that later) because I got gift certificates for Christmas (yay!! more on that later too) and they were burning a hole in my pocket (as my dad would say).  It was there that I broke my rule about buying only books that I'd read because I found a beautiful hardcover copy of Blackout.  I want to digress for a minute and add that the price was $9.00 - originally it would have been $32.00, and it was in perfect shape.  Before I read it you wouldn't have been able to tell I hadn't bought it right from an Indigo.  This is why I love used book stores.

Anyway, I saw it, reflected on how much my friend was loving it when she first showed it to me so long ago, and got it for myself as a Christmas treat.  Everything else in my pile that day was something I had already read.  So I got to crack this open a few days ago after finishing Out, and hoped it would be able to follow up to that book, as it was particularly awesome.

It certainly did. This is an alternative history, which I haven't read in a while, and a large part of the book takes place during the Blitz of London early on in World War II.  After just reading the Postmistress, I had that satisfying feeling of information overlapping and complementing each other; of going back to a place I had seen something of.  However, it does have the added interest of time travel, which I love.  I loved this book from the first to last page; was so into it I was reading it when I came back from the club New Year's Eve and was too spinny to lay down and sleep.  It was good company.  Such a stellar concept - I will definitely be reading more Connie Willis in the future.

Her narrative alternates between following several different historians who have traveled from the year 2060 to observe certain events in the past as part of their 'assignments.'  Before they travel to the past they are equipped at their school with period costume, money, identity papers and anything else they might need during their stay, which can be days, weeks, months or even years.  While they are visiting the past they hold jobs or pretend to be anyone they need to be in order to get close to the people/events they want to observe.  I thought that was a really cool concept; these historians being able to go into the past undercover like spies; armed with their knowledge of the future.

As I passed the middle of the book and got closer and closer to the final pages, I had that panicky feeling as it dawns on you that there is no effing way the authour can finish the story gracefully in the amount of time left.  Indeed, it seemed as if the plot were twisting even more, which of course it was.  What Emily hadn't mentioned when she showed me Blackout and I hadn't realized at all is that Blackout is one of two books.  There is a sequel.  I was so relieved when I read the last paragraph and saw that the sequel is already out.  I hate having to wait for the next part of the book (although in this case it is understandable, as the story is 491 packed pages and there's no relief for the characters in sight).  This is one of those novels that gets you all concerned for the characters - I was saying to my boyfriend 'I'm so afraid for them! I don't know what's going to happen to them!' (to which he rolls his eyes, not being a reader) - and I was very glad to find that not only does my library have a copy of the sequel, All Clear; it is available.

And soon to be devoured by me.