Plain words, uncommon sense

Author: Monique (Page 61 of 131)

Roughing It In The Books

Alexis and Melanie have started Roughing It In The Books. I love the tagline, “someone always dies in the end.”

Roughing It In The Books is what I love best about the internet. Here are two women who love books, reading, writing, publishing and are having an online conversation about it that we can all follow and/or join.

The site focus is on Canadian Literature.

Quote: I don’t know anyone who reads the classics anymore, not the Canadian Lit. classics anyway. Ask Canadians about them and they roll their eyes and mutter something about Roughing it in the Bush, which, unless you have actually taken a University level Canadian Lit. course you probably haven’t read. Susanna Moodie’s whiney tale of life in the New Country is the quintessential Canadian novel people love to hate. Ask a non-Canadian and their reaction would probably be, “Canadian what?”

So true!

When you talk to people who haven’t studied Canadian Literature, they really have no idea that we live in a land full of amazing writers. And the reference to Roughing It In The Bush by Susanna Moodie is another clever inside joke. Even those of us to studied Canadian Lit. were steered to Sinclair Ross (1908-1996), Ernest Buckler (1908, 1984) and Susanna Moodie (1803-1884). All great authors for many reasons, but they just don’t stir up the same connotations as their English or American counterparts. There’s even something sexy and unknown about Australian Lit. or Caribbean Lit.

I’m enjoying the current updates on the Canada Reads Challenge.

Book Review: Wallpaper* City Guides

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Wallpaper* City Guide: London 2008

Phaidon has a great series of city guides. I used the Cairo one on my trip and it was fantastic for restaurant recommendations and for giving a different perspective on the architecture, art and culture of the place.

I highly recommend these as supplemental guides. Not a great replacement for your full-blown guide book, but definitely necessary reading in advance of the trip, good for nightlife planning, and perfect as small, pocket-sized gems that you can easily cart around while on tour.

A full range of stars for these city guides.

Book Review: Fugitives by Suzanne Jacob

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Fugitives by Suzanne Jacob is a novel translated by Sheila Fischman, who must be the best French-English translator in Canada.

Suzanne Jacob is a major voice in Quebec fiction and I wanted to read her latest (the 7th) novel. Fugitives is the story of four generations of women who are trying to escape the madness of their families. These are children who are taken advantage of by adults, children finding their way sexually, children finding their place in the world.

The chapters switch between different points of view and although it is evokative and mysterious, I didn’t quite get into this story. It’s a novel of the mind, in this case the minds of four women.

A worthwhile read, but I did have to stick with it.

Fugitives by Suzanne Jacob
translated by Sheila Fischman
published by Thomas Allen Publishers

The Surface of Meaning: Books and Book Design In Canada


THE SURFACE OF MEANING: BOOKS AND BOOKS DESIGN IN CANADA by Robert Bringhurst
CCSP ISBN 978-0-9738727-2-9
$60.00 hardcover
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From the Raincoast Books newsletter:

Quote: Robert Bringhurst takes us on another of his walking tours, this time through the bramble of English and French-Canadian books and book design, from the mid-18th Century to the present day. Along the way, he discovers a true “image trove” of identity, culture and history.

And he does what no other work on books and publications does: He creates a truly national survey of Canadian books by bringing Canada’s long history of Aboriginal story-telling into a context of “book”. It is a context that goes into the depths of our prehistory, far beyond the printed page.

I am a big fan of Bringhurst and a fan of book design. Penguin by Design by Philip Baines was a favourite read a couple of years ago.

The Tales of Beedle Bard by JK Rowling

The Tales of Beedle Bard by JK Rowling (Collector’s Edition) arrived today. It was as cool as opening a package from Apple. Thank you Jo!

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Opening the box. The gift case is bigger than I expected. I also saw the regular edition in the store and was hoping this would be spectacular by far. It is.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Slipping off the case cover, you have a big leathery book hallowed out with a side pocket for your Beedle the Bard reproductions of the prints and the velvety pouch with The Tales of Beedle the Bard.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

I chose to look at the prints first. Love the skull.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Lots of great sketches. A whole envelope.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

The fountain is my favourite. I might frame this one.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

In case you need to be taunted, here’s the gift package.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

The Gryffindor red and gold embroidered pouch containing the tales.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Gasping. The title page is beautiful. I love it.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Jo’s handwritten introduction.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

The rest of the book looks like Cochin Wizard (?) to me. (That’s a font.) It’s awesome. Cute metal clasp. There are more photos to come. Can’t talk now … reading.

UPDATE

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Opening the box from Amazon.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

This side up.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

The Tales cover.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

The book also smells good.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Marbled end papers.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

The title page. Still gorgeous every time I open the book. Loving this present.

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