I’m claiming this as a 2007 read although I did save 20 pages for this morning. What a great book.

In 2003 Gruen was working on another book when the Chicago Tribune ran an article on Edward J. Kelty, an American photographer who followed travelling circuses in the 1920s and 30s. She did a bunch of research on train circuses of the times and came up with Water for Elephants.

The premise of the story is that a young Jacob Jankowski, under extreme duress due to the accidental death of his parents, flees his veterinary exams and jumps on a train. The train ends up being the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Jacob spends 3 months on the circus as the vet, falls in love with his boss’s wife, acquires an elephant and almost gets thrown from the train several times.

The story is as fun as going to the circus.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is published by Harper Collins Canada.

Ani DiFranco Verses is a book of DiFranco’s poetry and paintings. What I like most about the book is the discussion at the end between Ani DiFranco and Sekou Sundiata, who is a spoken-word poet and teacher of literature at The New School.

l have a hard time reading poetry. Sometimes I understand it too literally and sometimes too figuratively. The conversation with Sekou at the end of the collection of verses really helps ground my reading of the poems. It’s the insight into the work that I wish all poetry volumes held.

One of my favourite poems in this collection is a short poem called Akimbo. It starts “what dreams cause me to abandon my pillow each night?”

Opening lines of poems are important to me. Either I get into it or I don’t.

Ani DiFranco Verses is published by Seven Stories.

The Hermetic Code is a Dan Brown-esque expose of the secrets of the Manitoba Legislature Building.

Frank Albo is a visiting lecturer at the University of Winnipeg and a specialist in ancient religions and western esotericism. His research concerns the influence of Freemasonry in public architecture from the 18th century to present.

Frank’s interest in ancient religions, magic and present-day architecture led him to the Manitoba Legislature Building, when one day, he was driving by, and glanced up at the entrance and noticed two sphinx.

Sphinx on the roof top. Temple guards. Ancient symbols. Fibonacci series. The Ark of the Covenant. The Legislature is packed. And it clearly is not by accident.

The Hermetic Code is a fast-paced read. It’s a coffee table book that packs a lot of punch.

The text plays on Dan Brown’s characteristic writing style, which helps move the narrative along at quite a clip.

This is a 5-star book for anyone interested in magic, architecture, Egyptology and Canadian history.

The Hermetic Code is published by Winnipeg Free Press.

Cartoonist Paschal Blanchet’s White Rapids is an absolutely beautiful book. It’s Art Deco, 1950s commercial design meets quaint story about a town built-up around a hydro dam.

This is the first English translation of Blanchet’s graphic novel about the rise and fall of the small northern Quebec town of White Rapids.

White Rapids was founded in 1928 and was the brain child of the Shawinigan Water & Power Company. It was a fully-equipped, self-contained community for workers of the dam and their families.

Pascal Blanchet’s illustrations are incredibly refined yet astonishingly simple.

PDF Preview of White Rapids by Pascal Blanchet

White Rapids by Pascal Blanchet is published by Drawn & Quarterly.

Sir Charlie Stinky Socks and the Really Big Adventure by Kristina Stephenson is a pretty fun picture book with a couple of lift the flaps.

Sir Charlie is a very brave, boy knight, who is super curious about a rather tall tower in a dark, dark wood. The dark wood, of course, is rife with beasties and a witch. But like all good fairy tales, Charlie gets to the tower top and has a wonderful surprise.

The illustrations are vivid and offer a lot to look at, however, I found that the story is a bit hard to read. There are some awkward lines. It also felt like it was a long read. This picture book is one for older kids who are willing to pay attention rather than younger bustlers.

Again, it’s a fun story, But I disliked that the stinky socks never play a role in the drama of getting to the tower top. What’s the deal?

Overall, this is a 2-3 stars out of 5.

Sir Charlie Stinky Socks and the Really Big Adventure by Kristina Stephenson is published by Egmont.

Everyone I know has a bedside table piled with books they intend to read. So do I. Usually I can keep it down to 5 titles. I often have multiples on the go. But this year, there was a rich crop of new titles that I did not manage to read.

I’ll see how many I can get to in the fading days of 2007.

1. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill (HarperCollins)
My mom loved this book about a slave who forges her way to freedom and back to her homeland. I’m looking forward to reading it.

2. The Eye: A Natural History by Simon Ings (Bloomsbury)
Science, math, philosophy, history, neuroscience, anecdote and language theory. This is a crazy book about the eye. There’s a story about a guy who wears upside down glasses and eventually his brain “rights” the situation, i.e., the image flips the right way up. Can’t miss this book.

3. Other Colors by Orhan Pamuk (Knopf Canada)
Essays and a story by Orhan Pamuk, an awesome Turkish writer. I’ve wanted to read his stuff since my trip to Turkey in 2005.

4. Untapped: The Scramble for Africa’s Oil by John Ghazvinian (Harcourt Books)
Africa is rich in oil but extracting it hasn’t seemed worth the effort, well, until now. Untapped is about the heavy price Africans are paying/about to pay for the West’s obsession with oil.

5. The Immortal Game by David Shenk (Bond Street Books)
A history of chess. I just lost 3 speed chess games over the holidays. Quirky, absorbing look at how chess has captured the minds of many.

6. Here There Be Dragons by James A. Owen (Simon & Schuster)
Set in WWI London, this is a fantasy, dragon book. Fallen kingdoms, legendary heroes and towers. The next book is out in January. I have to hurry on this one.

7. Cathy’s Book by Stewart, Weisman, Brigg (Running Pressing)
A super cool, interactive book. The fictional journal of Cathy is lost. You’ve found it and by reading the journal, can try to figure out where Cathy has disappeared to. All the emails and phone numbers are functioning. I’ve been looking forward to this one for a while.

8. Getting to Maybe by Frances Westley,Brenda Zimmerman and Michael Patton (Random House Canada)
If you want to change the world, this appears to be the book to read. Thoughtful, insightful, sobering and inspirational ideas for business, government, not-for-profit and individuals. Something I should definitely read for the new year.

9. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (Bond Street Books)
An antiquarian bookshop, a hand-written request and a bit of mystery/history detective work. This was a very popular book in Canada and I’m disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to read it earlier.

10. Falling Man by Don DeLillo (Penguin Books)
Keith emerges from the World Trade Center and makes his way to his ex-wife and son’s home. It’s a novel about the devastation of 9/11 and the moments of after-the-event reflection of this man. It received a starred review in Booklist and I’ve been unsuccessful in making time to read this book, but I definitely will get to it.

11. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (Harper Collins Canada)
Runaway bestseller about a guy who runs away with the circus. Looks fantastic.

12. House of Meetings by Martin Amis (Knopf Canada)
Described as haunting! I love Amis. Conjugal visits in the labour camps of the Soviet Union. This is the story of one of those meetings, and a problematic love triangle. I really should have read this one asap. James just noticed it and I’m sure it will disappear from my shelf.

13. The 100-Mile Diet by Alisa Smith and JB MacKinnon (Random House Canada)
I know enough about this book that I feel like I’ve read it. James read it and failed to write a review, but he does talk about it non-stop so there’s hard-core word of mouth happening there. This is the book that inspired, or rather reinforced, our habit of eating locally.

14. The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland (Random House Canada)
Sounds hilarious, and I’ve never read a Coupland book. Honestly, how can that be? I know. This is a love story set in an office supply store. It’s right up my goofy alley.

15. A Covenant of Salt by Martine Desjardins (Talonbooks)
1791. This is a novel of Quebec and Irish legend, stonecutting, and family grudges.

Any thoughts on which ones I should read first?