Plain words, uncommon sense
I read in the The Windsor Star today that Alistair MacLeod has been appointed to the Order of Canada by Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean.
Wahooooo!
MacLeod’s collection of short stories Lost Salt Gift of Blood is my all-time favourite collection. The stories are tight.
I also enjoyed As Birds Bring Forth the Sun, his second collection, and his novel No Great Mischief. The novel didn’t grab me as much as the short stories but as a fan of an author who publishes so rarely it was a treat nonetheless.
Canadian blogger … that’s me, Monique Trottier. Here in Vancouver. I review books.
Yah right, where and when you might ask?
Well, I’ve fallen behind recently. I like to post an individual review for each book, but I’m desperate so here’s the quick roundup.
Town House by Tish Cohen
Very funny. Jack is afraid to leave the house. Clinically. This is a novel about the madcap adventures of Jack Madigan, son of legendary rock legend Bas Madigan. It’s quirky. I really liked it. Please have a look at this book.
Falling Sideways by Tom Holt
My first science fiction read. Ok, maybe not the first but the first I remember. David Perkins is the victim of a well-orchestrated scheme to let clones and frogs control the Earth. That’s not entirely accurate but I have 3 minutes before my flight. This was a good book too. Really well written. Not sure if I’m a fan of sci-fi yet, but if it’s all like this, I’ll try it.
Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill
If you pick any title in this list to investigate further, sorry no links, then pick this one. Baby is the main character. We follow her from childhood to older childhood. I truly believe that we use stories to make sense of the world. Baby tells herself pretty incredible stories to try to understand her druggie father, her missing mother, her attraction to the wrong sorts of men, the screwed up system of Child and Family Services. Heather has created a strong and confident voice in this character. As a novel it does all sorts of things right. For good or bad, it reminds me of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Strange characters, a look inside those characters’ minds, great writing, a bit of soul searching and strong narrative. 5 starts for sure.
The Big Moo by Seth Godin
One-page case studies and inspirational stories from 33 experts and thought wizards. I really enjoyed this book too. It’s business but inspirational business. I think it will sit on my shelf for years to come and will be pulled off frequently. It’s one of those reads that will mean different things to you at different times. Even if you’re not self-employed, if you’re interested in company structures, organizational behaviour and big ideas, have a read.
Many, many apologies for the lack of links but I know you can all Google and Amazon. I’ll fill in the blanks later. Also no spell check so the editors in the crowd, maybe skip this post, or read lightly.
Cheers and now I’m off to Banff for a wedding.
Exit stage left. Zing!
Via the Raincoast Harry Potter newsletter;
Lucky Matthew Pincin is going to London to attend the launch of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, ” J.K. Rowling and The Moonlight Signing”.
Quote: 1,700 fans will gather on the evening of Friday July 20 and will have the opportunity to meet J.K. Rowling and have their book signed at the Natural History Museum starting at one minute past midnight. The first 500 randomly selected winners will attend the midnight reading. The subsequent signing is expected to last until dawn. Every ticket holder will receive a free book from Bloomsbury Publishing, the British publisher.
I particularly like the note about why Matthew loves reading Harry Potter.
Quote: When entering the contest, Matthew explained his attraction to Harry Potter. “I love reading Harry Potter because I enjoy all his adventures and wish that I had a pet owl and could go to a school like Hogwarts.” His mother Sandra added, “Matthew and I have read the books together and I am also a big fan, so having the chance to be in London for the launch of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows is a great thrill for both of us.”
Lucky ducks!
The Raincoast newsletter also announced that over 15,000 Canadian fans between 8 and 18 entered the contest.
Holy Hogwarts!
Ok, I’m behind in closing out the Better Books series, but this tidbit in the Vancouver Sun this morning caught my attention.
Gumboot Books is a Vancouver publishing company who is using the web in an interesting way to market books.
Quote: Gumboot invites non-profits, charities and community groups to sign up on its website and receive 10 per cent of every sale they generate. The more buyers the groups send to the Gumboot website, the more books are sold and the more money they raise. Book buyers choose which cause will benefit.
Sounds good to me.
For more info: Gumboot Books: spREAD the word fundraising project.
I met Ayala at Portobello West last week and she runs perfume workshops. I can’t make it on Tuesday and Thursdays but for those of you interested in perfume, check out the below info.
There is a new calendar of workshops for July at Ayala Moriel Perfume Studio.
http://www.ayalamoriel.com/
Workshops are now offered on both Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 6:30-8:30pm.
Or visit the SmellyBlog which is always up-to-date:
http://ayalasmellyblog.blogspot.com/2007/06/calendar.html
Spaces in each workshop are extremely limited, so sign up in advance to reserve your spot.
* July 3rd (Tues.): Ice Cream and Hydrosols (children are invited to this
workshop with their parents!)
* July 5th (Thurs.): “Behind the Scents” – learn about the creative process
and the stories behind the creations of some of Ayala’s most haunting
perfumes.
* July 10 (Tues.): Scented Body Care Products (learn how to make simple and
fun body care products such as wonderful smelling bath salts and massage
oils)
* July 12 (Thurs.): Solid Perfumes – learn how to make your own solid
perfume from rare and precious oils and floral waxes!
Silly game over on the Facebook.
Type your name in quotations with the words “likes to” in Google and post the top 10 things.
“Monique likes to” results:
Monique Likes to Get Her Exercise.
Monique likes a workout that brings her pulse to around 140 BPM for a good 8 minutes.
This is sooooo not true.
Monique likes to let kids know how much fun math and science can be.
Yay, right.
Besides the ability to make friends and family feel right at home, Monique likes to entertain with a salute to her French heritage.
That means we drink wine.
Monique likes to go into a power walk as soon as my seat touches the saddle when I get on.
Sweet Jesus, I don’t want to know more about this one.
Monique likes to break free from the ordinary in her expression but also goes back into the more realistic look.
Indeed. Have you seen my avatar?
In her spare time, Monique likes to paint, has a keen interest in real estate and loves spending time with her best friend Tom.
I hope Tom doesn’t mention this to James.
Monique likes to be different. But it sure is hard to be different when you go to a school where all the students have to wear uniforms.
True enough.
Monique likes to create an easy-going atmosphere in her classes, focussing on awareness of breath and an understanding of the essence of a posture.
Sounds like me.
Monique likes to set up her classroom so students are free to take materials and work independently without constantly asking “Where are the scissors?”
Precisely why I never have any scissors. Damn Monique.
Monique likes to mention the first members who signed up because she was one of them.
I’m sure a spazz.
And here’s the first image that shows up for “Monique Likes To”
Maybe the most fitting find. It’s the cover of a book.
Couldn’t attend Book Expo Canada this year?
If you’re a blogger, check out Mini Book Expo to claim it (an advance reading copy), read it and blog it.
There are 53 books ready to go this year, and another 11 Advance Reader’ Copies.
If you’re a publisher and you want to participate by donating some books or ARCs, contact Alexa:
lex [at] cheapeatstoronto [dot] com
I noticed that the paperback for Rob’s book, which I enjoyed, is available:
Monique’s review of Before I Wake by Robert J. Wiersema
Author Sid Tafler contacted me earlier this week to ask if I’d be interested in checking out his video. At first glance, it looks like a book trailer, which is exactly what I’m interested in at the moment. For those of you following my conversation with publicity Dan Wagstaff, we’ve been on about the usefulness of book trailers.
Well, have a look at what Sid’s done. I love it.
The book is for real, and there’s more info about the book at NetBC.com.
Us and Them is a memoir, a personal and family story about how people in Canada divide themselves into groups–French or English, Protestant or Catholic, Jew or Muslim, native or non-native, etc., and how this syndrome has changed over the years.
I asked Sid what the video was all about:
Quote: Sid said:
The video started as a plan to promote the book, but when I wrote it, I got caught up with the idea of the author interview and all the groans I’d heard over the years about the author tour and how some broadcast interviewers know nothing about the book or the author.
In my own case, I was interviewed on radio after the book was launched last year and a minute before the interview began I asked the host “Did you read the book?” and he said “No, but I like the cover.”
To me, this is hilarious and indicative of the nature of author interviews. It’s not really about the author reaching readers, it’s about the author generating good sound clips that can be reused.
Mark Haddon has posted a similar comment of discontent and disillusionment about author interviews on the Random House Insiders’ blog:
Quote: The Joy of Publicity by Mark Haddon
The biggest mistake is to think that interviews are a service provided to writers so that they can communicate with readers. The function of interviews is to provide good copy (and most editors will think nothing of ditching interviews if writers have failed to say anything interesting).
…
The irony is that interviews are a rubbish way of communicating actual information to readers. I sometimes think it would be more efficient to write them individual letters, put them into bottles and hurl them into the sea. I must have answered the question, ‘How much research did you do for Curious Incident?’ [5] at least 500 times, and journalists still ask it on a regular basis.
Overall, I like Sid’s video. It’s funny. It reminds me of the mock interviews on This Hour Has 22 Minutes. I’d love to see a series of these videos promoting books, but I think it also needs to be clear that these are real books. I had to clarify Us and Them was a published book. My suggestion would be to post a final frame telling viewers where to get book information and a link to the website. Other than that, I had a good laugh and I now know a lot about this book–I was curious enough to go and find out. That is what a good book trailer should do.
Via Morgan News
Adobe has released a new e-book software program: Adobe Digital Editions 1.0.
Adobe Digital Editions is available as a free download for Microsoft Windows and Apple systems. And according to the Adobe press release, it already has some industry support.
Quote: From Morgan News:
Digital Editions also offers its own support for PDF and XML-based publications. That means it’s already compatible with quite a few existing publications. It also supports Flash, which would allow authors to imbed audio and video. Finally, you would be able to set up bookmarks, do highlighting and make text notes in the publication.
The other interesting component of this is that Adobe’s InDesign CS3 is expected to include an export feature to create the ebooks. Bang zoom. The ebook race is off again.
I came across Claire Cameron’s The Line Painter in the HarperCollins Canada Facebook group.
See Facebook is good for something other than finding your elementary school detention partner.
The Line Painter is not a book I would typically pick up. It looks like a thriller. I suppose the quote from Andrew Pyper on the front should have been the clue that it was more literary than it looks. But I judge by the cover.
Anyway, The Line Painter is about dippy-canoe Carrie running away from home. Seems I only read books about run-aways these days. Carrie is an adult running away. Her boyfriend has been killing in an accident. The accident happens moments after they have a huge fight. She’s a little torn by what’s happened and feels lost in her world.
Carrie is unhappy to start with. She doesn’t know where her relationship is going, she doesn’t know where she’s going. Life is hard, confusing, and really not rewarding.
The road trip is meant to take her mind off her sucky life. The problem is the car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and the knight in shining armour is a psycho-looking guy who’s painting the highway lines at 20 km per hour. This rescue vehicle is less than flashy, although it does have flashy lights.
The thing that killed me about this book is the suspense. I kept waiting for the line painter to do her in. There are a couple of bears and other shady characters who I thought might get her too, but I really had my money on the crazy, alcoholic line painter.
I’m not going to tell you if I won that bet because I don’t want to ruin your life.
If you’re looking for a fast summer read, and something to make you feel a little creepy-crawlie, pick up Claire Cameron’s The Line Painter.
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