to read..

... and to paraphrase the song...
Books! Glorious books!

The stacks on my bedside table are threatening to topple. Oh dear. Years ago, instead of teeny little rickety bedside tables, we had very substantial table-height shelves built in that are about 18" deep and 4 feet long. My side is jam packed with favourite books and the aforementioned piles on top are in a precarious state. All feng shui people and clutter busters and neat freaks would break into a cold sweat at the sight of this, but all you book fiends out there are saying, "yeah, so? You should see MY piles..." (you know who you are...) I am always in the midst of 3 of 4 books at a time. Perhaps I should be more focused, but it's more fun this way! I always have a fiction book on the go (as a result of being in two book clubs) and others waiting on the runway for their turn; always a non-fiction or two or three, and always a magazine or journal or a bit of something for work. Sometimes one of the kids' books.

So what's on the shelf this month?

fiction:
The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield - a surprisingly good read that drew me in completely

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid - an astonishing novel that imperceptibly, slyly, pulls you in then catapults you into psychological turmoil as you wrestle with your reactions

The End of the Alphabet by C.S. Richardson - an exquisite gift, a perfect little gem of a story (This comes close to "luminous", but I swore I'd never use that overwrought term!)

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - by Alan Bradley - I had to buy this book for 2 reasons - the hype (a 6 book deal and already translated into 26 languages or something) is unbelievable, and the author is a 70 year old retired engineer from my part of the world - the Okanagan. Actually, I already like Flavia, the 11 year old heroine (hmm, just as I fell for Harry, that other 11 year old unlikely hero...)

The Outlander by Gil Adamson- for book club in two weeks

Saving Fish from Drowning, by Amy Tan - because I just watched her on TED, and she mentioned the Buddhist notion of saving fish from drowning so that the Buddhist can eat with a clear conscience!

Mr. Pip, by Lloyd Jones
from the book:
"You cannot pretend to read a good book. Your eyes will give you away. So will your breathing. A person entranced by a book simply forgets to breathe. The house can catch alight and a reader deep in a book will not look up until the wallpaper is in flames."


Poetry:
Circadia by Alison Watt, a local artist and writer now on a naturalist's voyage to the Baja and back. Loved this book of poetry.
find more about her voyage here
http://www.alisonwatt.blogspot.com/

Non fiction
A Natural History of the Senses, by Diane Ackerman
my take: A unique blend of the science of each of our senses with an engaging and refreshingly tangential look at how our senses have played roles in art, anthropology, and the human experience. Best read while camping or lying on a beach with all your senses fully alive...

My Life in France by Julia Child and her nephew Alex Prud'homme
my take: I loved this book! I loved the story of her life, and the story of how the book cam e to be as she shared letters, photos, and reminiscences with her nephew

How Fiction Works by James Wood
my take: a little staid and a bit preachy; kind of picking my way through this one
13 Ways of Looking at the Novel, by Jane Smiley
my take: very much looking forward to this Pulitzer Prize-winning author's views on the history and the craft and the reading of the novel. Profoundly shaken in the wake of 9/11, she found herself unable to write, and so turned to reading. She purposely listed and read 100 novels, and this is the resulting book.

Creative Non-Fiction
The Zookeeper's Wife, by Diane Ackerman
from the book jacket:
"After their zoo was bombed, Polish zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski managed to save over three hundred people from the Nazis by hiding refugees in the empty animal cages."
"Best-selling naturalist and acclaimed sotryteller Diane Ackerman combines extensive research and and exuberant writing style to re-create this fascinating, forgotten, true-life story - sharing Antonina's life as "the zookeeper's wife," while examining the disturbing obsessions at the core of Nazism"

And a favourite picture book:
Miss Rumphius, story and pictures by Barbara Cooney, 1982
If you have never read this book, go and get it! Every artist of every stripe should have this on her bookshelf...
Alice Rumphius wanted to travel the world and then live by the sea when she grew up, just like her grandfather had done. But there is one more thing, he tells her: she must do something to make the world more beautiful. Here is a hint... plant lupines.
For some reason (well the lovely story and the beautiful paintings) this book resonated with Jonah, who is now 14. We had this book, and misplaced it years ago, and when we saw it in the bookstore the other day, he asked if we could get it. Then he asked if I would read it to him again... This is my big 14 year old? Oh yes, it is. This story may exemplify what he wishes to do with his life too: make the world more beautiful.

And finally, the coolest books ever by paper engineer David A. Carter
One Red Dot
Blue 2
600 Black Spots
You just have to see for yourself! Click on the titles to view these books on chapters.ca

Well, this exercise just serves to whet my appetite for a good long lie-in with a pile of books around me... sorry, would love to chat, gotta go read!