Canada Reads #4: On a Cold Road

So if I said I wasn't a hockey fan (see my thoughts on The Game) then I should also admit that I am not a huge rock'n'roll fan.  However, I do love music and love love love performing (in my own little head I'm a Broadway star) which is probably why I enjoyed On A Cold Road as much as I did. 

I was a little surprised--after all, this is the wayward story of The Rheostatics as they traipse around Canada with The Tragically Hip.  As a fan of CBC Radio, I had definitely heard/of The Rheostatics but to assume that I would therefore enjoy a story of their cross-country travels?  I wasn't so sure. 

But I loved it!  It was an easy read (not nearly as dense as The Tiger) and was a great insight into what day-to-day life is like for most musicians/artists.  For me, the little stories that happen behind the scenes, the things the audience is never meant to know or notice, those are the stories I love.  And I also appreciate Bidini's willingness to share his book space.  After a story or two about The Rheostatics, he turns to the voice of "the chorus" -- a whole group of singers/musicians/music industry people who share his/her own story about a topic--their first gig, worst buses they toured on, little towns they will always remember playing in, and so on.  All of these great windows into the nitty, gritty parts of being a Canadian musician.   All compellingly written in a way that even if you have no idea  who they are talking about (like me), you can somehow relate to the story, the moment, the experience.  Where I felt like The Game never really let me get that close to hockey and the real life of an athlete, On a Cold Road managed to let me get close to the musicians and allowed me to experience all the emotions of being on the road. 

But, in all fairness, I am a performer.  I try to find my way on some kind of stage at least once a year.  I love the backstages, the comradery and the amazing transformation from regular people to actors that comes the second you enter the wings of the theatre.  Nothing is quite like creating art, creating yourself and creating community through music.  So, in that sense, I get Bidini's story.  It compels me because it allowed me to enter into the backstage of a world I will never know (ie. rock'n'roll).  It also reminds me of the moments that I hold so dear--moments no photo, no words, no blog could ever capture.  Moments that are pure art, pure relationship, pure community. 

Wanna know what it's like?  Let On A Cold Road tell you. 

Going, going, gone...

In Canada Reads 2012 news Prisoner of Tehran is already out of the running and I am disappointed.  Then again, I still have many of the books to read.  But I do think it is an important book...and CBC must agree as it made the top 5. 

The Tiger is chilling and gripping so far, but I am going to have to return it to the library without completing it, which have to find it from another source.  Perhaps this dilemma is when the e-reader would be handy!  Who knew Russian politics (both governmental and environmental) could be so engrossing? 

Another book complete! The Game is done...

Canada Reads #2 Complete!

I finally finished The Game by Ken Dryden.  It took me forever and ever, amen.  I’m not a slow reader—actually, I probably read too quickly to a fault most of the time.  But this book was slow going for me. 

I think there was a basic problem: this book has been written for hockey fans in the 1980’s and I am neither a) a huge hockey fan or b) aware of what hockey was like in the 1980’s/living in the 1980's.

Ken Dryden is writing for people who want to understand the nuance and rhythm of the game – but the writing was almost prohibitive if you weren’t terribly well-versed in hockey names/personalities of the mid-century game.  And while my FIL knew every single person, I struggled with who was on what team.  And when I am having trouble following the train of thought, I tend to feel frustrated and give up.  But I didn't.  And I'm glad I  stuck it out.  Either Dryden got more interesting, or I was better able to engage the subject matter, but the end was better than the beginning. 

There are some great points about superstition, luck and the strange culture of professional sports (dynamics between teams, managers, coaches; the locker room during practice, before, during and after games; and what its like to be 'on the road').  Dryden also makes great points about the interaction between sports and money.  These topics certainly were interesting…if a bit long winded.   I also appreciated his explanation of how the game developed (the history geek in me loves a historical recap) but I didn’t need all the stuff around it. 

The book was missing was a consistent thread to hold on to.  I often lost sight of where I was, what had happened and where I was expecting to end up.  The content seemed much more commentary than story driven, which is fine, but a central strand to hold onto can really help the inexperienced (ie, me) engage the commentary being provided on a certain topic (in this case, hockey).  Perhaps more of a base story would have helped with all the moments I really had no idea what was going on. 

Okay, so The Game is not getting my vote (not that CBC is asking me) but I am better versed in hockey culture and history—which will come in handy hanging out with my husband, father in law and brothers in law on the couch enjoying a hockey game.  And that is always a good thing! 

Next up: The Tiger by John Vaillant.  The subtitle: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival. I’m both completely intrigued and a *little* scared!

The Game...

So I was hoping The Game would be great.  I was sceptical, yes, but I was hoping to be wrong.  I like it when books/movies/events prove me wrong (confession: I might have a *slight* leaning towards scepticism).  But I am always good with learning to appreciate something new and I was truly ready to be surprised by the hockey book.  But, alas, I have not been.  It has been slooooow going.  Slow.  The book claims to be the best hockey book ever written.  That must be a very, very low bar.  Hopefully hockey writing has improved since 1983. 

But I won't quit.  I will see it through.  The last twenty pages I read have been the most interesting so far--talking about the shift in sports from athlete to celebrity and the impact of big business on the game.  This little section has been quite compelling and thought provoking.  But it is half way through the book and I'm not sure twenty pages of good reading justifies 300 pages of writing. 

Also, goalie masks from the 1970's are a little scary.  Just saying.  I think I'm a bit afraid of Ken Dryden now. 

Canada Reads #2...and I'm Sceptical.

Hockey.  Really?  Hockey.  I have to read about hockey.  My next Canada Reads book is The Game by Ken Dryden and I have committed to the Canada Reads books, so I will stay committed.  But, really?  Hockey?  I know it is a national past time and all that jazz, but do we have to read about it too?  Isn’t a nightly viewing and day-long televised unpacking of each play enough?  No? 

I do like some hockey.  Playoff hockey is great.  So is international hockey (bigger rinks, cleaner plays) and I generally love watching Olympic sports.  But everyday (and in Canada it is everyday) hockey is more than I can handle.   This book better be about some good hockey.  My husband B tells me it will be, but I am sceptical.  Super-duper sceptical. 

Then again, I never thought I’d enjoy reading about the Middle East but I have learned otherwise. 

So, Canada Reads book #2 is coming home from the library today – Ken Dryden’s The Game.   It’ll be good, right?  I am really, really hoping to be surprised.  And to be wrong about my hockey-book-based-scepticism (which has happened from time to time).

To console myself (and offset the hockey-ness), I’m also going to start reading The Food of Love by Anthony Capella which comes recommended by a fellow food lover.  Good books about food make you hungry.  I’m hoping for some cooking inspiration to flow from this one!     

Prisoner of Tehran

Canada Reads Book #1: Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat

Sometimes, when you read a book, you reflect on your own life and realize how trivial it all might be.  The little obstacles I overcome on a daily basis, the small victories or sadnesses that daily life brings, they seem huge to me because they are my experiences, but after reading this book, all I can think about is perspective: getting some and keeping some.  When I was through with this book I realized that the spectrum of my own emotions was limited.  Nemat's greatest sufferings are so much worse than mine have ever been but, I would guess, her greatest joys are so much greater because of the perspective her pain has given her.  Not that I'm looking for pain -- just that I have to remember, all the time, the bigger picture of life, suffering and joy. 

The foundation of the books is Marina's experience in Iran's notorious political prison, Evin.  Moving between her prison experience and the story that brought her there, Nemat paints a picture of a life loved, disrupted and regained.  Her's is a tale of orientation, disorientation and reorientation--stages we all find ourselves in as we cycle through life.  But Marina's story is so  profound because she manages to maintain and promote the dignity of all people despite having every reason not too.  In a world trying to delineate between good and evil, she inhabits murky space between the two and seeks to find goodness.  It is all any of us can do -- seek to find goodness in a world that doesn't make sense.

Her suffering, her stubbornness, and her sacrifice are all beautifully written and captured, yet clearly only being shared so that others will not have to suffer the same fate.  It is a painful story to share but her humility comes through.  I appreciate this sincerity as other memoirs I've read have seemed self-congratulatory.

But, truly, I only gained perspective on the very last page of the book.  I was eagerly devouring every morsel of this woman that I could--I was even reading the "Acknowledgements" to see who she thanked (this section is my little guilty pleasure because I love seeing how people use it).   And, if I read it correctly, Nemat works at a Swiss Chalet. Swiss Chalet. The woman who has undergone profound suffering, forced marriage and international immigration is the same woman who might have served me dipping sauce.  Not a professor, not a journalist, not a politician, doctor or professional (how could she be?  She was imprisoned from 16 - 18.)  Reading her story, I realize that I am barely worthy of listening to her give a lecture on how to love and be human despite the most inhuman circumstances.  And, yet, when I sit at any given Swiss Chalet, I am rarely considering the server's experience and, certainly, no one expects me to.  That's what I mean about perspective -- getting some and keeping it.  Because there is no reason for me not to wonder about the life experiences of any person I meet, but society creates space between us that is often hard to cross.   To be honest, I am not entirely sure it matters if I read the Swiss Chalet line correctly or not -- it was a lesson I needed to learn. 

This book made me realize many things -- the most important of which is my own ability to silence the experience of others by allowing this culture to create voids of listening between groups of people.  Who else's story needs to be told?  Nemat's story is a gift and I am sure there are many others out there.  

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would happily recommend it.  I have read other perspectives on the experience of women during the reign of Ayatollah Khomeini but I found this one to have a freshness and an intimacy that made it a worthy read.  

I'll save my Canada Reads vote until all the books are read, but we are off to a good start!    

Canada Reads...and so do I

When I started thinking about a blog on books--books I like to read, books I didn't like, books people recommend, I figured it made sense to work from a list.  Otherwise, there are too many books, too many options and it is too easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of potential reads.  Plus, I like seeing what is considered 'good' by juries, etc, so the plan was to read the Giller Prize Winners from the past (and present).  But I got distracted (see there are too many options!) by Canada Reads. 

And I love Canada Reads.  This year is non-fiction, and while I am a bit skeptical (because I love fiction)  I am willing to try--only because I have trusted Canada Reads in the past and haven't been disappointed. 

I'm diving in--the books are on hold from the library and I have the first one underway:    Prisoner of Tehran by Marina Nemat.   

Alright, Canada, let's read!