Spies. Food. Weddings. Marriage. Kids. 100 Year Old Men.

Friends!  It's been such a long, long time.  I've been sorting out life with two ever-growing but still pretty small guys as well as diving back into my (paid) job.  It has been a crazy, lovely winter and spring.  And now summer is fast upon us and I realized how long I had gone without spending time with all of you.

I've gone through blogging/reading slumps before, but this slump was really just blogging.  I've been reading devouring books.  Lots and lots of books -- reading 2 or 3 at a time.  And it has been amazing.  I've loved having my world filled out by characters both real and fictional, and some in between.  I've been reading books with friends, books with book club and books with my kids.  I've spent time with my Bible and been reading work-focussed books.  And you know what I found?  That I speak more aptly, respond more slowly and think more clearly when I am reading.  Such a good thing.  So here's a very brief overview of some of what I've been reading (and the settings I've been reading in!):


Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (Eric Metaxas) This book fully rocked my world.  I'm a bit of a history nerd (and here and here) and so I like reading about history.  Not everyone does.  But my book club, whom I read this with, all agreed that it was pretty epic.  Epic in the way that you watch a man decide he is going to help assassinate Hitler without (somehow) compromising his deep set faith.  I really loved this book.  I actually had bought the e-book and then got the paperback (kind of unheard of for me) because I wanted to hold the book and flip the pages and remember significant things.  




The 100 Year Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared   (Jonas Jonasson).  Yup.  Most Descriptive Title Ever.  And that is what the book is about.  Light and lovely, this book weaves a magnificent tale through history while matching it with a fun and present story line replete with characters that you can't help but like, no matter how rough their edges may be.  Also, I totally quit on The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series, so this book redeemed Swedish lit for me...which sounds pretty flaky, but 'tis true. 

My Life in France (Julia Child)  I am perfectly, perfectly aware that Julia Child has died.  I am.  I knew that it was coming.  Nonetheless, after finishing her jaunty and endearing memoir, I was unprepared for her death.  (Bonhoeffer from above also dies, which I knew, but I finished both books in one week and it was painful.)  I really wanted some of these people to live because their lives were so very real to me and I want to know them.  Julia's story is full of foie gras and friends and France, all lovely and jumbly and delicious.  At one point she talks about how she and her husband had decided that people were more important than time.  I loved that.  What a brilliant starting point for making decisions.  Choosing people first and then busy-ness second. My compliments to the chef. 

Wedding Night (Sophie Kinsella) I've admitted before to Sophie as one my guilty pleasures.  And I did really like I've Got Your Number which she released last year.  But Wedding Night wasn't that good.  I'd even say weak -- disappointing!  I'm definitely prone to like her; yet this novel was thin on plot and character.  A little piece of me grieved that I might be outgrowing Sophie -- but I'm not willing to give up just yet.  

The Meaning of Marriage (Timothy Keller)  I'm reading this one in company of my husband and four other married couples.  Together, we are walking through some of the issues and ideas around marriage so that we can grow in our marriages and our relationships with one another.  Marriage should be our priority relationship and so we need to manage it like it is.  The book is good but the conversations and people are better.  If you are married, or thinking about it, find people to be with who will challenge and encourage you.  Marriage can do incredible things but it can also hurt incredibly.  Find places and people who will help you (and your spouse) on the journey. 

Knuffle Bunny (Mo Willems)  Yes, a children's book, but my oldest son love loves this book.  He loves the family running through New York and he loves the search for Knuffle Bunny.  I like to read it as though I am auditioning for different kinds of movies -- romantic, scary, funny, drama, gangster, etc.  It's incredible how much one book can change.  And I love watching my kids grow to love books -- they remind me each day how significant a little time with our imaginations can be.  And I just keep learning.  

That's a quick overview -- some highlights (and a few lowlights). 

I'm off to try to pace my reading of Juliet Stories by Carrie Ann Snyder.  Her prose is magical.

Happy reading,

sw

Why I love Graphic Novels

Oh, the graphic novel.  All of a sudden, a few years back, these came across my radar.  In my naivety, I scoffed--pictures?  comics?  Who needs those?  I like the pictures I create in my head; slowly building up the details as the author paints a word picture.  I'm a reader, I don't need pictures!  Then again, I've been wrong before.  

After all a picture is worth a thousand words.  Especially a good, provocative picture.  Then it is worth a million words (or maybe more).  Graphic novels can go to deep places quickly, because the pictures can move with a speed words cannot. It might not take long to read, but this genre leaves a lasting impression.  

My first graphic novel came from Canada Reads 2011:  Essex County.  I read it as I decided to read all the books but was the least familiar with the style and content of Jeff Lemire's work.  Turns out, it was gripping.  Great story, interesting pictures, heartfelt.  I really enjoyed it.  But I still felt 'out of touch' with the world of graphic novels.  How does one even begin to engage a whole new kind of book.  My limited, incorrect definition of comics (Saturday mornings, super heroes, or Japanese anime) crippled me when I walked into the section.  I hardly knew where to start.  I really liked reading Essex County, but then what?  

 

Recently I came across Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City by Guy Delisle (from CBC Book's Summer Reading List).  Also a graphic novel, I was excited to dig in.  And while Essex County was heartfelt, Jerusalem was heart wrenching.  With a wit that transcends his pictures and a poignant eye that notices truth in little moments, Delisle's take on the people, the realities and the challenges of life in the Holy Land fascinated me.  Delisle's story follows his year there with his wife (works with MSF/Doctors without Borders) and children, showing aspects of daily life (like finding a good playground) and big moments (like living through bombings).  He provides lots of simplified background information so that his vignettes are accessible even if you aren't familiar with Middle East relations.  Absolutely challenging subject matter.  But this book is a great way to start engaging with a reality that ought not be ignored. 

Both graphic novels I have read opened my eyes to the beauty of the genre and to the emotions, truths and moments which pictures can convey better than words.  I'm on the hunt for more (probably going to check out Delisle's other books).  Any suggestions? 

Reality TV and Food? Count me in!

I like Gail Simmons--not only is she very knowledgeable about food but she gets to wear great clothes and eat for a living.  She has THE BEST JOB EVER (other than being mother to my children, which is the greatest job, period).  But, seriously, I want to be paid to eat for a living.  Unfortunately, my food knowledge is almost entirely gleaned from Food Network shows and one encounter with Susur Lee and his food (totally amazing) so I'm pretty sure I would be a terrible food presenter.  But Gail is a great food presenter.  AND she's on Top Chef.  AND she's Canadian.  AND she wrote a book!  How could I resist?  
  
Eating with My Mouth Full by Gail Simmons

I love food on TV and I particularly love good reality TV about food...and the best of the best is Top Chef.  As a person who has extensively googled about reality shows are filmed, Gail's chapters on being a Top Chef judge and Top Chef: Just Desserts host were enthralling!  She provides great anecdotes without giving away too much.  All the details, little insights and explanations of how such a production happens were morsels of goodness to my ever hungry behind-the-scenes appetite.  Now I just have to get myself on a set one day to see it happen in person! 

Even better than the reality TV dish are her food descriptions. They are amazing.  Drool worthy.  Made me want to live at the St. Lawrence Market and my next trip be to the Aspen Food & Wine Festival.  I was inspired to cook (and bake) for days.  I was made a better cook through her little hints and offerings as she weaves her tale, starting from childhood in Toronto to line cook in Toronto to marketing manager to event producer to TV personality.  Her tone is upbeat and optimistic while maintaining a vulnerability and honesty that I wasn't expecting but really appreciated.  She seems so real as she tells her story and yet the food seems completely unreal and incredibly delicious.  Her lovely, conversational tone adds accessibility to high-end food and life experiences.    

It is clear that Gail loves food.  She made me want to eat and eat and eat.  It was a truly delicious read.  But more than that, it is clear she loves people, her family, her friends and her colleagues.  Her love and respect shine through; her humility and openness make you love her.  

Enjoy the book but make sure you have good snacks handy!  

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!     

And in other Non-Fiction...

So really, I'm not a non-fiction girl.  I'm just not.  Some days I wish I could be, but I just love me my fiction.  I love stories that take me far away and it always seems a bit harsh to spend my escape time having to read about someone else's reality.  But, recently, I have been coming around on the whole non-fiction thing and have finding some great reads.  I even voluntarily wander the biography aisles at the book store now.  Chalk it up to growth! 

You'll also notice a theme--most of them are about situations in the Middle East.  Not an intentional theme at all.  I have always found the situations of Iraq, Iran, Israel, Palestine, Gaza and the West Bank a little (okay, a lot) daunting because the history is long, the situations complicated and the way forward is unclear.  The varying realities of these places are hard to understand and even harder to unpack.  For many years, I just ignored them (even though I worked in International Relations).  These books have offered great insights into situations that I felt it was easier to ignore.  Unintentionally, I have now begun to get a much better grasp on the Middle East.  All I've learned, however, is that things are deeply complicated.  The authors of the books below each offer his/her own insights and experiences, but there are many stories to hear and many options to weigh.  If you figure any of it out, please let me know! 

I also noticed another theme...all the books are written from the perspective of the powerless: women in Iran and Palenstinians in Israel.  It is worth recognizing that there are many people who would not consider these the voices to listen to.  For me, they are a integral part of the story who deserve to be heard. 
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
I think this might be the first non-fiction book I stuck with all the way through.  Maybe because it was about a girl who loved reading or maybe because Nafisi has a compelling way of telling her story.  Using four classic Western novels, she weaves a tale of life for women in the Islamic regime in Iran.  Forced out of her work and her life, Nafisi encourages other young women to keep reading and to keep hoping for change. 

Some have suggested this book is a bit too academic.  That wasn't my experience and I really didn't know anything about Iran.  I did, however, know about some of the books she refers to (Pride and Prejudice, Lolita, Daisy Miller, The Great Gatsby).  I would suggest reading the classics before reading this book, if you have time and the patience for Henry James and Vladimir Nabokov. 

Sometimes I feel like reading fiction might be a waste of time.  After all, there are so many great, true stories out there that seem to hold more water than ficticious tales.  But Nafisi's book is a reminder that fiction can tell great truths about humanity that are otherwise hard to hear.  If we let the books read us, we might get more than we bargained for.

If you like Nafisi, her second book, Things I've Been Silent About is a much more personal look into her life.  She has issues with her mother (lots and lots).  She also has a lot to say about how we grow and begin to understand those around us.  This book might be a better introduction to her person, but as someone who loves reading, I'll stick with Reading Lolita.

Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour
I should admit that this book came to me through work.  However, it is one of those books that I took into my heart.  I have never come across a more poignant tale of the Israel-Palestine conflict than this story.  Chacour's heart and hope shine through every page.  As someone who knew even less about Israel than I did about Iran, this book provided a clear and concise history of the relationships between the two nation-states (and the broader world).  Although Chacour is Palestinian, his love for his Jewish and Israeli brothers and sisters is so strong that it hardly feels biased (although, inherently, it is).  If you are at all interested in this part of the world, read this book.  Chacour will make you want to grow a fig tree and change the world all in a few short pages. 

I Shall Not Hate by Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish
When his daughters are killed by an Israeli bomb, Dr. Abuelaish (a Palestinian) decides not to hate, but to tell his story. To ask for change--specifically for the empowerment of women.  This tale of Palestinian-Israeli relations is a bit harder to engage with than Blood Brothers.  Still a great read, this book gives you a more day-to-day sense of the depth of the strain and struggle between these two nations.  Dr. Abuelaish's heartbreaking story is captivating because he endures when most would give up and he hopes when most would despair. 

Likely I'll stick to reading mostly fiction.  But these books are almost enough to change my mind!