First off - I want to learn more about the industry I work in. I want to have a better skill set to analyze the books I read both for work & not. I am basing my self study on some course curriculum I found online, adding audio books and other podcasts/iTuneU materials.
Second, there is a reading challenge I can totally get into. Library of Clean Reads
Books I read for this challenge in 2012:
1. Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren
2. The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani*
3. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
4. Dangerous Favor by Joyce DiPastena
5. A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers
6. The Jewels of Paradise by Donna Leon (Audio book)
7. The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
Books I read for this challenge in 2011:
1. Juliet by Anne Fortier*
2. The Lovely Shoes by Susan Shreve*
3 .The Eternal City by Domenica de Rosa
4. The Italian Quarter by Domenica de Rosa
5. How to Love an American Man by Kristine Gasbarre
6. Frederico, the Mouse Violinist by Mayra Calvani
7. The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C.W. Gortner*
8. Chique Secrets of Dolce Vita by Barbara Conelli
So I have a ways to go but I think it's a great list and there may be others to add.
Lastly, there will be a bookshelf makeover. There will be a cataloging, selling, donating, sharing and reading of the books I have. And I will write.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
WWW Wednesday.
To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?
• What are you currently reading?
This is book has been in my collection of Arthurian stories for a long, long time but I've never read it. When trying to decide my next read, I thought it might be a good idea to revisit my old passion. Turns out this is an engrossing read.
• What did you recently finish reading?
The Mute Stones Speak: The Story of Archaeology in Italy
I started reading to prepare for my trip to Italy (I was there for three weeks in March) and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in history not just archaeologists.
I started reading to prepare for my trip to Italy (I was there for three weeks in March) and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in history not just archaeologists.
• What do you think you’ll read next?
Advance copies of Fall 2012 titles from work.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Spring Clean Up.
These first few months have seen me on traveling quite a bit, meaning I've been jumping from book to book, leaving them at home or in the car, never having one with me long enough to finish. Add to that a slew of new titles from work for Fall 2011 and it adds up to a lot of reviews. So, to start a new season without any outstanding tasks here's the quick & dirty.
Cleopatra - (HC) NYTimes Bestseller indeed! Believe the hype. This is a great overview, full of surprises, intelligent hypotheses and gorgeous details, but in a very approachable package. My only criticism is the footnotes are sometimes misplaced within the text - the sentence they follow do not seem to match the note and one has to look back in the full paragraph to tie in the extra information.
The Forgotten Garden - (Audiobook) (started writing this Feb 25, hence the review is longer than the rest.)
Part gothic mystery, part family saga.
Listened to the Audio Book - reader was good but with so much of the story set in England I would have liked a bit better British accent. Themes - Connections, family, unhealthy desires for both, stories, and healing.
Nell is told by her father on her 18th birthday that she was a foundling, a child left alone on the dock in an Australian port just before the first World War, taken home by the man who found her and raised by him and his wife as their own first daughter. At the news Nell, who was the pillar for all her younger sisters and engaged to be married starts cutting ties with those who do not know her secrets and starts anew in the US. She doesn't start the search for her real family until later in life, and it is interrupted before the answers are fully found when Nell is asked to take in her granddaughter, Cassandra. Years later after Nell dies, Cassandra takes up the search and travels to England to discover a cottage on the hill and it's secrets.
Three story lines - on that that covers mid 19th C to 1913, the second from 1913 to 1975 and the 1976 to 2005, all intertwine and alternate to provide clues, connections and a damn good story. The first has all the elements of the best Gothic fiction - secrets desires, a grand property with a mysterious garden maze, an orphan who finds herself the member of an aristocratic family and at odds with her uptight family relations. But there is also surprising friendships, romances, beautiful stories and a great love of place.
Will Read more of Kate Morton's book.
The Confessions of Catherine de Medici - (Audiobook) - Thought I mentioned this one earlier but.. I was slightly disappointed in this portrayal of one of Europe's most formidable matriarch. The religious wars is a very interesting time in French History and Gortner sets it up in rich detail, but his main character seemed to be more reactionary than using her political acumen & ruthless direction that her personal letters are filled with. While it's fine to keep a sympathetic character, I found it hard to believe that Gortner's Catherine would merit the reputation of the real person.
Beatrice d'Este: Duchess of Milan 1475-1497 (E-book) - This is an older book first published in 1899, hence it is a very different writing style than some may be used to. Still it is an extensive history of one of the famous d'Este sisters, rich with references to letters, household expenses, and descriptions, all the details that come together to bring the people to life and avoid a dry scholarly tomb.
The below are from the Fall 2011 pub schedule from work - so I can't go into too much detail right now. Still, no duds in the bunch.
Circle of Secrets - (ARC) Written by Kimberley Griffiths Little (Healing Spell) another middle reader set in the Louisiana Bayou. I love her story telling.
Flyaway - (ARC) Written by Lucy Christopher, author of Stolen. A very different novel but still as beautifully written.
The Scorpio Races - (ARC) Written by Maggie Steifvater (Shiver Trilogy) An amazing, fresh, well told story.
Next up:
Cleopatra - (HC) NYTimes Bestseller indeed! Believe the hype. This is a great overview, full of surprises, intelligent hypotheses and gorgeous details, but in a very approachable package. My only criticism is the footnotes are sometimes misplaced within the text - the sentence they follow do not seem to match the note and one has to look back in the full paragraph to tie in the extra information.
The Forgotten Garden - (Audiobook) (started writing this Feb 25, hence the review is longer than the rest.)
Part gothic mystery, part family saga.
Listened to the Audio Book - reader was good but with so much of the story set in England I would have liked a bit better British accent. Themes - Connections, family, unhealthy desires for both, stories, and healing.
Nell is told by her father on her 18th birthday that she was a foundling, a child left alone on the dock in an Australian port just before the first World War, taken home by the man who found her and raised by him and his wife as their own first daughter. At the news Nell, who was the pillar for all her younger sisters and engaged to be married starts cutting ties with those who do not know her secrets and starts anew in the US. She doesn't start the search for her real family until later in life, and it is interrupted before the answers are fully found when Nell is asked to take in her granddaughter, Cassandra. Years later after Nell dies, Cassandra takes up the search and travels to England to discover a cottage on the hill and it's secrets.
Three story lines - on that that covers mid 19th C to 1913, the second from 1913 to 1975 and the 1976 to 2005, all intertwine and alternate to provide clues, connections and a damn good story. The first has all the elements of the best Gothic fiction - secrets desires, a grand property with a mysterious garden maze, an orphan who finds herself the member of an aristocratic family and at odds with her uptight family relations. But there is also surprising friendships, romances, beautiful stories and a great love of place.
Will Read more of Kate Morton's book.
The Confessions of Catherine de Medici - (Audiobook) - Thought I mentioned this one earlier but.. I was slightly disappointed in this portrayal of one of Europe's most formidable matriarch. The religious wars is a very interesting time in French History and Gortner sets it up in rich detail, but his main character seemed to be more reactionary than using her political acumen & ruthless direction that her personal letters are filled with. While it's fine to keep a sympathetic character, I found it hard to believe that Gortner's Catherine would merit the reputation of the real person.
Beatrice d'Este: Duchess of Milan 1475-1497 (E-book) - This is an older book first published in 1899, hence it is a very different writing style than some may be used to. Still it is an extensive history of one of the famous d'Este sisters, rich with references to letters, household expenses, and descriptions, all the details that come together to bring the people to life and avoid a dry scholarly tomb.
The below are from the Fall 2011 pub schedule from work - so I can't go into too much detail right now. Still, no duds in the bunch.
Circle of Secrets - (ARC) Written by Kimberley Griffiths Little (Healing Spell) another middle reader set in the Louisiana Bayou. I love her story telling.
Flyaway - (ARC) Written by Lucy Christopher, author of Stolen. A very different novel but still as beautifully written.
The Scorpio Races - (ARC) Written by Maggie Steifvater (Shiver Trilogy) An amazing, fresh, well told story.
Next up:
The Scarlet Contessa: A Novel of the Italian Renaissance (Audiobook)
A Discovery of Witches (Thanks Julia!)
The Eleventh Plague (ARC)
A Discovery of Witches (Thanks Julia!)
The Eleventh Plague (ARC)
Thursday, February 3, 2011
The Bigger They Are:
The harder their fall is for everyone.
Today, a new chapter in Canadian publishing history may have begun. One that does not involve the largest homegrown distributor and publisher. H.B. Fenn, a company that's been around for over 30 years filed for bankruptcy protection. Now there are conflicting reports - some media outlets say they have ceased operation, others say they are proceeding under the restructuring option available under the act. Either way, what was may never be again and the industry is reeling.
Pretty much anyone I know in publishing has worked for Fenn at some point in time. In early 2002, before the boy and I moved back to Alberta, I was offered a job as Inside Sales Rep with Fenn. I had to turn it down when the boy was offered the job in the Hat. Luckily, the company that took over my old company thus resulting in my need to look for another job had a mat leave contract available in Alberta so it all worked for best.
A few years ago, after losing the distribution rights to Hatchett Books (including stuff like Disney, Meave Binchy & James Patterson) Fenn laid off all but three of their sales rep. We lost three reps in Alberta alone - all the accounts being handled by the Winnipeg rep after that. Then Fenn picked up Oxford University Press. Not as big as Hatchett but we thought things were looking up. Then word came just a short while ago, that Key Porter, one of Fenn's publishing division was being shut down. Like Fenn, Key Porter was a Canadian publishing icon, putting out books by Margaret Atwood and the like. Perhaps that why this latest news has hit us so hard. We've haven't gotten over Key Porter yet.
Now as sad as this might be, I am tempted to question how bad could this really be. Stoddard/General Publishing, what some believed to be a unsinkable goliath, went down in a big ball of flames in May 2002. They reportedly owed $45 million at the time; Authors went unpaid, books were never delivered, overnight hundreds of people lost their jobs across the country, book rights were lost in the shuffle - some authors are still trying to figure out if they own what they wrote.
But as report in the Quill&Quire at the time "It’s been a difficult month in a business that’s used to them." Mergers, closures, distribution changes, all pretty much par for the course. The demand for the books sold by Fenn is still there. (Yes, e-books are gaining popularity but not every farmer wants the Old Farmer's Almanac in e-form.) Hell, if I was in any position to do so I'd start contacting the publishers offering my distribution services right now, "psstt, Oxford, have I got a deal for you."
(And just in case anyone from work is reading this - Don't worry, I am no position. I know how much you pay me to travel. That's just too good to give up.)
I suppose what I'm getting is this, while I am sad that some people in the industry will suffer from this, there is no telling the effects in the long run. Perhaps it will serve to strengthen the smaller houses & distributors - not just with book sales but also with people experience. Perhaps it will serve as caution to the big house from getting any bigger and over extending their corporate debt load.
But for now, all we can say is "Good, Bad, Who Knows"
Today, a new chapter in Canadian publishing history may have begun. One that does not involve the largest homegrown distributor and publisher. H.B. Fenn, a company that's been around for over 30 years filed for bankruptcy protection. Now there are conflicting reports - some media outlets say they have ceased operation, others say they are proceeding under the restructuring option available under the act. Either way, what was may never be again and the industry is reeling.
Pretty much anyone I know in publishing has worked for Fenn at some point in time. In early 2002, before the boy and I moved back to Alberta, I was offered a job as Inside Sales Rep with Fenn. I had to turn it down when the boy was offered the job in the Hat. Luckily, the company that took over my old company thus resulting in my need to look for another job had a mat leave contract available in Alberta so it all worked for best.
A few years ago, after losing the distribution rights to Hatchett Books (including stuff like Disney, Meave Binchy & James Patterson) Fenn laid off all but three of their sales rep. We lost three reps in Alberta alone - all the accounts being handled by the Winnipeg rep after that. Then Fenn picked up Oxford University Press. Not as big as Hatchett but we thought things were looking up. Then word came just a short while ago, that Key Porter, one of Fenn's publishing division was being shut down. Like Fenn, Key Porter was a Canadian publishing icon, putting out books by Margaret Atwood and the like. Perhaps that why this latest news has hit us so hard. We've haven't gotten over Key Porter yet.
Now as sad as this might be, I am tempted to question how bad could this really be. Stoddard/General Publishing, what some believed to be a unsinkable goliath, went down in a big ball of flames in May 2002. They reportedly owed $45 million at the time; Authors went unpaid, books were never delivered, overnight hundreds of people lost their jobs across the country, book rights were lost in the shuffle - some authors are still trying to figure out if they own what they wrote.
But as report in the Quill&Quire at the time "It’s been a difficult month in a business that’s used to them." Mergers, closures, distribution changes, all pretty much par for the course. The demand for the books sold by Fenn is still there. (Yes, e-books are gaining popularity but not every farmer wants the Old Farmer's Almanac in e-form.) Hell, if I was in any position to do so I'd start contacting the publishers offering my distribution services right now, "psstt, Oxford, have I got a deal for you."
(And just in case anyone from work is reading this - Don't worry, I am no position. I know how much you pay me to travel. That's just too good to give up.)
I suppose what I'm getting is this, while I am sad that some people in the industry will suffer from this, there is no telling the effects in the long run. Perhaps it will serve to strengthen the smaller houses & distributors - not just with book sales but also with people experience. Perhaps it will serve as caution to the big house from getting any bigger and over extending their corporate debt load.
But for now, all we can say is "Good, Bad, Who Knows"
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Hops & Glory - Pete Brown
Pete Brown is one of my favourite beer writers - possibly the best in Europe (since the best in Canada is Nicholas Pashley - Pete loses out on the world title.) At first glance though, I didn't think "Hops & Glory" would have enough of the history or scope to interest me as much as "Man Walks Into A Pub" but I was delightfully surprised.
"Hops and Glory" detail Pete's attempt to recreate the journey from England to India that helped create the now iconic India Pale Ale. Alexander Keith's has long been a staple in Canada, and my first introduction to IPA but not many people know the history and legacy behind the beer.
IPA with it's high hop content was originally created the 18th Century in England to be shipped and sold to the customers of the East India Trading Company. During the long sea voyage south, the beer not only survived without spoiling but underwent an amazing transformation - aging, mellowing and blending to create a brew perfect for the climate and cuisine. It enjoyed many years of popularity in India before it was push out of the market by new brands and it's origins forgotten. Today, the IPA style has traveled the rest of the world and Pete saw it as his mission to bring it back to where it all started.
So he set off on a trip of a life time overseas from Burton England, with a keg of newly brewed India Pale Ale in hopes of tasting the final result in Calcutta India.
The history of IPA, like the history of colonial India, is filled with back room deals, imperialistic superiority and military supression. It is also filled with a desire for home, drunken revelry and amazing fortitude. Through the book we meet a whole cast of brewers, ship crews and travelers as well as the beers they encountered - often mirroring those that Pete meets on his own trip. The author describes the characters and beers with simplicity, vividness and enthusiasm. And that is really what makes this book. At 400 pages, it felt like a fast read but memorable, from his first description of the American Bridgeport IPA to the last taste of the Burton keg.
(It also made me want a beer just to test my own descriptive powers, really*...)
Another aspect I enjoyed about the book was the scale of the task. Just as I'm sure many average people had trouble imagining the long trip in the 1840's, I was intrigued by Pete's own travel logistics: Who travels from England to India by sea anymore? how was it possible? how much would it cost? how long? I was so happy when it all came together (albeit in fits & starts.) Maybe one day I'll let one of my crazy ideas take me on a good adventure.
Cheers!
*Sadly, No IPA in the house. But we do have a Fullers and a homebrew pale now chilling in the fridge.
"Hops and Glory" detail Pete's attempt to recreate the journey from England to India that helped create the now iconic India Pale Ale. Alexander Keith's has long been a staple in Canada, and my first introduction to IPA but not many people know the history and legacy behind the beer.
IPA with it's high hop content was originally created the 18th Century in England to be shipped and sold to the customers of the East India Trading Company. During the long sea voyage south, the beer not only survived without spoiling but underwent an amazing transformation - aging, mellowing and blending to create a brew perfect for the climate and cuisine. It enjoyed many years of popularity in India before it was push out of the market by new brands and it's origins forgotten. Today, the IPA style has traveled the rest of the world and Pete saw it as his mission to bring it back to where it all started.
So he set off on a trip of a life time overseas from Burton England, with a keg of newly brewed India Pale Ale in hopes of tasting the final result in Calcutta India.
The history of IPA, like the history of colonial India, is filled with back room deals, imperialistic superiority and military supression. It is also filled with a desire for home, drunken revelry and amazing fortitude. Through the book we meet a whole cast of brewers, ship crews and travelers as well as the beers they encountered - often mirroring those that Pete meets on his own trip. The author describes the characters and beers with simplicity, vividness and enthusiasm. And that is really what makes this book. At 400 pages, it felt like a fast read but memorable, from his first description of the American Bridgeport IPA to the last taste of the Burton keg.
(It also made me want a beer just to test my own descriptive powers, really*...)
Another aspect I enjoyed about the book was the scale of the task. Just as I'm sure many average people had trouble imagining the long trip in the 1840's, I was intrigued by Pete's own travel logistics: Who travels from England to India by sea anymore? how was it possible? how much would it cost? how long? I was so happy when it all came together (albeit in fits & starts.) Maybe one day I'll let one of my crazy ideas take me on a good adventure.
Cheers!
*Sadly, No IPA in the house. But we do have a Fullers and a homebrew pale now chilling in the fridge.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Fall reading habits
Fall means three things to me - Travel (audio books), Q4 book season (best of the best) and holidays (sappy Christmas romance novels)
I am well prepared for the first, already survived a few good trips with Michael Pollan (The Botany of Desire) with a new iPhone. On the docket is The Forgotten Garden (Kate Morton), Salt: A History of the World by Mark Kurlansky, and another Pollan, Second Nature.
The second, hmm, well I'm still trying to get through summer novels with Birthmarked. Not really sure what I should look for next.
And well the third, the holidays are coming early. The sappy Christmas romances are on the bookselves. Last week I picked up Lakeshore Christmas. Usually, these things all have the same story line - boy or girl leaves small town to come back years later to have a magical holiday & fall in love or overworked boy or girls meets someone over the holidays to help them re-evaluate their lives and have a magical holiday. Sometimes the fact that it's Christmas is secondary to the whole novel (I know that some were simply re-written, adding a few holiday references to catch those freaks like me) which I hate. Well, Lakeshore was way better than I expected. Very Christmasy with just a touch of magic. A good way to start the yearly tradition.
I am well prepared for the first, already survived a few good trips with Michael Pollan (The Botany of Desire) with a new iPhone. On the docket is The Forgotten Garden (Kate Morton), Salt: A History of the World by Mark Kurlansky, and another Pollan, Second Nature.
The second, hmm, well I'm still trying to get through summer novels with Birthmarked. Not really sure what I should look for next.
And well the third, the holidays are coming early. The sappy Christmas romances are on the bookselves. Last week I picked up Lakeshore Christmas. Usually, these things all have the same story line - boy or girl leaves small town to come back years later to have a magical holiday & fall in love or overworked boy or girls meets someone over the holidays to help them re-evaluate their lives and have a magical holiday. Sometimes the fact that it's Christmas is secondary to the whole novel (I know that some were simply re-written, adding a few holiday references to catch those freaks like me) which I hate. Well, Lakeshore was way better than I expected. Very Christmasy with just a touch of magic. A good way to start the yearly tradition.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Try to Remember...
I wasn't a reader as a kid. Music was more my thing. Now I was fairly good in English class but I can pretty much name all the books I remember reading on my own: Encyclopedia Brown, Children of Morrow and Sweet Valley High. Then I found Withering Heights, Piers Anthony & Orson Scott Card. That was it. Grade 11 and I lost any chance of ever experiencing the classic kids' books as a kid. No Munsch, Judy Blume, blah, blah, blah...
Fast forward...most of you know I work for publisher of children's books. Sometimes my lack of childhood reading memories shows but I've been in the business long enough to have discovered some new to me favourites (Kit Pearson!)
Recently, a friend asked me for some kid friendly versions of Shakespeare. That got us talking a bit about introducing our classics to this new generation of readers. Then, I read this article, Kids' Books are alright, in the NYTimes. It referred to a book on this very topic - Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading. I love the covers!!
So I am thinking. What are your classics?
Fast forward...most of you know I work for publisher of children's books. Sometimes my lack of childhood reading memories shows but I've been in the business long enough to have discovered some new to me favourites (Kit Pearson!)
Recently, a friend asked me for some kid friendly versions of Shakespeare. That got us talking a bit about introducing our classics to this new generation of readers. Then, I read this article, Kids' Books are alright, in the NYTimes. It referred to a book on this very topic - Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading. I love the covers!!
So I am thinking. What are your classics?
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