Hello KOBO

When the eReader first came out, I was completely opposed to even looking at one. How dare companies try to create an electronic device that people will choose over a traditional, print book? There was NO WAY I would ever consider an eReader, and I quickly put the whole concept of them out of my mind.

Then, I landed a job as the publicist for the Winnipeg International Writers Festival last summer. I was going on a trip to Toronto, so my boss handed me the festival eReader that everyone uses when they travel. It was already loaded with copies of at least ten novels, which meant that I didn’t have to lug around a pile of books in my luggage.

I grudgingly accepted the device, and went merrily on my way.

While I hate to admit it, the eReader made my trip so much easier. I was still able to read at my own rate – which is very quickly, if you’re curious – but I didn’t have to deal with the hassle of carrying around multiple books. Slowly, I was beginning to see why so many people were falling in love with the eReader.

When I returned to Winnipeg, I decided to do more research about eReader’s. I discovered that books are cheap if you buy them for your device, and you can sync all of your electronics. This means that I can read a book across my eReader, smart phone AND iPod. It will remember the spot I left off on, and will update automatically when I log into my account.

It is an intuitive system that is both easy to use and addictive. No wonder so many people love eReaders.

Then, I discovered the touch screen KOBO eReader with wifi – and I was hooked. I had finally given in, and for Christmas my fiancé bought me exactly the eReader I wanted. Within an hour of opening it, I had already downloaded as many public domain classics as I could find. Then, I moved onto the new releases.

I’ve had my eReader for a few months now, and I absolutely love it. I still read traditional print books, and buy them just as often as I used to. Even though I have a new, electronic device, I won’t give up on print entirely.

'The Girls' by Lori Lansens

What would you do if you were constantly being followed?

If every moment of every day there was someone watching your every move? You can’t wake up, roll over, take a shower or read a book without a constant, nagging presence reminding you that you’re not alone. Would you go crazy? Would you try to break free? Would you do anything for a moment of freedom and solitude?

What would you do if the person constantly in your shadow was your sister?

The Girls by Lori Lansens tells the story of Rose and Ruby, a fictional pair of twins joined permanently at the head. They are conjoined twins that cannot be separated, because their heads share a vein vital to the survival of both girls.

Rose is regular height with a misshapen face; Ruby is small, yet beautiful, and needs to be carried on Rose’s hip like a child. Despite being connected, the girls are completely different. It was Rose’s idea to write her autobiography, and The Girls begins from her perspective. Gradually it shifts, and as the story progresses we get to hear from Ruby too.

For anyone who might be skeptical about the content of this novel, I assure you The Girls is worth reading. Written in the voice of both sisters, the timeline shifts back and forth as Rose and Ruby share anecdotes from their childhood and plans for their future. Gradually, a beautiful yet tragic story of survival, love and hardship is woven as we learn more about everything the sisters endured in order to live.

We don’t realize how lucky we are to have the ability to be completely and utterly alone…

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

... and Charles Dickens definitely knew what he was referring to with that particular sentiment.

I forgot about Philippa Gregory!

In my haste to graduate, find a job, buy a car and start a little life, I neglected to resume reading the work of one of the greatest historical fiction writers of this generation.

Known primarily by non-historical fiction readers for her widely-popular The Other Boleyn Girl, Gregory has written eight additional novels including The Constant Princess, which I just finished last night. This novel chronicles the life of a character I haven’t really thought about previously – Katherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife – and shines light on her life.

Tudor England is the period Gregory focusses on in most of her novels. The illustrious reign of King Henry VIII is infamously filled with love, sex, drama, violence and vengeance. Throughout his 38 years as ruler, women were constantly vying for his affections – and, of course, the title of Queen. It was a time when one woman could be unceremoniously dumped onto the street with a whispered word from another, which makes any story from this period fascinating reading.

The Constant Princess provides a fictionalized account of Katherine’s life, beginning when she was five years old and continuing until the beginning of the end of her marriage to Henry. The novel is filled with rich details and descriptive paragraphs, making it all too easy to believe that the Katherine portrayed in the novel was really what the Queen of England was like.

Throughout her career, Gregory has received quite a bit of criticism. Historians especially have chastised her for not sticking to history as much as she claims to. When I read accounts of people complaining that “it couldn’t have really happened like that,” I just laugh. We’re talking about people who lived in the 15^th century. We have no IDEA how it “really” happened.

I think that Gregory writes fantastic historical fiction. She does her research to ensure people, places, major events and incidents are correct and factual. Then, she takes everything she has read about a person and creates a character.

Katherine of Aragon’s character in The Constant Princess is believable and interesting. It makes me want to learn more. Next, I plan to read The Boleyn Inheritance, and I’m sure it will be just as fantastic – if not better.

The Novel Files: Patricia Cornwell

Ever wonder what it’s like to be a medical examiner? Read any novel in Patricia Cornwell’s Dr. Kay Scarpetta Series, and you’ll quickly find out.

There are currently four main characters in the series, and each one has their own, distinct personality. Dr. Kay Scarpetta is the main character, and she is roughly 55 years old. She has been working as a medical examiner for over 20 years, and always uses the latest forensic technology in her investigations. She is a tough, strong-willed, no nonsense protagonist, and is based on the real-life former Virginia Chief Medical Examiner Marcella Fierro, MD.

Lucy Farinelli is Scarpetta’s 30-something niece who enters the FBI at age 18. She’s a computer genius who also has a knack for firearms, high-speed vehicles, and helicopters (the latter of which she owns two). Farinelli is also a lesbian, a fact that has repeatedly proved problematic throughout the series.

Pete Marino is Scarpetta’s overweight, heavy smoking, borderline alcoholic liaison that was initially a homicide detective working for the Richmond police department when the two met. Marino helped raise Lucy, and in many ways he is a surrogate father to her. He has also had a long-term crush on Scarpetta, and issue that comes to a head in Book of the Dead when she becomes engaged to Benton Wesley.

And last but not least, Benton Wesley is currently Scarpetta’s husband. They meet when Wesley is working as a profiler for the FBI, and at first they are strictly professional. Gradually they begin to have an affair, a move which proves troublesome because Wesley is also married. He decides he wants to be with Scarpetta instead, but then goes missing in Point of Origin.

Patricia Cornwell. She just looks so cool.*

Wesley’s death is staged by the FBI and he was forced into the witness protection program as a result of a case he was working on, and for years, Scarpetta thinks he is dead. Both Farinelli and Marino knew he was alive, but they were sworn to secrecy. Wesley returns in Blow Fly, and he and Scarpetta are later married.

Overall, the novels are great. They are engaging, they are interesting, and they feature aspects of cutting-edge technology that I would otherwise know nothing about. Unfortunately, the latest novel – Port Mortuary – wasn’t my favourite. The entire plot took place in roughly a 24-hour timeline, and I felt that there was far too much information crammed in.

There was also a lot of new technology introduced, which is usually something I like reading about. But because this novel was so fast-paced, I wanted to keep reading until there was a natural break in the text. That break never came, and I found myself skimming through some sections because I became too bogged down with details.

Despite my reservations, I still thoroughly recommend the series. I would start with an earlier book and become familiar with the characters before reading Port Mortuary though, because the characters are the most entertaining part. Cornwell has a knack for effective storytelling, and she’s definitely a master at her craft.

*Image taken from Google.

The Novel Files: Sue Grafton

Over the years, I have become acquainted with many authors. Some have written classics in the 18th and 19th centuries; others have begun their careers more recently. One author that I have loved and read in earnest since I was a little girl is Sue Grafton, and her most recent novel – U is for Undertow – is one of her best yet.

Grafton cleverly decided to name each book in her “Alphabet Mystery” series after a letter of the alphabet. She began with A is for Alibi in 1982, and is still going strong. The main character and heroine in the series is Kinsey Millhone, a twice-divorced self proclaimed loner who owns her own private investigation firm in Santa Teresa, a fictionalized town based on Santa Barbara, California.

If only I had come up with the idea to name books after letters of the alphabet. Brilliant...

The novels are set in the 1980s, which is something that I really like. Instead of trying to infuse modern technology into each novel as time progresses – like many authors try to do – Grafton cleverly and craftily chooses to stay behind the times. When investigating cases, Millhone is forced to conduct research at the public library, instead of online. She doesn’t have a cell phone, which is terrifying when there is a potential killer hunting her down (which happens quite frequently). And, she doesn’t have the luxury of checking people out on Facebook or MySpace. It’s bare-boned investigation at its best, and I love it.

The most recent novel – U is for Undertow – is fantastic. It is about a crime committed twenty years earlier (in the 1960s). There is also a secondary plot line that deals with Millhone’s family – something readers are rarely privy to. And contrary to what you may think, it isn’t necessary to have previously read any of the other Alphabet Mystery books. Grafton introduces you to the story in the proper place, and explains back stories when necessary.

She seems like a cool lady...

Grafton is a gifted writer. Her style is simple and easy to follow, and it’s free of unnecessary adjectives or too much description. It’s exactly the type of novel you would want to have on hand when spending a relaxing afternoon curled up in front of the fire with a blanket and glass of wine, and I recommend it to everyone.

*Photos are courtesy of Google.

Today in history... famous deaths

I'm not morbid, but I always like to pay homage to the anniversary of my favourite author's death.

On this day in 1880, George Eliot - the pen name for real-life Mary Ann Evans - died at her home in Chelsea, England. She wasn't buried in Westminster Abbey due to her denial of the Christian faith and the fact that she "lived in sin" with a boyfriend. She was, however, granted a memorial stone in Poet's Corner of the abbey in 1980. I saw her stone when I was in England, and it was a fantastic moment.

Eliot wrote Middlemarch, which is my favourite novel. It's about four couples who are (or are not) in love, and pretty much details what not to do when trying to successfully marry someone. If you want to know more about the novel, click here to read my earlier blog post about it.

Douglas Coupland's "Player One"

In Canadian Literature class, we were assigned the task of reading and reviewing a book by a Canadian author that has been published in the last year. This is what I came up with...

Honestly, I would love to sit down and have a beer with Coupland. I think we would have a lot to talk about.

Throughout the past 19 years, Canadian author Douglas Coupland has published over 20 works of fiction and non-fiction. He has also published numerous articles and stories for magazines and literary journals. Beginning with his first novel – Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, published in 1991 – and continuing to his most recent – Player One: What Is To Become Of Us, published in 2010 – Coupland has explored various modern human crises including society, religion, identity, and the afterlife. His work has been described as everything from modernist, to post-modernist, to a new, undiscovered genre that has moved beyond post-modernism and into a different realm altogether. Published in 36 languages in countries around the world, Coupland’s unique literary style is proof that even the most eccentric ideas can be accepted by readers.

Player One is set in a dingy Toronto airport cocktail lounge in August 2010. The story is broken into five hours, and during each hour the plot advances. The story revolves around five strangers who are forced to seek shelter in the cocktail lounge after the price of oil rises drastically and results in an apocalyptic end to the modern world. Player One is incredibly difficult to force into a specific genre, but the most obvious categorization would be a cross between science fiction and literary fiction. The aspects of the story that are science fiction include the oil-induced apocalypse and a chemical storm cloud that threatens to destroy everything in its path. The literary fiction aspects are introduced later, when the characters begin to have in-depth, philosophical debates about life. In addition, there are aspects of romance, mystery, and horror present in the later hours of the novel, which make the story even more difficult to categorize.

As events gradually unfold, we learn more about each of the main characters. Karen, the first to be introduced, is a fortyish divorced mother travelling from Winnipeg to Toronto to meet a man she connected with on the Internet. Rick, the lounge’s bartender, is trying to overcome a drinking problem and reinvent himself. Luke, a troubled pastor, is on the run after cleaning out his congregation’s renovation fund. Rachel is a young woman devoid of personality who has come to the bar to find a man to impregnate her so she can attempt to be more human. Finally, the mysterious fifth voice – “Player One” – provides the reader with an overview of what will take place in the future at the end of each hour.

The novel is written in a very unique style. Instead of parts or chapters, Player One is broken into both hours that denote the passage of time and sections dedicated to the thoughts of each of the five main characters. Each section is written to reflect what each of the characters is going through as he or she attempts to survive in the lounge. Unfortunately, overlap between the sections backtracks the story. Even though each character experiences different things and takes part in different activities, they are all trapped together in a fairly small space. It is obvious that the characters will interact with each other frequently. Instead of glossing over what we have already learned from a previous character, Coupland reiterates the same scene from many different perspectives. This style is creative and original, and in some sections it works, but towards the end of the novel it becomes a technique that makes it easy to skip through pages in order to reach the conclusion.

It is evident that Coupland conducted detailed research before he began writing Player One. His efforts are most obvious when reading about Rachel, the beautiful yet emotionless robot of a girl who suffers from a variety of brain defects that prevent her mind from functioning as it should. Instead of glossing over the details, and hoping the reader will simply accept her condition, Coupland provides a list of defects that supply an in-depth account of what exactly Rachel suffers from. Some of her ailments include autism-related facial recognition blindness syndrome (which makes it impossible for her to tell faces apart), right-hemisphere brain lesions (which hinders her ability to appreciate things such as passion and humour), and mild OCD (which allows her to remember pi over one thousand digits) (97). Coupland explains all of Rachel’s brain issues through her own voice, which would be impossible to do if he hadn’t done his homework ahead of time.

Player One had been written for readers that must possess two key attributes. First, readers must be educated adults. This is evident because Coupland writes about deep, philosophical subjects throughout the novel. He assumes the reader is intelligent enough to keep up with the intellectual plot line, and doesn’t make an attempt to tone down his writing style so more people can understand the story. For example, on page 157, Bertis, a sniper temporarily seeking shelter in the lounge, explains to Karen that she has been tricked into not questioning her soul. He says the following: “Karen, tell me, what is the you of you? Where do you begin and end? This you thing... Is it a spirit? Is it electric? What exactly is it?” Even though the language is fairly simple, and the sentences are short and easy to read, the message behind the text is thoroughly complex. It takes an educated individual with life experience to properly dissect it, and conversations similar to the example above are present all through the novel.

Second, Player One readers must either possess a sarcastic sense of humour or a general ability to understand when someone is trying to be funny or ironic. Throughout the novel, Coupland creates many of his own words. He infuses them into the story seamlessly, and doesn’t explain that he is using words that don’t really exist. The back of the novel contains a glossary with definitions to each of the made-up words, but it is up to the reader to connect the two components together. Two of his most interesting definitions include deselfing, which Coupland defines as “willingly diluting one’s sense of self and ego by plastering the Internet with as much information as possible,” and me goggles, which is “the inability to accurately perceive ourselves as others do.” While understanding the words isn’t necessary to understand the novel itself, the reader gets a lot more out of the story if he or she is able to laugh at Coupland’s creative vocabulary.

Overall, Player One is an interesting novel that forces the reader to envision a post-apocalyptic world in an uncommon way. Instead of reading an overview about the decline of life as we know it, the story is limited to the lounge and the areas directly surrounding it. It is a fairly easy read, and at just over 200 pages it can be consumed in one or two sittings. The only downside is that some of the conversations become so long-winded they border on raving tangents. Coupland is obviously opinionated when it comes to discussing life, death, and everything in between, and his opinions shine through clearly in Player One. Some sections could have been shortened, and some conversations could have been left out altogether. The novel is definitely meant for Coupland fans, as well as readers of non-mainstream literature. But despite its shortcomings, Player One is worth reading, and anyone who picks it up will find something worth remembering amongst its pages.

*All images taken from Google.All thoughts are my own, and to not represent the opinions of RRC in any way.

Pride & Prejudice... and Zombies

This is one of those moments when I’m kicking myself for not coming up with a fantastic idea first. It’s like the pool noodle attachments that were so popular when I was growing up. My friends and I were using duct tape to connect pool noodles together for years, but we never thought it was something that could be marketed.

Here's one of the not-so-zombified book covers. Not very scary, right?

To end zombie week on my blog, I want to pay homage to a hilarious novel that is worth purchasing. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies infuses a classic narrative and a modern fad to create a strangely appealing final product. Both Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith are credited as the authors. The original novel was published in 1813, and the modern, “adjusted” version was released in 2009. The plot of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is more or less the same, except that various zombie and ninja elements have been added.

For some reason, my brother and I have had a thing for zombies since we were kids. Maybe it’s the whole “undead” superiority thing. Or, maybe we just needed a break from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Either way, learning about zombie culture is something we have done since we were young. I can’t express our excitement level when this novel came out, and I was not disappointed after I read it the first time. I recommend it to everyone, even if you aren’t a zombie fanatic like me. It’s truly an entertaining read.

The new cover. See what I mean? It's just great...

Here’s a piece of advice if you actually purchase the novel: Buy the original and the zombie edition. Get a group of people together, and take turns reading paragraphs from each novel aloud. It’s so much fun, and you can actually see where changes were made.

*All images taken from Google.

P.S... Do you think it should be "zombified" or "zombiefied?" I can't decide which way to go...

Genre switch for John Grisham

The first John Grisham book I read was The Client. I quickly fell in love with his writing style, and consumed as many of his works as possible. A few days ago, I stumbled upon Playing for Pizza. It was published in 2007, and is a delightful departure from Grisham’s usual genre.

Playing for Pizza is the fictional story of Rick Dockery, a third-string quarterback for the NFL. After suddenly and unceremoniously being thrown into a championship game, he not only lost, but made a fool of himself and let his team down in the process. He was fired, abandoned by his friends, and almost forgotten by his agent. In an effort to flee the harsh tongues of sports critics and the destroyed patriotism of football fans, Dockery accepted a contract to lead the Parma Panthers in Italy.

I had never heard of North American football in Europe before reading this book, but an author’s note at the end assured me it does in fact exist. The following is small, and the teams are mostly comprised of local athletes who play for the love of the game and the promise of free pizza dinners.

In order to write Playing for Pizza, Grisham did research. He visited Parma, Italy, and met the Panthers (who are actually a real team). He watched a number of games, interviewed the players, and familiarized himself with how football is viewed in Italy. Grisham also got to know the city of Parma, which allowed him to write about it in a way that was both enticing and easy to understand. The majority of the story is set in Italy, so it’s important the content seems genuine.

Reading this book was very beneficial to me. I am currently writing my own book that can be best defined as historical fiction, which is more or less the genre of Playing for Pizza. Grisham took real places and events, and infused them with fictitious characters. The difference is that my characters are real, even though it was necessary to take liberties on some of their actions.

Here’s an interesting fact I learned while reading the book: the town Parma is where all of the real Parmesan cheese in the world is made.

Read the book. It's great.

The Bodyguard's Story

I remember the day Princess Diana died. I was young – probably only 10 or 11 – but I watched the television reports about the car crash that killed her along with the rest of the world. As I was only a child at the time, I didn’t follow the story after the initial announcements. Therefore, I was reading about the events after the crash for the first time when I picked up a copy of The Bodyguard’s Story earlier this month.

The author – Trevor Rees-Jones – was the bodyguard of Dodi Fayed, the son of Mohamed Al Fayed, the owner of Harrods (until recently... he just retired). Rees-Jones’ life, and job description, changed dramatically the summer of 1997. He discovered that he would be protecting not only Dodi, but the Princess of Wales and the two Princes when they joined the Fayed family for a vacation in St-Tropez in July. It was the first of many occasions that Princess Diana boarded the Fayed yacht - the Jonikal - but it was this first vacation that solidified the future.

Rees-Jones had a front row seat to the relationship that formed between Diana and Dodi. He was present during their first meeting aboard the Jonikal, and was a passenger in the Mercedes on August 31, 1997, when everyone in the car except him was killed.

Along with quotes from other bodyguards assigned to the Fayed family, Rees-Jones used his book to explain what he saw, what he did, and what he believed actually happened between Diana and Dodi as their relationship progressed. He also used the book to dispel the myth that the couple went shopping for an engagement ring at Repossi Jewellers in St-Tropez.

Unfortunately, after recovering from his life-threatening injuries, Rees-Jones couldn’t remember anything about the final moments of the crash.

This is where the book gets really interesting...

To this day, his last memory is of leaving Hotel Ritz in Paris with Henri Paul driving and Diana and Dodi in the back of the Mercedes. He knows they were trying to get away from the mass of paparazzi that followed them everywhere, but what actually caused the crash is still unknown. A recent inquest determined Henri Paul was legally intoxicated, a point that Rees-Jones confirmed in his book. But, if any other factors contributed to the devastating accident, we will never know what they were.

The Pont de l’Alma tunnel was the scene of the crash. The Mercedes slammed into the 13th pillar, spun, and finally stopped facing oncoming traffic. I drove through this tunnel when I was in Paris last summer, and I can understand how a fatal accident could occur. The Liberty Flame statue on the bridge above the tunnel has become a makeshift memorial for Diana. It was initially erected to reflect the friendship between France and the United States. When you’re standing, looking at the flame, the Eiffel Tower is clearly visible in the background.

It's a beautiful area of the city, which makes the deaths all the more tragic. Diana and Dodi had only meant to spend one night in Paris. The following day, they were travelling elsewhere. They were also only three minutes away from their final destination - Dodi’s apartment on Champs Elysses.

I have only touched on a few aspects of the book, because so many things happened after the accident. Blame was passed between parties, conspiracy theories surfaced, and people wanted someone to be indicted and prosecuted for the crash. Rees-Jones found himself stuck in the middle of an ugly situation, and his problems were only compounded by the fact that he couldn’t remember anything about the final moments in the car.

I won’t give away everything, and I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the topic. The story of Diana, the “People’s Princess,” is both tragic and complex, and I believe it’s difficult to fully grasp the enormity of the situation without reading Rees-Jones account of events.

With that being said, keep in mind that this book is one account of what happened. If I have learned anything in journalism class, I’ve learned that the truth is usually somewhere in between everyone’s perspectives. I’m not saying that I don’t believe Rees-Jones, because I do, but I won’t ignore everyone else. I was on the Internet countless times as I read this book, checking information and verifying quotes. I believe you should too.

I reached my book goal

This summer, I wanted to read 50 books. During the school year, it is very difficult to find time to read. Therefore, I knew that summertime would be my only chance to catch up on the books I have been missing, and read the things that have always interested me.

Well, I tallied up what I have read so far, and I was thoroughly surprised by the number I came up with.

Since May 1, 2010, I have read 61 books.

61.

It is important to mention, however, that some of the books I read were ones that I have read before. I began by re-reading Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, which I have gone through about 20 times. Next, I moved on to my favourite classics, including Middlemarch, Wuthering Heights, Pride & Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and so on.

I took a break from material I have already read and went on a murder mystery kick. That took up about a month, and I perused my way through about 10 authors.

Now, I'm working on true crime and history-related books. I just finished Schindler's List, and am currently reading The Bodyguard's Story by Trevor Rees-Jones. It's about the death of Princess Diana, and is written by the bodyguard who survived the accident.

Maybe I'll read 100 books by the time summer is over. I can't believe I hit my goal, but I'm not going to quit now...

Summer is the time to read

I love to read, and one of the most depressing aspects of being a full-time student is the lack of time available to read throughout the year. Don’t get me wrong – I read a LOT at school. But by the time I get home, finish my homework, start more homework, and finish THAT homework, I am too exhausted to pick up a book. Summer is my time to catch up on reading, and so far, I’m catching up quickly.

I have been out of school for just over a month, and I am proud to say that I have read 17 novels thus far. First, I tackled the Outlander series for probably the 20th time. I usually read Diana Gabaldon’s series two or three times a year, and I have yet to get bored of it.

After the Outlander series, I decided to re-read a few classics. I started with Middlemarch – my all-time favourite novel – and moved on to Pride & Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, and Little Women.

I also re-read Scar Tissue, and I think I read that book once or twice a year as well. It’s an engrossing story, and is told so well. After Scar Tissue, I re-read The Heroin Diaries – which is NOT told as well, in my opinion. I personally believe parts of the story have been fictionalized, but who knows.

Lately, I’m on a law/crime/spy kick. I read a variety of John Grisham novels, including The King of Torts, The Broker, and The Associate. Now I just need to see the movies for some of them (project, Jen). I read a few Jonathan Kellerman novels after that, and highly recommend The Innocent Man. It’s a true crime story about two men who were wrongly accused of murder, yet were sentenced to time in prison. One of them was actually sentenced to death row, and he narrowly escaped it.

Currently, I’m working through a collection of novels by James Patterson. I finished Along Came A Spider and Kiss The Girls – both of which were made into movies – and am working on Beach Road at the moment. It’s pretty good.

My goal is to read 50 books this summer. This is in addition to researching my IPP, writing my IPP, and submitting various other materials for publication. Sure, I can do it all. I just need to stop sleeping.

The Classic Novel Files: 1984

This very famous novel became even more famous in the 1984 Apple commercial played during the SuperBowl. The thought of “Big Brother” watching our every movement is terrifying, and the only thing more terrifying is that Orwell, in 1948, believed it would actually happen. We are currently living in a time of GPS and satellite tracking, and while there aren’t cameras in homes yet, Orwell wasn’t too far off with his predictions of what was to come.

The novel is about a man named Winston Smith, who is 39-years-old and lives alone in London. His job (which was provided to him by the government) is to re-write newspapers and erase parts of past history that have changed. Cameras are absolutely everywhere, and large pictures of the leader, Big Brother, paint almost every wall. The Thought Police patrol everything, and thinking a single negative thought about Big Brother is enough to be punished by death. People spy on each other, and the only time a person is free is when they are asleep. Sounds like a pretty scary world, and not one many people would like to live in.

Most people are forced to read this book in high school, along with other Orwell classics such as Animal Farm. The first time around, 1984 wasn’t very impressive to me. I felt the first part of the book was far too long-winded, and Orwell was over-emphasizing the point that people do not have freedom. This time around I enjoyed it, and was able to better understand the concepts. I hope Orwell wasn’t on to something, and I pray I will never see the day when anyone in the government can easily watch me getting dressed in the morning without my being aware of it.

The Classic Novel Files: Wuthering Heights

Many years ago, I decided this was possibly one of the most depressing novels I have ever read. Nothing good happens to the majority of the characters, and everyone spends their days rambling around and complaining. I wanted to read it again over Christmas, and see if I remembered it correctly. The second time around, it was actually even more depressing.

Throughout the majority of the novel the housekeeper, Nelly Dean, tells the new tenant of the house the story of those who had lived there before him. She works at a large mansion called Thrushcross Grange. A few miles away is a smaller house called Wuthering Heights. For about fifty years the families of both households interacted with each other, and the end result was never favourable. Nelly relays the heartaches of two generations as her listener hangs onto every word.

Heathcliff, an illegitimate child who was brought to Wuthering Heights by a kind man, is the most despicable human being imaginable. He is tormented throughout his childhood, which is not his fault, but decides to make every person around him pay for his unhappiness. The love of his life, Catherine, marries someone else, even though she loves Heathcliff. After she dies, Heathcliff goes off the deep end. He ultimately makes the life of Catherine’s daughter miserable, and kills his own son by being indifferent towards him. It’s only after Heathcliff dies that some form of normalcy can be discovered at either household, and the inhabitants can attempt to build happy lives.

With all that being said, read the book. You will feel angry, you will feel sad, and you will become emotionally invested in the characters. But in the end, you will be happy with the outcome of the novel. It’s a classic for a reason.

The Novel Files: Scar Tissue

I realize that a recent biography written by a still-alive musician is not exactly a classic, but it is still an important piece of writing. For Christmas, I gave my brother Scar Tissue, the autobiography of Red Hot Chili Peppers front man, Anthony Kiedis. I have read the book many times myself, read it again last week, and think that it is a book every music-lover should own.

Scar Tissue walks us through the tumultuous life of Kiedis. It talks about his childhood, his parents, growing up, the Chili Peppers, and everything you can imagine along the way. I particularly liked the parts where Kiedis talks about the different women in his life. He is unapologetic when discussing flirtations, affairs, and muses, but swears that he loved all of the women he was in relationships with. There are also many pictures which bring to life the women he writes about. It's amusing to hear how the various relationships ended, and I can't help but wonder how they feel about Kiedis' descriptions of them...

I was also very interested in the parts of the story that talk about Hillel Slovak, the original guitarist. He died of a heroin overdose in 1998, and was replaced by John Frusciante. I don’t know what it is, but something about tragic death fascinates me. I think it is horrible when a young, talented individual is taken away too early, yet at the same time, I want to know everything I can about it. I was the same way when Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson, and Brittany Murphy died. I just want to know as many facts as possible. Another part of the story that surprised me was the fact that Flea (a.k.a Michael Balzary) was in the ambulance with River Phoenix when he was taken to the hospital after a serious drug overdose. Phoenix died as a result, and this is another example of tragic death in the story.

The book is definitely worth a read, and you won’t regret it. It will change your opinion of Kiedis, if not the Chili Peppers as a whole.

The Novel Files: Lawrence Hill

Last night I finished reading The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill, and it was absolutely fabulous! The man – who is Canadian, by the way – definitely deserved all of the hype and media attention he received after the novel was published. I especially love his attention to detail and the very obvious amount of research he conducted before writing. It is novels like this one that really make me want to continue trying to become a writer.

The novel is written in first person, and a woman named Aminata (“Meena”) Diallo is telling us her life story. She is African, and survived the slave trade. Meena was stolen from her village of Bayo, and transported to North Carolina. From there she lived in New York, Nova Scotia, “Freetown” in Africa, and finally, London. She was a very different slave, because she could read, write, and speak exceptionally well. It was these gifts that saved her life repeatedly. Parts of the novel are difficult to read, especially when Meena is on the slave ship heading to North America. It’s very difficult to read about people being thrown overboard, being branded, and being chained together, but it’s very important for people to understand how horrific the slave trade really was. Everyone should know what people suffered through in the past. Hill did a marvellous job of explaining the situation, and he did so in an honest and up front manner.

I don’t want to give away too much of the novel, but I will say that it is a marvellous story of love and survival. Meena exhibits amazing strength, and illustrates that the most important thing to do when faced with a horrible situation is to keep living. Pick up this book today, experience it, and pass it on to someone else. I think everyone should read it. It’s that good.

The Novel Files: Dan Brown Madness

I have always love history, and I was excited to read The Da Vinci Code when it first came out a few years ago. I did not buy into the cult belief that it could actually exist. Instead, I looked at it as a piece of beautifully researched and crafted fiction. I read Angels and Demons as well, and was looking forward to The Lost Symbol, which I finished over Christmas.

Brown does a lot of research, and the amount of factual information he includes in his novels is incredible. His characters aren’t bad either, and you can’t help but love the nerdy but fantastically intelligent Professor Robert Langdon. The way that Brown connects reality with conspiracy theory and myth is also impressive. One could easily be swept away by his convincing stories if they aren’t careful.

The movies for The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons were masterfully done, and I tip my hat to director Ron Howard. The story lines did stray from the original novels, but that didn’t bother me. I am not one of those people who believe a book and its sister film need to be identical, and I have never had a problem absorbing them separately in my mind. The only real issue I had with the movies was the choice to cast Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. Hanks is a fantastic actor, don’t get me wrong, but I pictured someone different. Take Harrison Ford in the early Indiana Jones movies, and put him in tweed and loafers. Someone like that. I understand that Hanks was probably chosen for a very good reason, and while I watched the movies he grew on me, but I still think someone a little younger and sexier would have been better.

Each of the three novels takes place in a variety of locations. The Da Vinci Code begins in Paris at the Louvre, and ends in London (in the movie version). Angels and Demons takes place in Rome, and travels to the Vatican, Piazza Navona, and Castel Sant Angelo, to name a few. Something important to note is that many famous locations in Rome had to be completely re-created, as the crew was not allowed to shoot in places like the Vatican and Piazza Navona. The Lost Symbol is set in Washington, DC, and moves through many important settings, including an epic moment at the Washington Monument.

Personally, I recommend both novels and movies to anyone who is interested in either history or travel. The cinematography alone is worth watching the movies for, and the novels are fast-paced and intriguing. You definitely won’t be wasting your time by picking up anything that has Dan Brown connected to it, and it may even prompt you to plan a trip to one of the locations he writes about.

If I ever get a chance to meet Dan Brown, i’m going to give him a big hug, buy him a beer, and say “good job, dude.”

The Classic Novel Files: Anything by Chuck Klosterman

Chuck Klosterman does not really fit into this category, as he is still quite young, yet I have no doubt in my mind that Klosterman will be a Hunter S. Thompson type when he is older. I first experienced Klosterman's writing when I read an interview he did with Britney Spears a number of years ago. His articles are not so much about the individuals he is interviewing, but what he is thinking, feeling, and doing WHILE he is interviewing them. What caught my attention about the Spears article was that the first paragragh contained numerous comments about the fact that she was not wearing any pants while the interview was being conducted. She was not wearing any pants. She was pantless. Yes, pantless.

Klosterman has published a number of books, and they range from an almost diary-like account of his travels, to a collection of articles he has published in various magazines. My personal favourite of all of his published works is the book "Killing Yourself to Live." In this book, Klosterman travels around the USA, to sites where rock stars or rock star related deaths have occurred. He visited the field where Buddy Holly's plane crashed; he visited the intersection where Duane Allman, from the Allman Brothers Band, died on his motorcycle.

But what I love the most about the book is that he also writes about what is happening to him in his life as he is on this trip. A few women are mentioned (and in a similar fashion to the way Anthony Kiedis talks about his various muses in "Scar Tissue") and i'm sure these women are less than thrilled that they are mentioned by first name. He also talks about what he DOES while at each of these locations, and how he feels. I know that I would not talk about personal drug use in a piece of writing I would later submit to an editor, but hey, that's why he's currently published, and i'm not. "Killing Yourself to Live" is really a must-read for everyone, and you will not be dissapointed!

The Classic Novel Files: Outlander

For the second entry of my novel segment, I wanted to include an experience I had a few weeks ago, and promote my favourite author. At the beginning of October, I discovered that Diana Gabaldon would be at McNally Robinson Bookstore on the 16th for a book signing. I eagerly went to school the following day, convinced that some of my classmates would want to come with me. The response to my excited inquiry was actually quite surprising, and NO ONE had ever heard of her! Considering that she has now written SEVEN books in the Outlander series, I felt this was a complete injustice to a talented writer! Therefore, I will try to make this post as interesting as possible, so everyone who reads it will want to run out and purchase one of her novels.

The main reason why I love Gabaldon's books is because they are a mixture of historically accurate information, fictional characters, and cool science fiction twists. The first book, "Outlander," is set in the Scottish Highlands. Claire Randall, a woman in her mid twenties, has just reunited with her husband, Frank, at the conclusion of World War II. The year is 1945, and the couple are spending time together in Scotland before they re-enter the civilized post-war world. Claire is English, a nurse, and also has a love for botany and plants. It is precisely this love that takes her to a stone circle, in search of specimens. She does not realize, however, that this stone circle is magical. Claire touches one of the stones, and is transported back to 1743.

I know, you must be sceptical, but trust me. The books are incredible. The facts are historically accurate, the writing is entertaining, and the characters come to life through Gabaldon's descriptions. Oh yes, and the man that Claire meets - redhead Scottish warrior Jamie Fraser - is the single most incredible man you will ever read and fantasize about. It is worth reading the books just to read a bit about Jamie, and you will NOT be dissapointed. If the Outlander books were ever to be made into a movie, NO ONE could play the role of Jamie Fraser. He is too damn sexy. Really.

There are currently seven books in the series, as the last one has just been released. At her reading, Gabaldon stated that she is working on another, so you better get reading! The novels are as follows:

• Outlander


• Dragonfly in Amber


• Voyager


• Drums of Autums


• The Fiery Cross


• A Breath of Snow and Ashes


• An Echo in the Bone

I could provide a synopsis of every single book, but that would take awhile, and most people would stop reading this blog entry.

For me, the highight of the book signing was being able to actually meet Diana Gabaldon. It was after reading her first book, when I was about 10 or 11 years old, that I realized people actually COULD write books about history. From that moment on, I truly wanted to be an author. I still do.

Gabaldon was a lovely woman. She was gracious, kind, and took a moment to acknowledge every fan. I was fortunate to be at the front of the line, and both my mom and I took a quick picture with her. I also was able to chat with her for a moment.

One day, Gabaldon will come to one of MY book readings, and hopefully say something along the lines of: "Oh yes, I remember. You were that girl who asked if my face hurts from smiling so much. You also said history rules. Gone and become an author, have you? You did say you were going to do something like that. Did you create a character like Jamie Fraser?"