"I smell something, but I don't think it's the microphone."
Nov 26, 2009
Local authors and new stuff in the store
I have mentioned my friend K.Linda Kivi before in the blog and I am finally reading a book I have wanted to dive into for a long time, a book she edited called The Purcell Suite: Upholding the Wild. The book is a compilation of essays by local Kootenay and BC biologists, naturalists, forest technicians, First Nations, adventurers, climbers, and outdoor, wilderness enthusiasts. They write about their experiences in the Purcell range of the Columbia mountains, why they love this range of territory and how they want it to stay protected. Within my intention to start a book club I wanted to spend some of it reading books by local writers. Unbelievably, I haven't read enough of them! So, we begin with The Purcell Suite.
On another note entirely, Jennie has been shopping in Vancouver recently and there are lots of fun new items to covet in the store including a sweet little cabinet, some beautiful linens, more gorgeous clothing (scarves, nighties, tops and skirts) and even some shiny, flashy new jewels in the case. Come and have a peak, get ready for Xmas and think about treating yourself!
On another note entirely, Jennie has been shopping in Vancouver recently and there are lots of fun new items to covet in the store including a sweet little cabinet, some beautiful linens, more gorgeous clothing (scarves, nighties, tops and skirts) and even some shiny, flashy new jewels in the case. Come and have a peak, get ready for Xmas and think about treating yourself!
Crime Spree
posted by JennieI just finished three crime novels in a row. The first was Siren of the Waters by Michael Genelin.
Jana Matinova entered the Czechoslovak police force as a young woman, married an actor, and became a mother. The regime destroyed her husband, their love for one another, and her daughter's respect for her. But she has never stopped being a seeker of justice. Now, as a commander in the Slovak police force, she liaises with colleagues across Europe as they track the mastermind of an international criminal operation involved in, among other crimes, human trafficking. Her investigation takes her from Ukraine to Strasbourg, from Vienna to Nice, in a hunt for a ruthless killer and the beautiful young Russian woman he is determined either to capture or destroy.International criminal operations and human trafficking, these are important issues in International Crime Fiction.
The next was Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indridason which takes place in Reykjavik, Iceland. This was the best story, most chilling in its representation of the difficult social issues created around immigration. This subject also comes up in almost all of the European Crime Fiction and usually makes a profound impression. The point of these stories is not really the crime, rather it is the author's effort to realistically describe our changing world. Crime is the stage and we are the people.
The last book was The Demon from Dakar by Kjell Eriksson, taking place in Mexico and Sweden. It is the third of Eriksson's mysteries featuring Inspector Ann Lindell of Sweden's Uppsala police force. And this one was the slowest and so the hardest to read. Not a thriller. Not until the very, very end. It wouldn't make any sense unless you have read all the rest, but it's the best ending I have seen in a long time.
I recommend all three of these stories and I'll let you know as soon as I finished the next three...
Nov 24, 2009
Nov 23, 2009
The Bittersweet Art of Cutting Up Books
"Some call it 'Book Autopsies'; I'd call it 'hack writing, with 3D illustrations.'" - Brian Dettmer
Nov 18, 2009
Murder in Quebec
posted by Josee CorriganI have completed another Louise Penny mystery based in the fictional village Three Pines, located outside Montreal. Dead Cold has everything I look for in crime fiction and more! I've mentioned the Three Pines series before when I was reading my first of her novels, Still Life. Since that time I've finished The Cruelest Month and Dead Cold, now I'm on to another, The Murder Stone - yum.
Inspector Armand Gamache is, much like my favorite old-time detectives Miss Marple and Monsieur Poirot, a searching character (an obvious quality in a detective you might think) with a compassionate eye and introspective nature that ensure you love him and wish he was your father, lover, husband, brother, or son, depending on the context of the book at the moment. Through Gamache, Louise Penny invites you into the idyllic town of Three Pines and an exploration of the human condition by way of murder. Gamache's observations of the other characters in Three Pines during each case brings into question one's own flawed existence. His zen-buddhist/lapsed-catholic approach to those living and dead instigates inquiry not only into each murder, but also the nature of the human mind - rational, insane, evil, joyful etc. These are gentle thinking novels. Perfect for sitting by the fire on a sleeting Sunday afternoon.
On another note, I just watched a great movie: Julie and Julia. It's a screenplay adapted from two books: My Life in France, Child's autobiography, written with Alex Prud'homme, and a memoir by Julie Powell. In August 2002, Powell started documenting online her daily experiences cooking each of the 524 recipes in Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and she later began reworking that blog, The Julie/Julia Project. The film is the first major motion picture based on a blog. The movie explores the life of American Chef Julia Child through the eyes of an aspiring writer and blogger. It's so lovely. It made me want to rush out and buy Julia's classic tome Mastering The Art Of French Cooking. Everytime I think of the movie I want Boeuf Bourguignonne.
Finally, the Tibetan Book Of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche. All I can say is everyone should read this. It's wonderful, inspirational and essential.
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