Advent Calendar 2007

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After the success of last years Advent blog tour, Marg and I thought it would be fun if we had our own virtual advent calendar again this year. After all, why should the kids get all the fun of opening a box on the advent calendar and finding a little treat in there?

Each day anyone who wants to participate could take turns sharing a little treat with our friends here in blogland. For example it could be something about a holiday tradition, or a recipe, or a picture of a hot guy dressed as Santa, or a favourite Christmas memory, movie, song...anything you like. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas we would like to hear about what your family does during the holiday season, whether it be celebrating Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or anything!

We will create a list of links so that as people express interest we will add them to the list, and then we will post a link directing visitors to the appropriate blog. To give people a chance to get organised, we will start on Sunday 1 December. If there are more people than there are days that's fine too.....the more the merrier!

In addition to getting to see lots of fun things and maybe finding new blogs there is also a chance to win a copy of Christine Kingle by Lynn Brittney. We will draw the name of the winner out of the list of people who have signed up prior to the blog tour starting, so get in and sign up for your day soon!


1 December - Becky (Becky's Book Reviews)
2 December - Lisabea (Nose in a Book)
3 December - Marg (Reading Adventures) / Lady Tink (Up Close & Personal with LadyTink)
4 December - Valentina (Valentina's Room)
5 December - Melissa (Book Nut)
6 December - Laura (Musings)
7 December - Wendy (Caribousmom)
8 December - Nymeth (Things Mean A Lot)
9 December - Raidergirl (An Adventure in Reading)/ Chris (Stuff as Dreams are Made on)
10 December - Dewey (The Hidden Side of a Leaf)
11 December -Suey (It's All About Books)
12 December - Chris (Book-a-rama)
13 December - Jill (The Well-Read Child)/Stephanie (The Written Word)
14 December - Robin (A Fondness for Reading)
15 December - Alyssa (By The Book)
16 December - Rachel (A Fair Substitute for Heaven)
17 December - Literary Feline (Musings of a Bookish Kitty)/ Stephanie (Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic)
18 December - Dev (Good Reads)
19 December - Callista (S.M.S. Book Reviews)
20 December - Tiny Little Librarian (Tiny Little Librarian)
21 December - Carla (Carla Nayland Historical Fiction)/ Susan (Reading, Raving, and Ranting by a Historical Fiction Writer)
22 December - Carolyn Jean (The Trillionth Page)
23 December - Booklogged (A Reader's Journal)
24 December - Kailana (The Written World) / Carl V. (Stainless Steel Droppings)

The button is only temporary! I sort of forgot about it!

Canada Reads 2008

• Zaib Shaikh, who plays the imam on Little Mosque on the Prairie, defending Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley.
• Hip-hop poet and broadcaster Jemeni defending Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson.
• Astronaut Steve MacLean defending Icefields by Thomas Wharton.
• Newfoundland author Lisa Moore defending From the Fifteenth District by Mavis Gallant.
• Musician and writer Dave Bidini, a founding member of the Rheostatics, defending King Leary by Paul Quarrington.

Well, I still have not read the Canadian Reads from this year, and here they are setting up for next year. I own Not Wanted on the Voyage, and I even started it once but I lost it. It was like a year later before I found it again, so I really should finish that one up. Brown Girl in the Ring I had never heard of before, I see it came out in November, so maybe I will have to see if the bookstore has it. I have read Icefields, though. I really liked that book. I am glad to see someone appreciating Thomas Wharton. As to the other two, they are both authors I have always wanted to read, but they are both not in print, so I hope they get republished for the contest.

Governor General Awards

Yay! Michael Ondaatje won the Governor General award. I really liked that book when I read it earlier this year. I cannot believe it is the end of November already, where did this year go! The non-fiction winner, I have not had a chance to read but I plan to purchase it after Christmas. I have almost all of the nominees, so hopsfully sometimes in this century I get around to reading them...

Christmas Presents

So, I am the sort of person that has lots of good ideas (I think so anyways) and rarely has the time to actual act on them. Tonight, I had a really cool idea, but it will take time to do and I am not sure if I will have the time to actually do it! But, I really like my idea. I am not going to share unless I find that I have the time to actual do it, though. It will be a surprise, but here is a hint, the title of this post is related to the idea... (duh, huh?)

On to other topics, do you think it is bad to read the books that you buy other people for Christmas before giving it to them? Normally I only buy books for other people that I have actually read, but this year... I did not, and well, I am of course tempted! So, do you do it, or do you think it is a very bad idea?

Oh, and, come up people! The Advent Calendar is calling, and there are people that have not signed up that I personally think should, so unless you want me to start bugging you about it, you should just sign up already!

The Kittens

It has been a while since I posted baby pictures, so I thought I would share some. These are some of the pictures I took the other day with my new camera. Tolkien is very hard to get a decent picture of because he does not sit still!

Baby Tolkien

Baby Atra

Baby Miko

Christmas Shopping

So, I know for sure that I am getting a gift certificate to the bookstore for Christmas. I decided yesterday that I was going to make a list of the books that I would like to buy with this gift certificate. Upon completion, I have decided that it is the 'you wish' list, instead of a plausible shopping adventure. I felt the need to share.

Daughter of York by Anne Easter Smith - Comes out on February 12th
Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland - Comes out on February 19th
Lords of the Bow by Conn Iggulden - Comes out on January 7th
Extraordinary Canadians: Nellie McClung by Charlotte Gray - Comes out on March 18th
Bleeding Dusk by Colleen Gleason - Comes out on February 5th
I've Got a Home in Glory Land by Karolyn Smardz-Frost - Out Now
The Gathering by Anne Enright - Out Now
Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs - Comes out January 2nd
Spectrum 14 by Cathy Fenner - Out Now
Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine - Out Now
The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin - Comes out on February 5th
The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery - Out Now
The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies - Paperback Comes out December 19th
Fortune's Fool by Mercedes Lackey - Paperback Comes out February 1st
Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue - Comes out April 15th

Some of them come out too far after Christmas to really count, but in any case, too many books is my opinion! At least I have a list to choose from, but it is still interesting how I always manage to want lots of books when I have a gift certificate, but if I walk in the bookstore here I can never find anything I want. Just goes to show you that the selection here sucks!

Blog Tour 2007

Even though all the days are taken up for the Advent Calendar, you are allowed to double up, so if there is anyone that wants to join in be sure and sign up! It's going to be fun, so I look forward to seeing what everyone has up their sleeve! Doubling up on days just means twice the enjoyment, so be sure and sign up!

If anyone is wondering where I vanished to for the last couple days, I got an early Christmas present! My friend sold me her digital camera and I got contributions from family in order to be able to, so it is one of my Christmas presents. It is a Canon Rebel EOS, and I am really enjoying playing around with it! I have not downloaded all the software onto my computer yet, though, so you will have to wait to see some pictures. It sucks that it gets dark so early, there are only so many things to take pictures of in my house, and then it gets dark so I do not have a chance to play with it anymore. I suppose I will have to take advantage of the dark to read. I have been so busy with work and my camera I have hardly done that lately!

The Dangerous Book for Dog: A Parody by Rex and Sparky

A LAUGH-OUT-LOUD PARODY: AN lLLUSTRATED GUIDE FOR--AND BY--DOGS, UNLOCKING THE MYSTERIES OF DOGHOOD AND TEACHING THEM HOW TO DO THE VERY ACTIVITIES THAT HUMAN SOCIETY SAYS ARE WRONG.

The Dangerous Book for Dogs asks a simple question: isn't there more to being a dog than wearing a mini cashmere sweater and riding around in a $400 evening clutch? What about the simple pleasures of life -- feeling the wind in your fur, digging up the grass beneath your paws, smelling another dog's butt? Isn't that part of the great joy of being a dog?

Written (with help) by dogs and for dogs, The Dangerous Book For Dogs provides insight on everything from the tastiest styles of shoes to chew to the proper method for terrorizing squirrels. It also contains portraits of noble dogs throughout history, the mysteries of cats and humans, and everything else your dog ever wanted to know but was afraid to ask–like how to make toys out of human's household items, or how to escape from a humiliating reindeer costume.

Generously illustrated with drawings by cartoonist Emily Flake, this hilarious parody is for good dogs, bad dogs, and the millions of people who love them.

Rex and Sparky wrote this parody without authorization (because they are dogs and they do what they want.)

I am a bit of a slacker, I have to say. When the person I recommended this book to has reviewed it before me, you know I have a problem. So, since she reviewed it, I figured it was about time I got around to saying what I have to say. Frankly, the best way to sum it up is to say that I thought it was hillarious and I will totally be rereading it! I originally thought this book would be a good present for a young reader in your household, and then I got to the section on 'mounting bitches'! I now totally understand the male dog dating game, because you know I was totally missing out before! I would not say that my dogs fit every section of this book, but there was some things that you can always see your dog in.

Ames points out some of the best parts of the book just in the titles of the chapters.

Here are some titles: "Things you can Chase," "Begging - A Primer," "Foul Smels every dog should roll in," "How to make your owner look like an idiot," and "Training a new Human."

This book is so great, though. Rex and Sparky have a good thing going here. Maybe they will encourage their cats to write their thoughts on life. In a much more educated manner, of course. If you have a chance to read this book, I strongly recommend that you do! I plan to buy it for my friend for Christmas because she has a dog, but even if you do not, it is worth the read for a laugh.

I also reviewed a book on Twisted Kingdom tonight. It is Catherynne Valente's fantastic fairy tale attempt, you should check it out! To read more about this humourous book, head on over to Random House.

Blog Tour 2006 - A Recap

Here are some of last years contributions to the Advent Calendar Blog Tour! They are just as wonderful to read this year as last. The only ones I could not easily locate were Mailyn's and Dance Chica's. If either of you read this, can you send me the URL and I will add it in? This is the best thing about blogs, just because this tour was last year does not mean it is not fun to read it this year!

Jennie's Contribution
Bookloggeds Contribution
Rosario's Contribution
Cindy's Contribution
Carla's Contribution
The Observer's Contribution
Elysabeth's Contribution
Bookwormom's Contribution
Susan's Contribution
Rachel's Contribution
Carl V's Contribution
Ag's Contribution

Nightly Rambling

I had a weird day. It was actually a good day, and that is why it is weird. I worked ALL day! You would think I would have had a bad day and wished I was somewhere else, but I actually like working. I am one of those weird people like that! The girl I was working with DRIVES me crazy! She spends most of the shift on the phone and checking her email. If I work at night, I wander around and talk to people (I work at a hotel), but during the day that luxury is not there. So, the house-keeping staff was short-handed today and I decided that I was going to help them out. It made my shift go by super fast, and I still managed to be around to fix all the other person I was working with mistakes and baby-sit her. Honestly, when I think about everything I did at work today just in my first four hours, I have no idea how I managed it. It made the day fly by though, and since I am still relatively new, I think it was a very good way to get to know the house-keeping staff. They must have said thank you a hundred times. It made my day enjoyable because I was able to help them out and make their day less stressful. I'd like to think they got ten times more work done than they would have if I was not there helping.

And that is my random post of the day. Join in the calendar and my contest.... That's about all I have to say.

The Staircase Letters: An Extraordinary Friendship at the End of Life by Arthur Motyer with Elma Gerwin and Carol Shields

Completion Date: September 2007
Pages: 160
Publication Year: 2007 (Random House Canada)
Received from Random House in 2007.

Reason for Reading: I chose to read this book mostly for the fact that Carol Shields had something to do with it, and she is one of my favourite Canadian authors, who sadly passed away.

Full of the magic of everyday life in the shadow of death–chickens must be cooked for dinner parties, and grandson’s questions about God must be answered!–The Staircase Letters is a moving and profound story of friendship and facing the end of life.

When Elma Gerwin found out in 2001 at the age of 61 that she had cancer, she reached out to two coasts and to two old friends. One was Arthur Motyer, novelist and teacher, and Elma’s university professor from forty years before, and the other was acclaimed novelist Carol Shields, who was facing her own battle with cancer.

Years later, Arthur is the only survivor. Still contemplating how Elma’s and Carol’s correspondence affected him, he has gracefully brought the letters together and interspersed them with literary references and poetry. As both women’s illnesses progress, they compare notes on the ups and downs of living with cancer–the joy when Elma is told one area is cancer-free, followed quickly by the terrible news that the cancer has spread; the delight in having family near, while the thought of saying goodbye seems impossible. The advice they give each other–from how to approach treatments to how to get to sleep at night–is heartfelt, warm and often leavened with humour.

As Carol and Elma contemplate what happiness is and how one makes a “good death,” 74-year-old Arthur, feeling inadequate in the face of such fundamental questions, discovers that he is exactly where he should be. In The Staircase Letters, the reader catches a rare and touching glimpse of the lives of three extraordinary people–two facing death and one left behind.

I was very surprised by this book. Carol Shields passed away a while ago now, so I did not really think that there would be any more books pertaining to her. At least not right away. I actually did not even pay attention to the premise of the book or who the other people involved with it were, I just wanted something new from Carol Shields. I read Carol Shields for the first time in my last year of high school. If I remember correctly, there was a sale on books by Canadian authors at a local bookstore, and the books were about half off, so I bought a few authors that I have never read before. Carol Shields was one such author. That year I remember reading for sure The Stone Diaries, Larry's Party, and Unless. I have since read all of her novels and poetry.

In The Staircase Letters, Arthur Motyer has published emails from himself, Elma Gerwin, and Carol Shields. Elma and Carol were both very sick, and would soon write their last emails. Arthur was relatively healthy and would outlive both of them. He never actually met Carol before. Elma was one of his students from years gone by, and it was her that brought Carol into the conversations. The book is really rather short, but in the pages, Arthur shows what Carol and Elma thought about death, what was important for them to discuss as they neared the end, and he wrote around it to fill in the details. He told his thoughts on a subject that he really did not fully understand because he was not going through it, and he also filled the reader in on who these people were. I had never heard of Elma Gerwin before, but she seems like she was a very interesting person.

I think if Carol Shields had to 'come back from the dead' to have a new book, then this was a good attempt. I am glad that I took a chance on this book. There is another book by Carol Shields that came out recently. It is a book of letters, I think, but I did not buy it when it came out, and I did not write the title down, so for some reason I cannot track down the book! One of these days it will come to me!

To learn more about this book, head on over to Random House.

My Contest Needs Participants....

Okay, I am sad! This contest was supposed to finish today.... I have TWO entries! That's right, only TWO. So, where is everyone? It has a cool prize, a prize I would not mind winning, but I am hosting the contest, so I can only pester my readers to participate. I am not looking for anything award-winning, just a few more participants. I am going to extend the contest until December 1st. So, please join in!

Running Dates: October 25th-December 1st, 2007

The Name of the Game is Fan Fiction, Art, or Photography

The Details: The object is to write fan fiction, draw a picture, or take a photograph relating to Colleen's two in print novels and her forth-coming one.

The idea is to rewrite a scene that you did not like, add a scene that you wish had been there, or write a scene that you wish will be included in The Bleeding Dusk. And, those are just three ideas, as long as you keep the three novels in mind, you can come up with your own ideas. If you are not up to writing, you can also do something photography or drawing related. The only thing I will be strict about is effort. I am not expecting perfection, and I won't give you word limits or anything like that, but I just want the work to clearly show that you have taken a bit of time for the activity. Any questions, just ask in the comments.

The Prize: A $25 dollar gift certificate to Amazon and a signed copy of The Bleeding Dusk. It will not be an Advanced Reading Copy, it will be an early copy in about January. And, Colleen is also throwing in a Vis Bulla t-shirt. I have one of the other styles, I might have to get one of the new ones now... They are very decently priced!

I hope that people join in! I plan to post all the submissions on my blog, not just the winner. Please don't post your entry in the comments, email it to me at twisted_kingdom_blog AT hotmail DOT com. The most important thing is to have fun and be creative!

Wahoo Wednesday!

I saw on Chris from Stuff as Dreams are Made on that some bloggers are doing Wahoo! Wednesday because Bookfool has taken a break from the blogging world due to illness in her family. So, I thought I would scrap my plans for today and do my own tribute to one of my favourite bloggers.

First up, there is the excitment over the fact that I actually managed to write a review today! Yay! I reviewed Reluctant Genius: The Passionate Mind and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell. He is a wahoo in his own because he invented the telephone, which opened the doorway to many other forms of technology! To see the review, head on over to Historical Tapestry.

I have a happy cheer for the up-coming holiday season. I love this time of year. Fall is probably my favourite season, but November and December are some of my favourite months. I love decorating, Christmas music, snow, books, movies, and so much more. It's a great season, even if I have no idea what I am doing for Christmas this year! Marg and I are also doing the Advent Calendar again this year, so be sure to join in on that! The first post with all the details will be up tomorrow. I also really like Nymeth's Christmas Idea, too. I will post more on that in another post.

I also have do a Wahoo for Oprah today. I was channel surfing, and I really have to say that the show today was sweet! I am not so big on the basketball stars currently on, but the first couple on there were wonderful! They met during the Holocaust, she fed him apples through the barbed wire fence until he got sent to another camp. Then, fourteen years later he was set up on a blind date and the woman was her! They have been married for just about 50 years. I love that story, it is stories like that which give hope to all the bad things that are going on in the world today. And another sweet story! These people write love letters to each other everyday! That's amazing.

Much love to Bookfool! I hope she will be back and posting soon!

It Finally Happened!

Last night, I finally got to watch Across the Universe! I have wanted to see that movie for months, and I have been waiting and waiting for it to come out. The other night while I was driving by the movie theatre I saw a sign that said it was finally opening this weekend, so you can imagine I was very excited! I was supposed to go see it Saturday night, but we had a bit of a snow storm and that area of town ended up losing power. So, I finally dragged one of my friends to see it yesterday. I think it was sort of fitting, since one of the themes of the movie is the Vietnam War, to watch it on Remembrance Day. So, what did I think of it? I loved it! There were a couple eye-brow raising scenes, but they worked because this was the 70's afterall! I am not sure what my friend thought of it, but I will be buying it when it comes out!

It's Just a Pittance of Time

On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a Shoppers Drug Mart store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the store's PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.

Terry was impressed with the store's leadership role in adopting the Legion's "two minutes of silence" initiative. He felt that the store's contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable.

When eleven o'clock arrived on that day, an announcement was again made asking for the "two minutes of silence" to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect.

Terry's anger towards the father for trying to engage the store's clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his child was later channeled into a beautiful piece of work called, "A Pittance of Time". Terry later recorded "A Pittance of Time" and included it on his full-length music CD, "The Power of the Dream".

A Pittance Of Time 4:43
Written by Terry Kelly © Jefter Publishing - SOCAN

They fought and some died for their homeland.
They fought and some died, now it's our land.
Look at his little child; there's no fear in her eyes.
Could he not show respect for other dads who have died?

Take two minutes, would you mind?
It's a pittance of time,
For the boys and the girls who went over.
In peace may they rest, may we never
forget why they died.
It's a pittance of time.

God forgive me for wanting to strike him.
Give me strength so as not to be like him.
My heart pounds in my breast, fingers pressed to my lips,
My throat wants to bawl out, my tongue barely resists.

But two minutes I will bide.
It's a pittance of time,
For the boys and the girls who went over.
In peace may they rest.
May we never forget why they died.
It's a pittance of time.

Read the letters and poems of the heroes at home.
They have casualties, battles, and fears of their own.
There's a price to be paid if you go, if you stay.
Freedom's fought for and won in numerous ways.

Take two minutes, would you mind?
It's a pittance of time,
For the boys and the girls all over.
May we never forget, our young become vets.
At the end of the line,
It's a pittance of time.

It takes courage to fight in your own war.
It takes courage to fight someone else's war.
Our peacekeepers tell of their own living hell.
They bring hope to foreign lands that hate mongers can't kill.

Take two minutes, would you mind?
It's a pittance of time,
For the boys and the girls who go over.
In peacetime our best still don battle dress
And lay their lives on the line.
It's a pittance of time

In peace may they rest,
Lest we forget why they died.
Take a pittance of time.

I am always a bit embarrassed by this story. I live an hour from where this happened, and I just cannot believe the guile of this person! It's sad that so many people are like this. Up until a few years ago, I was at every Remembrance Day ceremony. I am ashamed that I overlooked 11:oo today. I was at work, and I just missed it! I think this song, and the story, has an important message for all, though. To download the song to listen to or watch the video, you can head over to Terry Kelly's web site.

I met Terry Kelly when I was younger, he is a very nice man.

I came from this town, afterall. I was raised right. I think so anyways. (I belonged to that club, too, but not since high school).

Remembrance Day 2007

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Remembrance Day 2007, Lest We Forget.

Christmas Gifts - Historical Fiction

Since the Christmas season will soon be upon us, I thought I would divide some of my reading this year into categories and list some possible gift ideas for people that might need some recommendations. This will include three interviews (hopefully) and hopefully a give away or two. I buy books for my grandmother and while she will read a lot of what I will read, she also reads authors that I have no interest in. I am hoping there are other people out there in a similar situation looking for some recommendations.

My two favourite historical fiction reads of the year:

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

Nefertiti and her younger sister, Mutnodjmet, have been raised in a powerful family that has provided wives to the rulers of Egypt for centuries. Ambitious, charismatic, and beautiful, Nefertiti is destined to marry Amunhotep, an unstable young pharaoh. It is hoped by all that her strong personality will temper the young Amunhotep’s heretical desire to forsake Egypt’s ancient gods, overthrow the priests of Amun, and introduce a new sun god for all to worship.

From the moment of her arrival in Thebes, Nefertiti is beloved by the people. Her charisma is matched only by her husband’s perceived generosity: Amunhotep showers his subjects with lofty promises. The love of the commoners will not be enough, however, if the royal couple is not able to conceive an heir, and as Nefertiti turns her attention to producing a son, she fails to see that the powerful priests, along with the military, are plotting against her husband’s rule. The only person wise enough to recognize the shift in political winds—and brave enough to tell the queen—is her younger sister, Mutnodjmet.

Observant and contemplative, Mutnodjmet has never shared her sister’s desire for power. She yearns for a quiet existence away from family duty and the intrigues of court. Her greatest hope is to share her life with the general who has won her heart. But as Nefertiti learns of the precariousness of her reign, she declares that her sister must remain at court and marry for political gain, not love. To achieve her independence, Mutnodjmet must defy her sister, the most powerful woman in Egypt—while also remaining loyal to the needs of her family.

Love, betrayal, political unrest, plague, and religious conflict—Nefertiti brings ancient Egypt to life in vivid detail. Fast-paced and historically accurate, it is the dramatic story of two unforgettable women living through a remarkable period in history.

To read my review of this book, click here.

My other favourite historical fiction read of 2007 was Wolf of the Plains by Conn Iggulden.

'I am the land and the bones of the hills. I am the winter.'

Temujin, the second son of the khan of the Wolves tribe, was only eleven when his father died in an ambush. His family were thrown out of the tribe and left alone, without food or shelter, to starve to death on the harsh Mongolian plains.

It was a rough introduction to his life, to a sudden adult world, but Temujin survived, learning to combat natural and human threats. A man, a small family, without a tribe was always at risk but he gathered other outsiders to him, creating a new tribal identity. It was during some of his worst times that the image of uniting the warring tribes and bringing the silver people together came to him. He will become the khan of the sea of grass, Genghis.

To read my review of this book click here.

Rambling on Reading

When people talk about their favourite singers or their favourite actors, I can always chime in because there are people that I enjoy, but I do not have the close connection to the entertainment world that other people do. I know my movie stars, I know a lot of good musicians names and I can sing their songs, but I do not have the strong connection that many people I know have. I also like sports, but it is the same deal. Sometimes I feel left out, like maybe I am missing something. I hate those questions, if you could have dinner with five people living or dead, who would they be, because I never know what to say. That is not to say that I do not have people that I am very interested in. I have done countless projects and essays on famous feminists, and if I really like a person I generally know a lot about them.

My reason for writing this post is to tell a story. One of the people that I have always been interested in is Alexander Graham Bell. I am not even sure why, to be honest. I am not a big phone user, never really have been, but there is something about his life that has always really interested me. I remember watching a video on his life back in elementary school, and I can still recall a lot of the scenes. I actually would not mind tracking it down and watching it again. Someone really should do a movie about him, I think. So, Alexander Graham Bell has always interested me. Not just him, but his wife, she was a really interesting woman. It was not a subject that I had spent a lot of time with in the last few years, though. I tend to like too many periods in history, and I forget about some of them to pursue others. Then, Charlotte Gray came out with her new book: The Passionate Life and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell. As soon as I heard about it, I knew I was going to have to read it. I just did not get a chance to get it or read it until recently.

Last night I needed something 'different' to read. I searched the ranks of my books searching for the book in my treasures that would be what I needed, and I finally felt it was time to read Gray's book. She is supposed to be a good author, I have looked at several of her books over the years, but when I was in university I had so much reading to do for school, that I did not get a lot of time to read non-fiction. Now that I have graduated, I notice that non-fiction is becoming a major 'genre' for me. So, late last night, way too late to be starting a new book, I crawled under the covers and visited with Alexander Graham Bell. What happened was I read too much and was up way later than I intended, but I already know that Gray's book is going to be a winner for me. I fully intend to read more from her. I will of course be back with a 'real' review, soon, but for now, these are my ramblings on Alexander Graham Bell.

Hope everyone haves a good weekend! It is looking like we might get another storm this weekend, which is pretty normal for good ole' Canada, but Noel was pretty windy and it really tore up the area. Things that did not fall during the first storm might fall during this one, so I am of course thrilled to be without power AGAIN! So, we will see what the storm brings, but if I vanish that is why!

A Secret Between Us by Daniel Poliquin

Date Completed: October 2007
Pages: 304
Publication Year: 2007
Purchased in 2007 for my Giller-a-thon.

Reason for Reading: Another book in my goal to read all the Giller long-listed books by hopefully the end of the years.

An epic tale of a wartorn society in the midst of astonishing transformation by the author of The Straw Man.

When young Lusignan sets off from Ottawa to the First World War with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, he has already survived a tragicomic Catholic childhood and a writing career that has brought him both acclaim and disgrace. Shortly before the men depart for Europe, Lusignan has an encounter with a fellow officer, the aristocratic Essiambre d'Argenteuil, that proves to be the defining moment of his life.

Returning from Europe a hollow man, Lusignan keeps the memory alive by shadowing Amalia Driscoll, a woman whose strait-laced proprieties were challenged by this same d'Argenteuil. He encounters Concorde, the untutored young maid struggling to get by in the Flats district of Ottawa, and the Capuchin monk Father Mathrun, who longs for martyrdom in a foreign land. Providing the backdrop to Poliquin's incisive character study is a vivid evocation of a pivotal era in Canadian history.

I would have been happy if this book won the Giller, but I think they only put book small press books on the short list to make it fair. They rarely seem to win, it is usually the bigger press books that win. Which is the case this year, with a Random House book winning for the 8th time.

In any case, I quite enjoyed this book by Daniel Poliquin. I am glad that I bought it because I have never read him before, so it was a good introduction to a new author. A lot happens to the main character in this novel, especially considering this is not a long book. Before he goes to fight in World War I he has already had an interesting childhood. His parents married a bit later than was customary during this time. His father was very quiet and stuttered, while his mother was a bit mentally unbalanced and very religious. He grew up praying over everything and never really having a normal childhood until his mother was sent to an insane asylum for her unusual ways. Then, it is just him and his father. His father will reappear during different courses through the novel, even when he does not think that he really needs his father.

The novel flashes back from later in life to the events of his past. One of the common themes to the novel is the First World War, a changing place for many a man during this period of history. He goes back to other events from his younger life. People from his life who keep reappearing in his later life for various reasons. I feel this review is not really doing the book justice. I really liked it. I thought the flashing back to other events in his life was interesting, that he was a bit of a sad man that was down on his luck, but he made for a compelling character to follow through periods of his life. And, I have a thing for the World Wars. I am not really sure why, it might be a bit morbid, but I like the time period.

I recommend this book. I notice a lot of people participating in the Canadian Reading Challenge that is circulating are reading very popular authors of the English language. Poliquin would be a good way to read from the French perspective, even if it is translated.

Giller Award Winner Announced

Somehow, last night I missed the Giller awards on television. It turns out that the station I was watching was advertising them but not actually playing them, which makes me mad. So, last night ended up being 'search the internet to see who won'. Elizabeth Hay won for Late Nights on Air. I was shocked, is probably the best way to look at it. I still have not read Alissa York's book or Vassanji's effort, but I have read Michael Ondaatje and the small press nominee, A Secret Between Us, and I liked both of them better than Late Nights on Air. So, I think it is great that someone new won the Giller this year, and that Vassanji did not get his hat trick, but if I was choosing, she would not have won.

I am interested to see how the Governor General awards play out because Elizabeth Hay did not get nominated for it. Vassanji and Ondaatje battle it out again, the independant book is by David Chariandy (and I doubt it will win.), Barbara Gowdy makes the short list for this one with a book that I do not consider one of her best, and Heather O'Neill makes an appearance with a book for the very first time.

Hometown Meme

Julia did this meme, and while I was not tagged, it looks like a meme that I can handle! (Even if I sort of cheated)

The Rules: Answer the questions, tag 5 people and then go off on your travels to their hometowns. ONLY ONE answer for each of the questions. No ties!

Right, so I am going to do this on my hometown, from the point of view of the one that I was born in. Just because it is the town that I lived in the longest and the town I live in now is one big tourist attraction. I might get bored and do it later.

Anyways, I was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. Once upon a time, Yarmouth was a very happening place. There were men like Isaac Walter Killam. He was in the shipping business, both legal and illegal, and one of the richest men to come out of the area. In Yarmouth, there is the Killam Brothers Wharf, the Isaac Walter Killam library, and most special of all, the IWK in Halifax is named after him. This is the children's hospital. There are the Sweeney's, they were more in the illegal trade. Their family is still so rich that they can build a house that cost large sums of money, and then not actually live in it! I am related to the Sweeney's. My grandmother does not always appreciate the fact that I think it is cool my relatives were rum runners.

I am part Acadian, which is basically French settlers that came to the 'New World' under French rule, but the hands were constantly changed and when the English were in power they wanted them to pledge allegiance to the British Crown, and the Acadians did not want to pledge allegiance to any crown. As a result, in 1755 they were deported. Families were split apart, and sent out into the world. The Cajun population down South are my ancestors, but eventually my family came back. My great grandfather on my mothers' side (her mothers father) came from France directly. When he left my great grandmother, he went back there and I never met him. I have a whole family in France that I have never met, but I hope to one day. My father's family is British. Both of his parents can be traced back a couple generations to when the family came across from England.

Anyways, on to the questions:

- Best Place to Eat -

Rodd Colony Harbour Inn contains my favourite restaurant. If you want to eat some good seafood restaurant, this is my favourite. There are other good restaurants, but this is the one we would eat at when I was a kid and we were eating for special.

- Best Shopping Mall -

There is only one, so this is not really a fair question!

- Famous Landmark -
Fishing boats, of course! The shapes and sizes may have changed over the years, but Yarmouth isn't Yarmouth without boats.

The water is a landmark too because it yields photos like this!
The downtown of Yarmouth is one of the things it is famous for because the stores might all be modern, but the buildings are very older in style.

- Best Tourism Attraction -

Yarmouth Light. Not photographed as much as Peggy's Cove, but I still think it is lovely. One of the original lightbulbs for the lighthouse is in the Yarmouth County Museum.
Yarmouth County Museum
Old-style homes like this one.

- Popular Outdoor Activity -


Lobster Fishing!

- Breathtaking Views -

The whole area....

- Only Found in Yarmouth -

The Firefighter's Museum

This Song Might Have Been Written in Yarmouth:

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev'rywhere you go;
Take a look in the five and ten glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in ev'ry store
But the prettiest sight to see is the holly that will be
On your own front door.

A pair of hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots
Is the wish of Barney and Ben;
Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk
Is the hope of Janice and Jen;
And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev'rywhere you go;

There's a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well,
The sturdy kind that doesn't mind the snow.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas;
Soon the bells will start,
And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart.

You Know You Read Too Much Fantasy When....

I started a new book today, and I am reading the first chapter and thinking 'I could have sworn this was fantasy'.

The fact that one of the characters in the book was 'radioactive green' did not raise any alarms.

Maybe it would not for anyone, but when the main character in the book goes on to say '"You are no healer. You are a sprite, p'shog, fairy, ka-dalun. Whichever language you prefer to use. And I want your Book.'', you really should pick up on the fantastical elements.

Yes, you see, sprites are very normal... You find them in literature all the time. It took me until the third chapter to go "Wait, this is fantasy".

Is that sad, or what?

Right now I am reading Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. And, it really is fantasy.

Hurricane Noel

So, I'm alive. All is well in my neck of the woods. Hurricane Noel was not the worst storm I have lived through, but it did have some annoying effects on my province! Last night the internet died, and then it came back on, and then we got a crazy thunderstorm, and then the power went out for about 8 hours. Last night was not a very successful reading evening. I was just coming to the close of Three Days Road when the power went out, so I had to wait until today to finish it. I am hoping that the rest of the month will be a bit more organized!

Last night during the crazy thunderstorm, I put together bookshelves. That's right, I splurged and bought two more to add to my collection. Well, I paid for one, the other one is an early Christmas present from my mother. I have started organizing them tonight. When I am happy with the set up I will post pictures. I honestly have no idea how I am going to move out of my house at this point. I will need an extra bedroom just for my books! It is going to be interesting! The bookshelves were a bit of an impulse buy yesterday. I knew I needed them, but it wasn't until we were at the store and my mother was asking me what I wanted for Christmas that I found myself in the aisle. I am happy with them, though. I will be even better when I get all my books organized.

I know I promised some reviews, but something always seems to come up and take up most of my time! Hopefully tomorrow I will find the time to post one. In the meantime, I won a book from Chris of Stuff as Dreams are Made on. That was awesome to get! I turned my computer on for the first time since the power came on and had that happy email waiting for me! I was already doing a happy dance that my computer turned on! It did not sound good when it shut down last night. I turned it off for the thunder, but after it passed I turned it back on for a bit, and that is when the power decided to go out! Not good, not good at all!

Anyways, this is the book that I won. I have heard of it before and looked at it at the store. I am afraid that I think a lot of my attraction to it is the cover! We will see what I think of it when I read it, though.

I was going to write a good post, but it is now thundering and lightening out, so I am going to turn my computer off! I can't afford a new one if it gets hit by lightening! I'll be back tomorrow with a weather update and the reviews that I have been working on but haven't posted yet. Hope other areas didn't get too hard! I know that up the province further their power keeps flickering and the wind is stronger, we have just got a LOT of rain. I think the roads are going to be pretty flooded in the morning!

How I Love the Weather

So, everyone is preparing in my neck of the woods for Hurricane Noel. An early Christmas present? I understand the switching back and forth between male and female names as to not play into stereotypes, but to name a deadly storm after the more joyous period of the year leaves me wondering what scientist thought that was a good idea! Since our last Hurricane, us Canadians have learned a thing or two. Wind is bad, it really can snow like our grandparents are always telling us it used to, and did I mention wind is bad? The interesting thing is that the last time I lost power for more than a day was not a hurricane, nope, that was an ice storm in November. Power company got a lot of flack for that, let me tell you! Now, other parts of the province did lose power during the last hurricane, just not the area that I was living in, thankfully. So, if I vanish off the blogosphere, it is because the weather people were actually doing their jobs correctly! A thing they normally have a very hard time doing here in the Maritimes. In any case, it is looking like a lot of rain and wind for tomorrow.

I had planned to write some reviews tonight, but my internet decided that it was better for me to not, as it spent the majority of my evening dead. So, that is my plan for tomorrow. I also plan to finish Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden and move on to something else. I am making tomorrow a reading day because it's a fun idea and it might be too stormy to go anywhere, anyways. Right, so I will be back tomorrow with some more interesting posting, and right now I am going to go finish my laundry and read my book! Fun times ahead!

October in Review

So, October was my least productive reading month of the year. In the end, I only read 12 books. It was just a busy month and I never seemed to be able to find the time to read! Hopefully November and December are a bit better.

I started off the month with my favourite read of the month, The Wolf of the Plains by Conn Iggulden. It was a really good book, one of my favourite of the year. If you get a chance to read it, you should.

Then I moved on to China Mieville's new book, Un Lun Dun. It came out earlier this year. I have not reviewed it yet, but I did think it was a cute book. He also illustrated it, so it had fun pictures.

I read three Giller-nominated books. Two that made the short list: Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay and A Secret Between Us by Daniel Poliquin. Then, I read Soucouyant by David Chariandy. This book made the long-list of the Giller, but it is also in the short-list for the Governor General's Award. It was a good book, but I really think there were other books that should have made the short list. If A Secret Between Us won the Giller, I would be happier about that than if Late Nights on Air did. If Soucouyant wins, I will be left wondering why. It is a good book, but not great.

The rest of the books I read are:

Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje. I have had this book for a while, but I was never fond of In the Skin of a Lion, so I kept putting the reading of anymore books by him off. Then, I read Diversidero because it is nominated for a Giller, and I found that I liked him after all.

Swing Low: A Life by Miriam Toews. I bought this after reading A Complicated Kindness, but just did not get to it before now. It is a book about what life must have been like for her elderly father who was forgetting and suffering from manic depression. It was a very interesting read.

I read a biography of Shakespeare, which I have never done before. It was Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson. I had also never read Bill Bryson before, but had always meant to. It was very interesting. Most of I had heard before because we really do not know very much about Shakespeare, but it was an interesting read nonetheless.

Christmas came early in book form. I read Christine Kringle by Lynn Brittany. It was a very enjoyable and cute book! I will be reviewing it soon, and as soon as I have the time to do so, I will be interviewing the author on my blog.

I am clearing out my Shannon Hale to-be-read pile. I only have River Secrets left because I read Princess Academy this month. I think if I read River Secrets by the end of the year I will have read all of Shannon Hale's young adult books in one year.

I read one of the Canada Reads nominees that I had been trying to read this year: Natasha and Other Stories by David Bezmozgis. It was good, about an immigrant family living in Canada. I also read Set the Seas on Fire, which is a science fiction novel set during the Napoleonic Wars. It was a good read.

The best thing about only reading 12 books is that I liked them all, there are none that I could say were really bad.