Far and Away: A Prize Every Time by Neil Peart

Far and Away: A Prize Every Time by Neil Peart

Completion Date: April 23, 2011

Reason for Reading: I loved his previous books.

Following in the tradition of Ghost Rider and Traveling Music, Rush drummer Neil Peart lets us ride with him along the backroads of North America, Europe, and South America, sharing his experiences in personal reflections and full-color photos. Spanning almost four years, these twenty-two stories are open letters that recount adventures both personal and universal—from the challenges and accomplishments in the professional life of an artist to the birth of a child. These popular stories, originally posted on Neil’s website, are now collected and contextualized with a new introduction and conclusion in this beautifully designed collector’s volume.

Fans will discover a more intimate side to Neil’s very private personal life, and will enjoy his observations of natural phenomena. At one point, he anxiously describes the birth of two hummingbirds in his backyard; at the same time, his wife is preparing for the birth of their daughter — a striking synchronicity tenderly related to readers.

A love of drumming, nature, art, and the open road threads through the narrative, as Neil explores new horizons, both physical and spiritual. This is the personal, introspective travelogue of rock’s foremost drummer, enthusiastic biker, and sensitive husband and father. Far and Away is a book to be enjoyed again and again, like letters from a distant friend.

I loved this book! On Saturday, I hid myself away and read this book. I didn't know it was coming out until I accidentally stumbled across it, but I was very excited. A few years ago I didn't even really know who Rush was. Yes, I had heard of them and I suppose I did know a couple of their songs, but I didn't pay a lot of attention to them. Them, I met the cc and he decided to play a Rush CD on a road trip a few summers back. Even then I didn't really listen, but the CD was still in my car the next time I went somewhere and I found myself paying attention. I have come to discover that they may not be a band you love from the very first moment, but if you actually stop and listen you will fall in love. At least, that is what happened with me.

Once he found out that he had recruited me, the cc decided to tell me that the drummer, Neil Peart, was an author. Actually, not only is he an author, but he reads a lot. And, he is the lyricist for Rush. I was intrigued. I went out and bought a copy of Ghost Rider by him and I loved it. It was well-written, enlightening, and a very brave piece of non-fiction. It still remains my favourite Peart book; but I enjoy his other books almost as much. Even though my review of his books have been glowing, I don't think I have managed to convince anyone that they have to read him now. So, maybe it won't work this time either, but I still think you should.

This book is actually a collection of essays. He originally posted them on his website, but decided to release them as a book after he had collected several. Like every other book I have read by him, I have found myself talking about this book a lot. It could be because even though the cc is not a big reader, he does really like this band and enjoys listening to me ramble on about the things that I learned from the book. There is also this incessant noise from someone who thinks someone else should read this book. The noise is currently ahead, but hasn't actually won yet. It is not that the cc doesn't like to read; it is just that he doesn't make time for it.

In this collection, there is a little bit of everything. For some parts of it, he is on tour with Rush, so you gain some insight into that experience. In other parts of it, he talks about his personal life and his own private experiences. There is even a story that combines the birth of a hummingbird with the birth of a child. I was very curious about that story and I think it was done really well. It is more than just about Peart, though. This book looks at the world. He has his opinions, which he expresses, but he will also make you laugh. And, like his previous books it is a bit of a travel memoir. Every time I read a book by him I want to buy a motorcycle and travel around. It sounds like a very worthwhile experience.

Once again Neil has written a book that I loved and enjoyed reading. It is also a very pretty book, I must say. It is more a coffee table book size and includes lots of pictures. I was incredibly happy when I saw the book for the first time. It was well worth buying in hardcover!

This book counts for the Essay Reading Challenge. I signed up to read 10 essays and this book has 22, so I surpassed my goal.

If anyone is interested, here are my reviews of other Peart books:

Ghost Rider

Roadshow

I never reviewed Traveling Music and I still have Masked Rider to read. I am saving it, I guess.

The Outlander by Gil Adamson

In 1903 a mysterious, desperate young woman flees alone across the west, one quick step ahead of the law. She has just become a widow by her own hand.

Gil Adamson's extraordinary novel opens in heart-pounding mid-flight and propels the reader through a gripping road trip with a twist -- the steely outlaw in this story is a grief-struck nineteen-year-old woman. As the young widow encounters characters of all stripes -- unsavoury, wheedling, greedy, lascivious, self-reliant, and occasionally generous and trustworthy -- Adamson weds her brilliant literary style to the gripping, moving, picaresque tale of one woman's deliberate journey into the wild.

When Gil Adamson published her first two books, a volume of poetry (Primitive; 1991) and a collection of stories (Help Me, Jacques Cousteau; 1995), readers immediately recognized a unique and unusually compelling voice, one that partnered the random and the surreal with a finely tuned technical brilliance. The Outlander more than fulfills the promise of that voice.

Description from Amazon.ca

My Thoughts:

I finished this book on Saturday. As I am writing this review up, it is Sunday. If only I could do this all the time I would probably have more readers and better reviews! Unfortunately, it takes me forever to get around to review writing this year. I am still writing reviews from months ago and I doubt I will review everything that I read this year. I have to review some books, though, and this is one of the priorities. I try to read a fair amount of Canadian literature. Some I love, while some is just okay. This book falls in the love category! It's crazy popular at my library right now because it was shortlisted for the Canada Reads, but it was so worth the wait! Gil Adamson is going on to my Canadian Authors That I Love List, that's for sure!

When the novel begins we have a 19-year-old girl on the run. We are not told why or what, but we understand that something horrible has happened. She is dressed in her widows black and is so frightened that she does not even plan ahead to bring any money with her. It is only as the novel progresses that we learn anything about her. Then, you have to figure out what the lies are and what the truth is as she begins to tell her tale to the people that she meets along the way. You soon know, though, that a life on the run in Canada's wilderness is not the life she was raised for. She was raised in a good home with at least a couple servants that did all the domestic work for her and she never was taught how to survive in the wilderness on her own. You learn and adapt, though, and it is amazing how much she grows during the course of the novel.

For those that need a reminder, life in Canada's west is not ideal. During 1903 it would have been largely uninhabited and barren. When she decides to run out into the wilds, she runs the risk of dying of exposure and never running into another human being. Even now, there are large sections of the country that are not suitable for large-scale civilization, so it wouldn't be impossible for this story to be taking place now instead of a little over a hundred years before. What I am leading up to saying is that this is not a happy novel. It has happy moments, but life is hard and Adamson make sure you know it. There are moments where you honestly think nothing else horrible could happen to the main character, but it is never unbelievable. Coupled with some great secondary characters, Adamson has herself a winner here.

I strongly recommend this book! It's hard to review it, though, because you are supposed to discover the story as you go along. Even telling you her name, I think, is a spoiler! So, I am going to leave it at this and hope that you will be curious enough to discover what happened for yourself.

Only in Canada, You Say: A Treasury of Canadian Language by Katherine Barber

Books Completed: 20
Completion Date: January 20, 2009
Pages: 288
Publication Date: March 15, 2007

Reason for Reading: I live in Canada and I was curious! New Author Challenge. 2nd Canadian Challenge.

Ask any Canadian about a distinctly Canadian form of English, and most will offer an enthusiastic Bob-and-Doug-McKenzie 'eh' in response. A passionate few might also bring up the colour vs. color debate or our pronunciations of 'out' and 'about'. And some may point to the ubiquitous Canadian toque as evidence of a language that is all our own. If this is your idea of Canadian English, then it might surprise you that Katherine Barber, Editor-in-Chief of the best-selling Canadian Oxford Dictionary and author of the best-selling Six Words You Never Knew Had Something to Do With Pigs, has written a new book filled with nothing but made-in-Canada vocabulary. Only in Canada You Say highlights more than 1,200 words and phrases that are unique to our neck of the woods. Did you know, for example, that every time you ask for Gravol at the drug store, you're using a word that is unknown anywhere else? That those tasty butter tarts your mother used to make don't exist beyond our borders? Or that there are three distinctly Canadian sex words? And jokes about living in the Great White North aside, it is still pretty interesting to discover that there are 17 Canadian words for ice! Organized thematically, Only in Canada You Say covers Canadian English from coast to coast to coast, with sections dedicated to the things we love to do, where we live, how we get around, and what we wear. The entertaining and informative introductions to each section provide a fresh, often eye-opening, perspective on the reality of Canadian English from Canada's own 'Word Lady', Katherine Barber. Only in Canada You Say maybe 'eh' is just the beginning of this story! '

I always love a good book about Canada, so when I saw this reviewed somewhere I added it to my wish list. It just happened to be on the page that I chose for my library browsing, and the library had it, so I was very happy to finally get around to reading it! Canadian language is an entertaing thing, apparently. I highly enjoyed this book, and I would actually like to own my own copy! I was really surprised about the words that I hear or say all the time that are mostly only said in Canada. They are just common wording for me. I mean, I have always been proud of the fact that I am a Bluenoser (live in Nova Scotia) and that I am a Canuck (I think this one people know). Now, I know some of the words that I use that others might not.

The way this book works is it is broken into large sections and then those large sections are broken into related smaller sections. At the beginning of each large section, the author talks about some of the words that are going to be included in this topic. The intros are actually pretty funny because she says things that I would never even think about. Canadianisms are just common to me, so I never considered what it would sound like for people that are not Canadian to hear them. This goes beyond 'eh', of course. I know that is the most common word associated with Canada, and I have to say, I live in Canada and I hardly ever say 'eh'. It is more common in Central Canada, I think, but I could be wrong!

The first section in the book is called "Canadians Say the Darndest Things". This was probably my favourite section because I found myself trying to remember if I have ever said them before or heard them before. Some are of a historical notion, like 'fuddle duddle', which is claimed to be what Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau said in Parliament one day instead of a profanity. Not a phrase I have used before, but one that I have heard. One of my favourite, and one that I might have uttered before, is 'holy jumpin'. I was also surprised about some of the ones that come from Atlantic Canada. She says that 'sook/sookey baby' is from my neck of the woods. I just assumed everyone says that! Oh, and I said that quite often when I was younger. I am not sure if I have had much reason for it in later years. Then, there is phrases like: 'done like dinner' or 'go to the washroom'. I have used both of those before.

Then, she moves on to Geography, which includes things like the weather. I was really surprised that the phrase 'spring break-up' is largely Canadian. I am looking forward to the 'spring break-up' right about now! The food and drink topic was another favourite. I was both surprised, and not, by food that is Canadian. I know that 'rappie pie' was largely Canadian, but I didn't think about 'butter tarts' or 'blueberry grunt' being only from around here. (Butter tarts are no big loss, but blueberry grunt is awesome! Unless, well, I cook it... It didn't turn out so well.) Drinks was the same. I know that 'double-double' is from Tim Hortons fame, but I was surprised it was Canadian to say 'two-four'. (Believe me, I have heard two-four my entire life! It was particularly common during my university years.)

I learned a lot from this book. I took special note about words and phrases that are supposed to be from my neck of the woods. There were a lot I have never heard before, so no idea who says them! Then, there is the obvious ones like the 'loonie' and the 'toonie'. I know when I was little, I was in the U.S. and my sister asked at a store for a 'loonie'. The man working had no idea what she was talking about! So, if you want to know more about crazy Canadians, this is a great book to see just how different we really are! For those that live in Canada, though, it is just as interesting. I am very glad I took the time to read it, and I probably will have to add a copy to my household in the future.

What They Wanted by Donna Morrissey

Yes, two reviews in one day! I am so far behind I figured I should get cracking!

In her new novel, What They Wanted, award-winning author Donna Morrissey explores both new and familiar terrain: the wild shores of a Newfoundland outport and the equally wild environment of an Alberta oil rig. After Sylvanus Now suffers a heart attack, family tensions come to the fore: daughter Sylvie must deal with her feelings of estrangement from her mother, Addie, while her brother Chris, a natural artist, frustrates his dreams by going to work on an oil rig. A novel about uilt,responsibility, tragedy, and the enduring ties of family, this is vintage Donna Morrissey.

Words cannot describe how excited I was when I got the book magazine from my local bookstore and saw that Donna Morrissey had a new book out. I love Donna Morrissey! A few years ago I noticed Kit's Law at the bookstore and it caught my attention. It was right around my birthday or Christmas and I remember asking my mother if she would get me a copy of it. Downhill Chance was out at the same time, I believe, so I wound up reading both of them around the same time. I loved them! They are the perfect representation of small-town Canadian fishing towns. While they take place in Newfoundland, and I live in Nova Scotia, I could still see the history of my province in her writing. They are quaint, simple novels. The perfect books to curl up with on a rainy afternoon. They are like old friends to me, just looking at the books sitting on my shelf will take me back to the first time I read them and remind me of just how much I enjoyed them. I have since given both books as gifts to friends and family. It was sadly before blogging days when I read them, though.

Fast-forward to 2005. I had not really seen anything new from Morrissey, so she was off my radar for a while. Then, I was in a random bookstore in the city and there it was... a new book! Sylvanus Now was a surprise because I had not heard a word about it until I saw it sitting there on the shelf. So, it of course came home with me! I reviewed it back when I first started this blog, and I gave it a five out of five. Looking back, though, I did not enjoy it as much as her other two books, so it probably was a bit of a high rating.... In any case, it was another excellent read from Morrissey. Now we have her new book, What They Wanted. I knew about this one ahead of time, but I waited and bought it with my birthday money. I must not be the only person that loves her, though, because this one was released in hardcover.

This book is the sequel to Sylvanus Now. Sylvanus is all grown up and has children of his own. His daughter is the main character and it is she that tells the story. Sylvanus is still in the book, but a new generation is in the forefront. Sylvie was an interesting character. She has done what lots of people from the east coast have done, gone out west for easy money. She has came home for a visit, though, because her father has had a heart attack and is not in great shape. Always her fathers' daughter, she has to make sure that he is alright. While home she manages to talk her brother, Chris, into coming out west with her. That was not necessarily her intention, but that is what has happened. He has lost his fathers' boat and feels guilty about it, so he feels the need to make quick money and make up for what he has done.

The story moves back and forth from small town Newfoundland to a thriving economy in Alberta. Many people in todays age are likely finding that same story a part of their lives, so it is a very fitting setting. Alberta is the boomtown, while the east coast is suffering through over-fishing and a loss of a way of life. Morrissey is telling many peoples' story for this day and age. And, she tells it very well. Once again I was captivated with the story, and that always surprises me. I really prefer books with lots of action, and that is not really what Morrissey writes. She just writes what I know, I suppose. I have lived in small towns my whole life and I can see people I know in the characters that she writes. One of these days I might have to actually go to Newfoundland so I can really relate, but I think you can live in any of the towns on our eastern shore and know where she is coming from.

Another great book from Morrissey. She really is worth the read, I must say. I really want to reread her earlier books now, actually! Another book the I recommend and another book for The 2nd Canadian Challenge, Eh! I actually finished this book in October but I forgot I hadn't reviewed it until I saw my list and felt like something was missing for this challenge!

The 2nd Canadian Book Challenge

The 2nd Canadian Book Challenge. Just what I need, huh? I didn't join this the first time around, mostly because I have not really been reading all that much lately and I was staying away from challenges. I decided to join this time around because I own a lot of books by Canadian authors and I really should be reading more. It was actually my theme for the Themed Reading Challenge, so it seemed only fitting to join a challenge about Canada. I am going to be The Free Spirit because it is me and I am very bad at reading books from a list. I am going to try and read both fiction and non-fiction, so we will see how that goes. Just so I have an actual post I picked 26 books off my shelf that I could possibly read, but I am not pressuring myself. Here's the list:

Fiction:
1. Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor
2. Effigy by Alissa York
3. The Horseman's Graves by Jacqueline Baker
4. The Lost Highway by David Adams Richards
5. Conceit by Mary Novik
6. Consolation by Michael Redhill
7. Consumption by Kevin Patterson
8. Scotch River by Linda Little
9. Rush Home Road by Lori Lansens
10.The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston
11.The Song of Kahunsha by Anosh Irani
12.The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
13.Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland
14.The Flying Troutman by Miriam Toews

Non-Fiction
1. Witch in the Wind by Marq De Villiers
2. Heart Matters by Adrienne Clarkson
3. Niagara by Pierre Berton
4. Lords of the Lake by Robert Malcom
5. The Acadians by James Laxer
6. I've Got a Home in Glory Land by Karolyn Smardz Frost
7. The Truth About Canada by Mel Hurtig
8. John A. The Man Who Made Us by Richard Gwyn
9. Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
10.The Masked Rider by Neil Peart
11.Flint and Feather by Charlotte Gray
12.Loyalists and Layabouts by Stephen Kimber
13.Traveling Music by Neil Peart

There was a thirteenth one but I started it already...

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.

Children of My Heart by Gabrielle Roy

Books Completed: 33
Completion Date: February 28, 2007
Publication Year: 2000 (Reprint)
Pages: 176
Received from Random House in 2007
First Canadian Read Completed

Set in the prairies in the 1930s, and rich with the author’s own memories of her time there as a young woman, this is a powerful story of an impressionable and passionate young teacher and the pupils, from impoverished immigrant families, whose lives she touches. Children of My Heart bears unforgettable testimony to the healing power love exerts on the wounds of loneliness and poverty.

I am rather embarassed to say that this is the first time I have ever read Gabrielle Roy. At the beginning of the year I said that I was going to read all the books for the Canadian Reads for 2007, but I have not been making much progress. Then, at the end of February, I got this in the mail and I read it in a matter of hours. So, that is one of the books down, now to find time to read the others!

It is interesting to read historical fiction books of sorts about Canada. This book takes place in the Praires, the other side of the country than where I live, in the 1930s. It is an interesting look at a young teacher who has decided to be a teacher. The book is broken into small section and each section represents one of the early years of her teaching career. It is interesting that in the course of this book she does not make it out of her teens, but yet she teaches for a few years before it is over. It just shows you how different things were not even a hundred years than now. Most people are in their thirties before they have their careers all planned out.

The Praires are suffering in the '30's. Many of the children in her classes do not have very much money or are immigrants from other countries. She very realistically shows how hard it is to be a stranger in a new land, but she also shows how important it was for these parents to have a better future for their children. Education, no matter how little, was everything because parents wanted their children to at least have a better understanding of the world around them. With the early sections, most of the activity takes place in the classroom, but in the last section the teacher finds herself in a different situation with a student. She is not all that much older than him, and he is a considerable amount taller than her. In different situations it might have been a crush, but that would be unappropriate in this setting. Watching the teacher deal with this situation, though, showed me just how young she really was!

It is a very short piece of work, but I thought it was very well-written. I really like to read about my own country, and I do not read enough Candian authors anymore. I used to read a lot more, but reading tastes change I guess.

My special thanks to McClelland and Stewart (a division of Random House) for sending me this book!

4/5

This is the first time I have read this author, but I hope to read more!

Authors Gender:
Male: 6
Female: 27

Canadian Reads

Earlier this month, I posted a Canadian Books list. I want to read more Canadian authors, and I was hoping to start with books that I all ready owned. Yeah, that did not last long, but in my defense, it is not last year yet. I went to the book store in Halifax today (Capital of Nova Scotia, where I live), and my mother handed me fifty dollars. Apparently one of the things she intended to buy me was not available, and this is the money she had to spend to make me even with my sister. I requested three of the Canadian Reads book from Random House. So, I just had to pick up two more today. The nominees are a managable list, and they are books that I have wanted to read for a while now, so I am looking forward to seeing what I think and then eventually finding out which book wins. This will mean that I read five books by Canadian authors, so it is a very good challenge, and thanks to the wonders of Christmas money, it did not cost me anything. The list is as follows:

Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor
(defended by Jim Cuddy )

Children of My Heart by Gabrielle Roy
(defended by Denise Bombardier )

The Song of Kahunsha by Anosh Irani
(defended by Donna Morrissey) [Just a note, Donna Morrissey is one of my favourite Canadian authors.]

Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill
(defended by John K. Samson)

Natasha and Other Stories by David Bezmozgis
(defended by Steven Page) [After reading Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures earlier today, I decided to move right into another short story collection while I am still in the right mood.]

Canadian Authors

I made a list of Canadian authors that I want to read and the book after reading as much as I have of This is my Country, What's Yours? by Noah Richler. Here is the full list this time.

The Penelopid – Margaret Atwood
The Island Walkers – John Bemrose
The Time in Between – David Bergen
Three Day Road – Joseph Boyden
At the Full and Change of the Moon – Dionne Brand
Pieces of Map, Pieces of Music – Robert Bringhurst
The Origins of Water – Austin Clarke
Eyeing the North Star – George Elliott Clarke
Microserfs – Douglas Coupland
A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali – Gil Courtemanche
The Wreckage – Michael Crummey
Angel Walk – Katherine Govier
Make Believe Love – Lee Gowan
Barbara Gowdy
In the Place of Last Things – Michael Helm
Kiss of the Fur Queen – Tomson Highway
A Passion for Narrative – Jack Hodgins
The Song of Kahunsha – Anosh Irani
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams – Wayne Johnston
Thomas King
Dead Girls – Nancy Lee
To the River – Tim Lilburn
The Best Thing for you – Annabel Lyon
The Way the Crow Flies – Anne Marie-MacDonald
Small Island – Alistair MacLeod
Gaffer – Kevin Major
The Life of Pi – Yann Martel
Twenty-Six – Leo McKay, Jr.
A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
Alligator – Lisa Moore
Alice Munro
The City of Yes – Peter Oliva
Michael Ondaatje
Civilization – Paul Quarrington
David Adams Richards
Moody Food – Ray Robertson
Monkey Beach – Eden Robinson
Carol Shields
Muriella Pent – Russell Smith
When Alice Lay Down with Peter – Margaret Sweatman
Stanley Park – Timothy Taylor
Miriam Toews
The Pornographer's Poem – Michael Turner
Jane Urquahart
My Present Age – Guy Vanderhaeghe
M.G. Vassanji
Salamander – Thomas Wharton
Ruby Wiebe
Haiku – Richard Wright
Mercy – Alissa York


Thoughts? Bad choices? Feel free and comment! Some I own already, so I have to read.