Deadlines, Storylines, and Timelines

I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.
- Douglas Adams

I have mental deadlines and most of the time I do not accomplish the grand goals I set for myself - like posting to my blog on a weekly basis. I often think about going back in time and organizing my life in such a manner so to make better use of my hours and energies.

However, time is a wibbly wobbly concept, according to Dr. Who.

Considering the possibility of going back and telling my younger self that she should really think about becoming a librarian sooner, only reminds me of why I love science fiction.

In an alternate timeline, I could have gotten a job cataloging for the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford, England and never have met my husband or had three wonderful children. 

So here I am in my present timeline, thankful for my family and fondly remembering the storylines of my favourite Science Fiction authors instead.

All these authors are well worth reading; I still marvel at the imagination it took to create these sci-fi classics.

Douglas Adam's amazing and fun 

Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy - takes you on a zany trip through the universe

Isaac Asimov's unparalleled Foundation series - the perfect blend of science (fiction) and the study of human nature

 

 

Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game and the other novels in the Ender series - complex and multi-layered 

Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series - a clever romp through a literary alternate universe

Discovering home

Having moved a few times in my life, I found this novel - The unraveling of Abby Settel by Sylvia May - to be an emotional read (in a good way).

I can understand the feelings of being in a new place when your family is so far away. When I moved to the States I experienced a bit of what the title characters goes through in the novel. It is hard to be far from family and all things familiar.

Where do you turn when your life seems to be falling apart? This novel talks about the strength of family and the encouragement of friends. The most important lesson is a redefinition of "home" - from an address on a street to an attitude of finding contentment with where life and God has placed you.

I am thankful that I had a church community and connections to other parents from my children's school to help with my transition more than 20 years ago. Abby does find her way with the help of new friends, and comes out stronger for all the challenges she faces.

I encourage you to read this book - Sylvia May's first novel -  and to check out her website http://www.sylviamay.com

I am certainly looking forward to reading her next novel!

Literary Trip Part 3

For those who have read and enjoyed anything by Bill Bryson, I would recommend the Canadian author, Will Ferguson. He is a talented travel writer and in his book, Beauty tips from Moose Jaw, he will take you on a coast-to-coast tour of Canada like no other. He writes in a very personal and quirky style.
If you read this book - check out Chapter Seven - when he writes about being in Tadoussac and then driving up the Saguenay Fjiord.


My sister and I went whale watching that morning and had a very French style lunch at a little bistro in this very touristy town.

  We then drove up one side of the Saguenay Fjiord, taking in the beautiful scenery up to Chicoutimi and down the other side back to our motel in St. Simeon. 

It is fascinating to read another person's account of traveling on the same roads.

Literary Trip Part 2

How often does one get a chance to visit the "scene of the crime"?

Before my sister and I arrived in Brome Lake, we took a detour and visited Quebec's Old Town (Vieux-Québec) in order to see the Literary and Historical Society building (scene of the murder in Bury your dead by Louise Penny).



 We signed up for the English tour, the highlight of which was going to be the library!

Doesn't it look like a glorious library?

Can you imagine how I felt when the tour guide informed me that the library was closed on Mondays ... and that while those on the tour could spend a brief moment there, but no one could return. I felt like a child, nose pressed to the window of the candy shop.





 Our next stop in search of Inspector Gamache was to find the setting for a future book - Saint-Benoit-du-lac, the Benedictine Abbey on the shores of Lac Memphremagog. It was an interesting place and I look forward to reading a mystery set among the brothers!

Literary Trip Part 1

Do you all remember those first-week-of-school assignments? The teacher would say "write about something you did this summer."

My blog today is to tell you about the wonderful literary voyage my sister and I took in August.

We were in search of places where the author Louise Penny set some of her mystery series featuring Inspector Gamache.


First stop - the town which served as the model for the Village of Three Pines - Town of Lake Brome (Knowlton).

We wandered the town, past the mill pond, and soaked up the small town atmosphere. We had a lovely lunch at Cafe Floral.

Next to the library, was the treasure of a book store - Brome Lake Books.

It was a pleasure to meet the owners, Danny and Lucy, and pick up our autographed copies of "Bury your dead" by Louise Penny. 

Of course, books about whales and moose for the grandsons were also purchased.

 

Imagine our surprise when we saw a Quebec police car out in the parking lot - was our Inspector close by?

The search continues ...

Vive Gamache!

My sister and I are going on an early birthday trip to Quebec next week. The first part of the trip will be to do some whale watching where the Saguenay Fjord meets the St. Lawrence River, close to the town of Tadoussac.

After our marine adventures, we will turn back to the Eastern Townships, an area east of the city of Montreal. We will be in search of the village that is the inspiration for the setting of the Inspector Gamache mystery series by our favourite author, Louise Penny. We are sorry to be missing the launch of her latest book (only by a week!) at Brome Lake Books in Knowlton, but we will drop in to the bookstore to soak up the atmosphere! www.bromelakebooks.ca

The first book in the series is Still Life which introduces the quirky inhabitants in the village of Three Pines. Louise Penny writes an intelligent mystery as she explores the inner workings of the human heart.

 

Her best book (in my estimation) so far, stunningly written with history woven into a modern day plot, is Bury Your Dead. Don't read this title first, as it is worth the effort to make your way through the series in order (see below).

From Louise Penny on her website:  http://www.louisepenny.com

I'm often asked two questions: should the books be read in order? And, what is the order?
Both excellent questions. At the risk of appearing to want you to buy more books let me say that while it's not necessary to read them in any particular order (they're designed to be self-standing) there is quite a strong character development arc. I think you'd enjoy the books even more if read in order.
Now, here's the order, from the first to the most recent:

STILL LIFE
A FATAL GRACE / DEAD COLD
THE CRUELEST MONTH
A RULE AGAINST MURDER / THE MURDER STONE
THE BRUTAL TELLING
BURY YOUR DEAD
A TRICK OF THE LIGHT
Note that some of the titles vary between the Canadian/U.S. publications

Read any good books lately?

When I meet with friends, this question always comes up: read any good books lately? I am always interested in what other people are reading. There are those whose reading interests match my own, but I also get pushed by some to venture out in search of undiscovered treasures.

My first adult book review for this blog is one such treasure. Cutting for stone by Abraham Verghese, is set in Ethiopia and New York City and follows the lives of twins, Shiva and Marion, who become doctors on two different continents. How the brothers evolve from being orphaned and adopted by Indian doctors on staff at the Missing Hospital in Addis Ababa, to finding their way through political turmoil and personal loss into adulthood, is at the heart of the book. Written by a doctor who grew up in Ethiopia, this work of fiction has compelling characters (the parents of the twins have a saga of their own) and an absorbing plot. Most intriguing to me was the way in which the medical procedures were described so that I could experience being an observer and not feel like I needed a surgical textbook to understand what is transpiring.

The fact that my daughter-in-law, Hannah, (who is a medical school intern) and my son, Andrew, were in Ethiopia last summer made reading this book even more interesting. Hannah shadowed for a week at a hospital dedicated to addressing a critical medical condition, common among women in this developing country, termed obstetric fistula. Imagine my surprise when I read about how the one brother in the novel, who stays behind in Ethiopia, develops an interest in the fistula repair procedure.

Follow this link if you are interested in learning more about the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital: http://www.hamlinfistula.org/our-hospital.html

More about the author, Abraham Verghese, at:  http://www.abrahamverghese.com

Book stores and blog postings

 Should I try to stack my books in the same manner, 

instead of the untidy piles I have in various rooms?

I have a list of book stores to visit some day. For now, I usually access them on the Internet. For instance, Tattered Cover Book Store http://www.tatteredcover.com/ I've heard about this store from a friend who used to live in Denver, Colorado. From what I've heard, I could go in and not come out for days! I've "liked" Tattered Cover Facebook page and get lots of postings that are book or library related. Often these posts are reblogged from somewhere else and I'm trying to learn the technology behind blogs so I can just reblog a favorite. For now, this is just a "cut and paste" This book illustration is a recent posting from: http://angledart.tumblr.com/post/5035534879

Readers in my life

There are many readers in my life and I have been preparing for the arrival of two who will show up on my doorstep tomorrow. Joshua and John will demand that I share with them about what books I've been reading! My process is a little different from what I usually do to get ready for coffee with a friend who is much a reader as I am, which is usually writing out a recent list of books that have captured my imagination.

However, in preparation for these young gentleman, and their Texas cousins, I go on a treasure hunt in the children's department of my public library. My grandsons know what they like - solid story lines, vivid illustrations, and an animated narrator! Their young minds are ready to engage, so their Oma has to be ready.

On Tuesday night, I have books about dinosaurs, firefighters, and a green monster set to go.

I'd like to recommend a couple of books that were big hits from a previous reading session:

Press here by Hervé Tullet (clever text that encourages young readers with interactive instructions to press the colorful dots on the pages, then shift the book this way and that to see where the dots will move - very engaging)







Jake goes peanuts by Michael Wright (Jake is a picky eater. My daughter and I had to laugh about the reference to Jake's dislike of tuna casserole. His parents try a diet of everything peanut butter, which convinces the little boy that maybe a variety of foods
isn't such a bad thing) 








So here's to snuggling up with a some of my favorite readers and sharing some really good books!

My adventurous readers are: Jojo, Joshua, Zeke, and John