Mar 25 2012
I like talking about books. What I like even more is listening to people talk about books. Over the years I have entertained this fetish by listening to CBC Radio and by attending various book festivals around town, most notably the Blue Metropolis festival (which, while still good, was a lot better when it was [...]
Jan 02 2012
A as per new-year tradition, here is the list of books I read in the year just ended, with commentary to follow: Stet, by Diana Athill* A Long Way Gone, by Ishmael Beah A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan Homo Evolutis, by Juan Enriquez and Steve Gullans* Headlong, by Michael Frayne On [...]
Aug 05 2011
Recently, on Twitter, @Audrey_Sprenger tweeted that Jack Kerouac’s favorite snack was “Med rare cheeseburg on Engl muf w mayo & fried onions” because “it reminded him of poutine.” My bullshit detector immediately sounded, and I replied saying so. After a bit of back-and-forth, I backed down, deferring to Sprenger’s expertise, because, as it turns out, [...]
Jan 18 2011
As I’ve done every January since 2004, I present here a list of the books I’ve read in the previous year, with commentary. Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe The Stranger, by Albert Camus (translated by Matthew Ward) My Antonia, by Willa Cather Await Your Reply, by Dan Chaon Utz, by Bruce Chatwin Enemy at [...]
Jan 09 2010
As is my annual tradition since 2004, I present to you the list of books I read in the previous year (in this case, 2009). They are listed by author, in decending alphabetical order. The ones that really stuck with me are highlighted. House of Meetings, by Martin Amis The Wasted Vigil, by Nadeem Aslam [...]
Jul 09 2009
I‘ve been having some trouble with books lately. (1) I accidentally bought the LARGE PRINT edition of Morley Callaghan’s “The Loved and the Lost.” (It is ironic that when you buy online from Chapters-Indigo, the “large print” designation is marked in fine print.) It’s not a disaster; after all, the words are all the same, [...]
Mar 03 2009
A few years ago I read the V.S. Naipaul novel Half a Life. It was my first Naipaul. I was never really sure what was going on, but I enjoyed his prose style, and it was somewhat light and comic while still being (ahem) literary. Last week I picked up W. Somerset Maugham’s The Razor’s [...]
