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Winter reading


jaybone

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As some of you may or may not know, being a bookstore manager myself I can make a couple of great recommendations if you wish...

First off and a MUST read this year is The Night Circus by Erin Mortgenstern. A crazy story of two magicians that run a circus that begins at Dusk and closes at dawn. Any fiction lover will indeed LOVE this book as it is going to be one of the biggest for the holiday.

For music lovers there is alot of hype behind the Randy Bachman bio recently released. I saw an interview with him at Indigo and it looks like a great music bio.

another big one for fiction lovers this year is The Cats Table by Michael Ondaatje... recently nominated for the Giller short list. If you dont know what the Cats table is, it is in fact the farthest table away from the Captains table on any ocean liner... obviously the lowest of the low would be here... potential? Id say so.

For hockey lovers Ron MacLean's "Cornered" was just released last week and I cant wait to read this one. anyone that knows Ron from Coaches corner would indeed agree it would most likely be a great read.

One more Ill add that looks alot of fun and actually very funny is the upcoming bio of Jann Arden. I think it may actually be an autobio as well which means she will definitely have you in histerics.

Hope this may be useful to some.

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Thanks POG! I always love new suggestions!

I'm looking forward to checking out The Cat's Table. Ondaatje can be a daunting read. In the Skin of a Lion is one of my all time fav's but a few of his other books have been something of a chore to get through.

The Night Circus sounds interesting as well. I love circus themed books. I know it sounds odd but I have probably read 10 books with circus themes and enjoyed each one.

Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance and Such a Long Journey are two masterpieces that I would recommend to anyone and everyone. I have never ripped through a 1000 page book faster then a fine ballance

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As some of you may or may not know' date=' being a bookstore manager myself I can make a couple of great recommendations if you wish...

[/quote']

Nice. Of all the jobs I've had (like Wayne Campbell, I have a large collection of name tags and hair nets) bookseller is in the running for all-time favourite.

Its got its perks I will say that... like an ever increasing library and access to millions of books for my son. At the same time believe it or not, its a highly stressful industry especially as we transition our business. Now back to the recommendations...

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Finished this one last week:

200px-DarkStarSafari.jpg

It's thorough and academic travel writing, although the author seems to think he's better than everyone else (travelers, locals and aid workers). Some interesting insight into the impact that foreign aid in Africa actually has, and it's nice to read such a detailed account of a largely overlooked part of the world. It's not a breezy account of some dude's vacation, but recommended if you want something that gets a little heavy.

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I finished The Night Circus a few weeks ago and loved it! It had me staying up late turning the pages.

Thanks for the rec POG.

I just finished The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis.

It was pretty cool look in to the causes of the financial meltdown in the US. It really brought in to light what a delicate house of cards our whole economic system is built on. No one really understands all of it. Kinda scary.

I'm currently reading The Help, which is great so far. Next up, The Cat's Table.

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  • 9 months later...
I just read a book called Long Way Down, by, is it Nick Hornby? I believe AD might have given it to me, and I'll have to thank him for introducing me to myest new favorite author.

I could not stop laughing, like eyes slammed shut laughing. The book is about four people trying to commit suicide. So very clever is this Nick.

I just learned that the book is going to be turned into a movie starring Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) and Pierce Brosnan (Pierce Brosnan). If A Long Way Down transfers to film half as well as High Fidelity did, we should be in for a treat.

As for books, I am currently finding it damn-near impossible to put this one down:

story-27-rule-bone-book-75526.jpg

It's a dark, first-person coming-of-age book featuring bikers, Rastas and epic quantities of ganja. But it's definitely not a warm and fuzzy tale of a teenager's adorably clueless run-ins with grown up life. It's pretty raw, but also one of the better-told stories I've read in a while.

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Just getting into this one:

salman-rushdie-memoir.jpg

It details the author's life in hiding after the Ayatollah put a price on his head, but it also goes back into his childhood and early life as a writer. It's written in the third person, which seems rather pretentious, but has been fairly engaging so far. I remember being fascinated by the story when it was making headlines in the late-80s/early-90s, so I was excited to see this come out.

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  • 2 months later...
Michael Chabon - The Adventures of Cavalier and Clay,The Yiddish Policeman's Union or his new one Telegraph Ave - brilliant all

I had a hard time getting into Telegraph Ave. and ended up abandoning it. I think I should give it another try.

I started this one last night:

515VR6zMG5L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

and it's been entirely entertaining so far. It's the story of a wedding weekend in Miami gone entirely sideways, featuring content that is edgier than other Dave Barry stuff I've read. I've had a few LOL moments, and am looking forward to picking it back up today.

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1Q84.jpg

It took me a long time to get into this one but I'm now finally at a point where its moving along quicker. So far, not my favourite by Murakami but we'll see. I am enjoying it though for the record.

The only fiction of his I've read is The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I enjoyed it, but I found it tedious by the end, so I'm not sure I have the stamina for 1Q84. I thought his non-fiction book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running was great, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a brilliant author's creative process.

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The only fiction of his I've read is The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I enjoyed it, but I found it tedious by the end, so I'm not sure I have the stamina for 1Q84. I thought his non-fiction book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running was great, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a brilliant author's creative process.

i too found Wind-Up Bird tedious... but I really enjoyed Hard-Boiled Wonderland, and Norwegian Wood. haven't picked up 1Q84 yet.

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