Book Club, Book Club

It was a bit weird that I was reading this book when I saw the film Inception - as both deal with the subject of the mind and manipulation.

In Man Walks Into a Room by Nicole Krauss, Samson is discovered wandering the Mojave desert with no memory of who he is and how he got there. It's soon after discovered that he has a tumor in his brain and after its removal he loses all his memories after the age of 12. He then, after recovering from surgery, must deal with the fact that he has a wife, a dog and an apartment in New York he has no memory of.

Makes me think of that Talking Heads song, "Once in a Lifetime":
And You May Tell Yourself
This Is Not My Beautiful House!
And You May Tell Yourself
This Is Not My Beautiful Wife!


He soon realizes that he cannot live with his wife because his presence makes her too sad - as he cannot remember her. He moves out and shortly after a doctor calls him to be part of a study on memory in Nevada. Samson agrees.

The study involves transferring memories from one mind to another and Samson naively agrees, not knowing the memory he will receive.

Later he must deal with the terrifying memory in his head that doesn't belong to him.

I must say that while this was an good read (and short) it left something to be desired. There were a few points in the story that were seemingly important, but they didn't really turn up later in the book - unnecessary details. Krauss's second novel, The History of Love, was way better - but I enjoyed both and am excited that she's got another book coming out in the fall.

I also read David Sedaris's Barrel Fever before this one - and it was okay. Probably my least favourite Sedaris collection. He also has a new book out this fall. Yay!

I heard about this book on the radio and was intrigued. Last Shop Standing is essentially a travel journal from a tour of record shops in the United Kingdom. Graham Jones, a music distributor, writes about the unique shops and why he thinks they'll be the "Last Shop Standing" in each of their communities. The book is funny, anecdotal and nostalgic.

While reading I found myself agree and disagreeing with Jones a lot. On one hand I find it extremely sad when independent record stores are forced to close due to the changes in the industry and the lack of support from the record companies. On the other hand I do embrace a few of the changes to the industry and will admit that I  do download (iTunes, and well let's face it, some less legal sites). Though reading this book has made me want to flip through the racks again - like old times.

I'd say this is a must-read for any music lover - though his stories are all from the UK - the message is universally understood by music lovers: Record stores are worth saving.

P.S. I think if Van Morrison finds out about this book, he's gonna be pissed.

I'm alive! I've been neglecting this blog, I know - it always comes second to my main one. Anyways - onward.

I'm going to review this book in the form of a list. Here's a list of things I learned about the band Broken Social Scene from reading this book:

1) Broken Social Scene members were either friends with founding members Kevin Drew or Brendan Canning. Kevin and Brenden are the core members that make Broken Social Scene.

2) Feist was discovered by Brendan Canning while she was playing a festival in Calgary in High School. Her band had won a Battle of the Bands type contest.

3) They all dated each other it seems. Emily Haines dated Kevin Drew in High School. Emily then dated Metric bandmate James Shaw. Kevin married a horn player, Jo Ann Goldsmith. Feist dated guitarist Andrew Whiteman. It also mentions Feist had a romance with Kevin during or after his marriage ended. Amy Millan dated her Stars bandmate Evan Cranley. Somehow they all managed to remain friends.

4) All members agree that Broken Social Scene is a band that can never break up because it's members come and go so freely - it's not a band in the traditional sense.

5) The project started during an interesting time in Toronto, Canada and the World. The SARS thing was wreaking havoc on the city's tourism industry. The United States invaded Iraq and Canada refused to join them. GQ featured BSS in an issue with the headline: "Is Canada Cooler than Us?"

6) Broken Social Scene happened during the collapse of the major labels and it seemed to work for them. Young people were looking for music that seemed to represent the new attitude towards music consumption.

7) Broken Social Scene was the vehicle that launched the careers of Metric, Stars and Feist.

8) Most members are from Toronto - or originally from the suburbs.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read - mostly photos and short interviews.

Up next: Last Shop Standing: Whatever Happened to Record Stores? by Graham Jones

Okay, I'm not actually going to write a real review of this. This book was good, but it took me far to long to read (couldn't get into it really until near the end). Normally I am a fast reader - not with this.

But summer is near...so a list of books I plan to read this summer in no particular order:

1) This Book is Broken by Stuart Berman
2) Barrel Fever by David Sedaris
3) You're a Horrible Person, But I Like You: The Believer Book of Advice
4) It's a Wonderful Lie: 26 Truths About Life in Your Twenties by Emily Franklin (editor)
5) Man Walks Into a Room by Nicole Kraus
6) The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe
7) Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe

I'm currently reading: The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs.

Sorry I've been neglecting this blog.

A good book for me is one that makes me want to dive deep, know more, explore...

When I first started Fall by Colin McAdam (a 2010 Giller Prize finalist) I felt like I was reading just another book about adolescent male friendships. But as I read on, I discovered that as the story unfolded - through the narratives of roomates Noel (the shy kid with the lazy eye) and Julius (the popular son of an American diplomat in Canada.)

Both boys are in love with Fallon (Fall for short) - the most beautiful girl at St. Ebury - only Julius gets to call her his girlfriend, while Noel has barely spoken to her.

The story gets interesting when Fall goes missing.

I fear that saying anything else would spoil this book for you - but I assure you this isn't some chick-lit teen drama. This story will give you chills.

I have been neglecting this blog, I know. I have finished two books since my last entry and have not written a review of either.

I finished Up In the Air by Walter Kirn and Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. I won't be writing reviews for them because I have already started reading Fall by Colin McAdam, so they are not fresh in my mind. I will try my best to review Fall when I'm done.

Fall is a Giller Prize finalist this year - so far it's quite good.

Sorry again for slacking (if anyone happens to read this and enjoy it.)

Jonathan Safran Foer is one of those authors that I've always intended to read, but never did because something else came along. Thanks to the clearance bin at Chapters, I found this novel in hardcover form for $5! I advocate buying books instead of stealing them, but I won't turn down a deal like this!

When I started this book I had just finished his wife Nicole Krauss's book, The History of Love, the night before. From reading this one can tell that they share a world view. The novel takes place through the gaze of a child (just as it did in The History of Love) - Oskar.

Oskar is trying to make sense of his life after having lost his father in the September 11th attacks on New York's World Trade Center. The story begins a year after the "worst day" - Oskar, entering his father's closet for the first time since his death, discovers a blue vase and accidently breaks it. At the bottom of the vase is an envelope with a key. The envelope says "Black" on it and this prompts Oskar to search the five burrows of New York City to meet everyone with the "Black" surname to see if he can find the lock that fits the key.

There is a sub-story as well, involving Oskar's parternal grandparents. Having survived the allied bombing of Dresden, Germany - they meet in New York and marry. Oskar's grandfather, having lost his voice (and his true love, Annie) because of the bombings, writes everything on pages of notebooks he keeps all over the house. His painful memories become too much and he leaves Oskar's grandmother before their son (Oskar's father) is even born.

He returns after he learns the son he never knew has died in the 9/11 attacks.

This book reminded me of the human side of war - the horrible results. How do you bury someone when there's nothing to bury?