What I'm Not Reading

This is the book I started not to read after I heard the excellent Canada Reads program on the CBC.  I also heard subsequent interviews with Joseph Boyden and then my dad lent me his copy of the book. After reading a bit I returned the hard copy and bought a version for my Kindle which I read a little of and then stopped. That is why I am referring to it as the book I am not reading. I intend to pick it back up of course. My dad felt it was a bit brutal. It is. I like how the story is told through various voices. The writing itself is spare but descriptive. The part I have read, was violent but also magical and very real feeling. Since my trip to Smithers last year I have been thinking a lot more about the issues the First Nations face. The main one of those being how they are seen in today's and future societies. This generation needs stories like this to connect them to the history of Canada. And because I have not finished this book, that is all I can say.

Resolute

I'm a late bloomer a slow mover despite my long legs which make me appear to be moving around quickly. It takes me forever to get to things, I feel like I have been waiting for something big to happen that will compel me to act and act quickly but it's not really happening. My resolution this year is to finish a couple of major projects that have been hanging around. One is a story about the day my mother died. It's been 15 years and I have multiple drafts, the most recent one I wrote over Thanksgiving break about 3 years ago. I just reread it this morning and I can see where it can be improved. The question that arises for me is when to work on this and when to make it happen. When will I get down to work, when will I stop writing about writing and simply write. Reading the piece is hard, it has flaws, and it is sad for me to read. I think my writing has actually improved a bit in the last few years thanks to this blog and also to all the books I have been reading. I am more critical than I used to be and so I must be careful not to feel like it's all shit and then be left with nothing. Instead I think I have to go piece by piece, word by word and rework it slowly but with an end in mind. If any of you are interested in being a reader, let me know and I will send a draft along for you to read and comment on. Help me out of my writing adolescence. I will get it done and then I can move on to the next project.

I love Kimchee, you can too.

This is the project of a very talented friend of mine. I encourage you to give a little to the project. Who doesn't want to know more about Kimchee and this guy is a no holds barred brave like a super hero when it comes to mixing it up with Kimchee. Raised in Guam, schooled in Los Angeles, lives in Brooklyn. He is the culinary multi-cultural fusion king. Help him realize his dream of putting a Korean pickle on every American table. 5 days to go.

What I'm reading

In keeping with my goal of reading a few books by one author to get a handle on what they are up to I am reading this collection of short pieces from my new hero Haruki Murakami. The stories are varied but all have that blurry edge of magical realism, which I relish. Some of them go nowhere which is interesting as I try to write things and have no idea how to end a story. What is a logical conclusion to something you have wholly made up, the possibilities are endless. I suppose the stories end like thoughts do, they simply cease and you might look back in the future and wonder where did those thoughts go, those thoughts I was so passionate about. Interesting. Summer is a good time for short pieces to be read in bed and on the ferry, in border line-ups and in empty living rooms in relatives houses and at beaches, if you do that sort of thing.

Because Kids Need Books

It is well documented that children need to read. They need to be encouraged and coddled and reminded to read once they know how. When my daughter was little I worried about how I was going to teach her to read. It's a challenging prospect, 26 letters with varying sounds are put into groups that make their own sounds and have myriad meanings. It's complex but somehow it happens. I read a lot of cookbooks when Pearl was a baby, it was all I could handle in my sleep deprived state. She watched me and would pick up my books and run her fingers along the lines of type mimicking reading. It was a miracle. I read to her everyday, everyday. If I didn't read to her I felt like I had neglected her in a very profound way. Eventually she went to school and she read with ease and I felt like a champion. Kids books are great but they are often pretty safe, all inclusive and soft, everything is rainbows and sunshine. This is where Edward Gorey comes in to play. I was introduced to the works of Edward Gorey-perhaps incorrectly-as a child. They were picture books ostensibly, accompanied by short descriptions of said pictures. I didn't get that they were dark as I was a pensive child but I got that they were funny and rhymed and the people were odd looking and they spoke to me. Kids need books but they need variety too and so I recommend the above book. It's ominous but so is life and kids need real information, it also contains useful life lessons for those lucky enough to postpone inevitable death.

Off to the Printer

This is the cover to the book I have just sent to the printer. I started this project about 18 months ago and the last month or so has been pretty intense. I have renewed respect for how streamlined the production process is with my corporate publishing clients. This books author, Sarah Wallace did a bang up job considering it was her first project of this magnitude. We had great photos from Seattle photographers, Meryl Schenker and Mike Urban and also historic material by Jack Carver who was a Herald photographer in the 50's and 60's. I am hoping the book will be well received by the community. I have to say I got a little buzz telling Pearl that her reward for all the long hours of me working would be getting her own copy of the book and that it would be a wonderful reminder to her of all the summers we have spent attending the fair. Not to mention how it makes real what her momma does for a living. She'll get that bit later on.

Something Cute.

It's friday! You've lived through another week and you deserve a little something to make you happy. I wanted to share this book from Charles Anderson. It makes me very happy. When the heaviness of design weighs on me I pull this one down off the shelf and float away on a pink cloud of flowers. Just thought I'd share it with you because you can never have too much cute. I still have a ton to do today but I will leave you this. Happy sunny friday goodness!