What I've been reading lately
Dec. 20th, 2005 04:45 pmHoly ethnic relations...
As you can tell, I've been reading a lot of books about ethnicity and race relations for THE BIG PROJECT.
1. Halfbreed by Maria Campbell- One of the first Canadian biographies to deal with personal Metis history. I had read this years ago, but got much more out of it this time. This is a painful book, and made me interested in learning more about Saskatchewan Metis history. I plan to go to Batoche next time I'm there.
(For some reason, I remember meeting and seeing Maria Campbell out and about in Saskatoon, but I can't remember where I met her. A friend did live on her couch for a while, though.)
2. Chow- Janice Wong- Chow is half cookbook, half history book. In the book, It's put together by Vancouver visual artist Janice Wong, combines some of her father's recipes with a memoir about her Chinese family. When I met Janice, we figured out that her dad knew my grandfather since she is originally from Prince Albert and my grandfather owned a restaurant supply store in Saskatoon. I was quite surprised to read a mention of my mom's childhood street and my grandfather's restaurant in the book! me I can't wait to show this to my family at Christmas. I've already made the Brown sugar shortbread cookies and plan to try some of the other recipes.
3. Chinatown- Paul Yee- This is a fantastic book that details the history of various Chinatowns in 8 different Canadian cities. It's easy to read, full of pictures, tells about family history and organizations and is great if you're into that sort of thing.
4. Girls for Breakfast- David Yoo- Read this one because I was intrigued by [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]'s review in Hyphen , which is one fantastic magazine. The book is the story of Nick Park, a Connecticut teen who belongs to the only Asian family in town. Nick likes girls A LOT, and most of the book deals with his struggle to try and touch girls, talk to them etc. There's also a lot of struggle with his ethnicity and ethnic identity issues. This book is very funny. For example, in one scene near the beginning of the book, Nick's friends ask him to teach them Kung Fu, and he teaches them a move called the Triceratops, which consists of one kick, followed by two punches in each ball. There's also a lot of 80s references throughout the book. I enjoyed this book, and thought it was funny and clever, but I sometimes wanted to throttle the main character as I watched him shoot himself in the foot. I also found a lot of stylistic problems with the book; I guess it could have used some editing and tightening. Still, I'm glad it was written and think it will mean a lot to a lot of people.
At this point, I decided that I needed to read something that was not about ethnic issues, and so I read
5. "What was she thinking- Notes on a Scandal"- by Zoe Heller-
This is a fictional account of a teacher's tryst with a student. It's narrated by the woman's close friend, and consists of her journal about her friend, the circumstances of the affair, and the media circus around it. This is a genius of a book- it covers a lot more than the student teacher relationship, and ultimately, I realized that the book wasn't only about that, but more of a meditation on loneliness, friendship and control. Brilliant and highly recommended.
I guess I jumped back into the ethnic fray because I then read-
6. "Black berry, Sweet juice" by Lawrence Hill- This is the first book written about being black and white in Canada. To write the book, Hill interviewed various mixed people and talks a lot about his personal experiences with being biracial. He discusses his family history, interracial relationships, The Question (where are you from/what are you?) and the N-word. I really liked this book and think it was well done.
I met Lawrence Hill once when he came into the Saskatoon Bookstore to buy a copy of his own book. I was surprised and said, "What are you doing?"
He told me that he was visiting from Toronto, was out of copies and needed to give it to someone. We then made him sign a bunch of his books. He was incredibly gentle and had such a nice manner about him that I liked him immediately. I plan to contact him for some help.
Currently reading- Degrassi Generations, which has nothing to do with ethnicity.
*I always mentions authors I've met because I feel so fortunate to have had so many positive experiences with them, and to have been allowed to talk with them. (Actually, those who I don't have positive encounters with rarely get mentioned.)
As you can tell, I've been reading a lot of books about ethnicity and race relations for THE BIG PROJECT.
1. Halfbreed by Maria Campbell- One of the first Canadian biographies to deal with personal Metis history. I had read this years ago, but got much more out of it this time. This is a painful book, and made me interested in learning more about Saskatchewan Metis history. I plan to go to Batoche next time I'm there.
(For some reason, I remember meeting and seeing Maria Campbell out and about in Saskatoon, but I can't remember where I met her. A friend did live on her couch for a while, though.)
2. Chow- Janice Wong- Chow is half cookbook, half history book. In the book, It's put together by Vancouver visual artist Janice Wong, combines some of her father's recipes with a memoir about her Chinese family. When I met Janice, we figured out that her dad knew my grandfather since she is originally from Prince Albert and my grandfather owned a restaurant supply store in Saskatoon. I was quite surprised to read a mention of my mom's childhood street and my grandfather's restaurant in the book! me I can't wait to show this to my family at Christmas. I've already made the Brown sugar shortbread cookies and plan to try some of the other recipes.
3. Chinatown- Paul Yee- This is a fantastic book that details the history of various Chinatowns in 8 different Canadian cities. It's easy to read, full of pictures, tells about family history and organizations and is great if you're into that sort of thing.
4. Girls for Breakfast- David Yoo- Read this one because I was intrigued by [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]'s review in Hyphen , which is one fantastic magazine. The book is the story of Nick Park, a Connecticut teen who belongs to the only Asian family in town. Nick likes girls A LOT, and most of the book deals with his struggle to try and touch girls, talk to them etc. There's also a lot of struggle with his ethnicity and ethnic identity issues. This book is very funny. For example, in one scene near the beginning of the book, Nick's friends ask him to teach them Kung Fu, and he teaches them a move called the Triceratops, which consists of one kick, followed by two punches in each ball. There's also a lot of 80s references throughout the book. I enjoyed this book, and thought it was funny and clever, but I sometimes wanted to throttle the main character as I watched him shoot himself in the foot. I also found a lot of stylistic problems with the book; I guess it could have used some editing and tightening. Still, I'm glad it was written and think it will mean a lot to a lot of people.
At this point, I decided that I needed to read something that was not about ethnic issues, and so I read
5. "What was she thinking- Notes on a Scandal"- by Zoe Heller-
This is a fictional account of a teacher's tryst with a student. It's narrated by the woman's close friend, and consists of her journal about her friend, the circumstances of the affair, and the media circus around it. This is a genius of a book- it covers a lot more than the student teacher relationship, and ultimately, I realized that the book wasn't only about that, but more of a meditation on loneliness, friendship and control. Brilliant and highly recommended.
I guess I jumped back into the ethnic fray because I then read-
6. "Black berry, Sweet juice" by Lawrence Hill- This is the first book written about being black and white in Canada. To write the book, Hill interviewed various mixed people and talks a lot about his personal experiences with being biracial. He discusses his family history, interracial relationships, The Question (where are you from/what are you?) and the N-word. I really liked this book and think it was well done.
I met Lawrence Hill once when he came into the Saskatoon Bookstore to buy a copy of his own book. I was surprised and said, "What are you doing?"
He told me that he was visiting from Toronto, was out of copies and needed to give it to someone. We then made him sign a bunch of his books. He was incredibly gentle and had such a nice manner about him that I liked him immediately. I plan to contact him for some help.
Currently reading- Degrassi Generations, which has nothing to do with ethnicity.
*I always mentions authors I've met because I feel so fortunate to have had so many positive experiences with them, and to have been allowed to talk with them. (Actually, those who I don't have positive encounters with rarely get mentioned.)