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[blue_lotus13]

1. THe truth about stories- Thomas King- This little book was the 2003 Massey lecture. Each year, CBC and some other big foundation pay an intellectual to give a lecture, which is broadcast on CBC radio and then turned into a book. This little book is phenomenal. I really wish I'd gotten a chance to hear the lecture. Thomas King is a wonderful storyteller, and it comes through in this book, which talks about how we create stories and the importance of them. King also discusses a variety of fascinating topics surrounding First Nations people. (He's CHerokee and Greek). He talks about how the Canadian government has tried to destroy the existence of Aboriginal people by legislating them away. He tells creation myths and talks about different ways of interpreting the world. And he discusses Edward Curtis, who went around taking pictures of First Nations people and dressing them up in "native gear", because they didn't look native enough. A fascinating, easy to read and thought provoking little book.

2. Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham- When I opened this and read the first section, I felt as if Cunningham belonged on my list of highly rated authors. As it is, I love his work. He can capture subtle nuances of character, and has a beautiful way of worshipping the word. Yet this book was not his best; the structure and style of the story were overly deliberate and forced. This book is a tale told in three parts. It's the same story, just repeated in different time periods and changed slightly each time. This gives it an overly "workshopped" tone, and Cunningham's natural abilities are muted by his attempt to stick to form. There's still some good things about this book, but it's not as good as "The Hours" or "A home at the end of the world."

3. Killing Yourself to Live by Chuck Klosterman- At first, I hated this book. Oh, I thought, Chuck carries on. Chuck wanks. Chuck is self-absorbed. But then, I found myself liking it and getting into it. It starts out with Chuck Klosterman's pilgrim to sites in the US where various rock stars have died. It then becomes a bit of a meditation on death, ideas about life and Chuck's romantic experiences and feelings. By the end, I was truly into this book, and found myself thinking about it days later.

I also read "Supercrafty", which I love, and another book in the Narnia series. Now I'm in the middle of two non-fiction books.

Comments

[brdgt.livejournal.com]

I reread The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe last week. I can see why I didn't like them as a child, but it did make me look forward to the movie.

[blue-lotus.livejournal.com]

I'm reading the whole series, which I'd never read before. I intend to post about them when I'm done.

[artsguy.livejournal.com]

Klosterman is actually a really funny, smart guy and a great writer. I love his stuff in Esquire.

Edward S. Curtis Documentary of Interest

[(Anonymous)]

If you love Edward Curtis, you must see "THE INDIAN PICTURE OPERA". It is a DVD production of Curtis's 1911 slide show and lecture. It can be found on Amazon.com . This is a fantastic documentary!