Welcome, 2015!

It has been nearly a full year since my last post. All in all, 2014 was a good year for reading. I've read many excellent novels this year, a very few mediocre ones, and no terrible ones. None of the novels I read were Man Booker titles, although one was on the Longlist for 2013. I don't regret having a full year of 'fun' reading, but I have decided to attempt my Man Booker challenge again for 2015. There are so many things I want to do, and so many books I want to read, but leaving this list unfinished feels… well, incomplete. And so, I am declaring 2015 the Year of Finishing What I Started. 

Happy Reading! 

The Promised Recap

It's taken me forever and a day to get around to writing this recap, but I know you're not surprised, so let's just move right along.

When I last posted, I was reading/listening to Anton Strout's "Dead to Me", which is the first novel in his Simon Canderous series. I had been looking forward to this one for quite a while, and I really enjoyed it. It's funny, original, and only slightly sexist. I suspect I wouldn't be as annoyed by the sexism if I had read the novel instead of listening to it, since the narrator did give a slightly irritating read for the female characters, but the sexism was definitely there. It's not bad enough that I wouldn't recommend this novel, and it wasn't bad enough to make me even consider not reading the rest of the series. It's just there. I think Anton Strout is a very funny and kind man, and I really don't think it will be an issue in the rest of the series - it seemed to be a 'first novel' issue more than an actual sexist issue.

While I was on holiday I read the second novel of Mercedes Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdom's series, "One Good Knight", which was a fun, light read. I didn't love it as much as I loved the first book, probably because I had an idea of what to expect from it, and predictable is never great, but it was still a really enjoyable read. I don't read much romance, but romantic fantasy is perfect for vacation.

I followed that up with a binge read of the three most recent novels in Kelly Meding's MetaWars series - "Changeling", "Tempest", and "Chimera". You may remember how much I enjoyed "Trance" - the series just gets better from there! I couldn't stop reading them. We are talking 'stay up past bedtime to finish and then immediately start the next novel' level of addiction here, and I am anxiously waiting for the next novel to be announced. This series is what I had hoped the 'Marvel's Agent's of Shield' TV series would be like, only even better because I'm not nearly as imaginative as Ms Meding is. Each novel is told from the point of view of a different member of the team-formerly-known-as-Rangers, a group of emotionally scarred young superheroes who are just trying to find their place in the world. They are brilliant, heartbreaking, and inspiring - and you should go buy the whole series (also available on Amazon, if that's your bag) because I swear you will not be disappointed. Go. I'll wait here.

Got it? Ok, moving on...

At Christmas I decided to re-read Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", which is never a mistake. When I was growing up we went to the local stage production every year, but I never get tired of it. If you've never read it (GASP!!) find yourself a copy next December - it's a quick read, but it's lovely.

Maybe it's a comfort thing (I've been feeling a bit down) but a lot of my reading time over the past six months has been devoted to re-reading favourites. In addition to "A Christmas Carol" I've also re-read the first 6 Harry Potter novels and the second Dexter novel - so, it's been a lot of fun. I discover something new every time I read Harry Potter, and the joys and heartaches feel as fresh as they did on the very first read. I'm taking a little break before Deathly Hallows because, let's be honest, the conclusion Half-Blood Prince is emotionally exhausting! As for "Dearly Devoted Dexter" - man, I love that character! For all his darkness, he is a funny guy and one of the most human characters I've ever read. I'm way behind on the series, so hopefully I can catch up (assuming there will be a book 8 - fingers crossed!).

I also started a re-read on audio of Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files" series, which I love so much, you don't even understand. I was really excited about it - one of my favourite series ever, read by James Marsters? Yes please!! Unfortunately, Marsters reading of the story is not quite to my taste. I'll probably try again when the days are a bit longer. I'd like to get caught up on this series this year, too.

I haven't given up on my Man Booker challenge, but I've been stuck on Margaret Atwood's "Blind Assassin" since early November, and I don't know why. This novel is another re-read for me, and although I'm only about a quarter of the way into it, but I just keep putting it down to read other things. I'm disappointed that I'm not enjoying "Blind Assassin" this time around, since it blew me away the first time. It's probably mostly because I haven't forgotten any of it, so the dramatic tension is just not there. Or perhaps I'm just making excuses (see Harry Potter 1-6 and Dexter 2)! I'm going to try to get into it again after I finish reading my current novel, but if it still doesn't grab me I will have to admit defeat and move on to the next title.

I've also been reading a bunch of non-fiction book on finance, compassion, history, and evolution. Nothing terribly exciting, but it's been keeping my mind busy.  Novel-wise, I finished reading Half-Blood Prince four days ago, and Dearly Devoted Dexter three days ago, took a couple days off trying to decide what to read next, and yesterday I decided to start a new-to-me series that I've been looking forward to - Anthony Bidulka's "Russell Quant" mysteries. The first title is "Amuse Bouche" - a rookie PI based in a small Canadian prairie city - sounds like fun, right? So far, it is! In fact, I think I can fit in a few more chapters before bed...

Happy reading!

Celtic Thunder Cruise

This is not a book related post. I apologize for the extended absence, and I promise that there is a book post coming, soonish. For now, please enjoy the recap of my experience on the inaugural Celtic Thunder Cruise!

***********************************************************************

I had a really great time on the Celtic Thunder Cruise - one of my top 5 vacations of all time. I didn’t go to all the shows, but I did get to the one I really ‘needed’ to see – twice, even! The shore excursions were fantastic We had two shore days, one in Ocho Rios, Jamaica and one in Grand Cayman. The accommodations were fairly comfortable, and, for the most part, I enjoyed spending time with other fans. I was underwhelmed by the food and available merchandise, primarily the selection not the quality – for instance, I had anticipated spending much more money on souvenirs than I did. I suppose that’s a good thing, but I was a little disappointed nonetheless.

This was my first cruise, and I was completely stunned by my first sight of the ships. They’re truly massive! We sailed on Carnival Victory, and all the staff I interacted with were very friendly. I did have trouble getting service at shows in the main theatre, which became a bit uncomfortable considering how much cheering I was doing, but that was the only issue I had with staff. The main ship décor looked very dated and tawdry in the full glare of a Miami afternoon, although the gold and glitter looked alright in the low light of the evenings. The Celtic Thunder specific decorations were fantastic and made me grin every time I noticed them – and they were every where, from full size window decals of the singers as we boarded the ship to CT decals on the glass elevators and the barrel-style tables in the “Thunder Pub”! It was a really wonderful touch.

In Jamaica I took the Dunnes River Falls Jeep Safari tour. It was interesting to drive through the smaller towns, and our driver stopped frequently to show us the different edible plants growing by the road. We saw grapefruit (which we also tasted), banana, pimento (the leaves of which smell like gingerbread!), lemon grass, coconut, ackee, papaya, and coffee trees – it was pretty neat! We also had a stop at a coffee farm, which was highly informative, even though I don’t drink coffee! We drove through St. Anne, where a yard full of adorable school children ran up to the fence and chanted “White People” at us, which was surreal. Then we arrived at the Falls themselves, which were gorgeous! I did not climb them – with my luck, I’d have slipped and re-injured my back – but I did walk the length of them. The water is exceedingly clear, and the terraced rocks are white and pink, surrounded by the deep green and brown of the forest. It’s really one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, it is the definition of a tourist trap, and the local sellers are fairly aggressive in their tactics. I found it especially uncomfortable as they kept asking me who I was traveling with, to which I responded that I was traveling alone. The response was invariably a theme on ‘I can be your boyfriend’ (must control fist of death….)! I tried jerk chicken, as well, because “you have to”! It was very tasty, but I’m a bit squeamish about food – I dislike eating sticky foods with my fingers, and the visible marrow was a bit off-putting. The rice and beans were delicious, though! May be one of my new favourite dishes! The worst part of the Jamaican tour was the rain early on. Because it is an open jeep, those of us sitting in the front seats quickly became soaked. I was the only person on my tour who had bothered to bring a jacket!

Dunnes River Falls

Grand Cayman was as different to Jamaica as night to day! Firstly, the weather was gorgeous the whole day, and secondly the island itself – not only is the terrain completely different (Jamaica is mountainous, Grand Cayman is flat) but the economic differences are highly visible. Even though there is evidence of hurricane damage, and there was a fair amount of flooding from a storm the night before, it’s obvious that GC is far wealthier than Jamaica. Not surprising, in retrospect, but seeing the evidence in such stark relief was a bit jarring. I took the Best of Land and Sea tour, which included a short tour on the semi-submersible Nautilus, a visit to the Tortuga Rum Factory, a stop in Hell, and the turtle farm – which was my second favourite part of the whole week! Unfortunately, due to the storm the night before, visibility on the semi-sub tour was not all that great. We were still able to see lots of Bermuda chub, Sgt. Major Fish, yellow-tailed snapper, and even a sting-ray, but it was pretty murky. The guides were fantastic, though! I thoroughly enjoyed the banter, and felt quite comfortable on board. The rum factory was a little disappointing – it was really just a 15 minute shopping stop. Great for souvenirs, not so great for stories. It’s set-up very prettily, with lots of statues of pirates and antique trucks. I’m sure it’s fun if you have more time. Hell was another very quick stop – 20 minutes, I think. Enough time to rush out and take photos, buy & post a couple nearly blank postcards, and then back on the bus. It was gorgeous, though, a really very interesting formation. I’d heard that it glows red at sunset, but I suspect that was a load of…. Any how, I spotted my first iguana in Hell, so that was neat!

eeeeeee-Iguana!

After Hell, we went to my absolute favourite stop – the turtle farm! They are such beautiful creatures, and it was a thrill to just watch them swimming about, but I was over the moon to get to hold one! They’re absolutely gorgeous, and their skin is super soft. It was amazing, and I will never forget it. Plus, having my picture taken holding a turtle was way cooler than the Celtic Thunder photo-op!

My ‘celebrity sightings’ stories are much tamer than any of the others I’ve heard, and can be counted on one hand, but I know you want to know anyway:

1) Day One, lounging in a deck chair, I was trying to knit (FYI, do not try to knit with a silk/wool blend in +30 degrees – you just felt the yarn as you go) when I thought heard Ryan and turned about to see him and Neil 'people watching' from a couple levels above and behind me, overlooking the Lido deck.

2) Day One, Welcome Party – I found a shady spot against the wall with a couple other ladies, and a group of young men & a young lady came and stood in front of us. I commented to my neighbours that the young men looked out of place amongst the sea of women, but that they appeared to be Irish (sometimes, you can just tell at a glance) so they were probably working. Yeah… it was Goitse. Seem like a nice group of people, but I felt like a dolt for not recognizing them!

3) Day Two, I hadn’t slept well, so I was up for breakfast by 8am. It was a cooler day, so I decided to grab some fruit and dry cereal, head up to a deck chair and see what I could salvage of the previous day’s knitting (turned out to be *nothing*. Totally felted!). As I strolled back towards the chairs I had in mind, Ryan came running toward me. I quickly stepped out of the way (a tiny bit farther than I was stepping out of the way for the other runners) and we both continued on our way. I briefly considered abandoning my deck chair knitting plans, since I didn’t want to appear ‘stalkerish’ but dismissed that as ridiculous. So, I settled myself down, and whenever Ryan came around the corner I just kept my eyes on my knitting.

4) Day Two, I staked out a spot at the bar to watch Neil hosting Karaoke. I was also hoping to catch the NHL scores on the TV at the bar, but apparently no one in the US cares about hockey on Sundays, because it was all NFL, all the time. A bit irritating for me, but Ryan did stop by to have a look at the scores, so not a total loss. ;)

5) Day Five, I was rushing upstairs on my way to something or other, when I saw Colm (surrounded by young women) at the stairs. He had been making his way through the halls signing doors, but I was still a little stunned to run into him. I managed a smile & a quick ‘Hi, Colm!’ as I continued on my way – I got a smile & a ‘Hi’ back for my trouble. Such a nice kid! ;)

And that was it for my ‘non-scripted’ sightings. Tame, I know, but the fact of the matter is I’m a fairly shy person, and hanging out in the more popular areas of the ship by myself would have made me intensely uncomfortable. I was quite disappointed when I found out that the guys were doing photos and signing CD’s for people in the bars in the evenings, but in all honesty, even if I had been there I wouldn’t have gone up to them to ask.

All of which is really beside the point, since I didn’t go on the cruise to ‘hang out’ with any of the performers – I went to see them perform! Every show I saw was fantastic, the sound quality was better than it was for the Mythology performance I saw at the Jack Singer Concert Hall in September, and all the performers seemed to be enjoying the shows as much as the audience did. It was wonderful!

The first evening’s main show was Michael Londra and friends. I’ve only listen to snippets of Mr. Londra’s music online, so the show was entirely new for me. He and the Celtic Fire band were fantastic, and the Irish dancers were a lovely surprise, really amazing. It was a great show, very energetic considering it was the second show and the audience appeared to be pooped! Afterwards, I made my way to the Thunder Pub to catch Goitse’s first show. Wow! Really, truly, a brilliant set! The room was packed and the band was on fire! They are such energetic performers, and Colm and Tadhg in particular seem to be in constant motion. I’ve always love trad, and nothing beats a live show. If you get a chance to see them, please go! You will love it!

Goitse during the deck party

On Sunday, I skipped a lot of the morning events, starting my day’s entertainment at 4 with Neil hosting Karaoke, which was a blast! He’s such a charming guy! He joined a few people in singing their songs, including a very entertaining duet of Margaritaville. Solo, Neil sang “Friends in Low Places”, and wrapped up the afternoon with “Piano Man” – which Colm and Emmet joined him for! The crowd went a bit crazy, and the guys seemed to be having a great time. It was a really fun afternoon!

Colm, Neil, and Emmet singing Piano Man

I ended up skipping the main show that evening, which would have been the Gaelic Rhythm Dance show, because there was already a line forming for Ryan and Neil’s first solo show, which didn’t start for over 3 hours! There had been several announcements throughout the day regarding the earlier solo shows being full hours ahead of their scheduled starting time, and even though this show was in the main lounge, which seats 1000 people, I wasn’t sure whether the upper balcony would be opened for seating and no one could tell me. Since this was the only show I knew I would be absolutely crushed to miss, I chose to skip the main show rather than risk not getting in. The line started out quite civilized, two-people deep against the wall, everyone calm and chatting. About an hour before they opened the doors, I left to use the washroom. When I returned, the “line” had swollen to fill the entire hallway, with everyone pushing forward in an attempt to stop people from cutting in. Shortly after, the group directly behind me in line began ‘singing’ and trying to get the entire line up to sing along with them. It was, quite frankly, a nightmare. I’m literally getting light-headed just recalling it. I don’t do particularly well with crowds in the first place, but to be surrounded by people in a hallway with very low ceilings, and then to have everyone around start yelling and shouting… honestly, I can’t think of a worse situation. I needed to plug my ears and kneel down several times just to keep myself from completely freaking out. It was horrible. I get that everyone else was just ‘having a good time’ but for me, it was the worst possible situation. Once the doors opened, I found myself a seat around the middle of the fourth row on the main level. The sight lines on the main floor weren’t nearly as good as the balcony, but the compensation was that we did get (rather poor) drink service.

The show… my goodness, the show! It was everything I hoped an ABC show would be, and more! It was fantastic that Nicole, Declan and Seamus joined them for the set. I didn’t write down the set-list during the first show, but they sang all the songs from Acoustically Irish, Wagon Wheel, Moon Dance, the first-ever live performance of Ryan’s new song American Dream, Rock n’ Roll Kids (I think?? I may be mis-remembering that!) and an absolutely gorgeous version of Ride On. They started with Wagon Wheel and finished up the set with Saints and Sinners, which was perfect. The banter was very sweet – early on in the show, someone shouted out ‘I love you, Ryan’ to which he responded with ‘Thanks’. Later, someone else screamed out ‘I love you, Neil’ and he said ‘I love you, too’ – then a couple seconds later, Ryan stepped up to the mike and said, super quietly, ‘I love you, too’! It was the cutest thing! It was a bit more awkward toward the end of the show when someone (who I referred to in my journal as a “whack job”) yelled out ‘Ryan, can I have you after the show?’ Neil had some fun with it, but Ryan was visibly flustered. There was talk of getting Sharon’s permission, red tape and paper work to be sorted out – they handled it very well, and it was hilarious, but in a really awful way. Boundaries, people!! Ryan also (repeatedly) referred to the ‘back-seat sessions’ as the ‘back-street sessions’ – hilarity! Also, I’m sure everyone’s seen the photo’s of the two of them hugging at the end of the set! Major ‘awww’ moment! It was, truly, a fantastic show. The whole week was worth it for that 2 hours alone! I was so happy I was light-headed by the end… of course, that might have been exhaustion!

Monday’s main show was Mythology which, of course, was fabulous! They did a terrible job of enforcing the No Photos rule, but I know they were trying their best. There were no musical surprises in the show – if you’ve seen/heard Mythology, you know the show. At the end, however, during Ireland’s Call, someone (and I didn’t see it happen, so don’t ask me who!) put a sign on Emmet’s back.. I didn’t even notice until they were leaving the stage, but the guys were absolutely cracking up on stage! It was so great to watch – they hardly ever let down their guard on stage! At first I thought they were laughing because the entire audience had stood up to sing along (which never happens at the Calgary show!) but apparently that’s not too unusual… It was great, though!

Ryan having a laugh during his Pub Quiz

Tuesday afternoon I went to Ryan’s Pub Quiz. I didn’t get on a team – damn shyness, again! But it was really fun anyhow. None of the group of women I was sitting with wanted to play, but we were all answering amongst ourselves – I think we would have done pretty well as a team! Everyone bullied Ryan into singing the song clues, which was pretty fun. He was supposed to prepare 30 questions, but ended up with 50, which was great – as if anyone would complain about the quiz running too long! It was a fun afternoon with a lot of laughs. 

The evening show was the Friendly Feud, which was hilarious. My favourite question was ‘what do girls pretend to like in order to catch a guy they’re interested in’ – watching the guys try not to give certain answers was very comical! I was laughing so hard I was crying and my abs ached! But, honestly, ladies, if you’re pretending to like his looks, personality, friends, and sex?! Why do you want to date him in the first place! FIND SOMEONE ELSE! Crazy ladies…

Friendly Feud on Formal Night - before things got out of hand!

Immediately after the Friendly Feud, I got in line for Emmet and Colm’s show, which was in the same theatre. I lucked out and was 3rd in line for the balcony. They did a fantastic show, I was so impressed! My personal highlights were when Rebecca Harkin joined them to sing ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’, Colm absolutely owning Coldplay’s ‘Viva la Vida', and the epic cover of Justin Bieber’s “Baby” – again, so funny I was crying! The cast of Gaelic Rhythm surprised the guys while they were singing “When I’m Gone” by coming out to dance behind them, which was really awesome. Rebecca was fantastic, too. I’m disappointed that I missed her solo show, but I’m really looking forward to her new album next year. 

This is the first show I thought to write out the set list for, so I’ll post it for you:

• December 1963 (Oh What a Night) (Colm & Emmet) 
• Mrs Robinson/The Boxer (Colm & Emmet) 
• Will You Go, Lassie, Go (Colm & Emmet) 
• Fall Like Me (Rebecca) 
• Stuck in the Middle (Colm, Emmet & Rebecca) 
• Have I Told You Lately (Emmet) 
• Viva La Vida (Colm) 
• Baby (Colm & Emmet) 
• When I’m Gone (Colm, Emmet & Gaelic Rhythm) 
• The Gambler (Colm & Emmet) 
• Beatles Medley (which, as a Beatles fan, I’m ashamed to say I was so excited about I don’t remember which songs they did!! Can anyone help out on that?)

Giving the Biebs a run for his money!

It was a really fantastic show, and I’m so glad I got to see it! By the time it was over, I was exhausted from so much cheering and laughing, and sooo dehydrated! (Did I mention I didn’t get drink service on the balcony?!) It was over too late for me to get to George’s show, and I didn’t want to steal a seat from anyone else hoping to see Ryan and Neil’s second show (which was also in the main theatre) so I planned to go to bed. Really, I honestly did! I ended up going down to my room, then back up to the Lido deck to fill my water bottle, and back down the stairs again, and... well, since I was passing the entrance to the theatre again anyway, I poked my head in to see if there were any seats left... Come on, I couldn’t not stay! The crowd was much quieter for the second ABC show, which was actually helped make the show more enjoyable for me. I was also in the balcony, which felt a lot calmer to me. The set list was pretty much the same as the first show (except that for some reason I was sure they sang Rock n Roll Kids during the first set...):

• Wagon Wheel (Neil & Ryan) 
• Beautiful Affair (Neil & Ryan) 
• Moon Dance (Ryan) 
• California Dreaming (Neil) 
• Ride On (Ryan – again, this was sublime!) 
• Brown Eyed Girl (Neil & Ryan) 
• Water Is Wide (Neil – absolutely stunning live!! So beautiful!) 
• American Dream (Ryan – if you don’t have Ryan’s new album yet…. What are you waiting for?!) 
• Don’t Go (Neil & Ryan) 
• Raglan Road (Neil & Ryan – one of my favourite tracks from Acoustically Irish, and brilliant live) 
• Captured (Neil – again, just stunning! Love this song!) 
• Back Home in Derry (Ryan) 
• Rose of Allendale (Neil & Ryan) 
• No Man’s Land (Ryan) 
• Fields of Athenry (Neil & Ryan) 
• Saints and Sinners (Neil & Ryan) 

The crowd also sang Ryan ‘Happy Birthday’ (I think right before Moon Dance) even though it was still a bit early, and I seem to recall Neil having us sing it again after midnight, although that may be my faulty memory!

Wednesday afternoon I went to the Celebrity Heads Game with the guys from the CT band – once again, what can I say but ‘it was hilarious’! The guys were brought up on the stage three at a time, a sheet of paper with a person or thing written on it was placed on a music stand behind them and they had to guess “who” they were using yes or no questions. Each set had a theme to get them started. It got a bit naughty ('things you put in your mouth') and a bit silly (like when Declan was trying to guess ‘False Eyelashes’ – he got so far as there are a pair of them on your head, but having guessed eyes, ears, lips, and eyebrows he was at a loss. Poor lad was actually counting bits of himself!) and I wish it could have gone on longer. Some of the audience didn’t seem clear on the Yes or No answers, trying to give them bigger hints, but it was all in good fun. Dave Bakey was quite good at it – to his detriment, since he had to pee and couldn’t leave until he lost a round!

I was sure that between the last 4 shows I had laughed and cheered myself completely out of a voice, but the final show was the Celtic Thunder Best Of and, somehow, I managed to cheer my heart out in that one, too! The guys did some minor harmonic changes from the original recordings, all really gorgeous. It’s one of the best things about seeing a live show, the artist has the ability to try something a bit new and unexpected. It hasn’t been my experience that CT uses that artistic freedom in their live shows, so it was a wonderful surprise. I was a bit worried about the entire cast, because the sea was really rough. The speakers and lights were visibly swaying, and I could see the guys moving with the motion of the ship quite a bit as well. I was afraid someone might lose their balance when moving about, but they are all such pros they took it very well! I don’t think it was my imagination that this was the longest show of the cruise, as you may be able to tell from the set list (and I do apologize for not having the names of the instrumental numbers – I’m terrible at remembering the names of them!):

• Heartland (all) 
• Dutchman (Keith) 
• Ride On (Ryan) 
• Noreen (Neil) 
• Instrumental 
• Kindred Spirits (Emmet) 
• Steal Away (all) 
• Black Velvet Band (Colm) 
• The Old Man (George – absolutely fantastic! There wasn’t one person sitting near me who wasn’t in tears, myself included) 
• Galway Girl (all) 
• Home (Colm) 
• Dulaman (all) 
• Hallelujah (Neil, with Emmet & Ryan) 
• Place in the Choir (all – Ryan and Keith tried to steal Colm’s shoes, and Ryan got him in a headlock and gave him a noogie! Sooooo funny!) 
• Happy Birthday to Ryan (audience) 
• Friends in Low Places (Ryan, with Emmet, Colm, George & Neil) 
• Lauren & I (Keith – stunning! As always) 
• Whisky in the Jar (Keith & Neil) 
• Still Haven’t Found (all – Neil appeared to have forgotten the choreography for this number and entered from the side of the stage instead of the center of the stage with everyone else, which set Colm and Emmet giggling. Then, Emmet forgot the choreography on the first ‘turn’ and stayed facing straight, which started him giggling again) 
• This Is The Moment (Emmet) 
• 500 Miles (George) 
• 7 Drunken Nights (all – so funny, every darn time! During Monday night, David Greene – a member of the CT stage crew – came ‘galloping’ out on stage on a pink hobby horse, and everyone just busted up laughing! It was nearly 30 seconds before they recovered enough to continue. It was so great to see them all smiling and laughing and have a good time on stage!) 
• Instrumental 
• Ireland’s Call (all - In addition to their kilts, the guys were all wearing Captain’s hats, which they threw into the crowd at the end… hope they didn’t get into any trouble for that! The guys were all laughing, George and Keith kept reaching up to check no one had put anything on their backs!)

And then it was the Epic Curtain call, which was incredible. They brought out everyone from all the shows, several brave members of the CT staff, and Sharon came out to thank us all. The ovation went on and on! A complete love fest! It was an amazing end to an epic week. Who's up for going with me next year?

 

The Cheat List

To celebrate the beginning of the Third Year of my One Year blog, I decided to do something a little bit different.  I've gone through the list of Man Booker titles that I've read so far and created some 'Best of' lists to summarize my thoughts on them. If you're new to the blog, you can think of this as a 'cheat list' to get a sense of what sort of literature I enjoy.

Most Likely To Recommend
If you came into my store, you'd probably find at least two of these in my 'Staff Recommendations' shelf at any given time. If we are friends, I've probably tried to give you a copy of at least one of these.

• Troubles - J.G. Farrell
• The Bone People - Keri Hulme
• The Sea, The Sea - Iris Murdoch
• Schindler's Ark (aka Schindler's List) - Thomas Keneally
• How Late It Was, How Late - James Kelman
• Possession - A.S. Byatt
• The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje
• Oscar & Lucinda - Peter Carey

Most Likely To Read Other Works From The Same Author
Writer's whose style engaged or intrigued me, even if I didn't necessarily love their prize winning volume.

• Roddy Doyle (Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha)
• J.G. Farrell (Troubles & Siege of Krishnapur)
• Graham Swift (Last Orders)
• Ian McEwan (Amsterdam)

Most Likely To Re-Read
Novels I either loved to pieces, or didn't quite 'get' but want to give another chance.

• Troubles - J.G. Farrell
• Possession - A.S. Byatt
• The Sea, The Sea - Iris Murdoch
• Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
• Saville - David Storey
• The Bone People - Keri Hulme
• Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha - Roddy Doyle
• How Late It Was, How Late - James Kelman

Books That Have 'Grown On Me' Upon Reflection
I didn't necessarily love these titles when I first read them, but I think about them often, which has led to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the work.

• Possession - A.S. Byatt
• Amsterdam - Ian McEwan
• Last Orders - Graham Swift
• The Old Devils - Kingsley Amis
• Saville - David Storey

Novels That Support My "Incest/Sexual Abuse And/Or Insanity = 'Literature'"Theory
Often just a single scene or instance and not the driving theme of the story. In particular I find the sexual abuse or incest disquieting, which mars the remainder of the story.

• The Elected Member - Bernice Rubens
• Moon Tiger - Penelope Lively
• Heat and Dust - Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
• Disgrace - J. M. Coetzee
• The Conservationist - Nadine Gordimer
• The Bone People - Keri Hulme 
• Oscar and Lucinda - Peter Carey
• Amsterdam - Ian McEwan
• Rites of Passage - William Golding

Least Memorable Novels
I know I read these ones, you know I read these ones, but if you asked me today for more than a basic outline of the plot... I would be hooped.

• Holiday - Stanley Middleton
• The Conservationist - Nadine Gordimer
• Offshore - Penelope Fitzgerald
• Hotel du Lac - Anita Brookner
• Moon Tiger - Penelope Lively
• In A Free State - V.S. Naipaul
• Staying On - Paul Scott

Novels I Wouldn't Read Again If You Paid Me
Pretty self explanatory. I don't think there are any surprises here!

• G. - John Berger
• Disgrace - J.M. Coetzee

Favourite Non-Booker Authors
Read them. You can thank me later.

• Kelly Meding
• Caitlin Kittredge
• Rob Thurman
• Daniel Kalla
• Holly Smale

So, that's the past two years of my reading life, in a nut shell.  I owe you a gigantic post in the next week for the past five novels I've read. To be fair, three of them are Harry Potter titles, so they'll probably just get lumped together, but it will still be a fairly large post.

Happy Reading!

Feel Free To Skip This One (I Wish I Had)

Trigger Warning and Spoiler Alert in effect. 

I've been trying for days nearly a week well over two weeks now to think of something nice to say about J.M. Coetzee's "Disgrace" and the nicest thing I can come up with is... I didn't notice any typos.

I truly hated this novel. It wasn't a matter of just not enjoying it, or even of not 'really getting' the deeper themes of the novel (although that is possibly true as well). I hated it. I was so angry reading this novel that whenever I stopped reading I would realize I had been unconsciously scowling at the book and clenching it hard enough to dent the pages. I wish I hadn't read it, because every book we read becomes a part of us, which means a bit of my brain is now dark and disgusting, and I can never get rid of that. Grr. I understand that 'literature' is meant to stretch us as humans, to engage our emotions and our intellects - but I've never been so angry about a book in all my life!

My issue with this novel is that the protagonist is a misogynist who judges all women on their appearance, and has double standards on sexual assault. He is a professor, and before he (repeatedly) assaults a young student he tells her that she "ought to" sleep with him "because a woman's beauty does not belong to her alone. It is part of the bounty she brings into the world. She has a duty to share it." - which was nearly enough to make me puke all on it's own.  Later, he visits his daughter and describes her as "solid", "sturdy", and "ample... letting herself go, as happens when one withdraws from the field of love". Although there is a suggestion of an absent lover, he seems to believe that a female lover is as good as none at all. When he meets one of his daughter's friends he takes an instant dislike to her because "he does not like women who make no effort to be attractive" - because a woman's value to society is wholly determined by her sexual attractiveness, amirite?!  When he later finds himself sleeping with this same woman he thinks to himself, "...this is what I have come to.  This is what I will have to get used to, this and even less than this." He is a truly distasteful character for this alone, but it's even worse when factoring in his attitude toward sexual assault.

In the opening pages of the novel, he stalks an escort he has been seeing before losing track of her and moving on to two other women. In the following chapter he becomes infatuated with the beautiful young student whom he subsequently assaults, prompting an inquiry at the university over what he describes as an "affair" gone wrong. He loses his position because, while he is willing to admit that theoretically it was wrong of him to 'have an affair' with a student, he maintains that resisting his 'impulses' would be as much as castrating himself and living out his life as less than a man. An entirely disgusting argument. When he is later a witness to the gang rape of another woman, he sees absolutely no connection to his own behaviour and is confused and angry that she will not report the crime.  She believes there is no such thing as justice in her situation, so stoically tries to move on with her life (which, in it's own way is stupid and appalling) but he can't let it go, partly because he sees it as an insult to his manhood. He was unable to protect her from the indignity, therefore he was violated. Again, a disgusting and male-centric view.

I thought, when the rape occurred, 'here is his chance for redemption as a human being, to see the error of his ways and repent!' I kept reading on the assumption that the character's journey would bring him to a place where he was no longer a loathsome caricature of a chauvinist pig, but the only real change in his character was that he no longer saw himself as unassailable.  He never changed his attitude, he never accepted that what he did or how he treated the women in his life was in any way wrong, he just seemed to accept that he was no longer impervious, that age was catching up to him. The only real kindness he shows in the entire story is when he cannot stand to see the corpses of euthanized dogs being beaten to fit into an incinerator, and so takes it upon himself to gently feed them into the machine.  Not from any real love for the animals, of course, oh no! It's still an entirely selfish action - he doesn't like to see them treated that way.

It's really just an appalling novel. I was furious and frequently felt sick to my stomach while reading it. Unless you feel that you aren't reaching your Daily Recommended Value of Misogynistic Assholes (and, you're on the Internet, so I'm willing to bet that's not the case) I suggest you skip this book altogether.  There are so many wonderful books in the world, it shouldn't be hard to find one more pleasant than this! As for me, I'm trying to enjoy my non-Booker mini break, listening to the audio book of Anton Strout's "Dead To Me" (very funny, only slightly sexist) and planning a reread of Harry Potter.

Because life is too damn short for shitty books.

Happy reading!

I Swore To Myself I'd Never Review Erotica....

I assume you're all used to me being absent more often than I am present, so I'm going to skip over the apologies and excuses for why this post is 18 days late (it has to do with Internet Explorer, knitting, heat waves, and flooding. It's been a busy month.) and we're going to roll right into the reviews.  That's right, plural! I've not been writing but I have been reading! Three whole novels read, so, let's go!

First up, I read "The Inheritance of Loss" by Kiran Desai, Man Booker Prize winner of 2006, which took me a total of 16 days to read. The scope of the novel is massive, an intersecting web of lives from a small Indian village through a lens of immigration, emigration and colonization,  from the 1920's to 1986, when the majority of the story takes place. The historic details are interesting - for instance, I'd never heard about Gorkaland and it's turbulent history - and the individual character stories are heart-wrenching. Everyone can relate to a story about migration and the conflicts involved in 'claiming' land, so in that regard it was a fascinating study, and a really well written novel.

I did not enjoy it.

This is definitely a case of, 'It's not you, it's me' because the story was really well-written, in it's style. It's just not a style I like. I'm not a fan of 'theme' driven stories, I much prefer a solid plot line, so it was a real struggle for me to get into it.  In fact, I was more than half way through the novel before I even recognized the theme because I kept waiting for the plot to 'click', which of course it never does. I found it meandering, obsessive in it's descriptions of minutia, and disappointing in it's conclusion - but these are all issues that have more to do with Me as the reader, than the Novel itself. I understand why it won the MBP, and I'm sure 'literature' folks will just gobble it up - but it just doesn't do a thing for me!

In the midst of my struggle to read that novel, I picked up and absolutely devoured another one. It wasn't intentional! We had a couple of really quiet weeks at work, mainly due to the aforementioned flooding and heat wave. Now, I hate reading at work - I know I work in a book store, but I think it's rude to be engrossed in a novel when there are customers around, and besides, I'm not being paid to read!! (Also, it's really hard to concentrate when people keep talking to you! I mean, geez, can't you see I'm reading a book?!) However, I really had nothing else to do!

So... long story slightly shorter, I picked up a copy of Megan Hart's "Stranger" and was intrigued by the idea of the heroine, a funeral home director who hires 'escorts' for sexual companionship in order to avoid the mess of emotional attachments. Talk about your kick-ass powerful gender-reversal! I flipped open to the first chapter, and I was hooked! Yes, it's erotica (oh my! oh my! is it ever!!) but it's so much more than that! It's a really great romance, an interesting look at life as a funeral director, and just a great story! Maybe I'm a bit morbid, but I've always thought being a funeral director would be an interesting career (I still don't think I'm wrong!) so that was great, and I love a female character who is in command of her own sexuality. Romance novels and erotica are full of supposedly strong, independent women who are sexual victims - it's nauseating, and it's totally uncool. There is none of that here, and that alone would be enough to make me recommend this novel, but it really is great! I blew through it in 4 days, and I'm definitely going to read Megan Hart again!

So, that's caught us up all the way to July 5th, when I decided to give a book I tried to listen to back in December another shot. Firstly, I love the idea of audio books (knitting and reading at the same time!!) but I've discovered that narrator's are really hit or miss for me. I was spoiled early in life (and as recently as the Harry Potter novels) by having my father read to us. He is a brilliant narrator, and all others suffer in comparison. Except maybe Morgan Freeman... and Tom Selleck. 

Anyway, my point was, I listened to the first 9 chapters of the first novel in Caitlin Kittredge's Black London series back in December, but gave up on it because I found the narrator's choices in voicing Pete and Jack too annoying. I could tell the story had really solid bones, but I couldn't get past how whiny Pete sounded. I was really disappointed, too, because I'd been looking forward to the series since I discovered it back near the beginning of my Booker odyssey. I knew when I finished the Iron Codex earlier this year that I had to revisit this series - Aoife was such a strong character, and Kittredge is just too good a storyteller! So I picked myself up a physical copy of "Street Magic", and

Oh. 

My. 

Goodness.

So fucking good, you guys!! By now you know I love me some Urban Fantasy, and this novel is top-notch! Pete is truly kick-ass, and Jack is...well, he's my new fictional crush. Dark and damaged and punk rock and, um, excuse me while I drool. Seriously, though, it's a high-stakes story with lots of magic, and characters I was really rooting for. I described it to my mother as Dresden Files from Murphy's point of view, only Pete is way cooler and Jack is way more damaged. I literally had to force myself not to binge read this series the same as the last! It has, however, been added to my list of "Palette Cleansers" - books to read after a really bad book to remind me that I love reading!

For now, I'm forcing myself back to the Booker list - I figure if I let myself read two genre novels for every Booker title I finish, I'll be able to get through them much faster! I'm reading J.M. Coetzee's "Disgrace" right now, and I am trying my best to reserve judgement.... but I suspect I'm going to be reading one of those Palette Cleansers next!!

Happy Reading!

A Debatable Comedy

As I had hoped, Ian McEwan's 1998 Man Booker Prize winner, "Amsterdam", was a very quick read, taking me less than six days.  I was actually looking forward to this one since it was described as a 'dark comedy'.  Well. Dark? Yes, very much so. Comedy? That's debatable. The style was certainly comical, at times, but I found it so dry and dark that it wasn't funny to me.  It was more horrific, if anything. I understand where the humour was meant to be coming from, and I think I have a very dark sense of humour, so it was disappointing to find it so unpleasant.

Now, just because I didn't find it enjoy the humour of the story doesn't mean I didn't like the story.  It's very well written, and I think if I had approached it thinking of it as a social horror story I may have even loved it.  It's very short, so I don't want to spoil the plot at all, but I will say that it includes some material that may need a 'trigger warning', and it is very dark, so it's definitely not for everyone.  But, if you're in the mood for something dark and a little disturbing, you may enjoy this one!

I haven't firmly decided what I'm going to read next, although I was thinking of going with another Man Booker title - it felt good to be back to the list! I think I may try Kiran Desai's "The Inheritance of Loss"...

Happy reading!