BookLust

Random Readings 22

I have a much younger friend, Sally, who when her children were just beginning to read became annoyed because so many of the books written for them were about animals: it was a mouse, not a child, which disobeyed its mother and got into trouble, a rabbit who raided the kitchen garden, an elephant who became a  king. Why, she asked, was she expected to feed her children on this pap of fantasy instead of on stories about her real life? The answer, it seems to me, is that children respond to animal protagonists because when very small what they need is not to discover and recognize 'real life', but to discover and recognize their own feelings. Take a pair of well-known animal characters, Piglet and Tigger, in The House at Pooh Corner. Piglet is an anxious, timid little person, capable of being brave if he absolutely has to be, but only at great cost to himself, and Tigger is so exuberantly bouncy that he can be a nuisance. Both of them express things which a child discovers and recognizes with pleasure because they exist within himself. If those characteristics were expressed on the page by a child, they would belong to that child and would call for the use of the kind of critical faculty one employs vis-a-vis another person. Expressed by a 'made up' animal (I have yet to meet a child so simple-minded that it doesn't know perfectly well that animals don't talk in human language), they slip past the critical faculty into the undergrowth of feelings which need so urgently to be sorted out and understood.

- from Somewhere Towards The End, by Diana Athill

EUREKA! Lucky Wish Book Draw Winners!

Holy Macaroni! Today is the day, folks! So sit down, get yerself a cuppa and get ready for the results...

Of course I've got my cup of joe – how else could I function?

Maggie helps me get all the names together!

See all the pretty names folded up and nestled in the coffee tin? Mmmmmm.....coffeeeeeee....

My hubby (aka Stanley Kowalski) gives the tin (and his head) a good morning shake!

Drum roll please....and the winners are....

 

Rebecca Upjohn!

Diana Bonder! (Oops – spelled your name wrong – sorry! Hey – it's morning!)

 

Scriptor Senex!

Congrats to the winners!

Today I'll send an email to all the Lucky Wish Winners, so's I can send them their book. I am once again very sorry that I couldn't give a book to every single one of you wonderful wishers, but be assured that I'll be having another Lucky Wish Book Draw in the late Spring/early Summer. So stay tuned!

And thank you once again, to everyone for taking part in this book draw. Some of the wishes posted were hilarious, some very heartfelt and personal. All of them touched me. You know what my wish is? I wish that all your wishes may come true!

I'm in Love with Mo Willems

For the past year or so, I've been dipping into the picture books of cartoonist Mo Willems, and really been having a blast. It's no surprise as to why these books are so popular. They are deceptively simple, and incredibly fun and engaging. And Mo is one funny guy.

I also really love the fact that Mo's picture books are a big hit, and that they are cartoons. This is a big bugaboo for me, you see – every now and then I will pick up on a certain attitude from certain folk who insist that funny, silly, cartoon-like picture books are the lowest form of kid's lit, and that only 'serious' picture books with lavishly detailed illustrations are of any true value. These kinds of people are usually the type who have firm ideas about what kids 'need' to read, as opposed to what they really want to read.

Lately I've also been enjoying the podcasts of Just One More Book!, a fabulous site that promotes books for kids, and has the most fascinating interviews of authors and illustrators in podcast format. Just One More Book! is the brainchild of Andrea Ross & Mark Blevis and is definitely worth bookmarking.

This afternoon while I've been toiling away in the computer room, colouring my little heart out, I've been listening to the Just One More Book! interview with Mo Willems. My favourite part of the interview:

JOMB: So – where do you usually start?

Mo: I look at my mortgage, and that inspires me.

Mo – you are my hero.

TINARS for Tots!

HoopDeeDoo! (Oh I do so like saying that word). If you're in the city on the weekend, you might want to swing by the Gladstone Hotel on Saturday February 21st in the morning. I'll be doing a little art presentation in connection with Edward and the Eureka Lucky Wish Company, along with the author of this kooky tale, Barbara Todd.

And what the heck is TINARS for Tots? Well, first you gotta know what TINARS is, don'tchya? TINARS stands for This Is Not A Reading Series, a wonderful book series sponsored by Pages Books here in Toronto. From the way I understand it, the goal of TINARS is to promote books in a more engaging and entertaining fashion, rather than the somewhat dull and dry standard book reading. From the TINARS manifesto:

This is writers talking about anything and everything: late night fiction, early morning hangovers, the politics of pot, octopuses on hockey rinks, the future of poetry, the history of cyborgs, the location of the mind, the cultural significance of the comma...

This is artists sometimes doing a lot more than talking...

This is music, movies, performance art, interviews, sculpture, photography, puppetry, acrobatics, comedy, webcasting, dancing... and a whole lot of other stuff! This is anything BUT reading. (Well, almost anything.) This is listening. This is watching. This is debating. This is discussing. This is fascinating. This is having fun.

So pop by if you feel so inclined! The doors open at 9:30am (the presentation starts at 10:00am).

HoopDeeDoo!

Random Readings 21

   

    "These are for people who like to  make their own words," the man in charge informed him. "you can pick any assortment you like or buy a special box complete with all letters, punctuation marks, and a book of instructions. Here, taste an A; they're very good."
    Milo nibbled carefully at the letter and discovered that it was quite sweet and delicious – just the way you'd expect an A to taste.
    "I knew you'd like it," laughed the letter man, popping two G's and an R into his mouth and letting the juice drip down his chin. "A's are one of our most popular letters. All of them aren't that good," he confided in a low voice. "Take the Z, for instance – very dry and sawdusty. And the X? Why, it tastes like a trunkful of stale air. That's why people hardly ever use them. But most of the others are quite tasty. Try some more."
    He gave Milo an I, which was icy and refreshing, and Tock a crisp, crunchy C.
    "Most people are just too lazy to make their own words," he continued, "but it's much more fun."

– From The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. Illustrated by the wonderful Jules Feiffer.

EUREKA! Don't Forget!

Holy Macaroni! Just a few more days left to enter my Eureka Lucky Wish Book Giveaway Contest! Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance, folks! Make a wish, and you just might win my book!

HoopDeeDoo!

BiblioQuotes 10

This quote is a little bit different. I was attending my monthly CANSCAIP meeting Wednesday evening, and a children's author was discussing her new book to the group (I'm afraid I can't remember her name!) She told us that she had recently run into a friend who could not help but notice how happy she appeared to be. Here is the brief conversation that transpired:

Friend: Do you have a new lover?

Author: No – but I have a new book!

Happy Valentine's Day! May all the books you read (and write) be like delicious lovers who fill you with great passion and joy.

Silly Poetry Friday 49

It's Friday, I'm here, and I'm silly!

Well, today's poem is particularly interesting for me, because it's a recent discovery, and it has a lot of history behind it. One of the books I'm reading right now is Mary Henley Rubio's biography of L.M. Montgomery, Lucy Maud Montgomery: The Gift of Wings. One of the many joys of reading this biography is that the author, as well as revealing many fascinating (and often heart-breaking) details about L.M. Montgomery's life, also places Lucy Maud's life story in context with the history of that time period. Ms. Rubio provides a wealth of fascinating info about the growth of Canadian writers during Lucy Maud's lifetime, as well as the various writer's events and organizations that began to emerge during this time period (late 1800's – early 1900's). One such organization was the Canadian Author's Association, of which Lucy Maud was very much involved  in. But in the early 1920's not all writers were impressed with this organization:

The CAA, initially dominated by older men, had expanded to contain many supporting members whose approach to literature was more enthusasitic than discriminating. For all its good work on copyright law and promoting the writing of Canadian authors, the CAA still struck some ambitious younger writers as a social club where the stuffy old guard mingled and schmoozed, proud of a handful of unimaginative poems they might have published in newspapers and magazines.

Hmmmm...seems not much has changed over all this time in that respect. The new young writers always seem to be critical and condemning of the the old guard and their 'stuffy old ways' in approaching Canadian literature.

One such poet during that time, Frank R. Scott, "wrote a brilliantly satiric poem about the CAA entitled "The Canadian Authors Meet". It skewered those he saw as literary wannabes who wrote sweetly sentimental and patriotic verse imitating Romantic and Victorian poetry."

Well, I had never heard of the poem, but with a little Googling, I found it PDQ. And so, today's silly poem:

The Canadian Authors Meet

Expansive puppets percolate self-unction
Beneath a portrait of the Prince of Wales.
Miss Crotchet's muse has somehow failed to function,
Yet she's a poetess. Beaming, she sails

From group to chattering group, with such a dear
Victorian saintliness, as is her fashion,
Greeting the other unknowns with a cheer--
Virgins of sixty who still write of passion.

The air is heavy with Canadian topics,
And Carman, Lampman, Roberts, Campbell, Scott,
Are measured for their faith and philanthropics,
Their zeal for God and King, their earnest thought.

The cakes are sweet, but sweeter is the feeling
That one is mixing with the literati;
It warms the old, and melts the most congealing.
Really, it is a most delightful party.

Shall we go round the mulberry bush, or shall
We gather at the river, or shall we
Appoint a Poet Laureate this fall,
Or shall we have another cup of tea?

O Canada, O Canada, O can
A day go by without new authors springing
To paint the native maple, and to plan
More ways to set the selfsame welkin ringing?

Lucy Maud Montgomery and her treasured china dogs, Gog and Magog.

Eureka! A Book Giveaway Contest!

HoopDeeDoo! A box of Edward and the Eureka Lucky Wish Company! What a way to start the day, huh? As you can tell, I'm ticked pink, purple, blue, ah heck – the whole darn rainbow of colours! Here I am sitting in my luverly library, holding up my luverly new picture book.

And I thought it would be fun to show some of my fave illos from the book (without giving away too much of the story)

Here's Edward in the park, buying 3 wishes from some dude named Walter. Eward wants his bike, lovingly named the Sky-Hopper 2000, to fly. Unfortunately for Edward, he doesn't quite know how to wish properly, so naturally lots of kooky stuff happens throughout the story!

Here's Edward slowly approaching his bedroom door (is there something behind that door? Gotta get the book to find out!) I like this illo 'cuz the layout of the stairs, baseboards and door is based on our own house (which is 92 years old, and has those big, beautiful old baseboards). And no, we don't have a funky green carpet. Maybe we should get one? Mmmmmmmm.....no.

This is probably one of my fave illos from the book. Love that funky phone and the hula gal! And I adore the doggy I drew throughout the story. He's supposed to be a Boston Terrier, but I didn't want to make him black, because he wouldn't have stood out as well. Ain't he cute? I named him Hank.

Ok, enough jibber-jabber. I did say that this was a book-givaway contest, right? Ok, so here's the scoop! I wanna give away three wonderful copies of this wonderful book! All you have to do is make a comment in this post. The trick is though, in your comment, you gotta make a wish for something; doesn't matter what, JUST MAKE A WISH! Now how hard is that? The contest is open until midnight, Saturday February 21st. Early Sunday morning, I'll take all the names of the wish-makers in this blog post, put them in a magic tin, shake it up, and pull out three lucky names. Like my previous book draw, I'll take photos of the names as they are being pulled out. 

So have fun! Make a wish! And in the words of Walter...watch what you're wishing!

BiblioQueria 23

Anyone else read this recent article in the National Post about Oprah and her book club? It's written by Ted Rall, a hard-hitting, take-no-prisoners editorial cartoonist and writer in the US. Sometimes I disagree with Ted's views, but most of time, I like what he has to say. And I gotta admit, I agree with his views on Oprah and her book club. And they're not very nice.

If you're interested in the subject of the article, I urge you to read the whole piece. But basically what Ted is saying is that Oprah has a big part to play in the quality of books that get attention in the media, specifically some of the questionable 'memoirs' that Oprah has been raving about (and then running away from) in the past few years:

Oprah claims she was duped by greedy, lazy publishers. Yet, her web-site still recommends the fake books by Frey and the Rosenblats. Even so, the problem isn't Oprah's credulousness. It's that she has atrocious taste. That, and a platform for promoting her bad taste.

Rall goes on to say:

The problem isn't bad and dishonest writers. They can't help themselves. The problem is that mainstream American culture is gullible, sentimental and dumb.

No one is more blameworthy for Americans' stupidity than publishers and book reviewers who act as taste-makers. As in all creative pursuits, publishing exposure is a zero-sum game. Rising tides don't lift all boats; anyway, they're more like thrones than tides. A few titles suck the air out of the room as the rest wither and die due to lack of attention.

Each decision to review a bad book results in a better book going unreviewed, unnoticed and its author unremunerated -- and thus less likely to publish more books. Each prize committee's decision to grant an award to a bad book takes away praise that might otherwise have drawn acclaim and sales to a good one. When bad books do well, authors study what works in the marketplace and copy the formula-- resulting in more bad books.

Readers who rely on popular hype to choose books often come away disappointed. A few may decide to dig deeper, but most won't. Burned readers become non-readers.

Yup, I gotta admit, that pretty much sums up my view of Oprah and her book club these days. And yeah, I know what the retort to that statement is: "But she's getting people reading!" And yes, I'll concede that that is a good thing. But –  if she's just getting people (and I mean a LOT of people) reading crap, which in turn motivates publishers to produce more and more crap, then quite frankly, I wish she'd just stop that damn book club and go back to talking about her weight problems exclusively.

Confession: When Oprah first started her book club, I was excited. I read quite a few of the books on her list: The Deep End of the Ocean, The Book of Ruth, She's Come Undone, Stones From the River, Here on Earth, I Know This Much Is True, The Pilot's Wife and Middlesex (actually, I read that one long before Oprah recommended it on her club. Hmmm). Save for Middlesex, I would say that pretty much all those titles are not really impressive books. In fact, some of them are downright awful. I certainly would not go back and reread any of those novels (and quite frankly, I wish I could take back all the time it took for me to read I Know This Much Is True. Gawd). Over time I stopped reading Oprah's recommendations because I was getting mighty sick of reading another heart-breaking story about some down-trodden woman finding her way in the unjust world. I think she picked up on this response from the general public, and that's when she surprised everyone (including Jonathan Franzen) by picking The Corrections for one of her book club recommendations. Well, we all know how that story panned out. And now the latest drama in her book club picks is her love of the gut-wrenching memoir, which as her luck would have it, keeps turning out to be a crock of shit. Enough, already, Oprah. It was a good run. Sort of. Now. Please. Stop. Save us from yourself.

And so, my BiblioQueria question to you is...

What's your take on Oprah's book club? Love it? Hate it?

And as a special treat, for those who've never seen these strips (and those who'd like a trip down memory lane) a couple of links to my 'Art Imitating Lit' comics, all about Oprah. Warning, though, for those who haven't encountered my comic strip humour before: they contain a lot of potty words.

A Million Literary Pickles

The Story of 'O'