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The Sea
The Sea by John Banville Published: 2005 Narrated by: John Lee Length: 06:54 (200 pages) Max Morden is a middle-aged man who has just recently lost his wife to illness, and in his grief has returned to the Irish seaside town where his family used to holiday in his youth. During his time there reflecting on his relationship with his wife, and those awkward final days, his mind goes back to his first childhood relationship that took place in that town many years ago. This is a beautifully written novel, and I do enjoy a despicable and depressed protagonist, so the combination of the rich descriptions, morose attitude, and nasty…
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Double Cup Love
Double Cup Love by Eddie Huang Published: 2016 Narrated by: Eddie Huang Length: 05:48 (240 pages) I really enjoyed parts of Eddie’s first book, Fresh Off the Boat, but it annoyed me quite a bit in places as well. He’s a gifted writer when he’s writing about food, and he has some great insights into culture identity and self-discovery, but I really lost interest when he started bragging about his rebellious youth. His early life story was interesting, but I just couldn’t stand the way he decided to tell it. This was much more up my alley. After the success of his first book, the restaurant, and the various food…
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We Stand On Guard
We Stand On Guard by Brian K. Vaughan Format: Deluxe Edition Hardcover Illustrated by: Steve Skroce, Matt Hollingsworth Series: We Stand On Guard #1-6 Publisher: Image Comics Published: 2015 Length: 160 pages Brian K. Vaughan, author of many loved comics, including Saga, tackles the often joked about idea of the US invading Canada in this six issue limited series. Vaughan lives in Canada with his Canadian wife, but was born and raised in Cleveland, so even though Americans do get painted as the baddies in this, it is one of your own doing it at least. It’s the year 2124, and major droughts have left the Americans without water, which…
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Holiday Book Haul
Lee-Ann and I just returned from a week and a half in Seattle and Portland. We started in Seattle, which is just a couple of hours on a ferry for us, and spent the weekend attending Pax West, a huge video game conference. We met up with some friends we haven’t seen in ages, and it was a great weekend. Afterwards we took the train to Portland. We wanted to see the city, but I’d be lying if I said Powell’s Books wasn’t a big draw. We had a fantastic week, full of good food and city wandering, and we bought an awful lot of books. I’ll go more into…
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Bedecked
This was Billy Collins’ choice in Poems That Make Grown Men Cry, and I thought it was fantastic. I really love Redel’s anger and the acceptance she has for her son. Allowing a girl to grow up a tomboy may be acceptable now, but turning the tables on that does take some courage. Bedecked by Victoria Redel Tell me it’s wrong the scarlet nails my son sports or the toy store rings he clusters four jewels to each finger. He’s bedecked. I see the other mothers looking at the star choker, the rhinestone strand he fastens over a sock. Sometimes I help him find sparkle clip-ons when he says sticker earrings…
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The Lost City of Z
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann Published: 2009 Narrated by: Mark Deakins Length: 10:06 (352 pages) Still on my adventure kick, I decided to turn to non-fiction this time. This is the story of a rumoured lost city, deep in the Amazon jungle, that captured the minds of explorers for years. Up to a hundred people have disappeared or been killed while searching for Z. I think this was described somewhere as a true to life Indiana Jones tale, which meant I was immediately on board. You can get me to do anything if you hint at the slightest similarity…
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August in Review
Books Acquired: Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams Books Read: Double Cup Love by Eddie Huang The Sea by John Banville A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving Delilah Dirk and the King’s Shilling by Tony Cliff I’m still on the book-buying ban until our pilgrimage to Powell’s Books is completed and our luggage is filled with goodies, but someone left Last Chance to See in our lobby earlier in the month, which I always meant to read, so I hungrily snatched that up. I’m on holiday already, leaving for Seattle today, so the ban will be over before we know it. We’ll also be at PAX West…