As this is my first end-of-year posting, I thought I would discuss the books I’ve read in 2008 and pass on a few gleanings from what I’ve learned.
I’m always amused when I see politicians being asked what books they’ve been reading. Most of them stumble around before naming whatever might be the most popular current title. It makes me think they’ve just bluffing and have actually read nothing.
My book choices fall into three categories: The first is old works that I’m either re-reading or, because I missed them when they first came out, books that I’ve finally decided to get to. One in this category was Hugh Garner’s Cabbagetown, about a pennliless young man trying to make his way through Depression-era Toronto.
Cabbagetown contains a lot of social commentary that is as relevant today as when it was written (the 50s) or the period in which it was set (the 30s). As we may be heading into a similarly distressing era, I recommend this book to everyone out there who has not lived through hard times.
My second category is books I read for research on whatever writing project I’m working on. Of this kind, I’ve read too many to mention them all. A couple:
Secret River, and Searching for the Secret River, a tantalizing pair by the Australian writer, Kate Grenville. Secret River is a novel about a convict who is transported to Australia and carves out a life for himself in a wild river valley. It was inspired by the life of her great grandfather. The sequel, Searching, is a factual account of her research and the challenges she encountered along the way.
For anyone writing a historical novel that draws on family memoirs, as I am, Searching contains some fabulous lessons. It’s always reassuring to find that other writers have faced the same problems you have. One of the main things I got out of Searching is that just because it happened, you don’t have to put it in! Grenville’s research also led her to give a fictional name to her protagonist. This freed her to create more dramatic scenes than would have been possible if she had kept strictly to her ancestor’s life.
One of the last titles I read as I was finishing work on my book on Scott Joplin and Ragtime was Vernon and Irene Castle’s Ragtime Revolution, by Eve Golden. The story of these two WWI era dancers intrigued me because my book focuses on the cultural and social changes that grew out of the Ragtime music of the period. McFarland Publishing (North Carolina) will bring it out in the Spring under the title, Scott Joplin and the Age of Ragtime.
My third category is all the new books I read, either for information or pleasure. These include Annie Proulx’ new short story collection, Fine Just the Way It Is, and A.B. McKillop’s biography of Canadian author Pierre Berton. This one encouraged me to pick up several of Berton’s works that I’d not yet read, such as Worth Repeating.
I drew particular satisfaction from the Exile Edition release of Morley Callagan: A Literary Life. It’s made up of several score essays, commentaries and short articles that Callaghan turned out through his long and productive life. These pieces are so conversational and companionable that it seems you’re sitting with Callgahan at one of his favorite bistros and sharing an intimate conversation, mostly about great writers and writing.
The fact I was privileged to know Morley — as I do his two sons — made the read all the more enjoyable.
In 2009, I will keep a list of all the books I read. I probably average of one or two a week. First on my list (I’ll start it tonight as we sit around the fireplace awaiting Midnight) is Joseph Boydon’s Through Black Spruce, which won Canada’s Giller Prize. I immensely enjoyed Boydon’s Three Day Road, the story of a WWI Canadian Indian’s misfortunes in and out of the fighting. I hope it keeps me as wild about reading as I am about writing.
Finally, let me put in a plug for your Public Library. I buy a lot of books, but I’m also a big user of the Toronto Public Library. I have a country place near Orillia, Ontario, and I’m delighted to see the town council has approved the spending of $20 million on a new library. Use and support your local library!
Filed under: Authors, Books | Tagged: Annie Proulx, Best books of 2008, Joseph Boydon, Kate Grenville, Morley Callaghan, Pierre Berton, Ragtime, Scott Joplin
What did you think of “Just Fine the Way It Is”? I thought the writing was beautiful, but you have to be prepared for a lot of slow lingering deaths of people killed by their environment. You might be interested in “China Diary: The Life of Mary Austin Endicott,” another family memoir.
Yes, Lilian, many of these stories are dark indeed but as you say they are beautifully crafted and speak so eloquently of the unique culture of the American western plains. My partner Deborah and I motored through much of Wyoming last summer as we followed the old Mormon trail to Salt Lake City. Even a brief visit gives one a better appreciation of how and why these folks cling, as Barack Obama famously (and embarrassingly) said, to their “guns and religion.”