I've been reading quite a lot of Ukrainian writing, in preparation for my trip to Ukraine, coming up in a few weeks. I've read a few collections of historical fiction, some history, and looked through travel guides and language cds. Here is some modern Ukrainian writing I discovered through serendipity -- and I've just finished: From Three Worlds : New Ukrainian Writing (Somerville, MA : Zephyr Press, c1996.) It's part of a series of collected Soviet writing, thus the title; influences come from the 3 worlds of Ukrainian, Russian, and Western/English literature. It's a great collection, full of stories of all types, traditional, surreal, serious, blackly humorous, as well as photo essays and quite a lot of poetry.

Last week, quite by chance, I picked up a collection of essays by A.C. Grayling. Why? I've never even heard of the fellow, but the title, The Reason of Things : living with philosophy, was intriguing. Plus, it was only a buck.

So: A.C. Grayling seems to be a British philosopher and Academic Extraordinaire. He was also a Booker judge in 2003. He writes a weekly column for the Times Saturday review, of which this book appears to be a collection. Not even having looked at the table of contents (okay, it was an impulse buy) I was pleasantly surprised to open it at random to an essay entitled Reading and Reviewing. Whew, I felt some relief that it had been a loonie well spent! Actually, and seriously, it was a fascinating essay, with many statements relevant to those of us slogging away on our literary-fixated blogs. I thought I would just share a couple that I found thought-provoking. Something to ponder, at least!

Blackouts / Craig BoykoToronto: McClelland & Stewart, c2008.

Atmospheric Disturbances / Rivka Galchen
Toronto : HarperCollins, c2008.
To Be Released May 27/08
(read as ARC)

This discombobulating first novel by Rivka Galchen is a striking portrait of a man suffering from a break with "consensual reality". It reminded me a little of the found poetry I was recently discussing, especially Karen Solie's science based poems, probably because I was reading both at the same time. In addition, however, part of the plot relies on the messages the characters think they are being sent within the academic papers of the late Dr. Tzvi Gal-Chen, a meteorologist. Hidden meanings are discovered in an otherwise innocuous text.

I have sooooo many reviews to catch up on I'll just jump in and start with one I reread in my month of poetry. More to follow, soon I hope!

The Calligrapher / Edward DocxNew York: Houghton Mifflin, c2003.

I first read this one when it was new, and was inspired to go back to it for a couple of reasons; first, Docx has a new book out (Self Help) which brought him to the forefront of my mind again, and second, The Calligrapher is a story intertwined with John Donne's sonnets. And those have obviously been on my mind lately! The Donne connection is carried further in the name of the main character: Jasper Jackson (Jasper was also the name of one of John Donne's uncles).

The Loser's guide to life and love / A.E. Cannon
HarperCollins, c2008. (read as ARC)
Available June 24
(hmm, is releasing this book on Midsummer's Day really a coincidence?)

Since I'm on the track of Shakespeare at the moment, I thought I'd share a bit about this book, a YA novel I recently read through the HarperCollins First Look program. It's inspired by A Midsummer Night's Dream; the original play is not strictly adhered to, but this story has captured the magical, mixed-up feeling of MND.

The Republic of Nothing / Lesley ChoyceFredericton, NB : Goose Lane, 2007, c1994.
A Nova Scotia book for the Canadian Book Challenge, I first read this back in university when I was fixated on reading novels about or set in the 60's. I greatly enjoyed it then, and this reprint, signed by Choyce, is nicely repackaged and even came with a membership card to the Republic! I've seen it promoted as a YA novel, probably because the main character is primarily telling us his coming-of-age story, but I would classify it as an adult novel suitable for recommending to the right teenager.

Sunlight on a Broken Column / Attia HosainLondon : Virago, 1989, c1961.
I had this novel in the house, sitting on a bookshelf, waiting to be read, because it was a Virago and it looked intriguing when I picked it up via Bookmooch some long time ago now. Thanks to Annie's Challenge, I finally had a reason to push it to the top of the TBR list, and I'm glad I had that push, because after all that, I found this book fascinating. (Does this paragraph sound like German is my first language??)

The Spirit of the Times / Olena Pchilka & Nataliya Kobrynska; trans. by Roma FrankoSaskatoon, SK : Language Lanterns, c2001.

The Gipsy's Baby / Rosamond Lehmann
London: Hesperus, c2006.
foreword by Niall Griffiths

I searched out this book because it was by Rosamond Lehmann, unaware that it was a collection of short fiction, that it was in fact the only short fiction she ever published. It is made up of five stories which she wrote in the 40's for her brother's journal, New Writing.

The Solitude of Thomas Cave / Georgina Harding(read as an ARC)
now available from Bloomsbury

Thomas H. Cook
292 pages

Reason for Reading- Book Awards Challenge, Edgar Award Winner

Henry Griswald is a moody, solitary boy whose father is the Headmaster of Chatham School. He dreams of life beyond his existence in the village of Chatham but has no idea that his life and the lives of those around him will be irrevocably changed by the events that take place in Chatham and at Black Pond in 1927.

I had some difficulty getting into this book. I am not exactly sure why. I enjoyed the author's writing style and I loved how the details of the story are handed out slowly making you want to learn just a little more. I can only attribute it to the fact that I am in a mid-winter funk. I am very glad I persevered though because I did enjoy it in the end.

The Educated Imagination / Northrop Frye
Toronto : Anansi, 1997, c1963.

Rachel Caine
337 pages

Reason for Reading: What's in a Name Challenge, TBR Challenge '08

Back of the Book:
"Joanne Baldwin is a Weather Warden. Usually, all it takes is a wave of her hand to tame the most violent weather. But now, she's trying to outrun another kind of storm: accusations of corruption and murder. So, she's resorting to the very human tactic of running for her life..."

My Thoughts:
I was looking for a book to get lost in this afternoon and this fit the bill perfectly. While it's actually a challenge book for me, it would have been great in the "Justforthehelluvit" category too.

I loved the whole different twist on magical powers in this story. There are three types of Wardens: Earth, Fire and Weather. Each has it's particular benefits but they work best in conjunction with Djinn.

The House in Paris / Elizabeth Bowen
New York: Anchor, 2002, c1935.

Kristin Hannah
479 pages

Reason for Reading: LT Early Reviewers ARC, Pub '08 Challenge, A-Z Challenge, Chunkster Challenge.

From the Publisher:

Jennifer Donnelly
707 pages

Reason for Reading: Various Challenges, Interest, Received an ARC from the publisher.

From Amazon:

Kim Harrison
416 pages

Reason for Reading: TBR Challenge'08

Back of the Book:
"All the creatures of the night gather in "the Hollows" of Cincinnati, to hide, to prowl, to party ... and to feed.

Vampires rule the darkness in a predator-eat-predator world rife with dangers beyond imagining -- and it’s Rachel Morgan's job to keep that world civilized."

My Thoughts:

Geraldine Brooks
368 pages

Reason for Reading: Pub'08 Challenge, Interest.

From the Publisher:

La Sagouine / Antonine MailletFredericton, NB: Goose Lane Press, c2007.

For Christmas week, Martel suggested three picture books to our Prime Minister Stephen Harper for his reading list. He suggests that these books may be shared among families.

The State Counsellor / Boris AkuninARC - January release date (in UK)trans. by Andrew Bromfield (the same translator who has a new translation of War & Peace now available from HarperCollins)

Janice Erlbaum
342 pages
Reason for Reading: I received this ARC from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

The Island means Minago / Milton AcornNew Canada Press, c1975.
I've been so busy making reading plans for the new year, I haven't been looking back enough -- and I have a slew of reviews to catch up on. I'll call this my week of reviews and try to talk a bit about some of the books I read as the year was turning over.

Margaret Cezair-Thompson
394 pages

Read for: LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program

From the Publisher:

Victim of the Aurora / Thomas KeneallySan Diego : Harcourt, 2001, c1978.

At a Loss for Words / Diane SchoemperlenToronto : HarperCollins Canada, c2007.
Before this year ends, I want to get in a few last reviews of some of the reads of 2007.

William Kent Krueger
341 pages
Read for The Book Awards Challenge

A beautiful teen-aged girl disappears on New Year's Eve and no one is able to explain why. She seems to have everything but looks can be deceiving.