Shocking Invasion of Literary Privacy Perpetuated
Just last night I was feeling smug about having dodged this particularly bullet. Then…thunk. Nailed by soon-to-be-Juno-Award-Winning singer-songwriter (oh, yeah, and blogger too) Jim Bobby. Okay. The Great Canadian Literary Confessional. Bless me, father, for I have read…
Number of books owned:
Dunno. A few thousand. Reading is my favourite leisure activity, and both Mrs. B. and I are packrats when it comes to our books: we never give anything away. Consequently we have fourteen large bookcases that occupy about 1/3 of the available floorspace in our house, overflowing with decaying yellow jacketed DAW science fiction paperbacks, old editions of encyclopedias, bound comic collections, old European herbals, manuals on conjuring…and fiction. Lotsa fiction.
Last Book Purchased:
Ghosts of Cape Sabine, Leonard Guttridge. I collect accounts of Arctic and Antarctic exploration, and I was lucky enough to find a hardcover edition of this on sale at a used bookstore on Thursday. An extremely well written account of one of the mostly ghastly northern expeditions. A seriously underqualified US officer, Lieutenant Adolphus Greeley, led an expedition to the northern tip of Ellesmere Island. Through a series of mishaps and political games (including the intervention of President Lincoln’s son Robert) they were stranded, and finally had to…well, read it. Murder, cannibalism, insanity, last minute rescue attempts…this has it all.
Last Book I read:
Apart from the Silver Palate Cookbook, which I read last night (at least the part about Warm Lemon Chicken Salad), the last book I finished was Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”. It’s one of those ones I always thought I HAD read, having seen so many film versions (from “Roadkill” to “Apocalypse Now”).
Five Books that mean a lot to me:
The Hero With A Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell. I don’t have a mystical bone in my body. But this comparative analysis of the world’s great myths, based on Campbell’s voluminous reading and his own interpretation of the concept of Jungian archetypes, knocked me flat when I first read it twenty years ago, and changed the way I thought about religion, art, consciousness, writing, and perception. I reread it about three years ago, and it has aged exceedingly well. As have I, of course.
The Historical Atlas of Canada. This amazing three volume set tells the history of Canada in maps, charts and illustrations. And I mean EVERY aspect of history…the layout of a buffalo killing jump, street maps of Forth Louisbourg, distribution and trade routes, construction diagrams for a Quebec City manor house of the 17th century. It is one of the most attractive and engrossing books I’ve owned.
Ficciones, by Jorge Luis Borges. It’s impossible to describe what Borges does in his stories, partly because very few of them are “stories” in any conventional sense. Most are essays about fictional people, or imaginary institutions (like an imaginary library that contains every possible combination of every alphanumeric character known to man) , or tigers, or labyrinths (real and philosophical), all so packed with ideas that you savour every paragraph a like a rich liqueur. Unlike so so many of the authors who followed in his footsteps, Borges LOVED literature and storytelling. Read this and you’ll see where John Barth, David Foster Wallace, and many of today’s lame post-modernists stole their chops from.
The Penguin Complete Poems of Rudyard Kipling, by…well, figure it out. Poor Kipling has taken a beating in this politically correct world, and his notion of the White Man’s Burden to rescue “Lesser Breeds” made him a bit of an embarassment. Which is too bad, because when you read his entire work, you realize what an insightful, profound, and funny man man he was, how widely ranging was his intellect, and how deeply he ran against the grain of Victorian consciousness (his poems about the common soldier made him a favourite among the British Tommies). And even his love of empire is tempered throughout by a very ironic awareness of the evils of colonialism and an appreciation for other peoples and cultures.
“The Cornish Trilogy“, by Robertson Davies. My favorite trilogy by my favorite Canadian novelist. After reading Davies you have the dazed impressions of having spent a month watching the world through the eyes of a much wiser you. All three volumes are wondrous in their own way, although my personal preference is “What’s Bred in the Bone”, which provides wonderful tips for art forgers, a great portrait of an early twentieth century Ontario, dialogue between two rather nasty guardian angels, and useful hints on embalming. But read the whole trilogy, or you’ll miss Gypsy Maria and her mom.
And now…the Tagging. Because I’m genuinely curious, I tag:
- Stageleft
- Mike Brock
- Peter Rempel
- Japnaam Singh
- Vinny
Balb, posts such as this are why you should have your very own blog. But alas, we all know the argument of the potential addiction. ;) And now, I have more authors & books to add to my quickly growing “Must Read” list.
Heh — I guess if yer gonna play I can toss in a few abreviated answers :-)
Number of books owned: At this point only a few hundred, various pieces of fiction wanders in and out of the house on a fairly regular basis - the only keepers are on the subjects of Celtic history/lore and activist/globalization material.
Last book purchased: Fences and Windows, Naomi Klein - an absolutely astounding Canadian speaker and author writing about her experiences on the front lines of the anti-globalization battle and what they have taught her.
Last Book I read: SVAHA, Charles De Lint - mystery, magic, and technology - after the apocalypse. How can a book that starts off
– not grab your attention? Well, that, and I have never picked up a De Lint book I didn’t enjoy.
Three Books that mean a lot to me (in no particular order):
Gods and Fighting Men, Lady Gregory - the wealth of knowledge contained therein is astounding. I do not have sufficient fingers and toes to count the number of times I have read it.
The Apple Branch, Alexei Kondratiev. The definitive (modern) book of Celtic ritual and lore - I’m lucky enough to correspond with the author on a couple of email lists… anyone interested in bringing ancient practice into modern life will find this an invaluable resource.
Celtic Daily Life, Victor Walkley. Celtic herb lore, metal work, wine & brewing feasts, clothing, devotionals, legends, and beliefs… given to me as a Beltaine gift by a dear friend from Scotland who now lives with the ancestors. RIP Bill, you are missed.
I’ll also add a “currently reading” section just ’cause I can:
Fences and Windows, Naomi Klein (see above)
Guantanamo, What the World Should Know. Michael Ratner & Ellen Ray
Baghdad Burning, Riverbend
Hah. C., my dear, it’s only because I DON’T have a blog that I still have time to read!
Try this and see if you like it: it should appeal to your notion of the universe veiled chaos. If you do, track down the Borges. He was also a fantastic editor, poet and critic.
http://www.hfac.uh.edu/mcl/faculty/armstrong/cityofdreams/texts/babylon.html
Those are both interesting reading lists but I want to know what Gordon the Magnificant and Geoffrey read. 25 Euros says that there is at least one reference to Jughead Jones :-)
Since we’re talking about books here, I thought I would slip in a quick plug. I just finished editing a collection of essays on Canadian Aboriginal writers…novelists, poets, screenwriters. The author is Jennifer David, the book is called “Story Keepers: Conversations with Aboriginal Writers”, and you can read more about it here. I sure won’t be retiring on the royalties anyime soon, but it was a really interesting project: and if you’re curious about a very unusual and intriguing group of emerging authors, you might want to check it out.
Finally!! As the result of a hubris-ridden impulsive moment, you blow your Batman-like blogger anonymity!!
I see no recourse for you except voluntary admission into the Witness Protection Program.
I always sensed you had a Tony Soprano fixation. :-)
On second thought, perhaps I proclaimed “gotcha,” too soon. I’m picturing myself picking up the book at my friendly neighbourhood Chapters, and seeing “Edited by Balbulican,” inside the dust jacket.
The search continues………
t I’d been tagged for this book blogging thing by no fewer than four other bloggers: Balbulican, N=1, Politblogo, and Daveberta. Whic [...]
You’ve been under the impression that “Balbulican” is a pseudonym? My dear fellow, in the sweet and distant land of my birth (Balbulica), the name is as common as “Smith” is here. By tradition we use one name only: our people regard your decadent Western habit of wantonly adding surnames to a proud family name as barbarous (our elders humorously suggest you only do it to confuse vengeful gods and tax collectors).
It wasn’t hubris, anyway…just sheer greed. I’d love to see a few hundred of these sell.
Balbulican:
I was jesting about the ” hubris.”
Ahhh yes, Balbulica!! One of those places we always intend on getting to, but never quite manage to find the time.
Tell me, has Balbulica adopted the Euro yet, or is it still using the Balbuli-ruble?
You might have been kidding about the hubris, but I was dead serious about the greed! Your for only 114,000,000 Balbulire (we gave up on the Euro after our own referendum…both voters said NYET.)
For your perusal, dear Balbulican:
Balbulica has never beaten us internationally in hockey, has it?
Feh. Hockey. If Canada ever does decide to accept our challenge to compete in the traditional Old Maid Spiked Squid Toss, our national sport, then you will see true sport.