Bibliofile - September

After having read 9 books in August I slipped somewhat to 7 in September taking me to a total of 85 books I've read this year.

I started the month completing Margaret Atwood's so-called dystopian trilogy that began with Oryx and Crake and ended with MaddAddam. I must say I enjoyed these books and was pleasantly surprised by this futuristic tale from Atwood, not having read her before.

I then read Nina Simone's autobiography. I have several of her CDs and a concert I watched on TV moved me to go searching for more about her. She was truly an amazing woman. Not just in the sense of a great musician and singer but also as an active participant in the human rights movement in the States. This was a short but interesting read.

Apart from the short story The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - yes, on which the movie with Brad Pitt was based - I fell into a Kurt Wallander jag. Wallander is the protagonist of the police detective novels by Swedish writer Henning Mankell and I got through his first four "Wallander" books. His books are a tad on the long side and a bit drawn out but a good read nonetheless. Those that are familiar with my reading habits know how much I love detective series or novels of the hard-boiled genre. Raymond Chandler, Ross MacDonald, Robert Crais, R.J. Ellory, Lee Child and Ken Bruen are among my favourites.

So here's what I read in September, in the order in which they were read.

MaddAddam - Margaret Atwood
I Put a Spell On You - The Autobiography of Nina Simone - Nina Simone
The White Lioness - Henning Mankell
The Dogs of Riga - Henning Mankell
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Man Who Smiled - Henning Mankell
Sidetracked - Henning Mankell

I've just started the latest Stephen King novel Doctor Sleep which, interestingly enough, is a sequel to his 1977 bestseller The Shining. More on that next month.

I'm always on the lookout for something new to read. Let me know if you have any recommendations for me.

The Polka Dot Door

A long time ago, when I was 22, my first child was born. That kid grew up on a little Canadian kid's show called Polka Dot Door, produced by the TV Ontario network. And Dad, more often than not, sat through those shows with his little one. Nine or so years later when a brother, and a year after that when a sister came along number one son was moving on to Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard. But there was a nice overlap where his siblings picked up where he had left off with Polka Dot Door. And Dad was right there to welcome them. So you're looking at a Polka Dot Door veteran. The show began in 1971 and ran to 1993. I didn't watch the full run but I did get in my fair share. The formula was pretty simple. A young male and female host, which seemed to change every week, sang songs, told stories, made crafts and generally did their best stimulate little brains. The show opened as follows... Imagination Day! Oh boy! ...

30 Days of Photos III #4 Sour

Check out Ziva's Inferno for the rest of today's photos.

I Am Charlie, I'm A Bore

Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise, Colin Farrel...you know the list, it goes on and on. The list of Hollywood hick-ups who not content to meltdown behind closed doors have to drag each and every detail out into the light of day and share it with all of us. Well, add Charlie Sheen to that luckless and lascivious list of losers. In the past few days he's been on every major media soapbox complaining abut how he's been treated and how he's misunderstood. Last night he spent an hour on ABC's 20/20 "in his own words". Charlie, you should have stuck to the script. "I have a highly evolved brain". You know I never did like that song by Helen Reddy in the 70s "I Am Woman". But I have to say the melody really leant itself well to a parody of Hollywood's latest flame-out, Charlie Sheen. Although I never thought I'd hear myself say this, my sincerest apologies to Helen Reddy. And now if you're ready (a little play on wor...

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