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! You know what happens on Imagination D

My Back Pages - November

I know, I know, I know I should have reported in before now. But sometimes real life just gets in the way. I attempted 5 books in November. I say attempted because I slapped a big DNF (did not finish) on Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon. I just can't seem to get into this guy. It's the second or third of his I've given up on, Not so the other four, starting with a biography of Stephen Stills called Change Partners. This followed by a hilarious biography of the guy responsible for National Lampoon called A Stupid and Futile Gesture - How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever. I ended the month reading yet another biography, this one of the man behind Rolling Stone magazine,. It was called Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine. A fascinating read. So last month I hit the magic number 50 I'd imagined for myself back in January. If I roll this month into my yearly total I'm at 54 books. And I still hav

30 Days of Photos III #4 Sour

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

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