Just finished Karen Solie's new one, Modern and Normal. Really good shit. Smart, tough, funny, moving and impeccably made.

Summer reading list for the iPod set

Are you a cool kid? Then what are you doing here at this site? Go read your booklist, punker. (Thanks, Kurtis)


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Edited by author 04-27-2005 03:31 PM
not a book per se but highly recommended hypertext fiction by Don Austin

http://nedaftersnowslides.com/

"Armistice Day. I run into a veteran at a gas station who can't stand up straight he has so many medals on his chest and because he's drunk. He asks me to help him. I hate drunk drivers as much as the next mother but here's someone who has stormed the beaches of Normandy for me, risking his 18-year-old ass so that I can go to gas stations called Irving's rather than ones called PetroBerlin, so that I can have the privilege of being exploited by people from my own country who want to rule the world rather than people from another country who want to. When I'm in an ethical dilemma like this I seize right up. A saner person would have bought him a coffee and given him a ride home, but not me. I help him get some gas and pay and then I carry the beer to the car for him and I don't realize how wrong all of this is till much later. That's the way I am."

/m286 - reaching back because it caught my eye -

Last time I was there (two years ago, maybe?), Contact Editions in Toronto had a whack of John Thompson paperbacks for pretty reasonable prices.

Too true. Good book inside and out.

/m280 I know a fine book when I see/feel one. Shane Rhodes' Tengo Sed, designed by Jason Dewinetz of Greenboathouse Books, took home a 2004 Alcuin Award for Excellence in Book Design.

Don't think I had even heard of Market Forces until now, Peter. I'll look for it, and for Woken Furies. Morgan's got me hooked, so far.

John, have you read Richard Morgan's Market Forces (his non-SF book)? Wondering if it's any good.

Woken Furies is out in a few months, I think.

Peter

Some books worth I've read in the last few months that I think are worth mentioning:

The Possible Past, Aislinn Hunter — the best new book of poetry I've laid eyes on in a few years.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel, Susanna Clarke — best new fantasy novel I've read in probably ten years.

Later Novels & other writings, Raymond Chandler — still the best crime fiction out there other than Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest (and the novels of Jim Thompson, which are damn hard to lay hands on).

The Ax, Donald E. Westlake — twisted little sendup of the effects of downsizing in corporate America..

Flashfire; and Flashback, Westlake writing as Richard Stark — two recent installments in the Parker anti-hero series.

The Path to the Spiders' Nest, Italo Calvino — his first novel, a couple of months in the life of a young boy in Italy during WWII.

Altered Carbon; Broken Angels, Richard Morgan — this British author's first two novels are science fiction in the cyberpunk/noir mode; his explorations and expansions of the genre prove it still has room to grow. I wonder if he can go three-for-three?

My chapbook kick continues...
Snow by Harold Rhenisch (Laurel Reed Books, 2004)is downright amazing.
Tower Road by Barbara Klar (JackPine Press, 2004) must have been quite the challenge to design. It unfolds to the shape of a cross. Nifty.

Five Ways to Lose Your Way by Don McKay (JackPine Press, 2004)
http://www.jackpinepress.com/xhtml/jjp.html

When are we getting another from you, JD? And who with?

awwwwww, shucks. My book came out the same year as Vermeersch's last one. I requested that it be kept off all short-lists in order to give young Paul a chance at glory.

I spent much of last week re-reading (several times) John Degen's Killing Things. It's really one of my favourite books of poetry. I'm surprised it was passed over for awards. You'd think I'd get used to the books I love being passed over, but I don't.

G

tengo sed by Shane Rhodes (Greenboathouse Books, 2004)
What a glorious reading experience. I treated myself to the lettered edition, which comes in a hard-bound triptych case. It's beautiful in every way.
http://www.greenboathouse.com/index.htm

Caryl:

Don't misunderstand my lament. If I didn't make it clear, I don't begrudge the prices you're charging. I think they are fair for the work you do, and for the product you produce. Ditto Gaspereau.

However, I truly can't afford your books. (I don't even want free copies--that would simply mean that you were working for free, which I would never suggest.) When I worked at a job that paid me well I used to buy a considerable amount of poetry books. It was my way of supporting Canadian poetry when I couldn't do it in a more direct way. Now that I've given up my corporate ways and am involved more directly in literary pursuits, I find even $11.95 difficult to afford. Let's face it, the primary audience for Canadian poetry is still Canadian poets, many, if not most, of whom, as you say, "can't make it pay."

My comments weren't directed at anyone; they were simply my frustration at what I see as an untenable problem. Do you recall the comment frequently attributed to Ford that he wanted to pay his workers a fair wage because he wanted them to be in a position to buy the cars they were making? In Canadian poetry, the workers are often making handcrafted luxury cars and getting paid minimum wage. It's this simple economic fact that I think leads to the grant structure that is in place.