My 2012 Summer Reading List
Top 5 books to make you feel better about your vacation:
1. Graphic Witness: Four Wordless Graphic Novels edited by George A. Walker. In my family it was Twenty Vacationless Years. Okay, once we went to Penticton, but I remember nothing of it. My summers consisted of riding my bannana-seated bike to play in the ravine and looking at art books. Years later, this collection of powerful prints by Frans Masereel, Lynd Ward, Giacomo Patri and Laurence Hyde served as a visual inspiration for my graphic novel. The kind of inspiration that a vacation is supposed to give you.
2. Look Down, This Is Where It Must Have Happened by Hal Niedzviecki. I went to the West Bank last year for a vacation of sorts. There is nothing that can illuminate a situation like seeing it for yourself, but Niedzviecki’s short stories of lost souls worn down by the world brought a bigger picture into focus with words.
3. My Year of The Racehorse by Kevin Chong. As a kid, I went to the racetrack with my family all summer. I scoured the stands for discarded betting slips, looking for winners tossed away by mistake or in disgust, before the race was over. When I found a winner, I dutifully gave it to my dad. This book is a very funny memoir of owning a racehorse.
4. The Black Dot Museum of Political Art by Jean Smith. Visiting cool, dark art museums is my idea of summer fun and when Nadine MacHilltop opens the door of her museum we're off on an exhilarating tale of political art and narcissism. One of the perks of being a friend of a writer is getting to read their manuscripts before publication. http://jeansmith.wordpress.com/
5. Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer's, My Mother, & Me by Sarah Leavitt. A compelling graphic novel memoir that is both funny and sad; a reminder of the fragility of life as we decide which imaginatively flavoured gelato to order on a warm summer night. "Will that be a cup or a cone, bella?"
Top 5 books you want to read this summer, but won’t:
1. Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan. I think it might be better to read a book about the carving up of Europe in winter.
2. The world's most dangerous woman by Theresa Moritz and Albert Moritz. Actually, I will be reading this bio of Emma Goldman as research for my next graphic novel.
3. The Time We All Went Marching by Arley McNeney. The first political book I ever read was during the summer when I was 10. It was a book about Che Guevara that I’d taken out of the library. Now, over 40 years later I plan to read a book about the on-to-Ottawa trek of unemployed workers.
4. Hark A Vagrant by Kate Beaton. I've heard many great comments about this book. It was given to me as a present, but like books I've taken to read on tour with my duo Mecca Normal, I may not get around to it.
5. Shoot It! Hollywood Inc. and the Rising of Independent Film by David Spaner. I don't think I've ever had a sun tan. I’ve always been more comfortable in the darkness of movie theatres than at the beach. I will read parts of this book as I watch the films mentioned, so it will take longer than the summer to read. That is a good thing.
Book you want to be seen reading at the beach:
Seeing Reds: The Red Scare of 1918-1919, Canada's First War on Terror by Daniel Francis. An excellent book about the suppression of political dissent in Canada. A subversive read between bouts of beach volleyball. Spike!
David Lester is the guitarist in Mecca Normal and author of the graphic novel The Listener (nominated for a 2012 ForeWord Reviews' Book of The Year).
1. Graphic Witness: Four Wordless Graphic Novels edited by George A. Walker. In my family it was Twenty Vacationless Years. Okay, once we went to Penticton, but I remember nothing of it. My summers consisted of riding my bannana-seated bike to play in the ravine and looking at art books. Years later, this collection of powerful prints by Frans Masereel, Lynd Ward, Giacomo Patri and Laurence Hyde served as a visual inspiration for my graphic novel. The kind of inspiration that a vacation is supposed to give you.
2. Look Down, This Is Where It Must Have Happened by Hal Niedzviecki. I went to the West Bank last year for a vacation of sorts. There is nothing that can illuminate a situation like seeing it for yourself, but Niedzviecki’s short stories of lost souls worn down by the world brought a bigger picture into focus with words.
3. My Year of The Racehorse by Kevin Chong. As a kid, I went to the racetrack with my family all summer. I scoured the stands for discarded betting slips, looking for winners tossed away by mistake or in disgust, before the race was over. When I found a winner, I dutifully gave it to my dad. This book is a very funny memoir of owning a racehorse.
4. The Black Dot Museum of Political Art by Jean Smith. Visiting cool, dark art museums is my idea of summer fun and when Nadine MacHilltop opens the door of her museum we're off on an exhilarating tale of political art and narcissism. One of the perks of being a friend of a writer is getting to read their manuscripts before publication. http://jeansmith.wordpress.com/
5. Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer's, My Mother, & Me by Sarah Leavitt. A compelling graphic novel memoir that is both funny and sad; a reminder of the fragility of life as we decide which imaginatively flavoured gelato to order on a warm summer night. "Will that be a cup or a cone, bella?"
Top 5 books you want to read this summer, but won’t:
1. Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan. I think it might be better to read a book about the carving up of Europe in winter.
2. The world's most dangerous woman by Theresa Moritz and Albert Moritz. Actually, I will be reading this bio of Emma Goldman as research for my next graphic novel.
3. The Time We All Went Marching by Arley McNeney. The first political book I ever read was during the summer when I was 10. It was a book about Che Guevara that I’d taken out of the library. Now, over 40 years later I plan to read a book about the on-to-Ottawa trek of unemployed workers.
4. Hark A Vagrant by Kate Beaton. I've heard many great comments about this book. It was given to me as a present, but like books I've taken to read on tour with my duo Mecca Normal, I may not get around to it.
5. Shoot It! Hollywood Inc. and the Rising of Independent Film by David Spaner. I don't think I've ever had a sun tan. I’ve always been more comfortable in the darkness of movie theatres than at the beach. I will read parts of this book as I watch the films mentioned, so it will take longer than the summer to read. That is a good thing.
Book you want to be seen reading at the beach:
Seeing Reds: The Red Scare of 1918-1919, Canada's First War on Terror by Daniel Francis. An excellent book about the suppression of political dissent in Canada. A subversive read between bouts of beach volleyball. Spike!
David Lester is the guitarist in Mecca Normal and author of the graphic novel The Listener (nominated for a 2012 ForeWord Reviews' Book of The Year).
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