Tuesday 19 June 2012

Currently Reading: Eastern Passage by Farley Mowat

I told someone that I was reading my first Farley Mowat book. They looked at me with jealousy and wondered how I had avoided such things in grade school. This led to a double-faceted reaction.

First - I wonder what I missed, not going to grade school here. I almost want to get a reading list from grades 9 through 12 at a local high school and read what I didn't read. I didn't even know who Mowat was until a few years ago. D has a Mowat book, which I still haven't read, but which he spoke of very highly.

Second - I wish I had read books as wonderful as Eastern Passage in high school! It's a book that touches at my knowledge of my country, of Europe, and of the North (which I have only passing familiarity with, but a lasting respect for). He captures you with the details that he adds, which are random and endearing. I look forward to reading more of him.

I've found a purpose for this blog, though I may be slow to get started. As I gear up towards my defense in August (just applied for graduation today!), I will not have much time to read. But I've decided to write about writing - I will finally read the books in my home, many of which I have owned for years and years without once opening them. I will start in the top-left corner of the first bookcase, and end in the bottom-right corner of the fourth one. I will only skip books that I have already read.

I'm excited to share this with the internet - I know no one knows about this blog yet, but I'm also not sure if, at this stage, I want anyone who knows me to know of my project. This could go for years, depending on how many books I buy while I read the ones I already have - I have a weakness for purchasing books, particularly old, leather-bound or cloth-bound books. I miss the Vic College Booksale in Toronto dearly. Perhaps it is best that there are many provinces, and flight weight restrictions, between me and that particular annual sale. Many fruits of many perusals of that sale's offerings will be a part of this project.

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