nonamedufus

My God how time flies. It's already June and I'm way behind being on track for fifty books this year. I read four in May bringing my year-to-date total to 15. What were the four? Well, I started the month with a quick read titled George Harrison Reconsidered. The title itself appealed to me because I always felt Harrison was the overlooked Beatle; that he had a lot of talent that people never spoke about or gave him credit for. My only problem with this book was that it was far too short. (3 stars) Book two was The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood. Similar in feel to her recent MaddAddam Trilogy, the Guardian describes it as "a jubilant comedy of errors, bizarre bedroom farce. SF prison-break thriller, psychedelic 60s crime caper". Now I ask you how can you turn that down. I didn't and enjoyed it immensely. (4 stars) My third book was Dropping The Needle - The Vinyl Dialogues Volume II. Not unlike volume one I found this disappointing. When you&

Having binge-watched three seasons of The Sopranos I have to confess I didn't get much reading done in April. Finding a series you really get into and watching episode after episode is a considerable addiction. The bed goes unmade. The dishes pile up in the sink. All else stops while life goes on on what used to be referred to as the small screen and today I guess would be referred to as the flat screen. So if The Sopranos wasn't enough I also undertook what's been referred to as the Jo Nesbo Three Book Bundle. I found this on iBooks and it seemed like a cheap way to buy three Harry Hole detective novels. The three in question are The Snowman, Phantom, The Leopard. You have to love Harry Hole to read three stories in a row. And I do. Nesbo's portrayal of, in these books, the now retired police detective's failings as an anti-hero, anti-authoritarian alcoholic and workaholic endear him not only to his police colleagues but also to the reader. So I''m

February was pretty much a dud in terms of reading. Not so much what I read but how much I read. I completed two books in February; Purity by Jonathan Franzen and Still Alice by Lisa Genova. The first was a recommendation by a Facebook friend. I'd never read Franzen's stuff before. This was a lengthy tale which tied the central character, Purity, to various other characters and story lines. I liked it. It held my attention and was well written.  Nothing to get overly excited about but easy enough to read. You may have seen the movie that was based on my second book, starring Julianne Moore. It's about a cognitive psychology university professor with alzheimer's disease. The story is so detailed it makes you feel that it's non-fiction as it takes you through the impact of the disease on not only her but on her husband and children. This was an excellent read, though very, very sad. Only two books this month for a total of 6t this year. I fear my binge-watc

So my book blogger buddy Bryan G. Robinson over at Still Unfinished ran this thing called 20 Bookish Questions. I found it interesting so I thought I'd run it here. What is your favorite fictional food or drink?  I'm into hard-boiled detective novels and in the ones I read they often drink either whiskey or a Guinness. These guys don't seem to eat so I can't come up with a fictional food. How long did it take to finish your last book?  I just finished Purity by Jonathan Franzen and it took me just under 2 weeks. But it was a pick it up put it down kinda read. Sometimes I'll zip through a can't put it down book in a couple of days but that's rare. How many times do you stare at your book or bookshelves each day? I  don't. The majority of my books are on iBooks or Kindle. How many Goodreads friends and books do you have?  42 friends and 388 books on Goodreads. Do you ever quote books in public?  No I never have because it was the best o

New year, new title and new pic for this monthly post. What the heck. Got off to a slow start with four books this month. I've estimated I'll read fifty books in 2016. Ambitious? We'll see. I started the year off with a decent book about the Beatles recording history by former recording engineer Geoff Emerick. Here, There and Everywhere is a very detailed account of the Fab Four in the studio. Lots of interesting things here and the guy wasn't the biggest fan of his boss, George Martin, or for that matter another George, Harrison. The latter comes off as a more-or-less talentless member of the the group who needed direction from his buddies at every turn. Not sure what Emerick had against Harrison although he seems to warm up to him in post-Beatles years. Next up was H is for Hawk which I was sorely tempted to ditch. I picked it up because it won several British book awards. The title says it all. It was a memoir... about hawks, and only hawks, other than the d

Well it was the last month of the year and I knew I wouldn't make it. I'd said back in January that I'd probably read 75 books in 2015. Alas I was a tad short. After adding the 5 books I read in December I came down to 62 books for the year. Still, not bad. That's still a lot of pages, electronic or otherwise. Taking quick look at December's reads, then, I started out with the latest from one of my favourite authors and one of my favourite characters of his Inspector Rebus, who is retired now but is "consulting" the police.. Even Dogs in the Wild was sheer joy. It did not disappoint. Next up was a new author for me, Peggy Blair, and her first instalment of her Inspector Remirez series The Beggar's Opera.The novel takes place in Havana and has a Canadian connection. Oddly enough the author is Canadian. I can't recall how I picked up on this book but it was well worth the read. I'd seen a Facebook friend talk about Burning Down George O

Illness prevented me from reporting on my reads from October so I'll use November's update to report on both. I read four books in October. The Vinyl Dialogues by Mike Morsch is a collection of stories about some memorable albums - and some not so memorable - by the artists who made them. Interesting for music lovers such as myself. We Are As The Times Are was written by a friend of mine, Ken Rockburn, about Ottawa's well-known and highly regarded - and long-gone - coffee house Le Hibou where many Canadian and American folk acts hit the stage. An enjoyable read. Kenneth Anger wrote Hollywood Babylon a collection of salacious tales about the dark side of Hollywood. Fascinating reading. And I rounded out October with If He Hollars Let Him Go written by Chester Himes in 1945 which looks at racism in the United States. Sadly not a lot has changed in 2015. I started November out with Further Adventures of a Grumpy Rock Star by Rick Wakeman, former keyboardist for Yes, St

I read one book in September. Scratch that I read half a book. Wait, wait, wait. Before you think I took things easy let me tell you about the book. It'a called Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. It's purported to be a modern-day classic. There was quite the buzz recently about Wallace as a movie about him was released, focusing on his life and suicide. It looked interesting. So I bought his Infinite Jest. It was promoted as possibly the last post-modern novel whatever that is...but it sounded good. As I waded my way through it I often time felt the jest was perhaps on me. A very difficult read. I'd put in about 2 hours a day and then put it down because I was so bloody confused by the narrative. The book weights in at over 1000 pages and while reading I Googled the title and learned hardly anybody finishes this damn book. I made it to about 52% through on my Kindle before throwing in the towel, or iPad if you will. And I did';t even look at the close to 400 endn

Well July was a holiday month for us with Maryse and I taking the roads less travelled through New Hampshire and Maine for a couple of weeks. Needless to say I didn't get much reading done. Only two books: SJ Watson's Second Life and Neil Stephenson's Seveneves. They were both kinda meh. The first I picked up on the strength of Watson's first effort Before I Go To Sleep which I quite enjoyed. The follow-up not so much. I don't know how I picked up Seveneves. It may have looked interesting but I tell you it was a tough slog to get through. The premise was interesting. The moon blows apart, destroys earth, but not before a community forms in space. But it was the detailing, the minutia that really got me bogged down. And the minutia, for me, came at the expense of the character development and detracted from the actual story. Stephenson is either a researcher extraordinaire or has a very vivid imagination - or both. Nonetheless I did finish both books but I d

What was with the weather in June? I went fishing in the last week of the month and it must have been one of the coolest last weeks of that month on record. But the weather didn't deter me from reading 6 more books this year and now my total thus far is 40 books. My pace may have slipped as I've been binge-watching a lot of series on "Crave TV" lately. Things like Carnivale, HAPPYish, The Smoke, and The Fear. All quite good. Where were these series the first time around? Recent movies include This Is Where I Leave You, Still Alice, What Maise Knew and The Good Lie. DVDs I have in reserve are the Larry Sanders Show, the updated Prisoner series and Sherlock. So lots to get to, too. Anyway, books...in June. Did a little catching up with Jack Reacher (One Shot) and Dismas Hardy (The Fall). I like these  detective type novels. In fact a third book was also in this vein, an unlikely novel by Stephen King called Finders Keepers, which is a continuation of his re

Well, we've turned the page on another month - an apt turn of phrase for a post about books, eh? It was a busy month, so let's get right to it. Of the 10 books I got through in May, 6 were detective novels, including 3 about two Dutch police detectives, one about a Swedish detective and another about a Norwegian cop. Throw in the eighth Jack Reacher novel and the latest from R.J. Ellory and I can tell you I've seen a heck of a lot of crime this month. Highlights? There were many. Andy Weir's tale about an astronaut who gets left behind on Mars was very well written and takes the reader through the predicament with wit and subtle humour. Rick Wakeman's Grumpy Old Rock Star provided a glimpse of the varied musical career of the fella probably best known as the keyboardist for Yes. And Wakeman can be a very funny guy. This was a quick and  enjoyable read. The Grijpstra and de Gier series was a delightful new find in the style of Nesbo or Menkell, except the

Well it was another fairly eclectic month on the reading front in April. Several novels from several of my favourite writers. A couple of music industry books. A behind the scenes movie-making book and a dud. That's right, a dud. I'd read Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice in March and although it was a bit of a tough read it had it's moments so I thought I'd give his Gravity's Rainbow a go. Mistake. This was the most complicated and difficult novel I've ever undertaken. I lasted about 150 pages and then threw in the towel...and the book. The latest Archer and Lehane efforts were excellent but then I buy nearly everything these two put out. There were two highlights of the month. The first was As You Wish, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of The Princess Bride written by "Wesley" Cary Elwes. If you liked the movie then I find it inconceivable that you won't like this book. I picked up Bill Buford's autobiography and was pleasan

Didn't get through many books this month. Just 3. I know, I know. One might think I was slipping but one of the books was close to 2400 pages - Lawrence In Arabia . This Lawrence isn't quite as romantically portrayed as in that David Lean film from the 60s. Author Scott Anderson portrays this Lawrence as a calculating individual who never listen to his superiors. The book provides a fascinating overview of how the modern-day Middle East came into existence due to the World War I efforts of Britain, France, Germany and the United States. It was a long read but a fascinating one. Another book I read this week - All The Light We Cannot See - was a wonderful World War II tale by Anthony Doerr - involving a young French blind girl's story on the one hand and a young German soldier on the other. What brings them together near the end of the story is woven neatly into the tale. I really enjoyed this. The third book - Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon - was a complex, yet hu

Lest you think I can't spell I thought I'd remind folks that the title I use for this post each month is my way of updating you on the file of books I've been reading. It's just my way with words, or non words, if you will. I mean, of korse I cahn spell. Of course, the title might have come from the picture in this post. Then, though, it would have been Biliopile. But I digress. Anyhoo, I started off the month with a lengthy look at rock promotor Bill Graham. As a music lover I found this book fascinating, full of anecdotes of his relations with the major rock acts of the day. As the owner of the Fillmore East and West he saw them all. I also enjoyed learning a little bit about the man himself. The rest of February was taken up with an escape to Narnia. C.S. Lewis wrote the Chronicles of Narnia in the 1950s. I'd never read them as a child and until now my only reference point was the 2005 movie The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. I loved them, all seve

Surprised to see me? Yeah, I know I said I was through with blogging but owing to mounting pressure from my many loyal followers to share my ongoing reading habits - thanks Bryan - I've sheepishly caved in. I'll be brief because I don't want to block up the blogosphere. (I'd hate to bump a post about kittens.) I got through 6 books this month. A slow start to 2015, I know, but it's all part of my new and relaxed approach to life. Or something like that. Among the highlights were Canadian musician Bruce Cockburn's memoir. Apart from being a great musician, Cockburn is an activist and quite spiritual. The latter two qualities take up quite a bit of the book but it's nevertheless interesting to see what makes the guy tick. So Anyway... by Monty Python's John Cleese was a bit of a disappointment. He hardly talks about his days in Python at all. I think it's just a cash grab because I think he's still paying alimony to three wives. Or maybe

Well, I didn't hit 100 but I sure came close. After reading 7 books in December when all was said and done I'd read 98 books last year. Like the other months last year, December had it's highlights including books by Augusten Burroughs, Rachel Joyce and Stephen King. In Dry Burroughs, who wrote the biographical Running With Scissors about his dysfunctional upbringing, again returns to his own life in a very humorous look at a very serious subject: addiction. The Love Song of Miss Queen Hennessy was a simply delightful read about the woman at the centre of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, itself a wonderful page-turner. And finally, what can one say about Stephen King that hasn't already been said. In Revival King returns to form as an intriguing story teller who lulls you in then hits you with a brick in the face near the end. Here are the books I read: Dry -Augusten Burroughs ***** Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones - Paul Trynka **** Sp

It was a return to police and detective novels this month as I read number five in the Dave Robicheaux series by James Lee Burke, number two in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series by Canadian author Louise Penny and the nineteenth in the Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly. All excellent reads. I also read A Dark and Broken Heart by R.J. Ellory, one of my favourite authors. His series is not an ongoing series of the same characters but an ongoing series of dark novels. I think he's almost - and I may have said this before - the Stephen King of police procedurals. I began the month reading the fourth book in The Maze series by James Dashner. I say fourth but it's actually the first because it's the prequel which helps set the other three books - which I read in October - of this dark and dystopian world into context My monthly visit to the world of music consisted of two fascinating books. Star Making Machinery, written in 1975, follows Captain Cody and th

I read eight books in October bringing the year's total to eighty-four. I started the month with a book about Canadian politics by respected journalist Chantal Hebert called The Morning After. It's a fascinating look at the 1995 Quebec referendum and how no one really had any long-term plans respecting what would happen should the Yes forces win, including the Yes forces. For a political junkie like myself I found it a fascinating read. Next up was the hilarious sequel to The Rosie Project, The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion. I recommend the first and the sequel to anyone looking for a good laugh-out-loud read. The month didn't pass without a music industry book. This time it was Something So Strong by Chris Bourke, an extensive, thousand page plus look at Australia's Crowded House. Of course, as is usually the case with these books, reading this one lead to a buying spree on Amazon with two Split Enz CDs - a precursor to Crowded House - A Crowded House CD, and a