The Diary of a Young Girl (The Definitive Edition): Anne Frank

I just finished reading this book a few minutes ago, and I’m a little hesitant to write anything about it just yet. I feel like I need to do some processing first.

Part of the problem is that, with a BA in English, I am so used to reading and analyzing fiction. When you suddenly read a diary written by a girl between the ages of thirteen and fifteen, you need a completely different skill set. I suspect that if my first reading of this book had been twenty or twenty-five years ago, I would have taken it much more into my soul, instead of speeding through the “young girl blossoming into first love” parts. Perhaps I’m just getting old!

Having said that, I found a lot of the book to be absolutely fascinating. The historian in me was in wonder at the first-person account of what it was like to be a Jew in Holland under the Third Reich. The writer in me was thrilled to see Anne’s writing skills blossom, and I found myself looking back to when I first began writing. Above all else, I thoroughly enjoyed her spunk and sense of optimism, and I loved how much she treasured her few glimpses of nature. One thing that I really took away from this book is how much the simple things in life matter a lot more than we give them credit for.

I am glad I read this book, but, more than that, I’m glad that Anne’s father fulfilled his daughter’s wishes and had it published. The underlying thread of the entire diary is that Anne just wanted her voice to be heard, and to be understood. She felt that she would achieve immortality through her writing, and that’s exactly what has happened.

How does a diary’s story end? Does it end with the life of the diarist, suffering of typhus in a concentration camp, in the most miserable circumstances imaginable? Or does it “end” with the wish fulfillment of its author: its publication, and the resulting touching of millions of people’s lives, and an understanding of the Holocaust in the hopes that it doesn’t happen again?

I choose to focus on the second option, looking at this as a somewhat happy ending.

I suspect Anne would, too.

The Last Lecture: Randy Pausch

I read this book this evening, and I am having a difficult time putting my response into words beyond “please read this book”.

A brilliant man in the prime of his life, with three young kids and a wife he’s crazy about, is in the business of helping students fulfill their potential and make their dreams come true. And then he finds out that his cancer that he’d thought he’d beaten has spread to his liver and he has three to six months to live.

This story sounds like it really should be a downer, and yet because it’s the voice of Randy Pausch, who chose to be a Tigger instead of an Eeyore, it isn’t.

Watch his last lecture, and then read this book — and then live a better life because you’ve done both.

Thank you, Randy.

We have BOOKS!

Thanks to the kindness of the family of girls who were also camped out, waiting for the doors to open, I literally was the first customer to cross the threshold of our brand-new Indigo bookstore this morning!

I only learned on Saturday that our store was about to open, when I asked the staff at Chapters in Fredericton. I was so excited that I actually squealed with glee, much to the embarrassment of my poor husband who was doing his best to hide.

I have been waiting ten years for this. Ten years of travelling at least an hour to another city, trying to squeeze in as much positive book energy as possible in a short, always predetermined, amount of time. I didn’t realize just how restricted I’d always been before: either going with someone else and worrying about boring them, or stopping in quickly on my way somewhere else.

This morning, I spent literally three hours in our new bookstore, and the only reason I left was because my feet were starting to hurt and my budget was limited.

Christie opened the doors with the words, “We can’t make you wait any longer!”, and at 8:57 AM, I walked in. I stepped inside and just stared. It’s so bright and beautiful, and I finally understood what they’d meant when they were talking about it being like a collection of little book shops, instead of a big box store. There are walls and arches, clearly defining the different areas. The place is huge but feels very personal.

Rika kindly took me on a tour of the store, showing me the extensive fiction area, the wonderful kids section (complete with ride-on toys for the kids), the reference, gifts, and self-help sections, and we finished off in the large U-shaped magazine area. I was just staring at it in awe when I heard my father’s voice. Great minds think alike. (He’s in this picture, at the far end, for scale.)

I think it’s safe to say I was completely blown away by the magazine section. Even now I’m having a hard time expressing it. They have both Somerset Studio and Cloth, Paper, Scissors, which makes me very happy, since I’d only been able to get them at Chapters. There are, I noted for Hubby, no less than four magazines on Scotland. They have every scrapbooking magazine I can think of, and a plethora of woodworking books for my father.

Dad and I wandered around together for a while, occasionally splitting up and then going to find the other to show something else. All in all, I think we covered just about every square inch of the place, and he was the first paying customer of the day.

After Dad left, I continued to go through on my own, my thirsty mind taking in title after title. The one thing that never hit me before is that our local Coles stores are so small, you very rarely see the actual covers. They are so cramped for space that it’s just shelves and shelves of spines. In a strange way, I felt like seeing so many book covers today was like meeting celebrities you’d only seen on television.

Knowing that I’d be like a kid in a candy store and having a really limited budget this trip, I’d made a plan in preparation for today.

I had decided that my first purchases at our Indigo were going to be meaningful ones, and last Friday, when I heard that Randy Pausch had died, I knew that his The Last Lecture would be the first book I picked up. And it was. I spotted it on my guided tour and then went back to get it, along with a very pretty little journal that called to me. Pausch’s story has hit me on a level so deeply personal that I can’t share my response to it with anyone but a journal, and so that was my plan.

The other book, I’d decided, would be one that I hadn’t read, but everyone would normally assume I had. (As someone with a BA in English, I get that a lot, actually.) I didn’t know exactly which book it would be. I only knew that I’d know it when I saw it, and, sure enough, I did: The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition by Anne Frank. I have never read Anne Frank’s famed diary, and always wanted to. After reading The Book Thief earlier this year, I made up my mind that I was going to seek it out. Today, it found me.

I rested at Starbucks for a few minutes, with a chai latté and the largest lemon cranberry muffin I’ve seen in my entire life, and then went back among the books for a last look around (for today, anyway).

Before leaving, I ran into my friend Mare, whose flight to France had been delayed by fog, and Bill M, who was coming in the door as I was heading out. Bill and I talked for a while about how great it was to finally have a place to buy books in this city, and surmised that many of our friends from school would be arriving at any minute.

I am beyond happy right now. I feel like my world is finally complete.

Today, I am going to read.

Never mind that there are 8326 things I really ought to be doing around here.  It is a rainy day, and I have a headache, and I have two books that I’ve been “reading” for months, and one book I have been waiting to get lost in.

So there. Now you know what I’m doing today.

Please do not disturb.

The New Classics: Books

From EW.com:The 100 best reads from 1983 to 2008

1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars’ Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (199
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (198
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding (199
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (198
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (199
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (198
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (198
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World’s Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (199
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (199
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (199
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (199
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators’ Ball, Connie Bruck (198
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)

Indigo Progress

As we were heading up Westmorland Road yesterday, my sister saw me pulling out my camera. I was planning on snapping a picture of the new Indigo bookstore as a way of making myself feel better that it still wasn’t open yet.

My sister is “not into books”, but has always been a good sport about taking me to Chapters when I visit her in Halifax. She knows how important this bookstore is to me, so she said, “Well, I’ll take you right into the parking lot so you can get some good pictures.” (Much better than the “drive-by shooting” I’d planned!)

(Incidentally, to those who have emailed me saying that “big box bookstores are the death of the independent bookseller”, I need to tell you something. I understand. I even agree with you, in many cases. You’ve Got Mail is even one of my top five movies. But we have no independent booksellers (save for the uptown bookstore that’s an off-shoot of the university’s bookstore) in this city and haven’t for years and years. Aside from three miniature Coles, there has been nothing! That is why I’m losing my mind over the fact that we’re getting an Indigo. So forgive me. )

Please click on the pictures below for more details.

The Sign I've Been Staring at For Months

The Store Sign is Up!

Shelving.

Inside the front window.

My Thirteen Canadian Books

Okay, I’ve gone through the 1001 List and Governor-General’s Awards and the Scotiabank Prize Winners, and thought of some Canadian authors and books I’ve always wanted to read.

This is my list of books and schedule for reading:

• July 2008: The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
• July-August 2008: The Time in Between by David Bergen
• August 2008: The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood (also on 1001 List)
• September 2008: The Life of Pi by Yann Martel (also on 1001 List)
• October 2008: The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje (also on 1001 List)
• November 2008: The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields (also on 1001 List)
• December 2008: Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam
• January 2009: Beautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen
• February 2009: Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood (also on 1001 List)
• March 2009: Runaway by Alice Munro
• April 2009: Unless by Carol Shields (also on 1001 List)
• May 2009: Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (also on 1001 List)
• June 2009: Alligator by Lisa Moore

My wanting to combine the two makes things a bit tricky, as I’m not really a fan of Margaret Atwood (although I think it has more to do with her persona than her writing, coupled with the fact I’ve taken a few Canadian Lit courses from profs who think that Atwood alone is CanLit).

All the Cool Kids Are Doing It

I’ve just stumbled across “The 2nd Canadian Book Challenge, Eh?” and I love this idea, so I’m joining in. Basically, the challenge is to read 13 Canadian books between July 1, 1008 (ie next Tuesday) and July 1, 2009.

Given that there are many Canadian books on the 1001 List, I suspect most of my selections will come from there, but there are any number of ways to choose your books. If you click the link, there are lots of suggestions.

Let’s hear it for books from our home and native land!

Crushed.

I love my little city, but for years I have been jealous of neighbouring (smaller) cities who somehow scored giant bookstores. So when it was announced that we were getting a humongous Indigo bookstore, I was shrieking with joy.

For months now, I have been stalking the construction site. It hasn’t been pretty.

On Monday, I heard a rumour that Indigo was opening today! I was so excited! I finished up my Stats assignment as quickly as I could, all the while telling myself that I could go to Indigo when I was finished.

Alas, when I got there, it was clear that it was nowhere near its opening just yet.

On the plus side, the brand-new sign said: “Indigo: Opening Summer 2008.” Well, summer starts on Friday, so maybe it’s next Wednesday?

Must keep stalking construction site…

Why the wait?

If you look in the sidebar, you’ll see that I’m not actually starting to read any of the List Books until July. The main reason for that is because I’m taking some university courses during Spring Session, and my life is a little hectic right now. But give me sixteen days (and yes, I’m counting), and I should be able to breathe again.

Before I start reading any of the List Books, I have to read The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley. I have been staring at it since March, but I haven’t had time to sit down and enjoy it. And since I really savour Susanna Kearsley’s books, I wanted to wait until I could immerse myself in it, rather than reading a few pages here and there. (That’s why my re-reading of Mariana has been taking so long. It’s an awesome book, but I can’t seem to get a moment to sit down and read it.)

What are you reading these days?