The KIRBC continued its apartment hopping this meeting, enjoying its first downtown location since its inception in Toronto. The meeting was otherwise notable for homemade guacamole (bonus points to Mr. Ron Nurwisah as host), its largest head count to date (with 13 pariticpants), another awesome book swap (I was VERY jazzed to take home a copy of Jennette Walls’ Half Broke Horses since like most people, I loved The Glass Castle) an unplanned simul-reco for the first time ever, amazing Sangria (more bonus points from KIRBC newcomer Trish), a first (and surprise) appearance of KIRBC’s former Polkaroo, Erin Balser, and lots and lots of yelling (partially resulting from the aforementioned Balser appearance and also the aforementioned Sangria).
So without further delay, the new group of titles to be inducted into the KIRBC hall of fame (Also, let me apologize in advance for butchering your brilliant pitches with my inadequate point-form notes):
Nic — The Fugitive, Massimo Carlotto
- a tale about a man on the run (who is NOT Harrison Ford) and not so much shooting and running but about living on the run “meals he made, disguises he wore”
- “it’s about a fat guy”
- Nic calls it “Mediterranean noir, but admits, “I don’t know what that means.” Mark helps out: “Sun-drenched noir.”
- Italian translation
- nicely designed book published by Europa
- “Unlike anything I’ve ever read before”
Chloe – Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie
- classic Canadiana
- Native American writer
- about Thomas’ life with bullies that beat him up all the time, but he finds himself forming a touring band with these guys
- Nic on buying the book for Chloe: “Chloe likes blue. She has reservations sometimes.”
Erin — Mercury by Hope Larson
- graphic novel
- her partner is Bryan Lee O’Malley (of Scott Pilgrim fame), but with books like this she’s earned her own reputation
- about two generations of families in rural Nova Scotia
- two teenage girls, mysterious jewelery
- a really nice representation of Nova Scotia
- Larson’s strongest book yet!
Tennile — Island Beneath the Sea by Isabelle Allende
- the book she was reading when she got engaged: “You could too!”
- traces the movement from slavery to freedom in a way that resists easy categorizations of good guys and baddies
- well-rounded slippery people that you can never have pegged
- features a crazy taboo that may or may not be incest (this starts off an incest discussion that will rear its head throughout the evening)
Tennile also brought us: The Curious Garden — Peter Brown
- a delightful picture book about being earthy and enjoying your garden
- a curious garden appears in a city and it takes over the whole city
- T: “It makes me want to have children” B: “Then I don’t want to read it!”
Bronwyn — Dream Boy by Jim Grimsley
- the only piece of contemporary fiction B studied during her BA
- southern gothic literature
- about a boy who moves around a lot, then finally settles in a small town and strikes up a romance — but don’t think this is a sweet little story
- lots of violence and rape and Nic calls out the “sexy interfamily stuff”
- a really great violent ending
- simple, elegant tale, no excesses of plot or emotion
This leads to Nic and Erin fleshing out their “Canadian novel #1″ which features:
- isolation
- incest
- disease and/ or hardship
- proposed titles: “The Curious Sister,” or throwing in some inter-species relations, “Brother Bear”
Julia — Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka
- YA book from Orca about three teenage girls in a polygamous community like the one in Bountiful, BC — one is complacent, one is rebelling against the lifestyle, and one is a sex worker trying to turn her life around in the community
- suitable for an adult audience
- author was actually in a polygamist cult
[Ed. Note: After excitedly (and repeatedly) exclaiming "It's like Big Love -- in a book!" Julia leant me the book, which I started this morning. I did not hear a single subway stop announcement between Bay and Main St. stations! Thanks, Julia!]
Ron — The Colossus of New York by Colson Whitehead
- prose poems/essays about places and things in New York
- like reading the opening sequence from Woody Allen’s Manhattan in 13 different ways
Ron also went to bat for Colson Whitehead’s Sag Harbor
- black upper class children of lawyers and doctors in the 1980s (soooo . . .basically the Huxtable family)
- girls at IFOA had a crush on him Whitehead. swooning ensued. [Author photo is examined and he is declared legitimately swoon-worthy]
- he’s on twitter and he’s really funny.
- and lastly the sweet refrain that sells many a book for me: “also it’s short”
Michelle and Jen [Our first unplanned double-reco!] Heaven is Small by Emily Schultz
- a reco resulting from last KIRBC’s inaugural book swap
- a smart, funny, tightly written satire about a man who dies without even knowing it (Tennile: “I wonder if that happens all the time. I totally probably am dead”)
- there was a dramatic reading where I made Michelle read all the parts involving penises and bodily fluids (she’s never going to read with me again)
- for more info on this stellar book, check out my review. You can also chat about it with Michelle and/or with Emily herself at this weekend’s Holy Oaks Book Club!
Calvin: Blind Descent: The Quest to Discover the Deepest Place on Earth by James M. Tabor
- Not a 1970s porno, though there is sex 3,000 feet into Earth
- this is when the yelling really reaches a fever pitch, mostly because Balser and I love adventure tales and tend to get yelly about them.
- about extreme cave divers
- more intense than climbing of a mountain, with risks of MICROBE DEATH!!, SUDDEN DROPS!, PITCH BLACKNESS!
- almost as extreme as going into outer space
- Calvin notes, “I got vertigo reading this book” and that it’s so intense he has to take breaks from reading it.
[Ed. Note: I NEED TO READ THIS BOOK IMMEDIATELY! I may never have been this excited about a KIRBC reco.]
And the second part of Calvin’s bookish double-fisting: Black Alley by Mauricio Segura
- CanLit novel about urban gangs Latino gang and Haitian gang in Montreal
- they grow up together and then they end up as rivals
- short but dense controversial 1st novel
Loretta — Walks with Men by Ann Beattie
- the perfect urban novella
- lunges into this woman’s life in such a forceful and wonderful way”
- about an honest old man who is willing to betray his gender to tell a young woman everything she wants to know so she can stop making mistakes (unfortunately he’s full of shit)
- she does all the things that you kind of want to do but would never actually do
Mark — The Pregnant Widow by Martin Amis
- promises to piss off all feminists [B. raises her hand: "YUP!" -- read more about it with this month's Eye Weekly Book Club discussion]
- 1970s Italy, rich English ex pats just fucking around (literally)
- protagonist basically = Martin Amis
- women’s bodies, sex, relationships, the sexual revolution as a backdrop
- the guy is short, which leads to the question: How tall is Martin Amis? (answer 5’6″)
- no actual sex — 400 pages of dirty talk and no actual story
- Calvin hated it.
Trish — The Lesser Blessed by Richard Van Camp
- The Catcher in the Rye meets The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao meets Through Black Spruce
- story of a First Nations young man hallucinating his life and his coming of age
- it’s short!
And a 2nd pick for Trish on her first appearance: Making Light of Tragedy by Jessica Grant
- the superb Jessica Grant’s short story collection [Another one that's climbing it's way up my TBR list because I adored Come, Thou Tortoise]
- similar touch of whimsy as Tortoise, using fun ways to describe mundane things
- more socially awkward characters
- Erin questions, Are there question marks. [I didn't hear an answer]
And so, as with any great KIRBC, I have a ton of new books jostling for position on the TBR list, but perhaps more from this one than ever before. You’ll undoubtedly see more of them as they pop up in reviews and Books in 140 Seconds videos. Thanks to everyone for coming out, and to Ron for hosting a great get together. For people who missed out on the goodness this time, the next KIRBC will probably run the first week of August! Stay tuned.
Damn! 36 holds on 4 copies of Blind Descent that have not even been received yet at TPL. This leads me to believe that everyone in KIRBC requested this book. Twice.
Holy moly, the only one I’d heard of aside from the Heaven is Small one you recently reviewed was Jessica Grant’s!
What struck me most is how much fun you guys have. Even in your point form, I can hear all the laughter! Sounds like such a great time.
Trish, I tried to put it on hold too! But I got rejected for some reason — I think I’m in trouble with the TPL! I might “cave” and buy this one (hahaha – yes!).
And yes, Steph, great times and lots of laughs. I’m glad I can get ANYTHING across in these notes, because I’m usually too busy talking or too rapt to take decent notes! Hopefully you’ll get a taste of it sometime, either at ours or with your own chapter (or both)!
I’m glad you give me credit for the yelling. Because the only thing that brings yelling more than me are ADVENTURE STORIES.
TPL will not let you put holds on stuff if you have fines…the BASTARDS. New rule. I literally had to shell out $27.50 today to get my privileges back.
Also thank you Nic for “sexy interfamily stuff”.
Ron was a great host!
I don’t mind hosting sometime, FYI, if you want another dt location. I’m right around the corner from Ron.
I, too, am willing to host. If only to increase the likelihood of me actually attending!
I am also willing to host! :)
No Erin, the only thing that brings more yelling from you is Ron Artest hitting a clutch three with three minutes left in the fourth quarter of a game 7.
Tennile got engaged, a book about Nova Scotia AND sangria!!! I missed an awesome KIRBC meeting. I promise (cross my heart) that I’ll be at the next one!!! Great recommendations everyone :)
I can lend out Blind Descent at the next meeting … to the highest bidder? And here’s my interview with the author http://bit.ly/acmQJV
Ron: OH MY GOD I HATE RON ARTEST AND HIS STEALTHY CLUTCH WAYS.
I finally figured it out – The Blind Widow is about the death of romantic love. Duh!
Also, I’m going to grab a copy of Come, Thou Tortoise as soon as possible.
Calvin, your interview was great. I’m sharing the link on Facebook.
[...] who follow the blog regularly will know how excited I am to have my mitts on this gem after it was recommended at our last KIRBC. No doubt I’ll be reporting back on this one [...]
[...] to KIRBCer Calvin for recommending Blind Descent (and to KIRBCer Ron for hooking up an adventure-lit junkie). For more extreme caving info, read [...]
[...] Books in 140 Seconds: Come, Thou Tortoise KIRBC Meeting Notes for June 17, 2010 [...]