UBC Summer Book Bucket

Krissy Darch

2009-05-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

List of recent reads

1. The Tao Te Ching, translated by Stephen Mitchell
- It has a really good introduction that gives context to the text,
Lao-tzu, and to the translator's relationship to text. It's a
beautiful translation and has interesting notes at the end. This guy
apparently also translated a lot of Rainer Maria Rilke's poetry. The
text itself is as close to a guidebook to how I'd like to exist in
this world as anything I could imagine. I read this in one go just
over a week ago and afterwards just lied on some pillows on the floor
so blissed out all I could do was curl and uncurl my toes.

"We shape clay into a pot,
But it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want."

2. No One Belongs Here More Than You, Stories by Miranda July
- Well, online it says, "Fans of Lorrie Moore should rub this book all
over themselves." I've never read Lorrie Moore and I still want to
rub this book all over myself. And you. There's this one short story
(I just moved and can't find the book anywhere or I'd tell you the
title) about a young woman who starts working peep shows when her
girlfriend abandons her and it was just amazing. I would make
photocopies for all of you if I had money for my copy account. So go
read it standing in Chapters. Shouldn't take that long.

3. Two, by Marguerite Duras
- Two lovely short prose pieces that don't blur the line between fiction
and non-fiction because they don't even recognize the line to be there
in the first place. The pieces are The Slut of Normandy Coast and
Atlantic Man. Very compelling and strange and simple. Following the
stories is an interview with Duras where she talks about the writing
of The Lover- how she didn't plan anything, and that it was her
attempt to free herself from literature through literature.

4. Short Talks by Anne Carson
- Freaking amazing lyric poetry. I think that's what it's called- I
don't know anything about poetry- but this is just really powerful and
makes my mind hum and is full of all kinds of weird, synaesthetic
impressions and metaphors that are like a big punch in the face.
Apparently they were all written as accompanying texts for her
paintings, and then she brought them all together into this
collection.

5. a live journal under the name girlandagun, called transtextual transylvania
- the recent entry- a totally relentless narrative of a harrowing last
couple of years in a young American woman's life.
http://girlandagun.livejournal.com/

and I'm sneaking in one more...a fascinating livejournal by a young
Canadian woman who has recently undergone a male to female sex change.

http://splinterjete.livejournal.com/16738.html

Most influential :

1. Coming Through Slaughter, by Michael Ondaatje
- The book, chosen randomly for an alternative ed english program, that
made a fifteen-year-old-high-school-drop-out me decide I might go back
to school, if it meant reading books like this. I could say it's a
speculative fiction about New Orleans saxophone player Buddy Bolden
and the strange photographer Bellocq who would photograph prostitutes
then take the photographs and scratch out their faces, but it was the
writing, just the writing, that I loved. I barely even remember what
it was about.

2. The Tracey Fragments, by Maureen Medved.
- Reached right into my guts, pulled them out, and flung them over the stars.

3. The Lover, by Marguerite Duras
- Just incredibly beautiful...a true story that transcends memoir and
autobiography- about the search for desire, and the power dynamics in
a sexual relationship between a 15 year old french expat girl and a
Chinese millionaire in colonial Saigon. Fragments woven together with
a dream-like logic that reads like music.

4. The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, by Ayi Kwei Armah
- A book I wish I could strap everyone down in a chair and force to
read, Clockwork Orange style. Written in the seventies by a young
Ghanaian man about post-colonial Ghana shortly after independence in
1956. One of the most powerful, telling, profound books not just
coming out of West Africa but about West Africa, period. It should be
on all high school curriculum. Everybody should read this book.

5. Okay...anything by Jeanette Winterson
(and Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes)

Gabrielle Pope

2009-05-04T14:56:00.000-07:00

Of Late:

Salvage King, Ya! By Mark Anthony Jarman
- Jarman is a genius, plus the protagonist’s a hockey player

Sympathy By Dede Crane

George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking
- Failing understanding the universe enough after reading “The Universe in a Nutshell” to converse with my astro-physicist sister, I turned instead to this hilarious book and I now kind of understand what a black hole is. Also, George’s parents are hippies who make him eat lentil loaf wrapped in kale. Maybe my sister will collaborate with me on a book like this someday.

The Crackwalker by Judith Thompson (a stage play)

The World by Jan Morris
- I found a whole bookshelf dedicated to Morris in my parents house and this one is so fascinating…it’s history, travel writing, drama and tragedy, all in stunning prose.

All Time

I’m pretty sure these aren’t my favourite 5 of all time but if I really tried to figure out which are it would probably take me a year to make an exhaustive decision. I tried to focus on Can-Lit a bit too…

The Unicorn by Iris Murdoch
- I’ve read many of Murdoch’s novels and I’m not sure why this one had me so mesmerized. But don’t read this expecting unicorns…the title is a metaphor! Cruel!

The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch
- I couldn’t decide between the two. Philosopher’s Pupil is a runner up too!

Cargo of Orchids by Susan Musgrave

Sointula by Bill Gaston

Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie

Christine Leclerc

2009-04-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

Top recent:

The Anatomy of Story by John Truby

Who Opens by Jesse Seldless

Top five all time:
Hooked On Growth by Douglas E. Booth

Briefing for a Descent Into Hell by Doris Lessing

The Baron In the Trees by Italo Calvino

"Lemonade" by Timothy Findley

The Unspoken a film directed by the guy who did The Basketball Diaries... not sure if it was ever released, so I probably shouldn't put it on my list, but it affected me so deeply I can't resist.

Each of the above works changed my life forever.

Larissa Buijs

2009-04-10T10:48:00.000-07:00

Top five right now:

The Glass Castle – Jeannette Walls. An amazing memoir about a girl who survives supremely irresponsible parents.

The Journalist and the Murderer – Janet Malcolm. A close look at a lawsuit regarding journalists’ conduct with interview subjects. A must-read for any journalism or non-fiction student.

The New New Journalism – Robert S. Boynton. A great set of interviews with whacked-out writers. Inspiring and terrifying.

What It Feels Like for a Girl – Jennica Harper. Wonderful contemporary poetry.

A Complicated Kindness – Miriam Toews. Okay, so I read it awhile ago, but it’s still on my mind. In a good way.

Top five all time:

The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho. Classic fable about following your dreams.

By The River Piedra, I Sat Down And Wept – Paulo Coelho. Same as above, but sort of a women’s version.

Into The Wild – Jon Krakauer. NF story about an idealistic young man. Brilliantly researched and humbly written. Krakauer is a god.

Life of Pi – Yann Martel. Nobody mentioned this yet. A true work of art.

Empty (lyrics) – Ray LaMontagne. The guy is brilliant, and because I just took a lyric class this deserves mention. I can’t live without LaMontagne.

Dan Schwartz

2009-04-06T18:54:00.001-07:00

1. Roberto Bolano - 2666

900 page epic about killings in Mexico. Amazing.

2. Jorge Luis Borges - Labyrinths

collection of Borges stories, it is great

3. Sherwood Anderson - Winesburg, Ohio

good book of stories about American problems

4. Alice Munro - Runaway

finally got around to reading it, as good as said

5. Bryan Lee O'Malley - Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe

c'mon, it's scott pilgrim

Top Five Books of All Time: (at least for now)

1. Julio Cortazar - Blow-Up and Other Stories

it's so good

2. Raymond Carver - Will You Please Be Quiet Please?

again, it's so good

3. Eudora Welty - The Golden Apples

i am amazed by it, and still don't understand most of it

4. Franz Kafka - The Metamorphosis

i mean talk about things that are great

5. Raymond Chandler - Farewell, My Lovely

one of my favorite authors

And Now a Word From Our Sponsors (Not Really)

2009-04-06T12:18:00.000-07:00

Watch this! Get inspired!
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

Elizabeth Ross

2009-04-06T08:53:00.000-07:00

My Current Top Fives Are:

Mortal Arguments - Sue Sinclair
Intuition and such beauty. How does she do this?

Short Haul Engine - Karen Solie
Kind of in the same realm as Home of Sudden Service to me.

Mean Boy - Lynn Coady
A novel about creative writing workshops. Need I say more?

Kingdom, Phylum - Adam Dickinson
I feel like a lobotomy victim as I read this, but in a good way.

Dance of the Happy Shades (Collected stories) - Alice Munro
All hail.

Steadfast 5's:

Home of Sudden Service - Elizabeth Bachinsky
So damn good, it's the book of poems I wished I'd written.

Another Gravity - Don McKay
Funny, clever, musical, parataxis to a tee!

Dream Work - Mary Oliver
Heartbreakingly sad and smart poetry.

The Gold Cell - Sharon Olds
Drop-kick-to-the-gut poetry.

To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf
I'm obsessed with the ending. Someone help me.

Dina Del Bucchia

2009-04-06T08:41:00.000-07:00

Books of the now:

(Almost all of these are brand new and available at your favourite local bookstore. That bookstore is Duthie Books. Please don't put me out of a job. Stupid Amazon.)

1. Lark and Termite - Jayne Anne Phillips
Gah. Gorgeous.

2. The Women - TC Boyle
Outrageous ladies in love with an eccentric architect.

3. The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery
The original title of the translation of this french novel was Welcome to Awesometown.

4. Don't Cry - Mary Gaitskill
Dark stellar stories.

5. Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion and Jewelry - Leanne Shapton
A fake auction novel. You read that right.

Books of All Time

1. Beautiful Losers - Leonard Cohen
Hilarious, sexy, startling, gritty, experimental Canadian fiction. Also, the author is super hot.

2. The Favourite Game - Leonard Cohen
What? I can't have two books by the same author on my list? Suck it jerks.

3. What's Not to Love? The Adventures of Mildly Perverted Young Writer - Jonathan Ames
Obvious. Next.

4. Drop City - TC Boyle
Hippies falling apart everywhere.

5. Pastoralia - George Saunders
Will break your heart and send beer flying out of your nostrils.

Special Bonus Title (with chocolate sauce):
Elementary Particles - Michel Houellebecq
-Seriously, why have you all not read this? Don't talk back.

John Mavin

2009-04-04T10:39:00.000-07:00

Top Five Books of the Moment:

1. Cory Doctorow – Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom
People living in Disney World – what’s not to like?

2. Tim Winton – Cloudstreet
good and gritty Australian writing

3. Keri Hulme – The Bone People
set in New Zealand – hey , I used to live there

4. Alistair MacLeod – No Great Mischief
been to most of these places – love the writing

5. Lori Lansens – Rush Home Road
keeping up with the geography thing – this is where I grew up

Top Five Books of All Time:

1. David Mitchell – Cloud Atlas
the most meticulously-crafted structure I’ve ever seen

2. John Fowles – The Collector
flipping POVs, utterly creepy

3. Tennessee Williams – The Glass Menagerie
the first time I read this play, my reaction was "holy crap!"

4. Edward Albee – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
time to go to the euphemism (read the play, it’ll make sense)

5. Vladimir Nabokov – Lolita
one of the all-time most unreliable narrators

(and because Rachel said Nabokov, too:)
6. Margaret Atwood – The Handmaid’s Tale
well written SF -- 'nough said

Roger Pylypa

2009-04-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

Top Five Recent Books

1. Oryx and Crake – Margaret Atwood.

Hybrid futuristic chemically-induced world.

2. The Flying Troutmans – Miriam Toews.

F’ing funny roadtrip.

3. Kira Kira – Cynthia Kadohara.

Children’s fiction.

4. Long Path to Freedom – Nelson Mandela.

5. Godel, Escher, Bach – Douglas Hofstadter.

Just read the easy parts if you like.

Rachel Knudsen

2009-04-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

Top Five Books of the Moment:

1. Eden Robinson - Monkey Beach

2. Flannery O'Connor - A Good Man is Hard To Find

3. Lynn Coady - Play the Monster Blind

4. Richard Ford - Rock Springs
Empire is the best short story ever. Well, not really. But maybe almost.

5. Nancy Lee - Dead Girls
Had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. Heartbreaking.

Top Five Books of All Time:
1. Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita

2. Bill Gaston - Deep Cove Stories
Gaston taught me that bizarre, psychedelic writing is kosher in Can Lit.

3. Edith Wharton - House of Mirth

4. Kurt Vonnegut - Breakfast of Champions

5. Walt Whitman - Leaves of Grass

Michelle Miller

2009-04-02T17:49:00.001-07:00

Top Five Books of the Moment:

1. Lisa Moore - Alligator

2. Andrew Kaufman - All My Friends Are Superheroes
Because you know what? Reading should be fun.

3. Lynn Coady - Mean Boy

4. Alison Bechdel - Fun Home
Oh man, because comics can totally be tragic and funny and depressing.

5. Anne Carson - The Beauty of the Husband

Top Five Books of All Time:

1. Margaret Laurence - The Diviners

2. Judy Blume - Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
I spent my childhood wishing for a Sylvia Simon.

3. Tom Robbins - Another Roadside Attraction

4. Marilyn French - The Women's Room
Feminism is sexy. It is.

5.Margaret Atwood - The Robber Bride
So are women with complex relationships.