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´³²¹²õ´Ç²Ô’s comments from the Hello Hemlock! group.

Yo pals, Jess' final video is UP, and that's a wrap on As For Me and My House! Feel free to stop back here and add comments if you think of anything new, but if not, let's move on to Shani Mootoo's MOVING FORWARD SIDEWAYS LIKE A CRAB!

See you there!

Renée wrote: "One of my favourite passages: "We've all lived in a little town too long. The wilderness here makes us uneasy. I felt it the first night I walked alone along the river bank -- a queer sense of some..."

Hey Renée! You and Emily have similar (read: good!) taste in passages!

The comic you're talking about is by Kate Beaton and can be found here:


Your connection to Ondaatje is interesting to me. I love Ondaatje, and I know you're a big fan of THE ENGLISH PATIENT. I haven't thought of comparing their styles. I'll have to revisit some Ondaatje and look for similarities in style. It would be an interesting comparison. I was thinking a LOT of Martha Ostenso's WILD GEESE this time I read it. Maybe it's the Judiths. There were things that Judith said, about saving money to leave Horizon for something bigger, that reminded me of the "new woman"... but then sometimes her behavior was NOT "new womany." Can I get some opinions up in here please? Renée? Emily, you've read Wild Geese!

Ren, I like what you said about the sense of disconnect you found in the novel; I briefly touch on that in my forthcoming Hello Hemlock video! What was the reading experience like for you?

And that beautiful "false front" metaphor. Sigh sigh sigh. What a novel.

I'm so glad you loved the book! Thanks so much for reading along and commenting! <3

Emily wrote: "Jason wrote: "Ally wrote: ""The wind and the sawing eaves and the rattle of windows made the house a cell. Sometimes it's as if we had taken shelter here, sometimes as if we were at the bottom of a..."

I am so excited for you to get all geocritical with this novel, you have no idea.

Ally wrote: ""The wind and the sawing eaves and the rattle of windows made the house a cell. Sometimes it's as if we had taken shelter here, sometimes as if we were at the bottom of a deep moaning lake, We are ..."

Ally, that's so funny that you chose this passage, because I love it too. I really love the paragraph that precedes it though:

"The sand and dust drifts everywhere. It's in the food, the bedclothes, a film on the book you're reading before you can turn the page. In the morning it's half an inch deep on the window sills. Half an inch again by noon. Half an inch again by evening. It begins to make an important place for itself in the routine of the day. I watch the little drifts form. If at dusting time they're not quite high enough I'm disappointed, put off the dusting sometimes half an hour to let them grow. But if the wind has been high and they have outdrifted themselves, then I look at them incredulous, and feel a strange kind of satisfaction, as if such height were an achievement for which credit was coming to me."

One of my favourites, underlined and dog-eared in my copy from my last reading, is on page 159 of the 2008 NCL edition:

"'Religion and art,' he says, 'are almost the same thing anyway. Just different ways of taking a man out of himself, bringing him to the emotional pitch that we call ecstasy or rapture. They're both a rejection of the material, common-sense world for one that's illusory, yet somehow more important. Now it's always when a man turns away from this common-sense world around him that he begins to create, when he looks into a void, and has to give it life and form.'"

Jessica wrote: "Happy new year everyone! This month we will be reading Sinclair Ross' AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, a true #CanLit classic to kick off 2015! It should be relatively easy for people to get their hands on...."

Sinclair Ross is wonderful and this is one of my very favourite books. THRILLED to be reading it with everyone at Hello Hemlock! And Jess, Ross is one of those writers who can tell a nuanced and complex story without any of the filler. It's slim but dense. I can't wait to start talking about it!

Savanna wrote: "Hi! I'm Savanna :) My channel is The Pretentious English Major:

I read classics and literary fiction, but not exclusively. I'm interested in local (Edmonton) new work..."

WHAT. You live in Edmonton too? Bananas!

We are actually not reading anything in the month of December (to give us all a break!) but Station Eleven sounds like a very exciting selection! We haven't read anything like that, and I've been dying to read it as well! Thanks for the suggestion! We're always looking for guests for the channel! ;-)

Julie wrote: "50 books is my goal too this year!

In terms of CanLit I want to read Sweetland (Michael Crummey's newest). I also plan to check out some Ontario authors that come to various events in and around ..."

YES! I bought Crummey's Sweetland and am dying to get to it. I'm trying to get as much of my school reading done ASAP so I can enjoy the fun reading I want to do. I love Crummey and I've heard that this novel—particularly the final three pages—is his best yet! The Eliot Girls has been on my list for a while too but I don't think I'll make it this year. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it!

Can you believe I haven't read The Orenda either? God. Even after falling madly in love with Wab Kinew (he is a beautiful mind and his face and body are also kind of fantastic) I haven't gotten around to it. I was actually watching Wab Kinew's spoken word intro to Canada Reads on loop last night. Have you seen it? I tear up.

Julie wrote: "Hello! So jazzed to be joining Hello Hemlock: the goodreads group!

I live in Fort Erie, Ontario. I'm a high school teacher (yup, English). I have always loved CanLit, especially Newfoundland writ..."

Welcome, Julie! So excited to have you aboard! I can definitely understand that quick decision to move out East. I feel the same pull! My dad is from the Maritimes, but I've never been, and the more I read Maritime writers, the more I feel like I'm missing a piece of home I need to experience. Any author-stalking tips? ;-)

What did you think of June's read, THE TOWN THAT DROWNED by Riel Nason?

In her first video, Candace left some fascinating links to historical resources regarding the construction of the hydroelectric dam. Great visuals to understand the geography of the area, as well as the effect the dam had on surrounding townships.

From Candace's description:

Fredericton Region Museum - The Richard Grant Photo Collection:

Before the Dam - a collection from Flickr user Marlene Lawrence. These photos include shots of Pokiok Falls and also some images of houses burning to make way for the flood.

Stéphanie wrote: "I had a 3-hour class just on The Handmaid's Tale epilogue once.

SPOILERSSSSSSS


They were talking about the fact that in the end, we see professors talking about the cassettes they found of Offr..."

Whoa. What? That is mind-blowing! I need to revisit The Handmaid's Tale and pay attention to that. What a brilliant reading of the text! THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT! Any other awesome insights to share?!

Jessica wrote: "Jason wrote: I don't think, at that point, she intended to write The Year of the Flood of MaddAddam.

Seriously!? The ending felt like a total indication of a follow-up!"

Yeah, I remember reading that the trilogy sort of came about without being planned. I think that open-endedness is typical of Atwood, though. From what I've read of her work, there is often a lot of room to interpret or imagine. I really can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy, though! The Year of the Flood is not from Jimmy's point of view, and Jimmy, Oryx, and Crake only appear in cameo roles. Sort of like the Davies trilogy we started!

Jessica wrote: "Jason wrote: I think what makes her so great is that there is so much to think about AFTER reading her work. Unlike a novel or a writer whose work is immediately and obviously moving, I feel like A..."

When O&C was written, I think she intended it to be the only one. I don't think, at that point, she intended to write The Year of the Flood of MaddAddam.

Stéphanie wrote: "I don't know why but I think I expected more of this book. Still, very important and relevant."

I can understand what you mean! Atwood is such a big name that I think she attracts certain expectations, and one can certainly feel after reading her that there should have been more. I've had that feeling with Atwood in the past. I think what makes her so great is that there is so much to think about AFTER reading her work. Unlike a novel or a writer whose work is immediately and obviously moving, I feel like Atwood sneaks up on you a little more.

Have you read any other works by Atwood? Are there any you'd like to read in the future?

Hey Jess!
Good luck on your 50 book challenge!
I typically read 50 books per year with or without a challenge -- I keep track in a journal. This year, I haven't set a 50 book pledge OFFICIALLY, because I want to focus on reading experience more than the number of books I've read. I noticed this year that if Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ told me that I was behind on my reading goal, I would feel anxious and guilty. I didn't like that. I set my Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ goal at 20 this year because I like the way the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ challenge organizes the books you read within that year and I didn't want to lose that. I'm sure I'll be around 50 by the time the year is up, but I wanted that number to be on my own terms.

I'm interested in reading the next two books in the Davies series we started on Hello, Hemlock! I'd also like to finish the MaddAddam series by Atwood, the first of which we'll be discussing this month on Hello, Hemlock. Also wouldn't mind reading the rest of the Anne of Green Gables series!

A Series of Unfortunate Events is brilliant, especially now that I'm an older reader and reading through it again. Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) is brilliant at not writing down to children, and his references to figures in world literature is pretty fun to finally recognize. I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

What is everyone else planning to read this year?! Maybe we have some books in common!

Hey everyone!

In case you are interested, The National Post book blog, The Afterword, has recently reprinted Madeline Thien's speech from the closing banquet of the literASIAN festival just a few days ago:

While not explicitly connected to Dogs at the Perimeter, I wanted to share this! I was just made aware of this today! Madeleine Thien is this year's writer-in-residence at Simon Fraser University, and while at that post, she is working on this multimedia project in which she explores a specific neighbourhood near the campus. I'm loving the posts she has made so far - it is such an interesting project! Love her use of the tumblr platform to create works like this and the Dogs at the Perimeter project. Just wanted to share!

From On Hastings Street:

"During my time as Writer in Residence at Simon Fraser University, I want to look at a particular Vancouver: the 15 kilometre artery of Hastings that stretches from SFU Harbour Centre to SFU Burnaby Mountain. Hastings contains � architecturally, demographically, culturally, gastronomically, ephemerally, invisibly � a historical map of Vancouver. For me, as for so many others, this street also contains my personal past. Through a collaborative gathering of sound, images, video, new writing and interviews, I want to revisit the writers and thinkers I first encountered twenty years ago as a student at SFU: people like Fred Wah, Roy Miki and Daphne Marlatt. There are continuities between our work, and also ruptures.
Hastings is a “novel in stories,� a microcosm of the city that I know.

-Madeleine Thien"

Rosie (prosesroses) wrote: "Jessica wrote: "Decided to start an "off topic" or miscellaneous discussion board. This is a place we can chat about things perhaps relating to books, but not necessarily the ones we're reading/rev..."

I'd love to talk Giller books!

Emily wrote: "I found it on Amazon (US) for .01 plus 3.99 shipping. Pretty easy find but it wont arrive until next week."

Yes! This is fantastic news!

Ahead of my Hello Hemlock video, here are some reviews, videos, and other sources I found interesting:

CBC Books:

Quill and Quire:

The Globe and Mail:

Madeleine Thien interviewed at the Adelaide Festival:

Dogs at the Perimeter Tumblr: