It's still a story.

Book 21 - A book written by an author with your same initials

Medicine River by Thomas King

It is a truth not so universally known that Google is not always your friend.

I had the pleasure of discovering this truth as I sat down at this very laptop to search for an author with similar initials to my own. After much searching and little finding, I took to the book store. If there is one thing that will brighten the day, it is Chapters.

With M by my side, we headed to the "K" section of the store. Sitting three whole steps above the rest of the store, under the FICTION sign, we browsed. Not only did we find authors with the same initials, we found them in abundance.

I settled on this novel. If you hadn't already guessed, I did not know anything about this author before embarking on the journey that is his novel.

Mr. King is a Canadian author who lives not four hours from my humble abode. He is of Cherokee and Greek descent which are too areas of life that I am rather fascinated by; but that's a chat for another day.

The novel was much different from many that I have read in the past. There always seems to be a point to the novel, there is a direction that we're traveling. Throughout the novel we come across different parts of the main characters life that are carrying us to the ultimate climax, then right along to the peaceful concluding finale.

If I didn't know that the novel was a work of fiction, I would have thought it was a memoir. We didn't seem to be trying to accomplish anything from start to finish. The entire novel was a series of stories, present and past, that occurred in the life of the main character.

But maybe that's the point. The novel doesn't need to have a direction. In 249 pages we got to spend time in the life of someone very different from ourselves. After all, walking in anothers shoes is a very important journey to take in life. 

I enjoyed taking this journey, although, half way through I got a little discouraged because of the whole "no point to the story" idea. I really liked the fact that the story was set in Alberta and Toronto and that I was able to recognize some of the places they were talking about. 

It is a rather wonderful feeling of being connected to someone through the artistry that is words.

Canada, eh? this is t-bear signing off

the truth flowed freely, so did my tear ducts.

Book 20 - A book that made you cry

we were liars by e. lockhart (I'm beginning to think she has something against capital letters.)

This was one of those novels which I discovered on the Chapters website. I thought it sounded good so I bought it. I had no intention of choosing which challenge it would fall under before I had read from front cover to back.

Now I can't say very much about the novel, because it is the most important part which made me ball my eyes out. Moma was slightly concerned for about two seconds.

The novel is about a family, Sinclair to be exact. We have Granny and Grandad, who had three daughters, and then each daughter got married and had their own children. Then they got divorced, one by one.

The family spends each summer on the family island which has four houses (one for each daughter and one for the grandparents).

The Sinclair's are a family of old money, large trust funds and major pride. They have an island all to themselves every summer with a little crew to keep the yards and houses in order.

After Granny dies the three daughters begin to "sell" their oldest child as the best of the grandchildren in order to stake their place in the inheritance.

The Liars are a three of the oldest grandchildren and the nephew of one of the daughters' boyfriend. (It's really not that confusing, just think about it for a minute.) They are referred to as the "Liars" because they caused a lot of trouble as littlies. They are rather important to the story, so pay attention to them.

All was well in the lives of the Sinclair's until Summer Fifteen. That is all I can say about the story.

When I was coming to the end, I started to realize the direction in which we were headed and that's when I knew it was time to grab the facial tissue box. People, my eyes started flowing faster than a breached dam. No joke. I haven't cried while reading a novel in a long while.

It is rather a wonderful thing to have such emotion worked into a story. Whether or not I cry usually determines how fantastic the author is. Having the ability to invoke such emotion into a fictional story is a sign of a true wordscraft.

If you too have seen this novel whilst viewing the beautifulness that is the Chapters website, please take a moment to purchase it. It will definitely be worth your money. Then buy a box of facial tissues before the novel is delivered. Preparation is everything.

Chicken Tuesday just happened, this is t-bear signing off

Warn your nightmares, wait...just kidding.

Book 19 - A book based on or turned into a TV show

Hemlock Grove by Brian McGreevy

My initial idea of this novel was entirely based upon the cover and this, quite frankly, scared me a lot.

Here I was thinking I should be reading this novel for the "A book that scares you" challenge instead. (BTW, I'm still looking for ideas on that one so please suggest. Nothing too scary, I still want to be able to sleep at night.)

After a perusal of the first 50 pages I realized that there was nothing horror film about this novel. I was rather excited about this prospect.

As I was reading, I was also watching episodes of Arrow (specifically season 2, episodes 9 and 10). There were a few moments during the novel where I had to sit myself down and mentally separate the two story lines. I'm not even really sure that I was ever able to successfully do that. 

I sort of lost my place somewhere in the middle, but I found my way back. (That's a movie quote by the way. If you don't know it, I'm appalled.)

I finished Part 1, only to discover that I was sitting in an aura of questions. So much had happened that was just hanging around unanswered. I absolutely love these kinds of novel, but I wasn't prepared for it at first because it has been quite some time since I last read one. With a large amount of patience and some faster reading, I arrived at the end of the story without any questions and loads of spectacular fictional things running through my mind. This may have partly been to blame for my initial lack of sleep last night. I did finish the novel at 10:42 which is rather far past my bedtime.

I haven't yet ventured into the television world that is Hemlock Grove, so please don't ask me if it is better than the novel. In any case, if you know me at all, I will always choose the novel over the screen production. Unless we're talking about The Notebook, that movie was better than the book.

If you are one of those sort who enjoy werewolves and all manner of supernatural beings, please take an hour or two or seven to read this novel; you will enjoy such word ordering. (That is to say, the way in which all the words are ordered to create something so spectacular that I now feel I need to recover before picking up another book. Too bad my soul isn't listening to the pathetic attempt by my brain, it just loves reading so much!)

For those of you who have seen the television show, let me know how it is. You've heard my telling of the novel, now let's compare notes. 

Travel friends, travel, this is t-bear signing off

To catch a big one...

Book 18 - A Pulitzer Prize-winning book

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway 

One could say that this book and I had sort of a blind date. I had never heard of this novel before embarking on the task of finding a Pulitzer Prize-winner that I would enjoy. I had also never read a book written by Mr. Hemingway. The entire idea of Book 18 was indeed a mystery.

If you know me well enough, you will note that I rather detest a pause of reading when there is no chapter, part or section to stop at. I enjoy the ability to read till the next chapter and then stop, knowing that I won't be at all confused when I return to the novel, because I am ready to start a new part of the story. Novels that aren't separated in such a way force the reader to stop reading in the middle of a page or even at the end of a sentence.

To my delight, the novel was such an easy, flowy read that I was able to read it in the span of one day. 

I awoke at 6:23am and proceeded to prepare myself for a trip into town for my 7am chiropractor appointment. Whilst sitting in the waiting room, I began to read the novel. About 6 pages in, I was interrupted and forced to pause my reading. 

That same day, I sat down with my lunch in hand and began to read. I was again interrupted by the call of 1pm when I had reached 53 pages. 

To my delight, with supper finished, I was able to retire to my bedroom to finish the remainder of the novel. 

Throughout the entire story, I kept thinking that there was a metaphor there. I would eventually come across some part of the story that would just about blow my mind to bits. 

I arrived at the end of the story to discover that I had either not looked hard enough for the metaphor, or had been looking too hard and had completely missed it. 

As the title suggests, this novel is about an old man and...wait for it...the sea. 

The old man is a fisherman who hasn't caught a since fish in eighty-four days. He is determined that the eighty-fifth day is going to be the day he catches a big one. Rowing out much farther than most fishermen dare, and casting his lines, the old man begins a journey that will involve days of being pulled across the ocean by a marlin only to end the story wishing he had never caught the marlin in the first place. 

There is a great deal of strength and self-encouragement in the old man's heart; these both lead him to make the great catch. 

I would deem this sort of story to be one of those feel-good, inspirational sorts. Even when faced with a task that appeared impossible, the old man pushed on.

This novel is a simple read, and a very entertaining piece of literature. I believe I would rather enjoy reading more of Mr. Hemingway's novels. I suppose only time will tell.

Happy Moma's Day! this is t-bear signing off

Adventures in Crazyland

Book 17 - A book more than 100 years old

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

I must mention that these are technically two different stories, but finding themselves contained between the same covers, I chose to continue reading rather than leave out part of Alice's life. Therefore, for the remainer of our time together today, they will be referred to as a novel rather than novels.

Living in a world where Disney exists, I had never known the true story of Alice until I read this novel. I was always under the impression that the friends Alice meets in Wonderland were a little bit odd, but reading the novel made me realize that they are actually completely crazy. As I kept reading and continued to meet more and more crazy characters, I started to wonder if Lewis had accepted a challenge wherein he was to create the craziest story ever written. Alas, it was but a dream, or was it...

I came upon many events during the course of the novel which made me put the book down and ask myself if there was any bit of sense in the paragraph I just read. Nine times out of ten, there not a bit of sense to be had. 

I tried with all my might to follow the tales told in poem form. Those were the most unsensical of the bunch!

As I came upon the end of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland I thought back. Although dear Tim Burton did a fantastic job on his version of the story, he still left out many parts of the original which could have easily been added. However, I do understand how little they add to the storyline. 

There was one chapter where I completely lost my mind. All of a sudden there was a gryphon in the story and I didn't remember meeting him before. He just kind of showed up and then spent some time with Alice and continued on his merry way. I remember coming to the end of the chapter and thinking "where did the gryphon come from? Was he there the whole time?" Evidently so, he was a large part of that chapter. I, however, was not.

We arrive at the end of the novel, unsure as to whether or not Alice has dreamt the entire adventure or if she is really just as crazy as the rest of the characters. 

The beginning of each story is made to sound like she has become part of the adventure and is entirely not dreaming, but once you arrive at the end, it is as if she has awoken from a dream and therefore, dreamt the whole affair. I suppose that is the way of dreams though. If you have ever watched the movie Inception then you will begin to see how Alice could very well have been dreaming. She doesn't remember how the dream began, and she has no idea how she got to be where she is. This is the way with dreams. They just sort of begin where they will, it is only the end which we are rather attentive for. 

I'm not sure if I am better off having read this novel or not. I don't feel like it has helped me grow in anyway. I am rather more perplexed about the whole idea than I was before I began. I might just stick with the movie versions from hereon out.

Beware the Jabberwocky, this is t-bear signing off

The 3 I's

Book 16 - A memoir

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Now, I'm sure you already know this, but I am primarily a fan of fiction. However, mere hours after picking up this novel, I realized that I could, in fact, love a novel which is not of the fictional sort.

Not to my dismay, I observed the events which happened in the novel with much respect and adornment.

One thing I have always loved to do is travel. This novel is all about Liz Gilbert finding herself through a year of travelling.

Now I realize that all of the things that Liz went through which brought her to the point in her life where she felt she needed to leave her whole life behind and find herself; are not even remotely similar to the issues which would ever drive me to leave my well-grounded home life. Alas, there is a sort of excellentness in the idea that there is more of you out there somewhere, just waiting to be found.

One day, I will travel the globe. Don't worry, I'll take you with me. Although, I feel this blog may not be the way you would wish to travel with me. We'll just have to make it work.

In other news, if you have read this book, written by my new friend, Liz; then you are well aware of the spectacular nature in which she relates her journey through storytelling. I am pleased to say that many times during the travel from front cover to back cover, I created a large amount of respect for dear Liz. She was not only searching for herself, she was finding it.

Liz starts out her story lying on a bathroom floor, wondering where it all went wrong. She then proceeds to take every ounce of strength she has and throw it at the challenge of figuring out how to fix her soul. She is not searching for who she was when things were good, she is looking for who she can be because of everything she has experienced. I quite envy Liz. Not for the pain which she wholeheartedly suffered, but for the way that she was able to calm herself down and get her life in order.

Liz finds pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and balance in Indonesian. Staying in each country for four months, making new friends in every place, and learning brand new things about her soul the entire way through it.

There were many moments during the book where I had to stop myself and remember that this is truly a memoir and not a fictional story. The way in which Liz writes one can easily believe that what is happening is a work of fiction and not a real human life. This is not a bad thing, I found the story much easier to follow with Liz's ability to laugh at her embarrassments and cry at her painfulness. She is truly a role model for lives that have strayed.

I shall definitely be keeping this novel on my shelf, just in case the day comes where I need to do some soul searching of my own.

Peace is a large part of it, this is t-bear signing off