The Magician is the second book in the series “The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel” and I like it a lot.
The first book The Alchemyst introduces readers to the legend of Nicholas Flamel.
Flamel was born in Paris on September 28, 1330. He is acknowledged as the greatest alchemyst of his day and it is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life.
My Harry Potter friends will know about him and the Philosopher’s Stone.
The records show that he died in 1418 but his tomb is empty.
The legend is that he lives on by making the elixir of life and that the secret of eternal life is hidden within a book that he protects called the Book of Abraham the Mage.
Michael Scott’s series is based on this part of the legend--that the book, in the wrong hands, will destroy the world.
The Magician, Dr. John Dee, plans to steal the book and bring about its prophecy. The Alchemyst, Nicholas Flamel, must protect the book and the good side of the prophecy, which is that twins--Sophie and Josh Newman (regular kids) are the only hope.
The Twins have powers that can be awakened and if they stay on the right side of the battle, they can save the world from the Dark Elders.
I know in writing it seems flaky, but it’s a great, page-turning adventure. I like these fantasy books that are based in reality but have a side of reality that we just don’t see or understand. We ignore magic because it’s just not sensible.
Over at MyNameIsKate.ca I read about a book meme to write about the book you’re reading now and to quote page 123.
The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson is the book I’m reading right now. It’s one of my favourite books this year. I know I should have read this as a hardcover so that I could enjoy the full visual appeal of the book. Although as a paperback, it’s pretty damn good. The cover is like a chocolate brown Moleskine with a belly band (which is a paper banner that wraps around the belly of the book). In this case it’s part of the cover image. Really the design details are wonderful, which is no surprise because CS Richardson is a well-regarded book designer.
The quality doesn’t stop at the design, the writing is worthy of such a great package.
The End of the Alphabet is one of my favourites because it has that level of quirkiness that borders on magical realism but is certainly realism. In this case Ambrose Zephyr is diagnosed with an incurable and untreatable disease. He has 30 days, give or take a day, to put his affairs in order. He makes a list A-Z of places and things he’d like to do before he kicks off.
On page 123, his wife Zipper Ashkenazi is waiting for her husband to have his shirts fitted at the tailoring shop of Mr. Umtata.
A fresh shirt was unwrapped. Ambrose strained out a smile as he dressed.
A miracle, Umtata. As always.
As you say sir.
A bit loose across the shoulders though.
Indeed sire. Shall we check the fit?
With that Mr Umtata took Ambrose Zephyr in his arms. Allow me the lead sir, he whispered.
The men dipped. Deeply, expertly.
Zipper Ashkenazi laughed out loud. For the first time in days.
This Sunday was the 2008 AGM for the Association of Canadian Publishers. I moderated the first professional development session of the day, which was a panel discussion on online marketing.
Rick Wilks, co-founder and director of Annick Press
There were several interesting sites mentioned in the session that I’ll post here for audience members interested in following-up on those discussions. I plan to post some notes about our session too.
Annick Press Livebrary Blog: A great resources for publishers, educators, librarians and anyone interested in what’s happening online in children’s publishing.
Emarketing101.ca: A fantastic source of information on search marketing, pay-per-click campaigns, search engine optimization and anything related to search--the most cost effective online marketing spend.
SeenReading.com: Julie Wilson, also of House of Anansi, keeps a blog that is a perfect example of how to play with books and the web. Simple. Engaging. One of my favourite web sites.
MyNameIsKate.ca: Marketing and Technology Consultant Kate Trgovac’s personal blog, which is a hotbed of links and brilliant posts on marketing and technology.
W8NC is a Canadian marketing and communications company specializing in emerging technology.President is Wayne MacPhail.
OneDegree.ca: The best and most interesting source of marketing news, case studies and interviews related to marketing in Canada.
HorsePigCow.com: A marketing blog for those who see the online world as a place for creativity, community, conversation and collaboration. This girl has it together. Another of my daily blog reads.
The Man Who Forgot How to Read: A Memoir by Howard Engel is not a literary masterpiece but it is a masterful work. Howard Engel, author of the Benny Cooperman detective novels, woke up one day and discovered that he could not read the newspaper. Not the newspaper, books, street signs, any written text. In the night he suffered a stroke that affected the part of his brain responsible for reading. He could write but could not read.
The Man Who Forgot How to Read is Engel’s story of his struggle to regain reading, from the day of the stroke to the day of the manuscript completion that is this memoir. I say it isn’t a literary masterpiece because compared to something like Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ memoirs, this is plain writing. It’s not literary writing that flows into the memoir. It’s the straightforward story of a man who lost a significant part of his identity over night. An author who cannot read.
I do think it is a masterful work regardless. The incredible journey Engel takes in order to read and write and complete not just this manuscript but a new Benny Cooperman novel is worth recognition. Oliver Sacks, who writes the afterword, thinks it’s remarkable as well.
I just finished reading The Good Lie by Don Bailey, novelist and coordinator of the Professional Writing Cooperative Education Program at the University of Victoria. Don is a great self-promoter and initially contacted me in October last year before my trip to Malta. We have some mutual friends, including novelist and editor Wayne Tefs.
Because of Don’s position in the literary community, I felt the urge to give this novel a rather academic reading. But I fought that urge and instead enjoyed it as a novel rather than as a literary exercise. What I like about the book most is that the ending is not the ending I expected.
The novel starts plainly enough. Paul is on a kayak trip, the last in a series of lessons. He and another guest become separated from the group during the foggy return trip. There is a boat that topples them into the water, some panic, and other drama, all of which results in the other guest going into a coma and Paul being investigated as part of a lawsuit.
The quote at the beginning of the book, by Ben Stillwell, Paul’s lawyer, sums up the main thread of the novel: “In this profession you see everything. The thieves, the cokeheads, the pimps and prostitutes--of course they lie. Everybody expects them to lie. But sometimes, the good lie, too.”
This is exactly what Paul does. He lies about Jenny, the other guest, panicking and nearly drowning him. He lies about knocking her off him with his paddle, which likely resulted in her coma. He lies to his wife about the sense of fear and threat he feels about the pending lawsuit. It’s a book of lies.
Normally Paul isn’t the type of character I have any sympathy for. He is a coward. I can’t say he is a redeemable coward but my sympathies for him do increase at the book goes on, and as I mentioned at the beginning, the end of this book is not what I expected.
The Good Lie by Don Bailey is quite an enjoyable read--part literary, part soul searching, part crime drama. Thank you Don for introducing me to The Good Lie.
For those interested readers of fiction, I noticed on Don Bailey’s website, TheGoodLie.com that there is a book club section that offers 27 different questions and conversation points. I definitely think The Good Life is book-club worthy and Don’s dedication to providing a worthwhile website for readers is commendable.
The Good Lie by Don Bailey (published by Turnstone Press).
I like books and am always on the lookout for new books.
I subscribe to a bunch of email newsletters, in particular business newsletters and technology newsletters.
GrokDotCom is one of the newsletters and last week they wrote about the Johnny Bunko video.
I clicked on the link and watched the video, which is pretty cool.
Here’s what hooked me. I read and loved What Colour Is My Parachute? I religiously avoided Who Moved My Cheese? because it was the career book of business books for a time. The video nicely positions Johnny Bunko as THE career book of its time--the book for the new generation of employees entering the workforce.
Now I’m curious and want to read the book.
So mission accomplished. Effective video.
(Plus, I’m interested enough to write about the book and video here.)
What do you think of the video? Do you have another example of marketing unpacked?
So Misguided has been awfully light on the book reviews this year. That’s because I have been quietly slaving away as a juror of the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award, part of the Manitoba Literary Awards. See the Manitoba Literary Awards announcement of winners.
The purpose of the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award is to honour books that evoke the special character of Winnipeg and contribute to the appreciation and understanding of the City.
The Award is administered by the Association of Manitoba Book Publishers on behalf of the Winnipeg Arts Council, and carries a cash prize of $5,000 for the author of the winning book.
Congratulations to the 5 finalists, whose books I very much enjoyed. And to winner of the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award, Roland Penner.
Winner: A Glowing Dream: A Memoir by Roland Penner, published by J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing.
Other finalists for the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award:
* Influenza 1918: Disease, Death and Struggle in Winnipeg by Esyllt W. Jones, published by University of Toronto Press
* Holding My Breath by Sidura Ludwig, published by Key Porter Books
* The North End: Photographs by John Paskievich, introduction by Stephen Osborne, published by University of Manitoba Press
* The Winnipeg Jets: A Celebration of Professional Hockey in Winnipeg by Scott Taylor, published by Studio Publications.
A Glowing Dream: A Memoir by Roland Penner is a fascinating personal history of the Penner family in Winnipeg as well as a social and political history of Winnipeg, one which is not widely known. Roland’s father Jacob was a social and political activist who arrived in Winnipeg in 1904 from Southern Russia. Jacob Penner was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Canada in 1921 and later a Winnipeg City Councillor for 25 years. Roland become a litigation lawyer and academic. He grew up Red but left the Party and later became the Attorney General. The Penner family was an active part of political life in Manitoba for many, many years.
SoMisguided is my external brain. I like to post things here about clever online marketing campaigns and the book business but the first part of the year has totally had it’s way with me.
If you have a clever online campaign or if you’ve seen one your really liked, please let me know what I’ve missed. In turn, I promise to pay attention.
Here are 2 big ones I failed to write about in a timely fashion.
Harper Collins Canada March Mystery Madness
6 weeks, 64 books, 4 conferences, tonnes of “games,” and 1 winner. Deanna from Harper says, “essentially, it’s the NCAA basketball tournament only with mystery books.” A perfect description. I’ve totally missed on this one, but I understand there are 2 books left and you can still vote for your favourites in the poll here: http://www.harpercollins.ca/marchmysterymadness/poll.html
One person wins 64 books.
Know about a clever online marketing campaign involving books? Let me know.
Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin is the story of the King’s daughter who Aeneas fights to claim in Vergil’s The Aeneid. I know this sounds heavy, but it’s not. Le Guin does a fantastic job of bringing a tertiary character to life.
Lavinia is about the war that takes place for Lavinia’s hand in marriage (which is really about the amount of land and goats the boy gets). Lavinia is a head-strong girl who grows up during the peaceful reign of her father and has to endure the trials and tribulations of suitors, her crazy mother who wants to marry her off to a cousin (ok in those days), and the war that takes place when a foreigner (Aeneas) arrives on the scene just after an oracle declares that Lavinia must be married to a foreigner. Despite seeing the guy once from a hilltop, Lavinia is super keen to follow orders. I think she’s looking for an escape from the cousin.
Trojan horses, Vergil’s The Aeneid, ancient Italy, prophecies and quick witted maidens: Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin offers a lot to like.
I give it a 4 out of 5. High entertainment value. The beginning was a little difficult to get into. I was having troubles figuring out who was narrating, Lavinian, Vergil? I’m sure the blame rests with me and not with Le Guin.
One of the great things about reviewing books is getting a chance to look at books that I wouldn’t normally choose for myself. For example, picture books. I have a small collection of picture books that I’ve bought because of the incredible artwork but these are not books I actively seek--unless I’m buying for my friends’ kids. (Ok, I secretly look at lots of picture books because I like illustration. I even hang out at “Make Things Night” with friends who are illustrators I just a hanger on.)
Raincoast Books recently sent me a couple of new Spring books from Chronicle Books that fall under the “beautiful artwork” category. They also have lovely stories.
Grandma Calls Me Beautiful by Barbara M. Joosse and illustrated by Barbara Lavallee
Team Barbara is well known to me because they previously published a very popular series called Mama, Do You Love Me and Papa, Do You Love Me. These were simple story books about a parents unconditional love. Barbara Lavallee’s watercolour illustrations are spectacular. In this book the setting appears to be Hawaii. I love the way she depicts Hawaiians and Alaskans in her paintings.
Wave by Suzy Lee
No text in this book. It’s a great graphic story book about a little girl playing in the waves. This is a fun book. Simple, beautiful. Black, white, blue and fun all over. I wanted to play in the waves after looking at this book. If I’m not mistaken this is the same Suzy Lee who published a very cheeky book called The Black Bird.
Little Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosental and Jen Corace
Amy and Jen are the creators of Little Pea, one of my favourite picture books of all time. Little Pea is about a little pea whose parents force him to eat all his candy. It’s horrible: candy for breakfast, sweets at lunch, treats at dinner. Little Pea just wants his veggies. Little Hoot has a similar problem. He’s a little owl and his parents won’t let him go to bed early. Owls stay up late! And that’s that.
Only in Dreams: a Paul Frank Book by Parker Jacobs
Julius the Monkey is brought to life in the Paul Frank Books. I love this monkey. Who doesn’t love monkeys? The colours are bold! In this story Julius is off to dreamland. My favourite page is Julius paddling down a strawberry-milk river, near a frosted-cupcake village. I like this dream a lot.
Chronicle Books isn’t the only publisher with great picture books that take an irreverent approach to kids books. Harcourt Books has a fab book this season too.
Janet and Susan has have an interview about writing the book. Get the inside scoop. Mr. Mutt is super cute. Find out if he or any of the other pups are based on Janet or Susan’s pets.
One of the publishing circles that I’m involved with is organizing a meet-up for young(ish) publishing folk.
You’re experienced, gifted and… an assistant. Or an intern--for the third year in a row. You’ve got big ideas and know that someday there’ll be a place for you at the top. Maybe you’re even thinking of starting your own publishing enterprise.
Are you ready? Is the industry ready?
The issue of succession is on the horizon. You’re the future of the Canadian publishing scene, but are you getting the training, opportunities and recognition you need? How can we make sure our industry thrives in the face of new technology, shrinking grants and a diversifying workforce? How can we become the next industry leaders?
Join us for a brainstorming session. We’ll be presenting ideas to the ABPBC and others and we want your input!
Thursday, April 10, 7:30pm at the Legion - 3917 Main St (@ 23rd)
3. Enhanced funding for new technology initiatives
After a successful six year investment in bibliographic data improvements through the Supply Chain Initiative for Publishers, BPIDP will be reorienting its support for new technology initiatives in 2008-2009. In keeping with the findings of several recent industry studies that have identified the need for increased training and professional development in this area, BPIDP will provide funding to support publishers’ acquisition of the knowledge and skills necessary to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by new technologies.
Starting in 2008-2009, BPIDP will fund up to 75% of eligible expenses for technology-based business planning projects and internships for individual publishers. Technology-focused professional development projects for publisher associations will also be eligible for the same level of support. This assistance will not be a permanent measure but rather a limited initiative to help the industry build the foundation for the effective application of new technologies.
Now if only I knew of someone with knowledge of the publishing industry and experience with technology! (About my services page.)
The BC Book Prizes website is what I’ve been working on for the last couple of months so I’m really pleased to see it live and corresponding to the announcement of the finalists.
And way to go David Chariandy of Soucouyant, Meg Tilly of Porcupine. and Douglas & McIntyre for Fred Herzog: Vancouver Photographs. These were 3 BC books that really stood out for me this year.
Charles Bock and the fine folks at Random House are giving away a free PDF of Charles Bock’s novel Beautiful Children. It’s available until midnight this Friday (February 29).
The Magician
