On Reading

It was only when Dan and I moved that I realized how many books I have and hold dear. Because I was an English student at U of T for about six years, I collected many, many novels and anthologies, the majority of which I sold back or donated after the class was done. But each year there was at least one class that I loved, one class where I totally treasured each piece of literature that we studied, and those books just never seem to leave my shelves. Even before I started university I was building a library; my parents' living room walls are lined with shelves of novels that they've collected over the years, and I can't think of much better than a house full of books (especially if they're colour coded, or alphabetized! Swoon!).

The bad news is that I haven't been able to read for pleasure for about six years now. When you're expected to read for school, and there is always some kind of work to be done, reading what you want to read takes a major back burner—for me it was completely off the stove.

sanctuary

I've been reading like a fiend ever since I finished my last class, and I am desperately trying to remember the mental book list that I've been compiling since 2006. Anytime I need book inspiration I head over to the new, smaller Balfour Books, which has an incredible Can Lit paperback section, with most of the classics going for under $5. That is how I found the Morley Callaghan book That Summer in Paris that I loved so much. And the Margaret Atwood collection of short stories Wilderness Tips, which is so wonderful and haunting that I will read it over and over again.

I have recently started reading Mian Mian's Candy, a book published in 2003 that was banned in China, Mian is being hailed as the country's most promising young writer. It's always interesting, reading novels that have been translated from their original language. It always makes me think about how much work went into keeping the tone and the integrity of what the author was trying to say, and this translation's language fits in perfectly with the overall feeling of the book.

"Saining and I were like a pair of curious cats, but curiosity can kill a cat. Sometimes, in his embrace, I would joke around and pretend to be the kind of girl who would marry him on the spot. Or I might pretend that I was the kind of girl who might run off with someone else at the drop of a hat. We liked words like elope, which to us suggested the road to freedom. But bombs fall on the most beautiful places, and happiness will steal away."

What I like most about this book is has to do with why it has been banned in China: its honesty about the dependence and easy access to heroin in Shanghai, and the hole-punched records and broken casette tapes that would be the only access to Western music. I'm only about half-way through, but it's a great read, a quick one too.

I am somewhat at a loss for where to go from here. There are too many good books out there, too many amazing authors whose work I want to read in full.

So give me your suggestions: books, authors, time periods, fiction, non-fiction, comics, anything!