Deep Too

I’m not sure I fully got this. But it was neat to see what a mixed-genre memoir could look like, especially one from a Canadian author. That’s all I really have to say.

Paper Shadows

In the spirit of Canada Day, here’s a Canadian writer who I admire very much! Like most people, I first read The Jade Peony and loved it instantly. I particularly loved the hint that one of the brothers was gay, in addition to it being about a Chinese family in Canada. So I expected his memoir, Paper Shadows, to be equally memorable.

Maybe my expectations were too high. I did find the secrets of the family to be fascinating and intriguing but I was disappointed that a lot of his childhood consisted of mundane activities that didn’t seem relevant to the greater family mysteries. The dog peed everywhere in the house? Well, that sucks but… Why did it need to be told? Some reviews have said that the book was in dire need of an editor and I wholeheartedly agree.

I was also surprised to learn that Choy is openly gay, a fact that is not touched on in the book (though there is a hint of it). It made me think about my own book and how our upbringings were so different despite both of us being first generation Chinese Canadians. In my query I’ve been sending to publishers and literary agents, I say something along the lines of how many memoirs by Chinese Canadian writers are immigration stories and that they are valuable and worthwhile — but they shouldn’t necessarily be the only stories we read. A lot of people tend to believe that growing up in Canada in modern times is easy and carefree, but that’s a naïve thought. My memoir shows otherwise. And I am passionate to do so.

The Horrors: an A to Z of Funny Thoughts on Awful Things

Like Ghost World, i finished this a while back. I love Charlie’s humour, especially his comparisons and analogies, so I was sure I’d enjoy his collection of personal essays. Although some are definitely more captivating than others, (“H for Heteronormativity” is a stand-out), I did feel lost amidst the jumble of Demers’s diction at times. Yes, his essays are well-written, but sometimes, less commonly used words — Charlie has an impressive vocabulary, I must say — can take you out of a piece instead of intriguing you. That was my main complaint about this. Also I’m super curious about his gay brother and how good-looking he really is.

Here is me at work again because I wanted to return it since there are a number of people waiting to read it. Eh. Whatever.

The 4th Annual Aaron Book Awards

Ah, it’s that time again already? A whole year’s gone by so quickly? Jeez. I don’t know what to say. Except that my mother is cleaning my bathroom right now because I haven’t cleaned it in a while and it annoys me because I specifically told her not to wash my bathroom because she uses gross chemicals. Note to self: clean bathroom more often next year.

At the end of last year, I wanted to try and even out the different genres of material I was reading, since I found that I read very few plays and much more novels and YA books. For the most part, it worked quite well, though I found that sometimes the order got messed up whenever a book abruptly came in for me that I had request a while back and then I’d have to put down whatever I was reading in favour of it). I read or attempted to read total of 41 books, which is up from last year (although I did count a number of picture books that took all of a minute to read).

And now… let’s begin!

Best Non-fiction Book

Winner: No Logo — Naomi Klein

An infuriating and depressing look at the state of the world. I don’t remember feeling so angry while reading something in a really long time. And the saddest thing is, sweatshops and brands still have a ton of power except these days, no one cares anymore.

Nominees:
No Logo — Naomi Klein
Library Architecture + Design — Manuela Roth
The Ethical Slut — Dossie Easton
Business Affairs

Best Play

Winner: King Lear — William Shakespeare

I feel like it’s unfair to have Shakespeare in this category and I almost decided not to include him simply because, well, he’s Shakespeare. But I realized Dickens, Rushdie, L.M. Montgomery are all still competing against modern authors, so it didn’t seem fair to only exclude Shakespeare.

I do feel like I have to give big props to Christopher Durang for writing two brilliant and hilarious plays. Laughing Wild would’ve won if not for the Bard.

Baby with the Bathwater — Christopher Durang
Laughing Wild — Christopher Durang
King Lear — William Shakespeare
Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde — Moisés Kaufman
The Comedy of Errors — William Shakespeare

Best Graphic Novel

Winner: Maus — Art Spiegelman

No contest here.

American Born Chinese — Gene Yuen
Shirtlifter — Steve MacIsaac
Fun Home — Alison Bechdel
The Book of Boy Trouble
Maus — Art Spiegelman

Best Children’s Book

Winner: Anne of Green Gables — L.M. Montgomery

Surprised? I am too. Not to say that Anne of Green Gables is bad, but the best kid’s book I read this year? Yeah. I guess so.

Cat Champions — Rob Laidlaw
Swallows and Amazons — Arthur Ransome
What Will Fat Cat Sit On? –Jan Thomas
Anne of Green Gables — L.M. Montgomery
How to Speak Cat — Sarah Whitehead
Cats Meow — Pam Scheunemann
A Christmas Carol — Charles Dickens
A Castle Full of Cats — Ruth Sanderson
The Wind in the Willows — Kenneth Grahame

Best Gay/Queer Book

Winner: Business Affairs

It certainly is the gayest.

Also, I’m not sure about having this category or not.

The Geography of Pluto — Christopher DiRaddo
Fun Home — Alison Bechdel
Shirtlifter — Steve MacIsaac
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe — Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Business Affairs

Best Memoir/Autobiography

Winner: Shaking It Rough — Andreas Schroeder

Yes, I know I’m biased because Andreas used to be my teacher. But also, this is a really good book with some great writing. And also I’m biased.

Tiger Mother Son of a Bitch (Only to be stated here because I attempted to read it and gave up because it was godawful)
Yes Please — Amy Poehler
Fun Home — Alison Bechdel
Shaking It Rough — Andreas Schroeder
Maus — Art Spiegelman

Best YA Novel

Winner: The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen — Susin Neilsen

I’m a sucker for sadness. And Canadian authors!

American Born Chinese — Gene Yuen
The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen — Susin Neilsen
Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story — David Levithan
The Porcupine of Truth — Bill Konigsberg
How I Live Now — Meg Rosoff
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe — Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Another Day — David Levithan

Best Fiction book/Novel

Winner: The Road — Cormac McCarthy

I almost chose The Bone Clocks but then I saw that I had rated The Road five stars and The Bone Clocks only four. It’s hard to pick The Road when it was one the first books I read last year and I don’t remember it as well as The Bone Clocks, which I read more recently. But like David Mitchell, I love McCarthy’s writing style. Also his bleakness is always appreciated.

The Road — Cormac McCarthy
The Bone Clocks — David Mitchell
Midnight’s Children — Salman Rushdie
Tenth of December — George Saunders
Slade House — David Mitchell
The Geography of Pluto — Christopher DiRaddo

Best Book of 2015

Winner: Maus — Art Spiegelman

Apparently I’ve chosen memoirs several years in a row now. It just goes to show you what a unique and impacting kind of experience it is to read them (ie. everyone should read more!).

Congrats to all the winners and hope to read some fantastic stuff this year!

I’ve finished writing a book.

It feels strange to say that. I’ve written a book. I’ve written a book. I’ve written a book. Weird. But really cool.

Mind you, it’s not published yet so I’m not sure I can call it a book yet. Meh.

I’ve written a book!

Shaking it Rough: A Prison Memoir

I’m biased. Again.

This time, it’s because Andreas was my brilliant creative nonfiction teacher back at UBC. He was so supportive and enthusiastic and helpful that I really credit him for inspiring me to write a memoir after taking his class, which I hadn’t considered prior. So of course reading his spectacularly written memoir about his stint in prison was a well documented, exciting journey.

And if you’re wondering, that’s me with my high school cross-country sweater. Which is actually too big for me. Go figure.

Did I already blog this?

Or did I merely think it?

I’m going to try and finish a draft — if not, the final draft — of my entire memoir by the end of the month. And the crazy thing is that I think I can do it.

Rejection dream

Had a dream the other night where I received a letter from a publishing house I had sent my book proposal to a couple months ago. The letter was terribly scrawled; it looked like some third-grader had written it. I tried my best to decipher what it said, and the gist of it was that they had passed, saying my proposal/book was “exaggerated.”

This past week I’ve been anxious about receiving anything from from the actual publishing company I sent my proposal to. I check the mailbox every day, dreading to see the self-addressed stamped envelope I included in my proposal, while also being paranoid that the longer it takes, the more the answer is no. I also wonder whether or not they even received my proposal and am further paranoid they never did. Basically a lot of anxiety and paranoia. Between games of Age of Empires.

Now that I’m done Orange is the New Black Season 3…

Maybe I can finally get to finishing The Bone Clocks before it’s due back at the library on Wednesday. And finish writing my memoir by the end of the month. Or just get on with life in general.

Damn you, good TV.

On the Ocean

Did I blog this already? Anyway, I like this song, especially the lyric, “Twenty-nine years I’ve wandered around/there’s no beauty here, no emerald town.” I think it might even make an appearance in my memoir…