Book Love – Page 2 – Bookish Butch

The Winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature is…

Alice Munro!!!

It was announced yesterday,

that the National Canadian treasure,

that is Alice Munro,

was the winner of the biggest prize in,

literature.

Greeted with joy and applause,

by those assembled to cover the announcement.

The Nobel commitee,

described Mrs Munro,

as a ‘master of the contemporary story’

at 82,

the great Alice is,

perhaps,

the greatest living practitioner,

of the short story format,

often compared to the greats,

of this form,

Checkhov, De Maupassant, Hemingway, Carver,

she is as good,

a writer’s writer,

as Margaret Atwood writes in an appreciation,

written in the 90’s,

‘Alice is the kind of writer who other writers speak of in hushed tones’

The prize announcement brought,

universal praise,

no controversy.

In recent years,

some Nobel choices have been,

seen as,

political.

Nothing about this choice is political,

no agenda in giving this prize,

to a Canadian

🙂

it is simply,

recognition,

for a lifetime of great writing.

So well deserved.

This filled my with joy.

If you haven’t read,

Alice Munro,

you must.

A fellow blogger,

Buried in Print,

(one of the best book blogs out there)

can tell you a thing or two about Munro,

and,

so can,

Jonathan Franzen

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/14/books/review/14COVERFR.html?_r=1&

and so many others,

just google it,

and, most of this was written, before, she received, the prize !!!

Later girls,

Job search and Crane

Hello girls,

how’ve you been?

I’m good,

thanks for asking

🙂

I’ve started applying for jobs,

as I mentioned,

in an earlier post,

and,

this morning

I had my first telephone interview.

I didn’t have time to be nervous,

I didn’t know it was coming.

I think it went well,

but,

since,

I spend my life,

second guessing myself,

I have a little bit of doubt,

doubt,

in smidgen doses

I believe,

is important,

keeps you on your toes,

keeps you real,

keeps you plugging away,

I think it does

😛

It’s a new world for me,

the sending of resumes,

via email,

and,

selling myself,

I haven’t looked for a job,

in twenty years,

things change.

But, giving good service,

hasn’t changed,

you listen,

you’re polite,

you smile,

yes, you can smile on the telephone

you know your product,

you care,

cornerstones,

of service.

I thought it was a bad idea,

to go back into a,

corporate,

environment,

but,

they aren’t all the same,

gotta pick the right one,

I guess.

I had a good feeling,

during the call,

and,

I wasn’t nervous,

no warning will do that,

I was me,

hopefully,

me,

is what they are looking for

🙂

fingers crossed and send me some good vibes,

please.

*****

I’m slowly making my way,

through a book,

I picked up at the queer book fair.

A most charming bookseller,

from Toronto,

had a nice table,

of vintage gay reads,

some,

pulpish,

some,

canonical,

lots of first editions,

which I couldn’t really,

afford,

and,

honestly,

I don’t have the,

cult attitude,

towards first editions.

I like to read,

I like nice ‘readable’ editions,

I don’t collect for value,

I collect to read and to enjoy,

I have a few first editions,

but,

I don’t seek them out,

sorry I digress

😛

all this to say,

I picked up,

a nice academic paper edition,

of Hart Crane’s letters.

I like books of correspondence,

very much,

and I like Hart Crane.

A poet born in Cleveland,

who spent the better part,

of his life in New York.

He died a young and tragic death,

drowned,

suicide?

accident?

no one is really sure.

His letters are fascinating,

because he knew so many,

of the literary types,

of the time,

and,

he was a bit of a bitch.

An out homosexual,

well, as out as one could be, in the twenties,

he was a tortured,

and slightly,

neurotic man,

I mentioned he was a poet, right?

I’m taking my time,

savouring,

and,

afterwards,

I think I’ll go back and read,

some of his poetry.

I’m interested in Crane,

for the period,

(1916-1932)

and,

because he wrote about,

what I consider,

the most beautiful,

of man made structures,

The Brooklyn Bridge.

I’ll keep you posted,

be well,

and,

take care of yourselves.

Later girls,

…and reading:-)

It has been,

really mild,

here,

this week,

lots of people are complaining,

it’s too cool,

probably the same ones who,

will be bitching about,

the heat and humidity,

soon,

whatever,

I’m enjoying the nice mild,

Spring

🙂

I have added,

reading,

to the sitting and thinking,

jiggie.

I am reading this marvelous book,

an oldie,

from the 1940’s,

McSorley’s Wonderful Saloon,

by Joseph Mitchell.

You may have heard of Mitchell,

one of his stories/portraits, Joe Gould’s Secret, was turned into a Stanley Tucci movie, a few years back.

but,

most likely,

you haven’t.

That is a shame,

because Mitchell,

is a writer who deserves to be read,

needs to be read.

A few weeks back,

I was reading something,

on wikipedia, maybe??

about legendary writers,

of The New Yorker,

I love the New Yorker, you all know this, old and new, E.B White, Adam Gopnick, love the New Yorker:-)

and,

Mitchell’s name came up.

I jotted it down,

along with,

a couple of book titles,

into the notebook,

I take with me to the library,

and,

on Sunday,

when I returned,

a couple of mysteries,

for mom,

and,

brought back,

Parnassus On Wheels and The Haunted Bookshop

which I re-read with great pleasure, destined to become, like 84 Charing Cross Road, an old friend.

I trolled the stacks,

to see,

if I couldn’t spot a,

Mitchell,

and,

that’s when I found,

McSorley’s Wonderful Saloon,

it contains portraits of truly,

original and interesting people,

oddballs,

bohemians,

bearded ladies,

kings of gypsies,

ale house operators,

in New York’s Bowery and Greenwhich Village,

from the early 20 th century,

to the years of World War II.

Mitchell has some unique gifts,

as a writer,

especially from a 21 st century perspective,

he doesn’t tell,

he shows,

you feel you are ‘listening’ to these people,

not being told about them,

clear, concise prose,

an ear for language and accent and vernacular,

but,

aside from these brilliant writer’s gifts,

letting you meet interesting people,

from a by gone era,

having you smell,

the sawdust and stale beer,

hearing the noise,

feeling the heat,

Mitchell,

does something,

even better,

has something,

even better

he doesn’t judge,

and,

he is,

without a doubt,

a stand up guy,

who people trust and talk to,

he doesn’t abuse that trust,

he honours it,

with beautiful portraits,

of people,

some,

good,

some,

a little shady,

some,

cooky,

none famous,

or looking to become it,

but,

all profoundly human,

and,

real.

A gifted writer,

and,

I feel certain,

after reading him,

a prince amongst men.

I intend to read,

much more of Mitchell’s work,

hope you’ll look him up,

he deserves more readership,

and,

his brand of new journalism,

is so much more interesting,

than that pompous,

Tom Wolfe.

The New York,

Mitchell,

writes about no longer exists,

the people he writes about,

long gone,

but,

the great thing,

about books,

Maizie,

Johnny,

and,

Joe,

can be remembered,

any time,

all you have to do,

is open up,

the books,

and,

read.

Be well.

I’ll be around,

soon.

Taking a few days to spend,

with my girl

be still my heart, thump, thump

and then I’ll share my impressions,

of the Jack London novel,

I’ve been reading.

Thinking, sitting, reading,

good Spring,

so far.

Later girls,

A butch and her khakis??

We’ve been having some,

rainy weather,

but,

the rest of the week’s,

weather forecast is hot,

rain and hot,

tomorrow,

hot and hot,

Thursday,

hotter and humid,

Friday,

and,

Saturday,

sigh

I loathe,

hot and humid,

but,

ready or not,

here,

it comes.

The Spring has been,

rainy,

and,

cool,

and,

although,

sun,

is nice,

I prefer the cool.

Inevitably,

in Montreal,

it gets hot,

and,

humid,

so this year,

since,

Old Navy seems,

to have had only,

one pair of my new fav,

jeans,

in my size,

I have invested in Khakis,

or if you prefer,

chinos.

I bought a pair to wear,

to my cousin’s wedding,

in a somber grey,

and today,

I got another pair in,

a gorgeous British tan,

colour.

I will sooner,

than later,

be looking for a job,

and,

khakis make a better,

impression,

than jeans,

so this butch is going,

khakis

🙂

I had forgotten,

how soft and comfy,

they can be.

They look slightly,

dressier and can easily,

be integrated into,

a butch rotation.

Once you’ve washed,

them a few times,

they are just as,

easy maintenance,

as jeans,

throw ’em in the washer,

dry them on the clothesline,

and,

voila.

I’d rather not have,

to dress as if I lived,

in the tropics,

I’m a sweater and boots,

kind of butch,

but,

hey,

when in the amazon,

dress as the amazonians

or is that,

amazons??

😛

I am reading a wonderful,

novel,

my friend,

the librarian,

lent me,

The Last Nude by Ellis Avery.

It is the story,

of the artist,

Tamara De Lempicka,

and,

one of her model lovers,

Has everything I like,

Paris,

the 20’s,

and,

lesbians,

yum

🙂

My friend,

the anarchist,

and, I,

visited,

Montreal’s Anarchist Book Fair,

on Sunday,

a lovely time.

While there,

I picked up,

a copy of,

Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation.

Not sure what I’ll think of it,

but,

I need to expand my horizons,

don’t know much,

about transgender,

and,

I feel,

I should.

So I’ll give this a go.

Don’t think I’ll read it right away,

I’ll finish,

the Avery,

and,

then I want to re-read a favourite,

Parnassus On Wheels,

and,

The Haunted Bookshop,

a one volume edition,

delightful,

book,

about loving,

and,

selling,

books.

Should help in my,

transition time.

Today,

mom and I visited the library,

she got herself,

a few,

mysteries,

and,

I picked up,

a Jack London,

I’ve never read and been,

wanting to for years,

The Iron Heel.

Critics,

seem to think,

London’s,

Heel is not only,

a better novel,

than Orwell’s,

1984,

but,

also,

that it has turned out,

to be more prophetic.

Interesting.

As you can see,

I’ve got lots to read,

and I’ve got,

some catching up to do

🙂

What have you all been reading?

any of you,

read any of the aforementioned,

titles?

You all worried about,

the oncoming heat?

Be well.

Later girls,

keep cool,

Ramble, Ramble, Ramble

Another,

grey one,

ah,

early Winter,

a time of,

grey.

I’ve finished Pat Barker’s,

Regeneration,

a powerful novel,

about what war does to man.

I recommend this book,

not preachy,

not macabre,

a mature book,

with flawed, contradictory,

characters,

living breathing people.

A plot synopsis,

would give too much away,

I think.

Besides,

it isn’t really about plot,

more about people,

ideas,

growth,

fear,

bravery.

I look forward to reading,

the second and third parts,

of this trilogy,

unfortunately,

our library doesn’t seem to have them.

That’s OK,

I’m patient,

they’ll turn up.

Sort of in between books,

right now,

so I’m re-reading,

Loose End ,

by Ivan Coyote,

I picked it up,

at the show,

a few weeks ago.

I’ve read it,

but,

it was during,

my Ivan marathon,

last year,

it bears re-reading,

so,

enjoyable,

so,

buddies shooting the shit,

to me,

Ivan has a Mark Twain,

kind of humour, wisdom,

fishing stories,

kids being kids,

and,

a we’ve all lived,

thisness,

about it.

Doesn’t require,

great concentration,

short pieces,

sketches,

even,

but,

laced with a subtleness,

I envy,

universal truths.

A treasure,

a butch treasure,

nice:-)

Been a,

Himalayan week,

up and down,

very high,

pretty low,

dress warmly,

consider oxygen,

prepare,

things should be OK.

Looking forward to the weekend,

I’ve got a date,

with an angel,

my angel,

deep, contented, sigh.

and now for some silliness,

philosophy,

and,

loot lust,

via,

Face Book and Pinterest,

Yeah?? Hearing some bells??

Now that’s some cool ‘wishings’

So cute, so butch,

no that isn’t necessarily redundant:-P

L.L Bean Katadhin work boots, kick ass!!!

I like everything about this, the books, the smiles, the caps, the house, everything, I’m a sucker for classic American sportswear looks.

’til soon

🙂

Later girls,

Maternal wisdom…

Been a slow,

beginning of the week,

at the bookshop,

I’ve managed to finish two books.

I’ve started and finished,

Utz by Bruce Chatwin,

a novel about a collector,

of Meissen porcelain,

in Czechoslovakia,

during the communist reign.

An odd, short and engrossing,

novel.

Chatwin is much more,

famous,

for his travel and anthropological books,

On Pantagonia,

Songlines,

and all.

This novel,

Utz(the name of the main character)

deals,

in a humourous way with,

the obsession to collect,

and,

much more subtly,

with the real meaning of freedom,

of the mind,

how one can be truly,

free,

inside a totalitarian regime,

and,

less so,

in a,

supposedly democratic one.

As someone who was an avid,

collector himself,

and,

someone who worked in auction houses,

and,

knew many collectors,

as well as being an avid traveller,

Chatwin,

brings insight and experience,

as well as a keen sense of,

observation to this novel,

a little gem,

not for everyone I’m sure,

but,

an interesting look at Prague,

in a pre Havel period,

a couple of hours,

well spent.

The other novel I read is,

Slow River by Nicola Griffith,

a British writer,

good book,

complex themes,

ecological consequences,

abuse,

identity,

family,

not easy to wrap up,

a good read,

set in,

the not too distant future,

a Nebula Award winner.

Sci-Fi isn’t usually my thing,

but,

this I liked.

Took me a while to get,

‘into’ it,

but, once I did,

I wanted to know,

and I cared.

What would happen,

and,

about,

the characters.

If I don’t care about the characters,

like or dislike,

it’s very difficult for me,

to immerse myself in a book.

Both these novels had,

people,

I cared about,

at their center,

and,

both allowed me to pass,

the long hours,

of waiting for customers.

I like a book to distract me,

take me away,

and,

make me think.

When I was a child,

pretty young,

seven, eight,

not quite sure,

my mom told me,

‘When you read, you are never bored’

of course,

she was right.

Reading cures and prevents,

boredom,

and,

I always have a book lying by,

the side of the bed,

in fact,

most of the time it’s lying,

right next to me,

in bed.

🙂

Do You?

Happy Halloween.

Later girls,

Poets, love, I guess that’s been on my mind:-)

Grey day out there,

drizzly,

damp,

grey,

kind of,

yeah,

I’ll say it,

yucky

🙂

Been a hard week,

but,

that’s over now,

time to focus,

on positive things,

and,

hang with positive people.

Going to have dinner,

with my ex,

tonight,

good nutritious food,

stimulating conversation,

maybe watch a movie.

I told her I was dying to see

In which James Franco,

plays the beat poet,

Allen Ginsberg.

I am not really a fan,

of the beats,

I wish I was,

love the iconoclasm,

their in your faceness,

their style,

those dudes had style,

but,

I can’t get by their,

machoness,

well,

let me rephrase,

I can’t get by,

Kerouac’s machoness,

I wish I could,

maybe I’ll have to try again.

Kerouac having,

French Canadian origins,

and all.

But, the one beat I adore,

and,

wish I knew more about,

is Ginsberg,

his poem,

Howl,

to me,

is a masterpiece,

I want to get to know,

more about how it was,

banned,

and,

how he was put on trial,

for obscenity,

well,

City Lights,

and,

Ferlinghetti were.

This stuff fascinates me,

it’s a wonder I haven’t seen,

the film,

yet.

When I heard Franco,

was to play Ginsberg,

I was skeptical,

but,

I like Franco,

and,

if this picture is any indication,

he looks right,

the ‘real’ Ginsberg,

not bad, eh?

On the book reading front,

I’ve been dipping in and out,

of a few this week,

some more highbrow,

than others.

I had a copy of,

Awakening The Virgin 2,

on the shelf,

at the bookstore,

published about ten years ago,

I thought I would give it a,

look see,

having so enjoyed the first collection, about fifteen years ago, and coming back to it, time after time, a lovely erotic and romantic collection, about discovery and sensuousness.

Both edited by Nicole Foster,

I expected some hot flushes,

in it’s reading,

not to be confused with hot flashes, don’t have those….yet:-P

Dissapointing,

but,

maybe that’s me,

and my current lack of energy.

I’ve finished,

E.M Forster’s Aspects Of The Novel,

it was good,

insight into a writer’s reading,

discussion,

of character,

of plot,

etc,

informative and witty,

without pretention,

and,

glibness.

I’m also reading,

Slow River,

by,

Niccola Griffiths,

a futuristic novel,

not usuually my cup of tea,

but, this is good,

interesting plot,

about the environment and pollution,

good character development,

promising.

But, the real gem,

in my current reading pile,

is,

How Do I Love Thee: The Love Letters Of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett,

a jewel,

if you like books,

of correspondence,

which I do,

two poets,

damn good poets,

who fall in love,

with each other,

via,

the written word,

and,

against all odds,

‘get together’.

A story that appeals,

to the romantic in me,

and,

inspiration,

for all those who live,

complicated,

and,

long distance relationships.

Browning and Barrett,

weren’t that far apart,

physically,

and,

yet,

there were many obstacles,

the course of true love:-)

Well, that’s quite enough,

babbling for now.

Have a great Sunday,

be well, ladies.

Later girls,

When I grow up….

It’s a grey cloudy morning,

of the October variety.

I don’t mind,

I feel good,

my friend Pierre,

webmaster extraordinaire,

fixed the pesky problem,

with the blog,

just to be clear,

you all were never in danger,

of contamination,

it was a Google alert brought on,

by a spam,

left on the blog,

incredible amount of spam,

you gotta wonder

!!??!!

any way,

it’s fixed,

BB is back

🙂

It’s been slow and odd,

at the bookstore,

remnants of full moon,

weird Fall weather,

cold,

hot,

rainy,

grey,

everything within three days.

So, instead of obsessing on that,

or the blog,

limited success with these but, still…

I have been reading,

Ivan E. Coyote’s,

latest collection of stories,

One In Every Crowd,

Fun aside, recently when I visited the Queer Book Fair here in Montreal, Queer Between The Covers, I bought both this book and, Persistence: All Ways Butch And Femme, from Arsenal Pulp Press’ table and as we strolled the rest of the book fair, I was carrying the books and met the artist who created both book covers, Elisha Lim, she was very pleased that both books had her art:-) At the Anarchist Book Fair, I had also purchased her Zine, The Illustrated Gentleman, which is an adorable twist on GQ, Butch style. She does nice work, you should check her out, at http://elishalim.com/

Getting back to Ivan,

you all know,

I love her work,

her written work,

since I have never seen her perform,

someday, I hope.

Ivan’s writing speaks to me,

directly to,

my butch soul.

This collection is no exception.

A few of the stories,

have been published,

previously,

in other collections.

At first,

I thought,

oh, I’ve read this, too bad,

and then it felt,

like I was visiting with a good friend,

talking about the old days,

what Bruce calls ‘Glory Days”,

and,

catching up on what’s been going on,

with her,

in her life,

talking about her Grandma passing,

her quitting smoking,

her new and marvelous love,

bitching together on,

how Harper is ruining Canada,

and,

how the Christian Right,

is messing with our American cousins.

Catching up,

reminiscing,

butch to butch.

That’s what it feels like to me,

when I read Ivan,

shooting the shit,

with a pal,

a sister,

a brother.

I’ve never met Ivan,

I probably never will,

so?

doesn’t make our ‘relationship’,

any less,

‘intimate’.

That’s what great books,

give you,

connection.

Now,

I am way past the age,

of needing guidance,

from a butch who’s been around the block,

but,

I think the young LGBTQ people,

that Ivan wrote this for,

well, mostly,

will benefit,

from knowing,

that there are uncle Ivans,

out there.

Who live their lives as they wish,

who write,

and,

perform,

and earn a living,

who come from families,

that love and support them,

and,

those who don’t have families,

like that,

can find them,

make them,

that many of us,

exist.

Some of us,

are messed up,

some of us,

are well adjusted and happy,

we just are.

It’s good to know,

that High School,

even for those of us,

who do fine,

or pass,

whatever the case may be,

isn’t the end all.

I had a supportive family,

like Ivan’s,

we didn’t have to talk about this stuff,

it just was.

High School was fine.

I’ve said it before,

I’m lucky.

I’m not sure I would have needed,

Ivan’s book,

but,

it would have been,

nice to have,

just as it is now.

Be it for an example,

or a warm familiar presence,

it’s good to know,

that the Ivan’s of the world,

are there,

and writing to us,

comforting,

and,

inspiring.

A must add to your collection,

in my humble opinion,

and,

something to give to a kid you know,

who feels different,

nothing preachy or academic about this book,

a talk with your favourite uncle.

Some of them might even think,

when I grow up…

I’m gonna be like that

🙂

Later girls,

***the header is an homage to what is quite possibly my favourite book, 84 Charing Cross Road**

A book of substance and joy, Persistence

Well,

looks like,

Fall,

is finally here,

glad to see it,

I’ve missed it,

in the sweltering heat,

the humid,

clingy,

heat.

I even wore,

my tweed cap,

yesterday:-)

This Summer,

has been particularly,

difficult on my reading,

can’t concentrate in,

the sizzling city.

Now,

if I had escaped,

to the sea,

or,

the lake,

with my love,

maybe,

I would have done,

A Kallmaker to soothe the grumpy butch

It’s been a tough week,

seems like there have been,

many of those,

this Summer,

hot and humid,

makes for low sales,

and,

a grumpy,

sleep deprived,

butch,

with wonky concentration.

But, I still got my looks and a rockin’ new haircut:-P

The kitchen is getting a face lift,

new doors,

on the cabinets,

and,

a subway tile ceramic back splash,

looks good,

brings it,

into this century,

from the nineties,

mom is over the moon happy,

I like it too.

The problem is that it messes with ,

my already messed up,

sleep.

oh well,

it will be finished soon,

I hope 🙂

My lady sent me,

a package with some books,

she’s so sweet and considerate that way<swoon>

One of the books,

helped with my mood,

and,

my concentration problems,

a Karin Kallmaker romance,

that I hadn’t read,

Nice:-)

I have read all but,

the last two,

I read one last year,

that I wasn’t crazy about,

the story didn’t work for me.

However, even a Kallmaker,

that isn’t her best,

is still head and shoulders,

over most romance novels.

The one I read this week,

is Warming Trend,

set briefly in Key West,

but mostly,

in Alaska.

An Alaskan setting is perfect when you are suffering from the heat

I liked this book,

a lot,

good romance,

an intrigue,

some science,

that seems credible,

mind, I’m no scientist.

I enjoyed the info about ice,

and the effects of,

man made havoc.

The main character,

Ani is a brilliant,

butch ice geologist,

well, almost she’s working on her Phd,

full of passion,

and irresistible naivete,

a strong, smart, character,

who perhaps trusts people,

too much.

Her work ethic and honesty,

are exemplary,

she doesn’t play games,

she doesn’t even know how,

thinks everyone is like her,

honest,

straightforward,

and,

working in the interests of science.

I’m simplifying a complex character,

but,

this is at her root.

A good story,

interesting characters,

even the ‘vilain’,

isn’t one dimensional.

The secondary characters are well drawn,

the mark of good fiction,

and,

it’s wonderfully romantic.

Good read,

entertaining, sexy.

Just what a grumpy ole butch needed.

Later girls,