tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-325760412024-03-07T16:36:06.423-08:00[tk]Nathan Whitlock's blog.nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.comBlogger706125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-76791383662006240642023-01-06T12:07:00.001-08:002023-01-06T12:07:23.896-08:00<p> </p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbcMWhqYVY8967ed3fiOvLNYU2tgWwnNHOWYu3IHw2vTexE_dHszfBg1Kv43TDcnNk1Dv_vWOIba1Ks7rNKDszUQxNIOZP4-kLmtoLyZqMpSMp53ytoxRiP-MOskvVrL9ySy9Tq7VIXne241UvZYWzyhGETq7B00M0fp9pxjjP9DV5wizjIA/s794/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-06%20at%202.59.08%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="646" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbcMWhqYVY8967ed3fiOvLNYU2tgWwnNHOWYu3IHw2vTexE_dHszfBg1Kv43TDcnNk1Dv_vWOIba1Ks7rNKDszUQxNIOZP4-kLmtoLyZqMpSMp53ytoxRiP-MOskvVrL9ySy9Tq7VIXne241UvZYWzyhGETq7B00M0fp9pxjjP9DV5wizjIA/w260-h320/Screen%20Shot%202023-01-06%20at%202.59.08%20PM.png" width="260" /></a></div><span>A very subtle and funny writer - one I've become obsessed with over the past year - in a decidedly Muriel Spark mood. Imagine <i>The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie</i> with less sex, violence, and fascism, but every bit as much humour and absurdity. Fitzgerald even borrows Spark's flash-forward technique of suddenly, almost as an aside, letting us know where a character will end up a few decades after the main story is over.</span> <br /><p></p>nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-55425226914700783622022-12-05T17:43:00.006-08:002022-12-31T04:08:58.470-08:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10tkkDgc4hOC2_zTX-zPxBtLnxOEtA4oBYrOzI3R3MSrEr_cn9kQMIfLUdrdwdMR9c8ci5rHWtK-xyGvrocSFJ0F7jX4mTvCNEuUAEuknzUpRMSPP0Hn9dyTsAtZ7Gl99DVgq0tcNmNOO2VzOquJ7CKYT4kJLdR81AxAXlUCQLiCvxLW3Pw/s1080/Lump_MPGw_blurb.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10tkkDgc4hOC2_zTX-zPxBtLnxOEtA4oBYrOzI3R3MSrEr_cn9kQMIfLUdrdwdMR9c8ci5rHWtK-xyGvrocSFJ0F7jX4mTvCNEuUAEuknzUpRMSPP0Hn9dyTsAtZ7Gl99DVgq0tcNmNOO2VzOquJ7CKYT4kJLdR81AxAXlUCQLiCvxLW3Pw/s320/Lump_MPGw_blurb.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">At last: <a href="https://www.dundurn.com/books_/t22117/a9781459751286-lump" target="_blank">something new</a>. (Coming: July 2023.)</div><p></p>nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-59792814672412068412019-05-27T02:08:00.003-07:002019-05-27T02:08:22.056-07:00Nothing Beside RemainsLife is currently offline.nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-16445482719232032832016-11-28T17:10:00.004-08:002016-11-28T17:10:55.192-08:00Annus a little less horribilis<i>Congratulations On Everything</i> got named a <a href="http://49thshelf.com/Blog/2016/11/28/2016-Our-Books-of-the-Year" target="_blank">Book of the Year</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://49thshelf.com/Blog/2016/11/28/2016-Our-Books-of-the-Year" target="_blank"><img alt="http://49thshelf.com/Blog/2016/11/28/2016-Our-Books-of-the-Year" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjarf7mxlR7BnVyV0iewqTxra2Mesh8LtAOW9ouzgfTYfupIyDDqRqemA9YkYEfPN7IY-tHmt-z4YjsoMT9qpRzEyqlGyvs5_Zo0cu6VvedJPGLKVUSon9qdfr6UK7uRxpnYWsb/s1600/Books-of-the-Year_large.png" /></a></div>
<br />nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-40959619023197631852016-10-19T08:22:00.004-07:002016-10-19T11:24:23.392-07:00Intensities in 3 Cities<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3SejaX7E3uAYktFVuMYNNBdju0RwPzDyJnInR2x74EOJFoy-R137H0Bd6VkYZjZECivsA4NPpe7oWCxn5a2briZutA-N5V3xCd_ozX60AbP4mYCbFViQRtlSlhuNIO32a6X3F/s1600/hitchhiker-691581_960_720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3SejaX7E3uAYktFVuMYNNBdju0RwPzDyJnInR2x74EOJFoy-R137H0Bd6VkYZjZECivsA4NPpe7oWCxn5a2briZutA-N5V3xCd_ozX60AbP4mYCbFViQRtlSlhuNIO32a6X3F/s320/hitchhiker-691581_960_720.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
For a few days every year, I get to act like a capital-A Author. Those days are upon us.<br />
<br />
On Tuesday, October 25, I will be <a href="http://www.writersfestival.org/events/fall-2016/cause-and-effect-with-jared-young-nathan-whitlock-and-iain-reid" target="_blank">reading and talking in Ottawa</a>.<br />
<br />
On Wednesday, October 26, <a href="http://ifoa.org/events/stories-of-men" target="_blank">I'll be talking in Toronto</a>.<br />
<br />
<strike>On Thursday, October 27, I'll be reading and talking in Hamilton.</strike> NOPE<strike><br /></strike><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
And then on Friday, October 28 I'll be... I don't know, probably watching <i>Toy Story 2</i> for the thousandth time with a two-year-old.<br />
<br />nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-63465333910534501162016-07-24T11:46:00.001-07:002016-07-24T11:47:33.163-07:00Open BookFor the month of July, I am the <a href="http://www.openbooktoronto.com/nathan_whitlock/main_0" target="_blank">writer in virtual residence at Open Book: Toronto</a>.<br />
<br />
So far, I've written about Donald Trump, plagiarism, work in literature, Alice Munro, my brilliant wife, waitresses being asked to dispose of vomit, and much more.<br />
<br />
Read all the nonsense <a href="http://www.openbooktoronto.com/nathan_whitlock/main_0" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.openbooktoronto.com/nathan_whitlock/main_0" target="_blank"><img alt="http://www.openbooktoronto.com/nathan_whitlock/main_0" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4S4j6K4aUSK1HYsANeTBpSWIWedLvp_mIron-lfuG28hAMgsr9PT0dbR_ThaAGO_2tEHUSk6giYh_oKKwdqRSO7fJhARZmPYgwAjwqIv19HhPPdN4FaTcFxABHH5JgA3mLx3Q/s320/P18aDhXW.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-8655423737440748512016-06-11T20:02:00.001-07:002016-06-11T20:02:27.103-07:00Congratulations On Everything reviewed in The Globe & Mail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDP7ARB34Xz8D9XlNxzXDhMDsi9DLWuG99y_LanqaxOMCAbQ1x2nuetCSACXQPEGQNmkeFInxiH5pLq7rKAQz6_gVb7duSfQt5-Q01hcItuXw2OkOAQ4P818ffnI5FrUsLy7t/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-11+at+11.07.41+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEDP7ARB34Xz8D9XlNxzXDhMDsi9DLWuG99y_LanqaxOMCAbQ1x2nuetCSACXQPEGQNmkeFInxiH5pLq7rKAQz6_gVb7duSfQt5-Q01hcItuXw2OkOAQ4P818ffnI5FrUsLy7t/s200/Screen+Shot+2016-06-11+at+11.07.41+PM.png" width="128" /></a></div>
"<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-nathan-whitlocks-congratulations-on-everything-is-an-absorbing-read/article30384265/" target="_blank">These are believable creations</a>. They speak and fail and contradict
themselves with the regular inelegance of real people. The day-to-day
pleasures and pains of the service industry are also rendered with
fine-tuned realism, an ear for the strange within the mundane. Whitlock
is a very smooth, competent stylist, in an understated way. There’s no
flash or bang here: His characters propel the action, calling attention
to narrative style only with metaphor and image – <b>which are always
arresting, always right</b>."<br />
<br />
The whole thing <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-nathan-whitlocks-congratulations-on-everything-is-an-absorbing-read/article30384265/" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-55144385579681974072016-06-09T10:16:00.001-07:002016-06-09T10:16:09.031-07:00Service Industry Hell<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSr5b1ztV2W_c6LY6Nop_A_gVYom_OTLa0-bq1-nsikSzpIDYlpAZi7xT4EC7SG8IpmFCqSEzz6d1r_PI5kpBGTcV2ooeNq2IYHZzxIFWBCUr1P6Q2hTNKSRC462CippF6fUhf/s1600/shining.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSr5b1ztV2W_c6LY6Nop_A_gVYom_OTLa0-bq1-nsikSzpIDYlpAZi7xT4EC7SG8IpmFCqSEzz6d1r_PI5kpBGTcV2ooeNq2IYHZzxIFWBCUr1P6Q2hTNKSRC462CippF6fUhf/s200/shining.png" width="200" /></a>Dear Former Bartenders, Waiters, and Cooks: <br />
<br />
I am in need of funny, ridiculous, and/or disturbing true service
industry stories for a thing I am doing next month for <a href="http://www.openbooktoronto.com/" target="_blank">Open Book</a>. Tales
of bad bosses, "eccentric" customers, hellish shifts, exploding kegs,
etc. What are some moments you'll never forget, no matter how hard you
try?<br />
<br />
They need to be short - 100 to 200 words, max. Just the
gist. Unless you say otherwise, they'll be anonymous. Send as many as
you like.<br />
<br />
<div class="text_exposed_show">
Please email them to [my first and last name, all one word] AT gmail dot com.<br />
<br /></div>
nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-23722179945359531222016-05-21T05:29:00.003-07:002016-05-21T05:29:53.519-07:00"All Those Sexy Things"I got interviewed by <a href="http://notesandqueries.ca/interviews/nathan-whitlock-interviewed-brad-de-roo/" target="_blank"><i>Canadian Notes & Queries</i></a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<em><a href="http://ecwpress.com/products/congratulations-on-everything" target="_blank">Congratulations On Everything</a> </em>felt like a very different book
while I was writing it, and I think it is, though now that I look at it
as a finished thing, I can see a lot of similarities – people in bad
relationships, people who mistake passivity for integrity, people who
pursue dreams they are maybe not suited to achieve. All those sexy
things. </blockquote>
<br />
nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-53583618814748031702016-05-13T07:21:00.003-07:002016-05-13T07:21:55.866-07:00"Superstition" is the way at the launch of Congratulations On Everything, May 3.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4sYSoJaTH58/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4sYSoJaTH58?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<br />
The band kills it. As does guest singer Alex Lukashevky. I try to keep up on drums.nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-38575271165195838392016-03-16T04:51:00.001-07:002016-03-16T04:51:13.988-07:00May 3, 2016 - the night it all happens, or some of it<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5OxaBB2DnDEZLWfiF1tGoMg7xoFemrYayRUeJDQJfx6aumYEiNeVbEfK_PzfYR1uH0uYDWiR-4FuRgzQvHRULavApLERG_U_10prch22AeAAu2TCQvSHl4alTAtcIiN1_d-E/s1600/ECW_CongratulationsOnEverything_LaunchInvite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5OxaBB2DnDEZLWfiF1tGoMg7xoFemrYayRUeJDQJfx6aumYEiNeVbEfK_PzfYR1uH0uYDWiR-4FuRgzQvHRULavApLERG_U_10prch22AeAAu2TCQvSHl4alTAtcIiN1_d-E/s320/ECW_CongratulationsOnEverything_LaunchInvite.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-54114270681240567992015-07-20T08:18:00.007-07:002015-07-20T08:18:56.531-07:00Swear to God...... I have things to post here, and will do so soon.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, have I mentioned I make most of my bad jokes on Twitter now?<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/nathanwhitlock" target="_blank">@nathanwhitlock</a></b></span>nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-20057572239888465922014-11-30T02:32:00.003-08:002014-11-30T02:32:34.282-08:00Philip Larkin, the loveable, hateful old bastardMy<a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/11/29/philip_larkin_life_art_and_love_by_james_booth_review.html" target="_blank"> review of <i>Philip Larkin: Life, Art and Love</i> by James Booth in the <i>Toronto Star</i></a>.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.2999992370605px;">"[Larkin] has few rivals when it comes to conjuring joyful or heart-crushing beauty out of utterly commonplace situations and none in the realm of transforming disappointment into something both hilarious and transcendent."</span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.2999992370605px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.2999992370605px;">Read the whole thing <a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/11/29/philip_larkin_life_art_and_love_by_james_booth_review.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</span>nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-3003459609033689012014-11-10T07:30:00.001-08:002014-11-10T07:31:59.440-08:00The Kids in the Hall's Bruce McCulloch writes a book about being happy, ostensibly<div class="text combinedtext parbase section" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: none; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.299999237060547px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwnLXG4i9ekhbrtqyhnH729Dn3Uwbq5MzwI0PFC1xUnZMsJd54pzyNsOFv5-nIHcVZ-31Awa015qgeV2i2peZ4wXxDTvvcqQUirLftvfauJf1VSeYFriGyjd-ZEz33tac7pfe6/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-10+at+10.31.38+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwnLXG4i9ekhbrtqyhnH729Dn3Uwbq5MzwI0PFC1xUnZMsJd54pzyNsOFv5-nIHcVZ-31Awa015qgeV2i2peZ4wXxDTvvcqQUirLftvfauJf1VSeYFriGyjd-ZEz33tac7pfe6/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-10+at+10.31.38+AM.png" height="320" width="215" /></a></div>
"This country specializes in the knowing chuckle. We prefer jokes that act as gently dissolving humour lozenges, slowly releasing homespun wisdom. (See: Stuart McLean, The Royal Canadian Air Farce, Red Green, <i style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Corner Gas</i>, Russell Peters.)</div>
</div>
<div class="text combinedtext parbase section" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: none; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20.299999237060547px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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In that respect, the Kids in the Hall are something special."</div>
<div style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: transparent;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: transparent;">More of this kind of thing in </span><a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/10/31/lets_start_a_riot_how_a_young_drunk_punk_became_a_hollywood_dad_by_bruce_mcculloch_review.html" style="background-color: transparent;" target="_blank">my review of <b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Let’s Start a Riot</b>, the new memoir-cum-monologue by Bruce McCulloch in the <i>Toronto Star</i></a><span style="background-color: transparent;">.</span></div>
</div>
nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-10411539799191202442014-10-04T08:15:00.003-07:002014-11-10T08:04:40.403-08:00Elena Ferrante is my (current) jamMy piece in the <i>Globe and Mail</i> on <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/italian-author-elena-ferrantes-work-startling-unflinching-fiction-speaks-for-itself/article20804186/" target="_blank">mysterious Italian novelist Elena Ferrante.</a><br />
<br />
How about you? What are you up to? How have you been?<br />
<br />
<br />
Sorry to hear!nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-62116209564084507282014-04-28T11:54:00.004-07:002014-04-28T12:00:55.029-07:00More books I read for money: featuring David Letterman, Bruce McCall, Gary Shteyngart, the guy who co-wrote "Babe: Pig in the City," and more!Omnibus blog posts are the best/only kind of blog posts. And so:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/01/02/this_land_was_made_for_you_and_me_by_bruce_mccall_and_david_letterman_review.html" target="_blank">Review of <i>This Land Was Made for You and Me</i></a> by Bruce McCall and David Letterman.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/01/09/little_failure_by_gary_shteyngart_review.html" target="_blank">Review of </a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" target="_blank"><i>Little Failure</i></a> by Gary Shteyngart (to which Mr. Shteyngart replied with some Twitter shouting). <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/01/29/for_today_i_am_a_boy_by_kim_fu_review.html" target="_blank">Review of <i>Today I Am A Boy</i></a> by Kim Fu.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/03/18/the_full_ridiculous_by_mark_lamprell_review.html" target="_blank">Review of <i>The Full Ridiculous</i></a> by Mark Lamprell. (Who co-wrote <i>Babe: Pig in the City</i>! Which I love! This book not so much!)<br />
<br />
<br />
Bonus content: <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2014/01/19/getting_lit_on_the_library_bars_canlit_libations.html" target="_blank">getting drunk on CanLit</a>! <a href="http://newsontario.ca/2014/03/14/watching-ufc-fights-with-poets/" target="_blank">Watching UFC with poets</a>!nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-43882916079774602502013-12-09T09:04:00.002-08:002013-12-09T09:15:48.514-08:00Books I've Been Paid To Read LatelyLife is still elsewhere, but here are some recent reviews:<br />
<br />
Of Chris Hadfield's <a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/10/29/an_astronauts_guide_to_life_on_earth_by_chris_hadfield_review.html" target="_blank"><i>A Guide to Life on Earth</i></a>.<br />
<br />
Of Bill Bryson's <a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/10/17/one_summer_by_bill_bryson_review.html" target="_blank"><i>One Summer</i></a>.<br />
<br />
Of Eric Schlosser's terrifying <a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/10/16/command_and_control_by_eric_schlosser_review.html" target="_blank"><i>Command and Control</i></a>.<br />
<br />
Of <a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/09/11/the_panopticon_by_jenni_fagan_review.html" target="_blank"><i>The Panopticon</i> by Jenni Fagan</a>.<br />
<br />
Of<i> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/06/14/scatter_adapt_and_remember_how_humans_will_survive_a_mass_extinction_by_annalee_newitz_review.html" target="_blank">Scatter, Adapt and Remember </a></i><a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/06/14/scatter_adapt_and_remember_how_humans_will_survive_a_mass_extinction_by_annalee_newitz_review.html" target="_blank">by Annalee Newitz</a>. <br />
<br />
Of <a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/05/10/time_reborn_by_lee_smolin_review.html" target="_blank"><i>Time Reborn</i> by Lee Smolin</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
As Daffy Duck might say if he reviewed books, it's not <i>nearly </i>a living.nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-6149648487423796212013-07-29T05:10:00.003-07:002013-07-29T05:10:48.413-07:00David Rakoff's Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, PerishMy review of David Rakoff's <a href="http://arts.nationalpost.com/2013/07/26/book-review-love-dishonor-marry-die-cherish-perish/" target="_blank">posthumous novel in <i>The National Post</i></a><i>.</i>nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-40828733295084478762013-04-28T04:57:00.000-07:002013-04-28T04:57:00.124-07:00Fetherling's footnotesThe best group of footnotes in <a href="http://www.mqup.ca/the-writing-life-products-9780773541146.php" target="_blank">George Fetherling's <i>The Writing Life: Journals 1975 - 2005</i></a> (on p. 88):<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
17 Sarah Sheard (b. 1953), novelist, author of <i>Almost Japanese</i><br />
18 Douglas Gibson (b. 1943), McClelland & Stewart publisher<br />
19 Lee Harvey Oswald (1939 - 1963), alleged assassin of John F. Kennedy</blockquote>
<br />
nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-45704110069367023652013-04-01T05:52:00.002-07:002013-04-01T05:52:18.902-07:00The Fun Parts by Sam LipsyteMy review of Sam Lipsyte's latest in <a href="http://bit.ly/YVWwvi" target="_blank"><i>The Toronto Star</i></a>: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
There is a very good reason to read a book about unlikeable losers.
Books like that can be very, very funny. And Lipsyte is a very funny
writer. The one thing he is constantly doing — even when he maybe
shouldn’t, at least not so much — is being funny.</blockquote>
nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-86371292559840604672013-03-10T07:56:00.005-07:002013-03-10T07:56:47.460-07:00You Will Be To Blame"I was tired from the drive - all the way up to Dalgleish, to get him, and
back to Toronto since noon - and worried about getting the rented car back
on time, and irritated by an article I had been reading in a magazine
in the waiting room. It was about another writer, a woman younger,
better-looking, probably more talented than I am. I had been in England
for two months and so I had not seen this article before, but it crossed
my mind while I was reading that my father would have. I could hear him
saying, Well, I didn't see anything about you in <i>Maclean's</i>. And if he
had read something about me he would say, Well, I didn't think too much
of that write-up. His tone would be humorous and indulgent but would
produce in me a familiar dreariness of spirit. The message I got from
him was simple: Fame must be striven for, then apologized for. Getting
or not getting it, you will be to blame." - from "The Moons of Jupiter" <br />
<br />
If I were ever to start a tumblr, it'd be called "Alice Munro Just Killing It."<br />
nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-79472768285568382962013-01-14T02:41:00.003-08:002013-01-14T02:41:28.032-08:00The new new escapism<i>The New York Times</i> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/13/opinion/sunday/tv-the-thinking-persons-entertainment-of-choice.html?hp&_r=1&" target="_blank">drops a bombshel</a>l:<br />
<br />
<span class="userContent">"There is a reason for our attraction to these
shows other than that they simply entertain us. 'Downton' and today’s
other quality television series also promise a welcome escape from a
muddled, technology-addled existence."<br /> <br /> Also applies to movies, novels, poetry, music, friends, children, bike rides, food, alcohol, sex, masturbation, and sleep.</span>nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-61616421520191058192012-09-30T18:09:00.002-07:002012-09-30T18:09:27.416-07:00J.K. Rowling's Casual Vacancy has much casual brutalityMy review of a new novel by<a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/1261399--j-k-rowling-s-the-casual-vacancy-review" target="_blank"> a promising up-and-comer in the </a><i><a href="http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/1261399--j-k-rowling-s-the-casual-vacancy-review" target="_blank">Toronto Star</a>.</i><br />
<br />
A taste:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The obvious thing for [Rowling] to have done would have been to write a kind
of methadone novel for Potter addicts, something that bridged the gap
between the world of Hogwarts and our own. No one would’ve begrudged her
writing a mystery story, or a work of castle-heavy historical fiction,
or even a work of grown-up fantasy (i.e., wizards with sex lives and
drinking problems). Instead, she has written a book that plants its flag
right in the middle of some very dark territory, where curses abound,
but spells are non-existent. Readers looking for a little of that old
Potter magic will be shocked by the new novel’s numerous scenes of drug
abuse, marital discord, domestic violence, and unbridled despair. It’s
the equivalent of Raffi making a late-career swerve into death metal, or
Mr. Dressup doing David Mamet. </blockquote>
nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-47774757928699275342012-06-11T02:01:00.001-07:002012-06-11T02:01:15.991-07:00Welsh and BrooksJust flew down from the Fortress of Solitude to offer<a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/1208209--skagboys-by-irvine-welsh-and-grow-up-by-ben-brooks-reviews" target="_blank"> this review</a> of Irvine Welsh's <i>Skagboys</i> and Ben Brooks's <i>Grow Up</i> in lieu of something good. They say you should start an idle car at least once every couple of months just to make sure the engine can still turn over.<br />
<br />
Back to the fortress.<br />
<br />
<br />nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32576041.post-19232978691185430372011-07-11T07:32:00.000-07:002011-07-11T07:35:01.926-07:00Captivity: 118 Days in Iraq and the Struggle for a World Without War by James LoneyMy review of James Loney's <span style="font-style: italic;">Captivity </span>appeared in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Toronto Star</span> yesterday.<br /><blockquote><p style="font-style: italic;">One of the enduring myths of contemporary Western society is that we are a culture desperate to be tested. We are a fatted, decadent, overly complacent bunch (the myth goes), which makes us yearn to be stripped of our comforts (at least for a little while) to see how we hold up under pressure.</p><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><p style="font-style: italic;">Comfort is inauthentic; stress and fear and adrenaline are “reality.” How would you act in an extreme situation? How strongly held are your ideals, and how quickly would you abandon them in order to survive?</p><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><p style="font-style: italic;">The problem is that in reality, a true testing of one’s ideals never yields a clean result. When push becomes shove, and shove becomes kick, ideals splinter and multiply. Every breath becomes a test, and we often only survive to be tested again.</p></blockquote><p style="font-style: italic;"></p>Get the whole scoop <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/1022495--captivity-118-days-in-iraq-and-the-struggle-for-a-world-without-war-by-james-loney">here</a>.nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10978764989360943906noreply@blogger.com0