« Gasping and weezing | Main | Set your computers to download »

June 07, 2005

Another phenomenon hit at the height of its popularity...

Ah, hell. Fenwick and Radwanski have gang-tagged me on this whole "favourite books" thing. Fine, I'll do it, but believe me when I say this: I read very few entire books. Shamefully few. No, wait, nuts to that — I'm not ashamed at all. Studying English Lit pretty much ruined me on fiction (to say nothing of job prospects), so much of what follows is years old and based on memories of enjoying things more than memories of the things themselves.

So then:

Number of books I own: 2,480. Wait, including at the cottage? 5,065. Seriously though, I have no idea (and no cottage). Most are in storage, and I haven't felt any burning need to rescue them.

Last book I bought: Public Vows: A History of Marriage and the Nation, by Nancy F. Cott. I hoped it would bring my views on same-sex marriage into a sharp pro- or anti- focus. Instead it is educating and simultaneously nurturing my ambivalence.

Last book I read: The Haunting of L, by Howard Norman, who is one of the very few modern fiction writers that I could claim to "follow". Norman has atmosphere nailed, whether it's a claustrophobic north-of-60 hotel or a weatherbeaten Newfoundland lighthouse. He could write about drying paint and I'd eat it up.

Five books that mean a lot to me: In no particular order and for no particular reason:

Swallows and Amazons, by Arthur Ransome — the implausible nautical adventures of prim and proper British youth. Indispensable children's reading.

The Barrytown Trilogy, i.e., The Commitments, The Snapper and (my personal favourite) The Van, by Roddy Doyle. I haven't read his lighthearted stuff in ages (and thought A Star Called Henry was a little overdone), but these three novels kick ass and always will. I probably read The Van four times through in high school, and can hardly think of a better thing for someone that age to be reading.

The Englishman's Boy, by Guy Vanderhaeghe. I cannot recommend this highly enough. The two-plot structure, and the hints and glimpses of connection between the two, make for one of the more fascinating novels I've come across. Man Descending, Vanderhaeghe's book of short stories, is also a keeper.

The script to Withnail and I, by Bruce Robinson. It is published in book form, see, so it counts. Also known as The Oxford Companion to British Wit.

On a Cold Road: Tales of Adventure in Canadian Rock, by Dave Bidini. A beautiful book; I'd wave it around at federalism rallies, if such things existed. Read it concurrently with Michael Turner's Hard Core Logo for a fiction/non-fiction freakout.

I tag no one. No hard feelings — it was fun and all — but I think we should allow this thing to die.

Posted by Chris Selley at June 7, 2005 11:11 PM