Date: July 28, 2010
Author: Sara Quin
Publication: teganandsara.org
Headline: Sara Reads "Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business," "The Talented Miss Highsmith- The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith," "The Privileges: A Novel," "Open," and "The Invisible Dragon: Essays on Beauty, Revised and Expanded"

I picked up BAMBI VS. GODZILLA: ON THE NATURE, PURPOSE, AND PRACTICE OF THE MOVIE BUSINESS by David Mamet while browsing at London's Clerkenwell Tales in late June. I could have bought most of what was in the shop, I absolutely love seeing alternate covers of my favorite books. And this store was jam packed full of them! Covers are art, and its the biggest reason why I'll mourn the loss of books and bookstores in the future. I know it may not realistically happen in my lifetime, but the more kindles and whatchamacallits I see in the hands of friends and strangers, the greater my desire to consume whats still out there floating around becomes. This book really excited me! I found there were fascinating parallels to the music industry, and even though I'm not involved in the film industry, I was totally entertained by the content.

THE TALENTED MISS HIGHSMITH- THE SECRET LIFE AND SERIOUS ART OF PATRICIA HIGHSMITH by Joan Schenkar. I picked the book up after reading this review I admit that I am still digging through it. Its massive. But I felt as though I should include it here, because there is a chance it will be an ongoing read for some time to come. After 400 or so pages, I can say this, I completely agree that this is no ordinary literary biography. It reads more like a novel and I couldn't help but be inspired and wildly entertained by the more gossipy chapters. Totally engaging.

THE PRIVILEGES: A NOVEL by Jonathan Dee was the only fiction I read in the last few months. It had a quote from Jonathan Franzen on the front, and because he is one of my favorite authors, I picked it up. An easy but engrossing story, I finished this on a plane ride from London to Montreal. Really was captivated by the characters and would absolutely recommend it!

OPEN by Andre Agassi. I heard this a few months ago. Then Shaun, our bass player, happened to be reading it when we all met up at Sasquatch Festival in May. He loaned his copy to me, raving. I started the first chapter in a hair salon in Montreal. I was waiting my turn while a friend had her cut finished. Within two pages I was crying. I felt this was an amazing story and look into his life but also the mind of an incredibly accomplished athlete. Its a sports themed period in my brain these days. I attended Wimbledon in June and have a stack of tennis, cricket and boxing books being shipped to me as I write this!

THE INVISIBLE DRAGON: ESSAYS ON BEAUTY, REVISED AND EXPANDED by Dave Hickey was the only book of Mr. Hickey's I could find in stores. So while I waited for "Air Guitar" to arrive from Amazon.ca, I introduced myself with this book. It was a tough read, but I loved his voice and I blame the topic for my lack of commitment and interest. Not because I wasn't interested, but because I wasn't all together familiar with a lot of the references and topics touched in the book. Plus it was 100 degrees and I don't have air conditioning in my apartment. I kept losing consciousness and would forget to put in the bookmark and then I'd wake up feeling lost about what I was reading before I fell asleep. SIGH. I've already committed myself to a second read on this tour. (But after "Air Guitar", which arrived, and I am loving).