tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747768554703669866.post6067297341690778179..comments2024-03-22T19:13:05.266-04:00Comments on The Dusty Bookcase: Best Books of 2018 (none of which are from 2018)Brian Busbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747768554703669866.post-20364373831399710932018-12-29T15:31:27.202-05:002018-12-29T15:31:27.202-05:00I've always found it odd that Buell so often a...I've always found it odd that Buell so often avoided identifying his settings, Patrick. For example, it's obvious that <i>The Pyx</i> is set in Montreal, yet the name of the city is never mentioned and the street names are fictitious.<br /><br />I'm afraid I know <i>Our Little Life</i> mainly through packing and unpacking. I bought my copy in the summer of 2002, not long after we moved back to Vancouver. It has since travelled to Ottawa, St Marys, and Merrickville - and I still haven't read it.<br /><br />I join you in your resolution. If I like it, I'll also read Sime's <i>Sister Women</i>, her 1919 collection of short stories (which I understand are set in Montreal). Brian Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747768554703669866.post-9612098304946070072018-12-29T01:54:01.562-05:002018-12-29T01:54:01.562-05:00Buell's last novel, A Lot to Make Up For, whic...Buell's last novel, A Lot to Make Up For, which I read this year, was more down to earth than The Pyx. Well written, for sure. Not all that complex, finally, but my only real complaint was the decision to avoid making the setting explicitly Canadian. <br /><br />Farrow's River City is admirable in its sweep. The portrait of Pierre Trudeau will be too idealized for some readers. How many people will buy a paper)copy of the book at current prices is another question...<br /><br />My old-Canadian-book resolution for 2019 is to read J.G. Sime's Our Little Life (1923). Brian, do you know it?Patrick Colemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04264831471102921542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747768554703669866.post-90471520483909549542018-12-26T11:51:06.272-05:002018-12-26T11:51:06.272-05:00I know what you mean about the print, Tracy. It se...I know what you mean about the print, Tracy. It seems a chore at first, but I've found the eyes adjust.<br /><br />Coincidentally - and strangely - the only edition of <i>The Invisible Worm</i> published between 1943 and 2017 was a 1989 large print edition. Sadly, the used copies being sold online are absurdly expensive.Brian Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747768554703669866.post-13029896835738530952018-12-26T11:45:22.982-05:002018-12-26T11:45:22.982-05:00John's novels are excellent. Must say, for all...John's novels are excellent. Must say, for all its pulpy goodness, I wish that fellow Montrealer Packard had set at least a few of his novels in the city.<br /><br />It might be a fun exercise to Canadianize one of his thrillers in the way he (or was it an editor or editors?) changed the locations of select novels from New York to London for the UK market.<br /><br />I've always thought that the Grey Seal novels would be a perfect project for Netflix, HBO and the like.Brian Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747768554703669866.post-78147799338107095182018-12-25T20:56:51.894-05:002018-12-25T20:56:51.894-05:00Now that I realize the The Invisible Worm is so ha...Now that I realize the The Invisible Worm is so hard to find at a reasonable price, I will have to buy the volume of the Collected Works that contains that book. I was avoiding that because the print is so tiny. TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747768554703669866.post-70668444142992881512018-12-25T11:48:35.152-05:002018-12-25T11:48:35.152-05:00Last year I resolved to read more than I collected...Last year I resolved to read more than I collected. I think it turned out about even. I've been diving into forgotten classics. This year I want to catch up on the last decade of Canadian writing. There are so many talented authors I've missed.BeauWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18095670582031978711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747768554703669866.post-55746385234740763832018-12-25T11:42:45.667-05:002018-12-25T11:42:45.667-05:00The Grey Seal books are very much pulp fiction, no...The Grey Seal books are very much pulp fiction, not lost classics, but super imaginative. I'm hoping the ones that were written as novels are a little less repetitive than the first two. Cool to see the roots of super heros being born. I think they could make a great movie.<br /><br />I read some Trevor Ferguson while in school and was really impressed, but can't remember what I read. I think it was a couple of plays actually. When I found out he was writing noir I leapt at them (slowly). The first two are top notch noir, gritty and suspenseful with top notch prose. The third is much more epic- and more into literary territory than noir.BeauWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18095670582031978711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747768554703669866.post-34921833122505392062018-12-22T14:09:13.796-05:002018-12-22T14:09:13.796-05:00Speaking of Montreal crime novels, I have greatly ...Speaking of Montreal crime novels, I have greatly enjoyed John McFetridge's series with character Eddie Dougherty.<br /><br />-Gerard- whose Google/Blogger account won't show up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747768554703669866.post-59279846830113397342018-12-21T21:37:29.281-05:002018-12-21T21:37:29.281-05:00Must admit that I've only read the novels Trev...Must admit that I've only read the novels Trevor Ferguson published under his own name, Gerald. Of the Farrow novels, a friend recommends the monumental 811-page <i>River City</i>.<br /><br />I should add that six years ago I had the honour of hosting a panel featuring Trevor on Montreal noir at the city's Blue Metropolis festival.Brian Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6747768554703669866.post-46567949947523939752018-12-21T10:16:56.206-05:002018-12-21T10:16:56.206-05:00I've never read a Trevor Fergusson novel but d...I've never read a Trevor Fergusson novel but did watch the film version of TIMEKEEPER. I have read all the John Farrow books.<br /><br />NUTS. Scratch that. I just checked the catalog and have not yet read the Farrow title PERISH THE DAY.<br /><br />The Jimmie dale books look interesting.Gerard Saylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00289822422163685990noreply@blogger.com