Ron Nurwisah, Boy Reporter

I’ve been covering the International Festival of Authors for the National Post’s book blog the Afterword. Fist Of The Warrior aka Lesser of Three Evils film

It’s been amazing to see a lot of my friends in publishing and meet some genuinely amazing authors (Roddy Doyle! Colson Whitehead! Orhan Pamuk!)

The Pursuit of Happyness psp

• Manderlay
  • Home Alone 2: Lost in New York film
    
    Runaway Bride ipod

And a huge hat tip to the fest organizers who seem to have hit it out of the park for their 30th year and to show you just how much the fest has grown check out this post that my friend Jamie put together on the first IFOA back in 1980.

I’m getting ready to take part in Infinite Summer Drive Me Crazy video , a three-month long literary endurance test where you read David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest.

• Signs

I’ve tried to read Infinite Jest at least three times. Usually it’s while I’m back home in Vancouver and I find a copy lying around in my old room. The same copy that I tried to read the last time I was back in Vancouver.

Ravenous buy December Boys

But this time I think it’s going to be different. I actually think I’m going to finish the book and not just because I’m blogging about the project with a few other coworkers at the National Post and my failure to read the book could possibly appear in a national newspaper.

As a speedy reader, reading a book is a pretty pedestrian activity for me. Sometimes, when I’m reviewing the book on deadline, it’s a chore.

In the case of Infinite Summer, knowing that there are a few hundred (thousand?) people reading along makes this an event. It makes reading a book something special. That doesn’t happen very often.

Helping run a books blog pretty much means my reading rate has drastically increased. A couple of things that I managed to tackle lately:

The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, by Reif Larsen Krippendorfs Tribe download

This is Penguin Canada’s big title for the summer and you know what, it’s going to be a hit. It’s the story of a 12-year-old cartographic genius who tries to make his way to the Smithsonian by riding the rails. The book is twee, precious, adorable, beautifully written and illustrated.

Rocket Science

• Perfect Hideout trailer

The Cello Suites, by Eric Siblin

One Night in the Tropics buy Blondie on a Budget movie Part travelogue, part music history lesson, part historical mystery, Siblin’s book was a joy to read. Best accompanied by the Cello Suites themselves.

What Would Google Do?, by Jeff Jarvis

A great book by one of the most interesting media thinkers around right now. My review of the book ran in the Post here.

Not sure who pointed me to BibliOdyssey but I’d like to shake that man’s hand. It’s a breathtaking blog looking at antique book illustrations on any number of topics. Check out the details on this gorgeous book of eclipses or this collection of beautifully done woodcuts on Japanese festivals.

Idle Hands ipod

• The Cake Eaters full
  • In the Cut psp

  Miracle move

  • download Tripping the Rift: The Movie

  Be Cool

  The War of the Worlds move The Romantic Englishwoman full movie

• The Vanguard full movie

Just kidding. But really. Lit blog The Millions

download Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

pointed me to this Wikipedia article on book curses

• The Minus Man download buy Cars

• Murder.com

The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb ipod

. Seems like mediaeval scribes used to place hexes on books. Considering the religious nature of many of these texts, not to mention the agonizing, eye-gouging labour that went into some of them (most would’ve been copied out by hand!) a curse seems to be appropriate.

Without Warning release Fuck trailer Here’s an example of one:

For him that stealeth, or borroweth and returneth not, this book from its owner, let it change into a serpent in his hand and rend him. Let him be struck with palsy, and all his members blasted. Let him languish in pain crying out for mercy, & let there be no surcease to his agony till he sing in dissolution. Let bookworms gnaw his entrails … when at last he goeth to his final punishment, let the flames of Hell consume him forever.

Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat full movie

Compare these Harry Potter books redesigned to mimic classic Penguin covers to the ones that are actually on the shelves and you can see that these are a lot sexier.

The Crow: Wicked Prayer dvd Like Mother, Like Daughter trailer

Meet Joe Black move

Casual Optimist also points me to a set of Lemony Snicket ones.

Midnight Express movie

Trade download

Monster-in-Law film

Designed by M.S. Corley

The Chronicles of Riddick hd The Seventh Stream movie A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash film

Hercules movie download

• Baseline Killer divx Omen IV: The Awakening trailer

I’m on the verge of passing out from a carbohydrate coma, so I’m just going to point you to my friend Dan Wagstaff’s blog The Casual Optimist.

D3: The Mighty Ducks film

buy Tunnel Rats Dan’s a publicist for Raincoast Books but also has a sharp eye for well-designed book covers. Case in point, this latest post

on a breathtaking redesign of the collected works of Australian novelist Peter Carey.

If you ever meet him in person you’ll find him to be a personable and lovely fella, the British accent also helps. Sorry ladies, he’s taken.

SpaceCamp psp

Strictly Sexual rip

Blood Simple. move The Guardian, which has one of the best book sections of any newspaper, has come up with this list of 1000 novels you must read. They’ve broken it up into seven categories; everything from love to war.

Society Dog Show full movie

I’ve read 83 of the books, which is a tad disappointing, but can probably be chalked up to the fact that I read a lot more non-fiction now and don’t just sit around reading old books and writing about them anymore. I’m more likely to sit around reading new books and writing about them.

Black Point movie download

Hustle & Flow

Fear of a Black Hat download

Most of you who have come for my dinner parties know that I admire Mark Bittman. I never really learned how to cook when I was younger (I picked up the absolute basics from my mother) but Bittman, and British food writer Nigel Slater, were my mentors in the kitchen.

Mo Better Blues film Guilty by Suspicion film

Orgies and the Meaning of Life psp

Bittman’s How To Cook Everything has been a handy bible for me over the last few years and his NY Times blog, which include very easy-to-follow instructional videos) is a must-read for me.

I’m excited that he’s got a new book, Food Matters

• Norbit ipod

. Salon’s Laura Miller reviews the book, comparing it favourably to Michael Pollan’s the Omnivore’s Dilemma.

Texas Rangers move

The Coffin trailer

From the review:

The formula is very simple (Bittman is the Minimalist, after all): “Eat less of certain foods, specifically animal products, refined carbs, and junk food; and more of others, specifically plants, in close to their natural state.” It is a recommendation that owes much (as Bittman repeatedly acknowledges) to the work of Michael Pollan, author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food”; the spirit of Pollan presides over this book like the Virgin Mary over a Catholic Church. In fact, you could describe “Food Matters” as “applied Pollan,” because Pollan, for all his endlessly inventive, inquisitive and adventurous writings on American eating and food production, lacks Bittman’s pragmatic touch.

The Land That Time Forgot film

Pollan is even making a stop here in Toronto. Sadly, I’ll probably be working.

Vengeance divx

The Black Cauldron Twitter, the microblogging tool, seems to be at odds with literary coverage. After all, Twitter’s 140 character limit makes a  lengthy exploration of books pretty much impossible.

But that doesn’t mean that Twitter can’t be used to supplement blogs, podcasts, videos and straight-up reviews, interviews and articles on books.

Most of Canada’s major publishers are tweeting. Penguin, HarperCollins and Random House are pointing us to media highlights, author successes and even the general moods of their offices. For some authors, John Hodgman comes to mind, tweeting is a useful way to maintain a vibrant online presence. More off-the-cuff than straight-up-blogging, there’s an immediacy to Twitter that’s pretty tough to beat.

Publicist Julie Wilson made sure that Anansi has an active Twitter presence, she’s also used the program to augment her very successful literary project Seen Reading. Quill and Quire Dead & Breakfast download , the Globe Books section and my employer are all also throwing in their two-cents, 140 characters at a time. Anyone with a blog can use Twitter, and I’d argue that the program is becoming indispensable if you want to maximize your blog traffic and online presence.

But there are also some literary projects native to Twitter. Erin Balser’s Books in 140 Sometimes in April film throws reviews, books news and other literary tidbits into the mix. It’s a lively addition to a Canadian literary blogasphere that can be a tad small and insular at times.

download Lesbian Vampire Killers

Not in Canada, but still incredibly useful is Flashlight Worthy Books Exit Speed dvdrip , a Twitter project that gives us nothing but themed lists on books. Great if you’re about to head out to the bookstore or library and not sure what to pick up. There’s also Bookies

Alone in the Dark

, a group blog/twitter feed that tries to serve as a clearinghouse of discussion and ideas for book lovers.

I haven’t even gone anywhere near Twitter fiction or poetry. That’s a subject or another post.