Coming in May! Ami McKay, Saleema Nawaz, and Monique Trottier will join the voyeuristic stylings of Seen Reading! Read on . . . CLICK HERE .

30 in 30 : Elyse Friedman reads “Bleeding and Laughing at Pineway & Cummer” from Know Your Monkey, and “Style” by Charles Bukowski. Buy Know Your Monkey here .

Coming in May! Ami McKay, Saleema Nawaz, and Monique Trottier will join the voyeuristic stylings of Seen Reading! Read on . . . CLICK HERE .

30 in 30: Evie Christie reads “Homecoming” from a forthcoming collection, and “Home is So Sad” by Philip Larkin.

30 in 30: Alison Pick reads “Chasing the Good Life” from The Dream World, and “Bring in the Gods” by Jack Gilbert

Buy Evie’s book, Gutted, here. Buy Alison’s book, The Dream World, here.

Learn all about what’s to come in May! Ami McKay, Saleema Nawaz, and Monique Trottier will join the voyeuristic stylings of Seen Reading! And more . . . CLICK HERE.

30 in 30: Damian Rogers reads “Dream of the Last Shaker” from a forthcoming collection with ECW and “Whale Watch” by Dean Young.

Southbound, Yonge and Bloor

Caucasian male, late 50s, with short grey hair, wearing glasses, long black coat, and grey pinstriped suit, with white and red duffel bag between his feet.

Death in Holy Order, P.D. James (Knopf)

Page 135:

He had tidied away his first marriage as methodically as he tidied his desk. That silent visitation at the corner of the stair or glimpsed through his study window, the sudden shock of hearing a half-remembered laugh, were mercifully supine, overlaid by parish duties, the weekly routine, his second marriage. He had consigned his first marriage to a dark oubliette of his mind and shot the bolt, but not before he had almost formally passed sentence on it.

He’s happy. Their life together is good. He can imagine their future, hands clasped, eyes and shoulders facing front. Without hesitation, he knows their view is the same. There was that day, so long ago, when he glimpsed only the back of another’s head and wondered. He holds her close to him, his faith renewed that they’ll meet again in this life or another, forever forgiven and all hearts revealed.

30 in 30: Gil Adamson reading from Ashland. Buy it here.

Visit Crissy at The Calhoun Tribune.

***

Enter the CBC Book Club contest! Winner receives signed copies of this year’s Canada Reads contenders, plus a tote bag!
Follow along for details @seenreading.

Across the nation, on your favourite station, Canada Reads 2009 runs March 2-6 on CBC Radio. For pics, vids, and audio from all the contenders, and to have your say about which book should win, visit www.cbc.ca/canadareads.

The kind folk at CBC have invited me back for a second year of entries. Here we go!

Northbound, Spadina and Dundas

Caucasian male, early 20s, with short brown hair, and thin sideburns, wearing red-framed glasses, grey coat, jet black jeans, and charcoal slip on Vans.

Fruit, Brian Francis (ECW Press)

Page 47:

Every year, a young Italian virgin is crowned “Miss Basilico” on the last night of the St. Marco Festival. There are many duties she has to fulfill as a beauty queen. For example, she has to be nice to people all the time and pose for pictures. She also has to dress as an elf at Christmas and hand out candy canes to children at the mall. Most importantly, Miss Basilico has to set an example for Italian girls everywhere and show them that no matter what your dreams are, they can come true if you really believe in yourself.

“I’m looking forward to winning the food basket,” Daniela said, picking a scab off her knee. “Nutella for days.”

She’s finished her first semester of grade nine. He lives in their parent’s basement. He puts a towel against the door, and sits on the toilet tank to blow smoke out the bathroom window. She’s dancing in her room above him with the same best friend she’s had since pre-school. He’s going to cut her hair over Christmas break, she made him promise. He’s thinking about a piercing, nothing visible, maybe his tongue. He strokes his stomache, absentmindedly. She stands at the top of the stairs calling down; the new Christina video is on. He’s already loaded it to his iPod.