PR Girlz recommendation

A friend recently recommended The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger on the PR Girlz’s blog. If you haven’t read it and enjoy a story that’s a little quirky, it’s worth picking up.

I haven’t figure out (yet) how to make the comments appear as part of the main page, but I’ll move recommendations manually until I figure out how to automate the process. If you’ve submitted a suggested reading and I don’t properly credit you, feel free to send me a nasty email (spineless.blog@gmail.com). 

Terry Fallis, who’s not one of the “PR Girlz” but does head up Thornley Fallis Communications with partner Joe Thornely, and who produces the weekly podcast Inside PR with David Jones (too much information?), suggests Busted Flush by Brad Smith, a Canadian author from southwestern Ontario. I’ve not read any of his work, but Terry also recommends Smith’s earlier books, One Eyed Jacks, and All Hat. Thanks, Terry.

Working on the razzle dazzle …

As soon as I can figure out how to upload photos and include links in the posts, the jazz factor will be blinding … suggestions are welcome.

Am currently working my way through the accidental by Ali Smith and would love to hear from anyone who’s actually made it past page 73. According to the publisher, it won the Whitbread Novel Award (never heard of it), was shortlisted for the 2005 Man Booker Prize (feel like I should know that one …) and received praise from every newspaper reviewer in Britain.

Apparently, I’m too easily swayed by a good cover and third-party tributes …

Welcome

I like to read. “I’m just going to finish this chapter …” is often an empty promise and I have been known to camp out in a closet to read in peace. Of course, that was years ago and now, because I’m an adult, I just stare blankly when asked “are you almost ready?” before turning back to my book.

I’m hoping that Spineless will be a spot where we can answer the question: “Have you read anything interesting lately?” It doesn’t matter if the book is brain candy, a new release, an old favourite or just a passionate pitch about why we should force our way through Vanity Fair, if you have a book you think others should read … just let me know.

To get the ball rolling, I’m going to throw out a couple of suggestions. The first is a book I adore and have read several times and the second is a quick summer read.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

 

At first, I thought only my twisted family would think that Ignatius J. Riley was a worthy protagonist (and given the reviews on Chapters.indigo.ca that may still be the case), but the character is wonderfully repulsive and endearing in the same sentence. He plots, he pontificats … he fails miserably … but between bursts of laughter you’ll actually want him to succeed.

The Dark Queen by Susan Carroll

I picked this up at the airport and it’s now making the rounds among friends and family. It’s the first book in a trilogy, and if you’re into period pieces it’s worth picking up. I think the back of the book sums it up, really: “From Brittany’s misty shores to the decadent splendor of Paris’s royal court, one woman must fulfill her destiny–while facing the treacherous designs of Catherine de Medici, the dark queen.”

Oh, why not? It’s summer …