The Cue Card

Well, I haven’t been on the blog much as of late as June has been a month that sort of snowballed away from me. I visited my folks in SoCal mid-month, which was very pleasant, but then catastrophe struck the province of Alberta, Canada, where I live, due to major flooding.

It happened on June 20 when very heavy rains made a number of rivers jump their banks and flood through neighborhoods all over the place, destroying much in their paths. I think 100,000 people had to be evacuated and thousands of homes were damaged. It’s basically been a nightmare for so many people across the province. Some still can’t even get back into their homes, which have been condemned.

Luckily our home on higher ground wasn’t damaged, but I’ve been helping others in the flood zone, where basements and garages were hit. Wet drywall had to be taken out and damaged items put in the trash. Caked mud is on everything and not much is salvageable. It reminds me a bit of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, seeing such devastation on a grand scale. The repair and rebuilding costs will be in the billions. Yet despite all the tragic losses of property, people have been resilient and have pulled together to cope and help others out. It’ll be a long battle back to clean up and rebuild. Some areas will be changed forever.

On the side of this happening, I was reading the excellent 1992 novel “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt for my book club. I had already read it before in 1992, but someone had picked it to discuss so I was refreshing my memory of it by rereading it again. Many know, it’s a 559 page doozy of a classic crime story set at a college in Vermont about six close friends (all students specializing in Ancient Greek) who commit murder and then deal with the aftermath. Richard is the narrator who reflects on the situation years later. The story plays out like a Greek tragedy.

It’s quite chilling and a fast page-turner for the most part. Only a few times did I wish it was edited shorter. Otherwise it’s a gem of a novel, so well done I would like to read the author’s 2002 novel “The Little Friend,” which is also supposed to be scary and disturbing. And good news has it that Donna Tartt’s long-awaited third novel “The Goldfinch” is due out Oct. 22 of this year. She is definitely brilliant, so I will not miss it.

As for books coming out in July (see list at the top right), veteran authors Chris Bohjalian and Phillippa Gregory both have new novels coming out, which should be good. I’m also curious about Susan Choi’s latest one called “My Education.” I have liked her writing in the past, notably her novel “The Foreign Student” back in 1998. “My Education” is about a graduate student and a professor and is “a raw, wild, hurtling foray into the tangled realms of sexuality and self-knowledge,” says Jennifer Egan. While Michael Cunningham calls it “passionate and surprising.” hmm. The subject matter sounds like a bit of a departure from some of her other novels.

In July there’s also a slew of notable debut novels coming out (I counted 19 on the list at the right). Of these, I’m intrigued to read “The Violet Hour” by Katharine Hill and “Love All” by Callie Wright. I will also look for Jenni Fagan’s debut novel “The Panopticon” which has been getting fabulous press. It’s about a young woman growing up alone in the Scottish foster care system. Ali Smith says it’s “uncompromising and courageous … one of the most cunning and spirited novels I’ve read for years.”

As for July movies (see the list at the top left), there’s some high-octane action features due out with “The Lone Ranger” and “The Wolverine,” as well as some comedies notably with the return of Adam Sandler in “Grown Ups 2” and Kristen Wiig and Annette Bening in “Girl Most Likely.” But perhaps I’m most curious to see Woody Allen’s latest feature “Blue Jasmine” starring Cate Blanchett as a New York housewife who’s having a crisis and goes out to San Fran to visit her sister. It should be a decent mix of drama and comedy, judging from his usual films.

Lastly, in music for July (see list at bottom right), the biggest release will be Jay-Z’s latest album called “Magna Carta Holy Grail,” which is due out July 4. It’s got quite a title. And no singles have been released from it early so it’s quite a mystery but it has several guest singers appearing on it and should be a sales blockbuster for sure.

That’s all I have for now. What about you? Which books, movies or albums are you most looking forward to in July?

Well June is already here and half way through the year, how is your reading going? Personally, I’m quite behind. There’s just too many good books and too little time, as they say. This month will only further that with a number of veteran authors putting out enticing offerings (see the list at the right); there’s new novels by Stephen King, Jeannette Walls, Colum McCann, Lionel Shriver and Curtis Sittenfeld among others. So get crackin’.

Always a bit edgy, Lionel Shriver addresses our obsession with food in her latest novel “Big Brother,” which I definitely hope to get to, about siblings, marriage, and obesity.

Another novel to watch for is “Sisterland” by Curtis Sittenfeld, the author of “Prep” and “American Wife,” which is about twin sisters who have psychic abilities. hmm. I thought “Prep” was quite well done so I’ll plan to look for this one as well.

One nonfiction book I’m dying to read is “The Spy Who Loved: The Secrets and Lives of Christine Granville” by Clare Mulley, which is apparently the untold story of Britain’s first female special agent of WWII. It’s receiving a lot of high praise and sounds fascinating about Granville’s very heroic yet tragic life as a spy. Hmm, can’t go wrong there.

But if you’re in the mood for short stories, you might want to pick up Rebecca Lee’s collection “Bobcat and Other Stories.” I haven’t read her before, but judging from what sources are saying about this one, I’d like to. Her deadpan humor, says Amazon’s Kevin Nguyen, perseveres throughout this collection even as her characters wrestle with tragic internal dilemmas, which could make for just the right mix.

Finally in books, I’m intrigued by the praise that “The Execution of Noa P. Singleton” is getting. It’s a debut novel from Elizabeth L. Silver about a woman on death row, whose sentence is trying to be commuted by the mother of the daughter the death row inmate is convicted of killing. In return, the mother wants to know what truly happened to her daughter. Did she kill her? And will the inmate be taken off death row? “The Execution of Noa P. Singleton” has been hailed as a searing debut and one destined to be a smash. Author Ayelet Waldman calls it “an intense and gripping novel of betrayal and guilt that forces readers to confront their convictions and the limitations of their capacity for empathy.” Oh my.

In movies this month (see the list at the left), there’s a lot of death and destruction. Summertime apocalypse is upon us. Of course I’ll see “World War Z”; there’s no way I’m missing Brad Pitt fight against a Zombie pandemic. Hokey? It may be, but I got to do it. He’s fighting to save humanity, don’t you know. (I’m a big fan of the TV show “The Walking Dead” by the way. Zombies are in.)

There’s also a comical take on the apocalyptic experience this month called “This Is the End,” starring James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill among others. I may be dragged to this with my husband for some juvenile comedy and bad taste but it could be worth a few good laughs.

Have I not mentioned “Man of Steel” yet? Oh yeah bring on more superheroes. I remember the Christopher Reeve Superman movies so I’m not sure if I’m as totally hyped to go down this path yet again. But Amy Adams does play Lois Lane, which is a bit interesting, and I’m sure the new Superman is quite capable and the special effects should be wham-bam entertainment.

Then again the film “Byzantium” by Irish director Neil Jordan looks nice and creepy. It’s about a mother and daughter who have lived the eternal life so to speak as vampires. And Saoirse Ronan plays creepy so well in movies like “Hanna,” “The Lovely Bones,” and “Atonement.” Good grief, she’s the quintessential actress for playing mysterious, creepy roles! Perhaps a new vampire film is just the thing I need.

Finally for albums coming out in June (see the list at the bottom right), I struggle with which one to pick since I don’t have an absolute favorite here, but I’ll go with the new one from the Canadian group the Barenaked Ladies since I live here in the northern country now. I’ll be curious to see if their “Grinning Streak” album has some good songs on it. They no longer have their lead singer Steven Page with them (he left in 2009 after that drug incident), so will the Ladies be as good? That remains to be seen perhaps but worth checking out.

How about you, which new book, movie or music releases are you most looking forward to in June?

April has flown by and now May is almost upon us. After spending the past month in the States, I will be headed back to North Country (or Canada as some call it) on Monday to rejoin the husb (who enjoyed part of the time in Florida with me) and our dog Stella, pictured here.

Oh Stella, how I can’t wait to see you! It should be good to be back. The weather has finally gotten nice at home (the snow is gone!) and I’m looking forward to summer.

There’s some new releases to look forward to as well. If you look at the list at the right, you’ll see some strong authors with new books coming out. I’m definitely curious about Khaled Hosseini’s new novel “And the Mountains Echoed,” which I think is another story of his partly set in Afghanistan but I don’t know much about it yet. I’ve read his other two novels and really was transported (as were most) by “The Kite Runner” back in 2003. “A Thousand Splendid Suns” followed, which was quite grim but good as well.

Also the award-winning author of “Half of a Yellow Sun” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has a new novel coming out called “Americanah.” I’ve always wanted to read “Half of a Yellow Sun,” which won the Orange Prize in 2007, or for that matter her first novel “Purple Hibiscus” from 2003. Her books are typically set in Adichie’s home country of Nigeria and have received a lot of recognition. I’ll have to play catch up and read all of them, pronto. Have you read her?

Another pick for May books also takes place overseas: Chechnya of all places. Set during the Chechnyan conflict, “A Constellation of Vital Phenomena” is a debut novel by Anthony Marra that has been receiving quite a bit of high praise. Ann Patchett calls it “simply spectacular” and T.C. Boyle says it’s hard to believe it’s a first novel. Apparently it’s about a resilient doctor who risks everything to save the life of a hunted child, and it unravels the unexpected ties that bind us together. Hmm, sounds powerful.

But if that’s not your cup of tea, you might check out Gail Godwin’s new book “Flora” set during the final months of WWII, or Philip Meyer’s multigenerational epic of the American West called “The Son,” which Kate Atkinson calls “stunning” and Charles Frazier says is “remarkable.” Perhaps it’s in the similar vein of Larry McMurtry’s “Lonesome Dove” if you liked that.

Moving on to May movies (see list at the left), it’s all “The Great Gatsby” as far as I can tell. Apparently the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic has sold buckets this year in anticipation for this adaptation by director and co-screenwriter Baz Luhrmann. I plan to reread it myself before the Big Day. The movie’s set during the Roaring Twenties but looks to have a contemporary feel and soundtrack to it. It’s going to be a bit different than the several other Great Gatsby film versions over the decades. You might recall the 1974 version of it with Robert Redford as Gatsby and Mia Farrow as Daisy but that might seem tame after this new version with Leo DiCaprio as Gatsby and Carey Mulligan as Daisy. I’m keeping my mind open about it and of this classic coming to life.

Lastly, for May albums, there’s some strong releases for this month, see list at the bottom right. I’m definitely enticed by new ones from Pistol Annies and Natalie Maines. I plan to check out those along with my pick of Patty Griffin’s new album “American Kid.” I don’t plan to miss hearing Patty’s gorgeous vocals and new songs. She hasn’t put out a new album since 2007 so this is a big treat.

How about you, which new book, movie or music releases are you most looking forward to in May?