Still reading!

It's been a long time since I've logged on to this website. Ignored blogs and over a year of pain, emotional and physical, later, I am back to briefly mention some local Saskatchewan authors that I have discovered recently. An oldie, but a goodie, Max Braithwaite, born in 1911, passed on in 1995, has written quite a number of books back in his day, one of which I discovered while perusing the shelves at McNally Robinson this past March, in Saskatoon. The book 'Why Shoot the Teacher' apparently was even made into a movie, albeit a Canadian low budget production I assume, but one that some schools in the province used in their ciricculum, at least back in the nineties anyway! I was told by a friend that this movie is often featured on SCN from time to time so I will try and scope it out this summer as I really enjoyed the book, written in the sixties I believe. I've ordered a couple of others from the good old public library and will update as I read them! 'Why Shoot the Teacher' was not as good as MacDonald Coleman's books, another oldie but goodie that I must have mentioned on this blog quite some time ago! Basically, the book details Mr. Braithwaite's first year of teaching in a one room schoolhouse back in 1933. Timeless and soon to be forgotten history of our province's beginnings. Reading this book allowed me to imagine what it must have been like not only for the teacher, but the students in these one room schools which were scattered across the province back in the day. My grandparents were educated in this fashion and now they are both gone, unable to tell their family what it was like growing up in that era. Mary Anne Brockman came through with her other two books in her series about a nun and the women who knew and loved her. I have read the fourth book and must take the time to read her third book! Not sure why I read them out of order but regardless, I do enjoy her books and look forward to more material from this author! Another book which made me smile this year was '2012--it actually happened!', the name of the author escapes me at this time, Robert Dowd perhaps? This book, I found in the local section, however the author hails from Southeastern Manitiba if I remember correctly. The book was obviously the first work of fiction written by this man, and the language and details inside definitely are indicative of material written by the male gender, but it was a fun read, based on what might happen if the word does end in 2012 like the Mayan's are predicting! A Saskatoon author, Wes Funk has written some books which I also discovered in the local section of McNally's back in March are nice Saskatchewan reads. While the character's I've met are of the gay persuasion, if you don't mind reading about this lifestyle, Wes Funk describes many Saskatchewan locales in his work, the chinese restaurant in his book 'Dead Rock Stars' reminds me of the one I grew up with in my small Saskatchewan town. Baggage was the other book of his that I read and I do have a copy of another one of his here from the library which I need to get busy with. I will for sure be reading more of his material when it is pubished! I believe someone mentioned the other day that Gail Bowen has a new book out, must look into that at the library! I just finished Jodi Picoult's latest, Lone Wolf. It mentioned Saskatchewan in the final chapter! Karen Kingsbury finished off her series about Bailey Flanigan, quite popular among the teen scene with 'team Cody' and 'team Brandon'. I won't say who is the lucky man to marry Bailey in the end! I have books waiting to be read by a couple other authors.....Gayleen Froese....and another one titled Cleavage, again, the author's name has flown out the window today. My mind has been acting strange since I've started taking another medication to combat my chronic neuropathy. Lyrica is the new drug I am sampling these days. I finally was able to see a neurologist this month. A long time in the making. I am on the wait list to see a geneticist in Saskatoon and I am still waiting to find a doctor knowledgable in the area of Ehler's Danlos Hypermobility type. My teeth have shifted around in my mouth so bad that the appliance Dr. Kennedy made for me in the nineties will not fit in my mouth anymore. I've spent thousands on TMJ treatment that hasn't dulled the pain and I have become more and more isolated from my friends over the past year. You really find out fast who your friends are when something life changing happens to you. Overall though I am feeling better than I was a year ago, well maybe about the same. It was a year ago I experienced some pain relief when the pinching on a nerve in my neck subsided somewhat. I had some minor reprieve from the pain over May, June and July but come late summer I was in a lot more pain and it's been like that since. The drugs I am offered by doctors seem to kill my sex drive and make me gain weight, great when your husband of 17 years decides to join an online dating website for married folk. Ashley Madison entered my life last September and things have not been the same since. I'm not sure whether the weather is playing a role in the temporary pain relief or if it is just coincidence. Come the fall if I am still in the same amount of pain, Dr. Ijaz in Regina will refer me for an MRI. Again, something I really needed a year ago. Thank God for books to escape my real life. It has not been a fun year. I kind of miss the life I was beginning to live in 2010. The office job, the people who worked in the office, but if I am supposed to be a caregiver, then so be it. Things could always be worse. I learned that in 2011, no doubt about it. 2011 was the worst year of my life and if God wants the world to end in 2012, more power to him! I'm ready. Ready to be in a place without adultery, without pain, without the frustration I've felt this year.

Cleavage

Cleavage was the book I picked to finish last night. It is written by Thianna Bischoff who was born and raised in Calgary. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although it took me awhile to get into it. Once I got past the visual effects the author used in this novel, ie: postcards with real Canadian stamps on them, a resume format of the main character, a cancer patient, notes between friends, and excerpts out of the dictionary, I found myself wanting to keep reading. The book is a quick read and I found myself wanting to know more, like it ended too soon once it did. Leah and her boyfriend Justin are the main characters, athough the novel is written from Leah's point of view. She found herself diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 24. The novel deals with her recovery and the worry one would feel after being deemed cancer free but knowing it can be a ticking time bomb under the surface waiting to strike again is evident in Bischoff's writing. Anyone can relate to this book since everyone has been touched some way by cancer at some point in their lives. I am going to keep watching for more novels from this young lady who from what I read in her book is ten years younger than I am, so there should be plenty of more work from her in years to come!