Canada Reads 2014: Annabel

After my last post on The Orenda, Jian Ghomeshi announced the Canada Reads 2014 contenders on the Q.  Not surprisingly, The Orenda is one of them.  This year's theme is a book that will change the nation.  Of course being the bookworm that I am, I rushed out to by the other books right away.

I started Annabel by Kathleen Winter on Wednesday evening and finished by noon yesterday.  What a great read, I was absorbed into the story from page one!  While I'm not sure I feel that the book will change our nation particularly (I do welcome your comments on this!), it will effect anyone who reads it.  

Annabel will make you question your perception of identity and how we perceive that of others, as well as how cruel society can be about these identities.  

Has anyone read other books that tackle social norms and identity?

The Orenda

Over Thanksgiving, I indulged in The Orenda by Joseph Boyden.  Some of you may already know about my intense addiction to fiction novels, but during the teaching season, I have to keep it under control, or I would spend every spare moment hidden away with a book.  My Mom actually had to hide books on me when she wanted me to clean my room when I was a child/teenager.  Good thing she is not in Ottawa to do the same thing to me now!:)

Anyways, back to the point.  Three Day Road was the first book I read by Joseph Boyden and I was blown away.  Though I'm a happy person myself, I find that books that leave you reflecting (usually on the unfairness of the world) are the ones that are remembered most.  Boyden has definitely hit the nail on the head regarding native affairs in Canada.  The Orenda makes one reconsider our Nation's history and question our part in it.  His accounts through characters on all sides of the story show the depth of his understanding and research into the subject.

I don't want to give away the whole story, so go read it yourself!  I look forward to hearing your comments about the book.

Autumn

Can you believe it is September already?  I can't!  Like other teachers and music teacher friends of mine, I did not sleep much last week, in anticipation of the start of a new season.

My best friend in Madrid, inspired me to write about the positive aspects of this season.  Please view her blog at: http://tallworldafterall.blogspot.ca/2013/09/five-things-fast-on-first-day.html?showComment=1378388306160

So here are a few:

Morning Coffee
Yes, I did drink coffee in the morning all summer, but now that the weather is getting colder, it's nice to warm your hands up in the morning.  And now, I drink my morning coffee much earlier, while working on my new Mozart Sonata.  Is there a better way to start the morning than coffee and Mozart?!

Sunshine
The sun is shining and my studio looks bright and ready for learning!  It is also a good day to sit on the balcony and lesson plan before classes.

Routine
It's easy for the days to fly by without accomplishing what you mean to, when you are on a relaxed summer schedule.  Now that I've been getting up early and getting to work, I've been super-productive.

Music
I've missed hearing music all day...now I get to hear music all the time, both my students and mine.

My Students
I've also missed my students!  Now I get to see them all and hear about their summers and goals for this year.

So what have you enjoyed about the start of fall?

Fun-practise

When I was younger, my Dad would encourage me once in a while to have a "fun-practise".  This is a great way to take a break from pieces that you have been working on for a while and review some favourites, no matter how old!  I have favourites that I play at least every week from about 15 years ago!  Or work on some popular music you like.  

Another way to have a fun-practise is to make it social.  Often, as a musician at any level, you have to spend a lot of solitary time practising.  It can get lonely!  Join a music group or get together with some other musical friends.  At my music-dinner-parties, repertoire ranges from Vivaldi, to Jazz, to Adele and  old classics.  Much to the amazement of a new attendee, we even played and sang "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" (John Denver).  I'm sure my neighbours were equally impressed at such a late hour.

Don't have any other musical friends?  Talk to me!  I have been working on creating theory, composition and performance groups for my students of all ages.  I think it is great to get together with others who share your interest in music.

What else do you do to make practising fun?  What are some of your favourites that you play time and time again?

On Multi-tasking

Are you a multi-tasker?  Is there a particular time that you remember in particular?

I'm inspired to write about this, because I was told by a student today that she sometimes recites multiplication-tables while practising.  She told me that a combination of a certain piece that she was practising with the 5X multiplication-tables was particularly hard.  I laughed and told her how proud I was that she could do music and math at the same time.  I hope this means I am doing something right!:)

Later on I was talking about this with another student, who informed me that she as well multiplies while practising piano and sometimes sings her multiplication while playing!

A couple of years ago I had a lovely student who would have entire conversations with me while playing her songs.

My students never cease to amaze me!

I am a strong believer in multi-tasking.
For example: when I commute to practices, my own lessons and friends houses by cycling, I listen to the children's songs that I need to learn to sing for toddler classes at the same time.  This can sometimes have the interesting effect of whistling "Old MacDonald Had A Farm" or the "Hokey Pokey" at dinner parties, but is generally helpful!

Lightening!

I'm currently reading a great book by Oliver Sacks called Musicophilia.  The book is full of Tales of Music and the Brain, so part psychology and part music.

The first chapter is an unbelievable story of a man who was struck by lightening.  He was an orthopaedic surgeon and was completely unaffected after the being struck, aside from having a sudden strong desire to learn piano!  He would dream music, but had no way of notating it, since he had no music education.  He began to devote himself to learning piano and theory in every moment outside of work.  This did not go over very well with his wife and they eventually divorced.

My oboe teacher suggested that perhaps she chose oboe as a result of being hit in the head with a baseball as a child.  She pondered further over the fact that there are not many hockey players that play the oboe.

I don't remember if there was a key moment when I decided to get serious about piano.  I was young and we had a piano at home and my parents put me in lessons.  I am always curious to hear why my adult students start piano though.

I chose the oboe in high-school because it seemed the most interesting.  It is also a great instrument to accessorize (unlike the piano) and I pride myself in my colourfully tied oboe reeds and purple polka-dotted reed case, fun!

What made you choose your instrument, if any?  Or other activities that you do?  Maybe not a bolt of lightening, but surely a great story!  I look forward to your comments.

On re-reading

Excess of it.

Do you read novels and discard them?  Or do you re-read?

Among other books, I am currently re-reading The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson.  The perfect book for an artist.  How many times have I read it?  Probably at least ten.

The appeal for me comes from the many aspects that are interwoven in the story.  The main character is a scarred individual, in more ways than one.  His upbringing was turbulent and without other skills, he was soon an actor in adult films.  He was smart however, and soon directed, until he was in a car accident which burned him, leaving him physically scarred and missing some key elements necessary for his previous acting career.

His accident and medical journey following are documented throughout the book.  While hard to read at times, I like this aspect of the book, as I come from a medical family and can become very involved in hospital talk.

In his twist of fate, he meets a psych patient, who is an artist.  She carves gargoyles and does so in a definite manic state, without eating, other than coffee, literally from the tin.  He turns to his other love of learning and consumes as much information about her mental state as he can.  During their time together, she recounts their history, which she claims took place in medieval Germany.  The story is beautifully interlaced and seamless in its ending.  It is the only real story of love that I have read, that is not physically explicit, but rather mentally and artistically.

When I like books, I love them.  I cannot tell you how many favourite novels I have read and re-read when the mood strikes me.  Like music, there is a time and place for every piece and I can pick the perfect book off the shelf for any occasion.

What novels have you been unable to put down time after time?