For the Banff Mountain Festival I’ll be staying at the Banff International hostel.
Coolest attraction there is the man made ice climbing wall. (Not sure if it is in operation yet this winter.)
I have a standard $150 ticket package for events. But I’m guessing just the ambiance of the mountain resort over the festival days will be the highlight.
I had mixed feelings while reading the second novel by Khaled Hosseini of Kite Runner fame and infamy.
Certainly it’s not as strong as Kite Runner.
I bought the audio book anyway because the subject is so important to me: the plight of Islamic women.
Too bad Hosseini is so predictably sentimental. From the New York Times, MICHIKO KAKUTANI:
And like its predecessor, it features some embarrassingly hokey scenes that feel as if they were lifted from a B movie, and some genuinely heart-wrenching scenes that help redeem the overall story.
It could be a fantastic book, but isn’t.
Yet, I will likely still read Hosseini’s next book. And watch the inevitably successful movies adapted from them.
I guess I’m hooked.
I read the book. Here was my review then:
Kahled Hosseini – The Kite Runner. 2003. Books set in Afghanistan are hot in 2006. This critically acclaimed example is a great eye-opener for those who do not know that part of the world, like myself. It is intense. Painful to read. It reminded me of A Separate Peace, by Knowles. By the last page, however, I was disappointed. Far too cliché and predictable. It is lame in the way formulaic TV movies are lame.
Still, I am very keen to see this important movie.
Author Khaled Hosseini has come out in support of a decision to delay the film version of his novel The Kite Runner over fears for the stars’ safety.
Studio Paramount Vantage has put the film back by six weeks, after three young Afghan actors said they could be targeted over a homosexual rape scene.
The studio has also arranged for three families to go and live abroad.
Hosseini said he “applauded” the decision. “Afghanistan has become a pretty violent place,” he added.
The overall message of the film is tolerance, love, friendship and forgiveness …
“If the boys and their families think there is a reasonable risk of threat to them, then you have to take all of the steps that you can to make sure they are okay,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper.
“I applaud the studio for delaying the release of the film even though it goes against whatever commercial wisdom there is.”
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Kite Runner author supports delay
To see the movie trailer click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
A new film might do for the nation what Lord of the Rings did for New Zealand.
Colombia is my favourite country in South America, mainly due to the friendliness of the people.
We’ve been tracking Colombia’s rise from narcotics netherworld to “hipster tropical destination du jour” for some time now, and it looks like an upcoming potential blockbuster movie could help complete the transition. Love in the Time of Cholera, the novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, hits North American theaters in November.
Oops, watching the trailer … looks a bit of a chick flick.
Maybe skip the movie, fly directly to gorgeous Cartagena, Colombia.
This past summer, a cheechako in the Yukon, I brought with me Jack London’s great novel White Fang as an audio book.
I had read it in my youth, but knew White Fang would get me into the Yukon.
London is no brilliant wordsmith, but his ability to put himself into the mind of a wolf dog is staggering. He must have watched these animals for weeks and months.
The book brings home the harsh violence of wilderness. And the even greater violence of supposedly-civilized humans.
White Fang is sold to the sadistic coward Beauty Smith who wagers on him in dog fights. (After reading this account, I’m hoping they send Michael Vick to prison.)
The book also explores themes of morality and redemption. There’s a happy ending with the long suffering wolf playing with his puppies.
White Fang is not as good as London’s The Call of the Wild, but they are both worth reading.
Great idea for a website!
Here’s how it works:
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Try it for yourself. (Only 32,000 books in the database so far.) >>>
What Should I Read Next?
The (ever humble) artist formerly known as Rockin’ Ronnie is in print once again.
It has a planked salmon recipe from me, as well as some great salmon recipes from actual BC chefs.
link via BC wild salmon recipes – on Ron’s business blog
Katrina pointed me to this site, a starting point for those looking for inexpensive, fun accommodation.
Works very well. However, not all great hostels are yet linked.
Hostels, Youth Hostels & Cheap Accommodation With No Booking Fee!
With youth hostels and cheap accommodation in over 2,500 destinations worldwide, our aim is to be the number one site for student travel, backpackers and for the general traveller.
Why book with HostelBookers?
* No booking fees
* Hostels rated and reviewed by backpackers
* Over 2,500 destinations worldwide
* Search hostels by price or ratings
* No registration required – just search and book!Hostels, Youth Hostels & Cheap Accommodation With No Booking Fee!
I already use Mobissimo.com for flights. I will use HostelBookers.com and a Lonely Planet guidebook for deciding on travel accommodation in future.
Hey, did you see that the BBC bought 75% of Lonely Planet? LP hopes that the BBC will help them expand their on-line presence.
Very short fiction (4 pages) that hits a little too close to home.
Google controls your e-mail, your videos, your calendar, your searches… What if it controlled your life?
You’d be
SCROOGLED
By Cory Doctorow
I know, I know. Four pages is way too long to read. A quick scan of some of the visuals is enough for you:
Read the short story: From The Magazine : Radar Online : Cory Doctorow imagines a world in which Google is evil
Cory Doctorow – official website
On the recommendation of Dave Adlard, I downloaded Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts from Audible.com — cost about US$12. Unabridged, 944 pages, that’s 43 hours!
I cherished every minute, listening on my iPod Nano while hiking this summer.
Dave knew I would love the setting of the book — Bombay, India and Afghanistan — and its epic themes.
Crime and punishment, passion and loyalty, betrayal and redemption are only a few of the ingredients in Shantaram, a massive, over-the-top, mostly autobiographical novel.
Shantaram is the name given Mr. Lindsay, or Linbaba, the larger-than-life hero. It means “man of God’s peace,” which is what the Indian people know of Lin.
What they do not know is that prior to his arrival in Bombay he escaped from an Australian prison where he had begun serving a 19-year sentence. He served two years and leaped over the wall. He was imprisoned for a string of armed robberies performed to support his heroin addiction, which started when his marriage fell apart and he lost custody of his daughter.
All of that is enough for several lifetimes, but for Greg Roberts, that’s only the beginning.
The convict flees to India to escape his past, the first day “meeting the two people who will largely influence his fate in the city. One is a young tour guide, Prabaker, whose gifts include a large smile and an unstoppably joyful heart.”
Prabaker is one of the great characters of literature, I feel.
“The second person he meets is Karla, a beautiful Swiss-American woman with sea-green eyes and a circle of expatriate friends. Lin’s love for Karla—and her mysterious inability to love in return—gives the book its central tension.”
It’s a massive read. A book of philosophy. A book which can change your life.
The narrator Humphrey Bower was the highlight for me. He is fantastic at dozens of different accents, helping me keep straight the many characters of different ethnicities.
Shantaram is a novel. But the parallels to the author’s life are striking. Roberts was an escaped Australian convict. He fled to India. He was recaptured in 1990 and returned to Australia to serve his sentence. And write.
The book will certainly appeal more to men than women. Ladies should wait for the movie — scheduled for release in 2008 starring Johnny Depp.
Even better news, for me, is that Roberts is writing a sequel.
I can hardly wait.
UPDATE: Rick’s favourite books of all time
