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A Prose Reading Series and Writers' Workshops in The Junction. The Writers’ Workshop. October 16, 2016. Thanks to Carol Giangrande. Brian Clarke, Shannon Page, Nicole Brewer, Janet Turpin Myers and Trevor Cole! 3030 was closed for a fire, so our authors this month were merged into other months. With Loren Edizel, Marissa Stapley, Marianne Miller and J.R. McConvey! May 31, 2015. April 19, 2015. So this is what we talked about. Writing in your own voice and promoting platforms for all of the unheard (s...
smokecitystories.blogspot.com
Smoke City Stories: May 2014
http://smokecitystories.blogspot.com/2014_05_01_archive.html
Friday, May 23, 2014. The Killing Circle by Andrew Pyper. So four years later, Patrick steals the story from Angela, the circle member, and writes a best selling novel, because why not. Then the circle members start to disappear one by one, and Patrick has to figure out which of the ragtag group of weirdos is the actual Sandman before his son gets kidnapped (which we know is going to happen because it says so in the prologue). I wish I'd fucked you in the ass. I'm sorry, I don't care how upset your chara...
smokecitystories.blogspot.com
Smoke City Stories: September 2014
http://smokecitystories.blogspot.com/2014_09_01_archive.html
Friday, September 26, 2014. The Sweet Edge by Alison Pick. In my quest for books set in Toronto I often come across those set only partially in the city, which can sometimes make it hard to capture the vibe of this place. Pick's novel, which is set half in Toronto and half in the wilderness of the Northwest Territories, actually manages to be more imbued with the essence of the city in the latter half, through its absence. As I said, I found Toronto had more presence in Adam's story than in Ellen's, just...
smokecitystories.blogspot.com
Smoke City Stories: June 2014
http://smokecitystories.blogspot.com/2014_06_01_archive.html
Friday, June 20, 2014. Bad Move by Linwood Barclay. Even though I did enjoy this book, I have to say it: writers, please stop writing fiction in which the protagonist is a writer! It is potentially the most boring choice you can make. Really. It makes me think, right off the bat, that you are unimaginative, which usually isn't even the case! I know they say "write what you know" but you really don't have to adhere to that maxim in EVERY aspect of your novel. Four CN Towers out of five. I didn't know this...
smokecitystories.blogspot.com
Smoke City Stories: April 2014
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Friday, April 25, 2014. The Dirt Chronicles by Kristyn Dunnion. This is perhaps the roughest look at Toronto yet. This novel is the story/stories of a collection of queer street kids, who steal, dumpster, and hustle to stay alive. They are very real people - you likely knew someone, in your youth, like one of these characters. They're like if the characters in Holding Still. Were a shade younger and a lot more fucked up. Four CN Towers out of five. Friday, April 11, 2014. Doctor Bloom's Story by Don Coles.
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Smoke City Stories: October 2014
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Friday, October 24, 2014. Baldwin Street by Alvin Rakoff. Toronto stories are immigrant stories. I am always surprised when I start reading a book set in Toronto and it's not about immigrants. I think one of the biggest things I'm getting from doing this blog is more insight into the immigrant experience, and the complex depth of national and cultural identity across generations. I must say I do prefer pre-war Jewish history in fiction (see the above-mentioned Lucio Burke, as well as Cabbagetown. To the ...
smokecitystories.blogspot.com
Smoke City Stories: Lost Between the Edges by Eldon Garnet
http://smokecitystories.blogspot.com/2015/06/lost-between-edges-by-eldon-garnet.html
Friday, June 26, 2015. Lost Between the Edges by Eldon Garnet. The story is interspersed with sometimes lengthy documents - court transcripts, excerpts from Zundel's published works, etc. - showing the arguments against the Holocaust having happened. One excerpt from The Turner Diaries describing the bombing of an FBI building is supposed to, I suppose, draw an equivalence in violence between the fascists and anti-fascists? One CN Tower out of five. Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom). Ruth E. Walker.
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Smoke City Stories: February 2015
http://smokecitystories.blogspot.com/2015_02_01_archive.html
Friday, February 27, 2015. Dead Politician Society by Robin Spano. The premise of this book is deliciously intriguing - the mayor has been killed, and a secret society at U of T has taken credit through an obituary sent to the paper. More politicians start dying, and the cops send an undercover officer to the school to infiltrate the society while the newspaper editor tries to figure out the connection between the victims. I think maybe the worst, most contrived scene in the story though was without a do...
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