Life is a sweet fruit.
Well my summer as a man of leisure so far has been nothing less than fantastic. I’ve fully taken advantage of the various festivals that have been going on in this city including Magnetic North and Westfest. Ottawa Fringe is almost here as well, and I plan to attend at least four performances.
I haven’t done as much writing as I originally planned. Hanging out on coffee shop/beer patios and walks beside the river have taken up most of my afternoons. I’m fine with this of course. It’s great to finally have some gorgeous weather to enjoy. Summer is way too short in this town and I’m thrilled that I’m not stuck in a cubicle or office for this one.
I’m doing a ton of reading, in fact, I have three books on the go at the moment.
The Director’s Craft a handbook for the theatre by Katie Mitchell: This is an excellent resource for directors and aspiring directors. Books on directing that are practical and outline a clear process are rare. This is somewhat bizarre when contrasted with the sheer amount of literature available to assist actors with their craft. This handbook is a very good one and I recommend it.
Valis by Phillip K. Dick: I haven’t read this in years so I am enjoying the re-read. A little gnosticism goes a long way. 🙂
The Devil’s Picnic by Taras Grescoe: This is fun piece of non-fiction. A little foray into all the forbidden foods of the world and an investigation of societal prohibitions.
How about you? What are you reading this summer?
Many Faces of Wayne 
I have a big ass stack of books that I have committed to reading before adding anything to my To Read shelf. It makes for some depressing summer reading.
I started Love in a Time of Cholera whilst on vacation last week and so far, so good.
But to follow that up I have 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa, Pillars of the Earth and World Without End (two weighty tomes) and finally, finally finishing Shake Hands with the Devil.
I give myself a week before I crack and pick up whatever latest chick lit is out in paperback this summer.
Now see Wayne, if you were on facebook you could see my application of books I’ve read, want to read, etc…
I did start a blog though and may talk about books, but I haven’t actually gotten around to writing a post on anything yet :S
Amanda: Looks like you got a lot of books on the on the list. You know you could always crack and just watch either the Shake Hands With the Devil film or the documentary rather than finishing the book 🙂
Amy: Thanks for the idea for this post. I look forward to reading your blog whenever you get around to writing a post. 🙂 You read more than anyone I know so I think a book post or two would be appropriate.
Can you give me some directing tips? I’m going to be directing a play soon.
Sean: I enjoyed our directing conversation the other day. Once I’m through with Fringe activities I might try to turn some of the salient points into a post. For those that don’t know, Sean is actually a very good film director. I was fortunate to be in his production of an original short film called Scale back in the late 90s.
The differences/similarities between directing for theatre and film are definitely worth exploring.
My currently list is probably pretty lightweight, but it’s summah time!!!! I’ve got my free hallway finds to read yet – Freakonomics (I know, I know its old now, and by all accounts rather a ‘grand narrative’), and A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrich. I’ll have to buy this one, because the library queue is 25 people long. And my requisite piece of lady-fiction will be Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner. She wrote In Her Shoes, which I didn’t read, but I thought the movie was not too bad…that’s it for now…does anyone have any non-fiction suggestions that are women’s issue-oriented?
oops, ^including Freakonomics
Good to hear from you PBP. Freakonomics is totally a book I intend to read some day. Let me know what you think of it.
Freakonomics is excellent.