Florida ho

Just a quick note to say I'm heading out this weekend for the (hopefully) sunny climes of Florida for a few days of vacation with my family. My parents have been going down there for three months for the last few winters, and they've been hankering to have me and the siblings join them for a stay. So finally this year we're going to do it.

I may try to blog from down there if I get the chance. I'm very close to having my Retro Reading Challenge review, of Tom Robbins' Still Life with Woodpecker, ready to go, so I may try to post it from down there. Otherwise, I'll see you all back here next Thursday.

To tide you over, I strongly recommend you check in over at Pickle Me This: Kerry Clare has announced that Ray Smith's 1986 book Century is the winner of her Canada Reads: Independently campaign. I couldn't be happier. I love Ray Smith - did graduate work on him as a masters student in Winnipeg - and consider him one of the most criminally underappreciated writers in this country. I read Century in the original Stoddart edition (as opposed to the new edition recently released by Biblioasis) and while not quite as good as his 1974 novel Lord Nelson Tavern, it's still a remarkable read. So go check it out. Congrats to Smith and congrats to Kerry for a fantastic blog initiative.

OK, I'm outta here. Don't read anything I wouldn't read. Erm. Wait, no. This is Free Range Reading. Read whatever you want.

Peace,

Mark