High School

High School by Sara Quin & Tegan Quin, 369 pages

In 2019, the twin queens of Canadian indie rock, Tegan and Sara, published this memoir of their high school years. These were the years when they started learning to play music (by stealing their step-dad's guitar out of his office while he wasn't home and playing along to whatever grunge music they had playing at the time), write songs (many of which were spurred by their confused feelings about their best friends/girlfriends), and work together musically while fighting tooth and nail otherwise. 

This was a great book, and I can see why it's being adapted into a TV series for Amazon. It's relatable, captivating, and full of stories that are a bit more dramatic than anything I experienced in high school (of course, I was a band geek, so what do I know?). I highly recommend listening to the audiobook, which is read by the the twins (thankfully they announce their name before each chapter they read, as their voices are pretty similar) and is interspersed with low-fi recordings of their first songs. More than once, I found myself humming the songs, none of which I'd heard before, despite being a big fan of theirs. It also includes a short interview between Tegan and Sara about writing the book and recording the audiobook. A great book and an even better audiobook.

Funny, You don't look autistic

Funny, you don't look autistic: a comedian's guide to life on the spectrum / Michael McCreary, 169 page.

Diagnosed at age five, McCreary hasn't let autism dictate any aspect of his life.  He has learned about it and himself and tells us in this short memoir what he has learned and how he deals with people.  There are some awkward experiences but more times you will recognize his intelligence and humor.  I appreciated his perspective and am reminded once again that there are no standards to which everyone in a group conform.

One day we'll all be dead and none of this will matter

One day we'll all be dead and none of this will matter:  essays by Scaachi Koul, 241 pgs.

A collection of essays by Scaachi Koul, a daughter of Indian immigrants to Canada.  These essays focus on being an outsider, looking for identity, and sometimes just mortifying experiences.  The story of a cousin's wedding gives you a taste of India. The story of having to get cut out of an outfit in a store after trying it on and not being able to get it off gives you a taste of being a woman.  Stories about her parents give you the idea of what its like to be a daughter of Indian immigrants, or actually a daughter of many other types of parents too.  The story of being roofied seems very current. Often funny, sometimes heartfelt and occasionally horrifying, Koul is an interesting read and suggested for fans of witty women.

Tempest-Tost

Tempest-Tost by Richardson Davies  288 pp.

This is the first book in the "Salterton Trilogy" and I have no plans to read the following two. There is nothing wrong with this novel per se, but it doesn't seem to go anywhere. In spite being set in Canada, it is a very British manor & village style story. The Salterton local theater group is planning to stage "The Tempest" and invade a local estate to the dismay of the owner and his gardener. The rest of the story involves the various characters and the ups and downs of their various attempts at pairing up. In spite of a miscellany of problems with the production and the lives of its actors, the show must go on. There are humorous moments in the book but, for me, there's not enough meat there to recommend it.

Step Aside, Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection

Step Aside, Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection by Kate Beaton, 166 pages

An excellent collection of comics from Canadian artist, Kate Beaton. Beaton finds her inspiration in literature, history, and old photos, and popular culture. She often mixes these all together with hilarious results, as with the Jane Austen / X-Files mashup, "House Full of Mulders".
Goofy and thoughtful, Beaton's comics often reference literary classics that I have not yet gotten around to reading, and in this volume she builds a series of strips around a classic of which, I swear, I have heard nothing, Kokoro. We have the book at UCPL, and it is in translation, so now I'll have to read it.
The comics can also be found at harkavagrant.com.