Anansi: Does summer reading differ from fall/winter reading?
Ron Nurwisah: Yes. I've always felt sorry for books singled out as 'summer books.' Books at any other time of year, don't have to compete with the very seductive combination of sun, sand and sizzle.
There are simply too many distractions for summer reading. Even when you're lazing about on the hammock or deck chair and really want to read, I've always felt that the poor summer read can far too easily be tossed off for a barbecue, throwing the frisbee with your dog, a walk along the beach, or even watching that very attractive neighbour and her friends walk by.
Winter books just have it that much easier.
A: Do you have a favourite Anansi book or author?
RN: I've always been a huge fan of the Massey Lectures and Alberto Manguel's The City of Words last year was a pleasure. Anyone with a love of reading and storytelling should read Manguel. I can't think of anyone who loves literature (and books, reading and stories) more than him. His lecture, which discusses the importance of stories in our confusing and often distressing times, is an affirmation of literature in the best possible way.
A: You're packing your bags for The Island. Which books do you bring?
RN: One of my favourite books of all time is Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything is Illuminated, and it's about time that I re-read it. So that would definitely go in the bag. I've always wanted to read Don Quixote. In fact the Edith Hamilton translation is in the pile of books I need to read, so this one is a shoe-in. Finally, because I'd like to leave room for clean underwear, an extra pair of shoes and those swim trunks, I'll only pack one more book. Michael Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion is arguably one of the best books about Toronto. It'll serve well as a reminder of life off-island.
A: Where can we find you?
RN: I write about books for various publications (Spacing, Quill and Quire, the National Post), but you can find me on my personal blog at http://www.boyreporter.ca.
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