welcome back (to reality)

the last several weeks of my life has been nothing short of insane. there's been a plethora of visiting in my life; i had visitors, my roommates had visitors, i even did some of the visiting. but now it's all coming to an end and i can finally get on with some amount of normalcy in my life, which includes updating this little ditty. my hopes are, with the return of routine, to bring you updates regularly. i'm also unemployed now (and looking for work), so i really have no excuse for being inconsistent.

but let's get on with business, shall we?

i was asked recently how i find the writers and novels that i so persistently devour. aside from relying on recommendations from friends and spending long hours rifling through second hand book stores, i also spend a significant amount of time on the internet reading about reading. so i thought i would share some of my tried, tested and reliable methods for finding good books.

the new yorker
i rely on the new yorker for a lot of things but my priority when picking up my weekly edition is the fiction section. the new yorker features short stories by contemporary authors and i use it as a means for staying current on who is it or up and coming in the world of fiction. i've discovered some of my favorite authors, such as george saunders, joshua ferris, and dennis johnson, who have all been featured and continue to be.

i'm currently reading atmospheric disturbances by rivka galchen, who i recently discovered because she was featured in the new yorker's 20 under 40 fiction series. i plan on doing a reveiw once i'm finished because, so far, this book is blowing my mind.

quill & quire
the quill & quire is a canadian based book and publishing magazine. if you're like me and have a propensity for canadian literature, the quill & quire is a great resource for what's going on in canadian writing. the reviews section is an obvious choice for finding a reliable recommendation.

slate's audio book club
if there is anything i love more than reading great books, it's hearing people smarter than me talk about great books. i was recently introduced to the world of slate podcasts and i simply cannot find enough time to listen to all the ones i like but i always make time for the audio book club. i will read anything they discuss, if only because the conversation and discussion gets me really excited, even for books i wouldn't normally get excited about.

so those of my most reliable resources. i hope that you find them useful and if you come across anything you like, please make sure to share with me!

as a side note, the vancouver international writers & readers festival starts tomorrow. i'm hoping to catch readings by sara guen, gary shteyngart, yiyun li and wells tower. i'll let you know how that goes.