Back in December we had our annual Knitter’s Holiday Swap. This is the third year our local knit group (via Ravelry) has celebrated the holidays with handknits.

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I read Kiss of the Fur Queen by Tomson Highway last semester for an English course focusing on First Nations fiction. I also wrote my term paper for the course on the novel, exploring how redemptive arts expression can be for emotional trauma. Unfortunately, I am finding it difficult to write a review for the blog having studied it so closely for class, my term paper, and the final exam.

The official blurb from the publisher focuses more on the mysticism of the story and Cree culture. But I found the story to be enjoyable, linear, and compelling. Both brothers were compassionate, intriguing, and unique. The story is loosely based on Tomson Highway’s own experiences in residential school with his brother, Rene Highway.

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Farewell 2011. 2010 was a difficult year, and 2011 resulted in a lot of changes. However, when I think back to the changes in my life this past year, I’m overwhelmed by all the incredible people in my life. A mixture of new friends, old friends and family, and returning friends makes me feel truly blessed with the relationships in my life.

So, whether I’ve known you six months or 11 years, or somewhere in between…. whether I know you only online, mostly via Facebook, or in real life…. whether we talk often, occasionally, or rarely…. thank you for being my friend.

Now, let’s make these next 12 months count until the end of the world!

This is the first book of fiction by Stuart Clark, a well-known UK astrology journalist and astophysicist professor. The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth is the first of a trilogy of novels inspired by the history of trying to understand the Universe.

Called The Copernicum Trilogy, the first book (The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth) portrays the struggles of Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo Galilei. The second (The Sensorium of God) focuses on the story of Isaac Newton and his contemporaries such as Edmond Halley, and the third (The Day Without Yesterday) addresses Albert Einstein, Edwin Hubble, and George Lemaitre.

At the dawn of the seventeenth century everyone believed that the sun revolved around the earth. Yet some men knew that the heavens did not move as they should, a heresy punishable by being burned alive. As Europe convulsed in conflict between Catholic and Protestant, these men prepared to die for that truth.

German Lutheran Johannes Kepler is convinced that he has been given a vision by God when he becomes the first man to distill into mathematical laws how stars and planets move through the heavens.  Galileo Galilei, an Italian Catholic, will try to claim Kepler’s success for his own Church, but he finds himself enmeshed in a web of intrigue originating from within the Vatican itself.  Both men struggle with themselves, with the evidence and with the forces of reaction changed not simply themselves but our world. They become trapped by human ignorance and irrational terror to the peril of their lives and those of their families in one of the darkest, yet also one of the most enlightening, periods of European history.

From the UK publisher, Polygon, an imprint of Birlinn & from Stuart Clark’s website

Despite the scientific and mathematical subject matter, the novel has accessibility and doesn’t get too technical regarding the scientific observations during that age. Unlike other historical periods, there are journals and accounts of what Kepler and Galileo observed and studied, which I think makes the story all the more interesting. Instead of relying on letters and court rumours like many of the fictional Tudor-era novels, many 16th century scientists published their thoughts and conjectures regarding the Universe.

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Give a book! If you need some great (newish, Canadian) recommendations, check out the Advent Book Blog.

The Advent Book Blog is now in its third year and this is my second year participating (if I recall correctly). This year I’ve recommended The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay, but there are now hundreds of titles and authors recommended by readers with a Digital Handsell. Go check it out and read / share / buy an awesome book!

I had the opportunity to meet Ami McKay at a recent reading called Incite: An Exploration of Books and Ideas, organized by the Vancouver International Writers Festival and the Vancouver Public Library. The event was fantastic (as always) and Ami was super sweet. I had an ARC of The Virgin Cure which she signed and she even knew who I was from Twitter! How awesome is that?

Incite (November 9): Hal Wake fields questions for Ami McKay and Frances Greenslade