During the deluge of rain on the weekend of April 22nd, we spoke with listeners about the books they were enjoying. Here are their letters.

I am reading The Purest of Human Pleasures by Kenneth Radu this weekend, curled up by the fire, in between beginning my gardening in the blessed rain.

Based in Montreal, Morris the gardener, a middle aged widower, struggles with his 19-year-old daughter during a series of murders in an upper crust neighborhood that he gardens in.

I am revelling in this emotionally intricate book as it describes in exquisite detail different plants and how they grow and their colours. Maybe I should try and add that blue monks hood to mine? I'm going to re-read it and pay closer attention to the gardening aspects because the story is gripping me so much.

-Susan Young

P.S. I love Fresh Air, thanks for doing such a great job. And I didn't know Keven Sylvester had published a book! That man is a Renaissance Man!

Hi,

I listen to your show every weekend, as I get up and ready to go outside for some exercise.

You just asked what we're reading. I'm about 1/3 through an incredibly intriguing book called Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It's an incredible translation, originally written in Spanish.

It's about a teenaged boy who works in his father's used bookstore. He acquires a book, and soon learns that it has a very mysterious past.

Someone has been tracking down all copies of this book, and all books by the same author, and destroying them... and it seems that this person has discovered that the boy may have the last copy of the author's books!

This is such a beautiful book, very complex, with layers of intrigue. I never would have expected a translation to evoke such strong emotions.

Here's a link to this book on the publisher's website.

Well, I'm off for my run, I'll be back in time to catch more of your show in a little while!

Shelley
East York

Yes, it's a perfect weekend to curl up with a good book, and wouldn't I love to do just that.

However, I've got work to do so I'm LISTENING to one of my favourite books. While filling holes and sanding trim to prepare for painting, I'm listening to a book on tape: Island by Alistair MacLeod.

Regards,
Lynda Smith

Yesterday I sat in the parking lot behind Dundas Public Library, in the rain, and read The Boys by John Terpstra in 2 hours flat.

I didn't mean to. I just thought I'd take a quick look at the 1st couple of pages and then drive home, but by then I was entranced, captivated, which is amazing because the story is of the 3 brothers of the author's wife who died of Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy within 6 months of each other, the oldest at age 24.

This should have been a tale of tragedy but Terpstra's unsentimental, clear-sighted, compassionate prose turns it into a tale of the triumph of the human spirit. A Canada Reads candidate if ever I read one.

Regards,
Mairi

Good morning Jeff:

I'm reading a book I picked up at the library called The House of the Seven Sisters - a Novel of Food and Family - by Elle Eggels.

This book was originally written in Dutch. It's about 7 sisters who have to take over the bakery after their parent's death/disappearance. I'm really enjoying it, a story of family dynamic. I don't have any siblings that work with me at The Pie Plate, but my husband and 5 children all work with me and there can be some interesting family dynamics with us as well. The book is an easy read, which is what I need after the long day on my feet.

Sunday regards,

Ruth Anne Schriefer
The Pie Plate Bakery & Cafe

We Bake...From Scratch

Vancouver poet Jade Bell’s Strength of the Human Spirit was published just a few days ago. I heard the power of his words capture the attention of 600 students who sat on the floor of high school gym in Hull for more than an hour listneing to Jade talking about how an overdose of alcohol and drugs had left him sightless, paralyzed, and unable to talk. But can he ever write! And can Jade ever communicate by bumping his head against a headpiece to produce the dots and dashes of the Morse Code which activate a voice synthesizer.

I read several of his poems last night before turning out the lights, including these words;

Don Francis
Cantley, Quebec