Seen Reading (8 page)

The only time she was alone with her best friend's father was the day he hoisted her bike into the wide trunk of his Cadillac and drove her back over the tracks, up the long, unfinished drive to her home. They arrived just as her mother was about to lock the screen door for the night. Her mother pinched her robe closed at the neck. His smile offered explanation; her mother's offered apology. His hand ushered the girl over the threshold with a final pat.

Your best friend lives next door, across the street, occasionally two yards behind you. Your best friend can be in your class, but it's not mandatory. Street rules: a ten-year-old and a seven-year-old have enough in common if all they do is toss a ball in the street until dinner's called. And if parents are willing to take in the mail while the other's out of town, best friends are pretty much forced upon one another.

This boy, though, had lived a bike ride away — a twenty-three minute ride, to be exact — on the other side of a bridge. Twelve and eleven, they had somehow found the other. Together, they scavenged ravines and stood watch across the street from the funeral parlour, grasping each other's hand tightly, boasting they weren't afraid of death.

READER

Caucasian woman, late 20s, with long brown hair in hairband, wearing tan skirt, white tank top, and pistachio-green sweater.

Mistress of the Sun

Sandra Gulland

(HarperCollins, 2008)

p 217

She was nine years old. The kitchen linoleum slid under her sockettes like ice, her ankles strong, balance pegged. Not the most graceful dancer, but with each glide her confidence grew. She shouldered her weight across the counter, bracing herself into a scissor-kick lift, chin grazing the breadbox.

When she landed, it was with a dull thud. She thought she heard something creaking, a trail of blood creeping along a fissured bridge. Left in place, the doctors took the chance it would straighten.

Three years later on a volleyball court, she stepped up to the net, the game-losing spike blocked: the final blow. Yet, the birth of a handsome nose.

READER

Asian female, early 30s, with broad shoulders, wavy hair bunched up high, wearing black
v
-neck cotton shirt.

Dusk Dances 2007

Withrow Park, Toronto

p 97

There are syrupy bumps on the back of her pink bathroom door buried under multiple coats of paint. They've been there since she moved in; who knows how long before that. The bumps remind her of her grandmother, the hinges on her pink bathroom door painted so many times it barely shut. She leans forward on the toilet and delicately traces the bumps with her finger. Just two pink bathroom doors in a long line of pink bathroom doors.

READER

Caucasian female, early 20s, wearing low-slung white jeans, white puffy jacket, French tips, and
ugg
s.

The Tipping Point

Malcolm Gladwell

(Little, Brown and Company, 2000)

p 82

He comes in the same time each day, reads in the back corner for hours until he pulls out a journal into which he doodles madly. She refills his coffee, piling fresh creamers beside his pens and watercolours. Occasionally he stands, walking up and down the aisle between the mostly empty booths, on the balls of his feet, hands shoved into the high pockets of his khaki floods. Bottom lip stuck out, he doesn't sit until he's reached some conclusion, a thought he punctuates with a salute and a click of his heels to no one in particular. His short curls are matted down from sleep, he doesn't always smell very nice, and his teeth protrude a little, but she's certain that in his story, he's the hero and gets all the girls.

READER

East Indian female, early 30s, with long black hair, wearing purple velvet coat, long black skirt, and thick-soled boots.

Brown Girl in the Ring

Nalo Hopkinson

(Grand Central Publishing, 2007)

p 174

He was sitting on the couch holding the phone to his ear when his wife strode in with the groceries. He nodded once and continued to flip through a magazine. Minutes later, he held the receiver away from his ear, the cursing on the other end of the line heard well into the kitchen where his wife stood over a steeping tea bag, hands planted firmly on the counter. “How long have you been on this time?” she murmured so quietly it was as if to herself. “An hour. Mum's just forgotten where she is again,” he replied, and then, assuringly, “but she'll get back,” as if to himself. “What, darling?” his wife said from the kitchen.

READER

South Asian male, with short brown hair and labret piercing, wearing glasses, grey hoodie under black fleece, low black jeans, and black Converse sneakers.

Atmospheric Disturbances

Rivka Galchen

(HarperCollins, 2008)

p 63

The woman beside her wants to talk. She wonders aloud, are these cars air conditioned? Should she have brought a jacket?

This woman hugs a small suitcase to her knees, a white leather purse with ball point scribbles along one seam stuffed in her lap. Her son sits across from her, his suitcase closing him in. He rests his head on top of it, one earphone in, the other dangling, emitting the steady beats of hip hop.

“You forgot to put the twisty ties on the zippers,” the woman calls to her son.

He lifts his head, shrugs.

“I didn't buy you no new shorts and
t
-shirts to have somebody steal ‘em.”

“Ma,” the boy mumbles. “Twisty ties ain't gonna keep no-body out of this luggage if they want to get into this luggage.”

“Every bit helps,” she says, looking at her neighbour again.“You have kids,” the woman says, not so much a question as a statement. “They don't know until they got to pay for it themselves.”

“Maybe,” she responds, turning the page of her book.

“Ma,” the boy grumbles.

“Maybe. Maybe not. But, one day, somebody's gonna take something from you, and then you'll know. Every chance, we got to try.”

READER

Black woman, early 40s, wearing white sleeveless shirt,grey dress capris, thick-soled black sneakers, carrying turquoise leather purse.

Sweeter Than Honey

Mary B. Morrison

(Kensington, 2009)

p 56

Publication dates and publishers provided refer to the sighted edition of each book, not necessarily the text's original publication date or original publisher.

Ali, Monica.
Brick Lane
(Scribner, 2004). “Pricks,” page 166

Alliott, Catherine.
Not That Kind of Girl
(Headline Book Publishing, 2005). “House Rules,” page 27

Atwood, Margaret
. Payback
(House of Anansi Press, 2008). “Sticks and Twigs,” page 94

Baldacci, David.
Total Control
(Grand Central Publishing, 1997). “Dreams of a Would-Be Government Employee,” page 44

Bank, Melissa.
The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing
(Penguin, 2000). “Wedding Dress,” page 162

Bellow, Saul.
Herzog
(Penguin, 2003). “Miss Popular,” page 54

Bergen, David.
The Retreat
(McClelland & Stewart, 2008). “Breaking Ties,” page 26

Bergen, David.
The Time in Between
(McClelland & Stewart, 2005). “Legal Limits,” page 20

Bloom, Amy.
A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You
(Random House, 2000). “Morning Glories,” page 30

Bock, Dennis.
The Communist's Daughter
(HarperCollins, 2007). “Riding the Rails,” page 56

Boyden, Joseph.
Three Day Road
(Penguin Canada, 2008). “Indiana Summers,” page 104

Boyden, Joseph.
Through Black Spruce
(Penguin Canada, 2009). “Visitor,” page 114

Brainard, Joe.
I Remember
(Granary Books, 2001). “After Joe Brainard,” page 4

Brooks, Max.
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
(Three Rivers Press, 2007). “Intrusion,” page 96

Bronte, Emily.
Wuthering Heights
(Dover, 1996). “Clearcutting,” page 68

Burke, Alafair.
Close Case
(St. Martin's Press, 2006). “Side Tables,” page 90

Chabon, Michael.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
(Picador, 2001). “Reception,” page 140

Coady, Lynn.
Mean Boy
(Anchor Canada, 2006). “Winter Wonderland,” page 102

Coben, Harlan.
The Final Detail
(Island Books, 2000). “Put to Pasture,” page 148

Cohen, Tish.
Town House
(HarperCollins, 2007). “Pillow Talk,” page 60

Dawkins, Richard.
The God Delusion
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008). “Grace,” page 128

Desai, Kiran.
The Inheritance of Loss
(Penguin Canada, 2006). “Undertow,” page 6

Dessen, Sarah.
The Truth About Forever
(Penguin, 2006). “The Young Lovers, Part II,” page 76

Dostoevsky, Fyodor.
Crime and Punishment
(Dover, 2001). “Mercy,” page 66

Dusk Dances 2007
, Toronto, Withrow Park. “The Birth of a Handsome Nose,” page 172

Eugenides, Jeffrey.
Middlesex
(Knopf, 2003). “(In)digestion,” page 18

Feynman, Richard P.
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman
(Basic, 2005). “Jelly,” page 110

Foran, Charles.
Mordecai, The Life & Times
(Knopf, 2010). “Simple Sandwiches,” page 46

Francis, Brian.
Fruit
(ECW Press, 2004). “XXX-XXX-XXXX,” page 158

Galchen, Rivka.
Atmospheric Disturbances
(HarperCollins, 2008). “Holding,” page 178

Gibb, Camilla.
The Beauty of Humanity Movement
(Doubleday Canada, 2010). “Flat,” page 88

Giffin, Emily.
Baby Proof
(St. Martins Press, 2006). “Pinhead,” page 106

Gladwell, Malcolm.
The Tipping Point
(Little, Brown and Company, 2000). “Pink,” page 174

Govier, Katherine.
Fables of Brunswick Avenue
(HarperPerennial, 2005). “Wearing Her Indoor Face,” page 164

Groopman, Jerome.
How Doctors Think
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008). “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” page 84

Gulland, Sandra.
Mistress of the Sun
(HarperCollins, 2008). “Procession,” page 170

Heti, Sheila.
Ticknor
(House of Anansi Press, 2005). “Small Talks,” page 38

Hiaasen, Carl.
Star Island
(Knopf, 2010). “Cherry,” page 82

Highsmith, Patricia.
The Selected Stories of Patricia Highsmith
(Norton, 2001). “Girl's Dorm,” page 10

Hill, Lawrence.
The Book of Negroes
(HarperCollins, 2007). “Woman and Parrot,” page 42

Hopkinson, Nalo.
Brown Girl in the Ring
(Grand Central Publishing, 2007). “Hero,” page 176

Horn, Dara.
The World to Come
(Norton, 2006). “Tin Can,” page 2

Hosseini, Khaled.
The Kite Runner
(Anchor Canada, 2004). “Ends,” page 74

July, Miranda.
No One Belongs Here More Than You
(Scribner, 2008). “The Health Hustle,” page 62

Kaufman, Andrew.
The Waterproof Bible
(Random House Canada, 2010). “Secret Santa,” page 154

King, Stephen.
Misery
(Signet, 2010). “Simmer,” page 98

Krakauer, Jon.
Into the Wild
(Anchor, 1997). “Creature Feature,” page 130

Lackey, Mercedes and Mallory, James.
The Outstretched Shadow: The Obsidian Trilogy
, Book One (Tor Books, 2004). “Like Mother, Like Son,” page 142

Manguel, Alberto.
The City of Words
(House of Anansi Press, 2007). “Irlsgay,” page 118

McCarthy, Cormac.
Blood Meridian
(Vintage, 1992). “Complementary Colours,” page 34

Morrison, Mary B.
Sweeter Than Honey
(Kensington, 2009). “Twisty Ties,” page 180

Nabokov, Vladimir.
Lolita
(Vintage, 1991). “Of Age,” page 150

Ngozi, Chimamanda Adichie.
Half of a Yellow Sun
(Vintage, 2007). “Divorced Before 30,” page 86

Nix, Garth. Biggs, Brian (Illustrator).
One Beastly Beast
(HarperCollins, 2007). “Bagged Lunch,” page 52

Oates, Joyce Carol.
Missing Mom
(Ecco, 2006). “Counting Cars,” page 168

Palahniuk, Chuck.
Choke
(Anchor, 2002). “Biopsy,” page 80

Patchett, Ann.
Bel Canto
(HarperCollins, 2005). “A Quick Peek,” page 12

Pick, Alison.
The Sweet Edge
(Raincoast Books, 2005). “The Curious Collector,” page 136

Plath, Sylvia.
The Bell Jar
(Faber and Faber, 1966). “Sailor,” page 138

Quarrington, Paul.
King Leary
(Anchor Books, 2007). “One Boy In,” page 14

Quiviger, Pascale. Fischman, Sheila (Translator)
The Perfect Circle
(Cormorant Books, 2006). “Cherry Tree,” page 8

Reed, Alan.
Isobel and Emile
(Coach House Books, 2010). “He Didn't See It Coming,” page 22

Ricci, Nino.
The Origin of Species
(Doubleday, 2008). “Esther,” page 124

Ricci, Nino.
The Origin of Species
(Doubleday, 2008). “Swedish Berries,” page 64

Roach, Mary.
Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife
(Norton, 2005). “Tho. Shelton,” page 36

Roach, Mary.
Stiff
(Norton, 2004). “'86,” page 108

Rowling. J.K.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
(Raincoast, 2007). “Cursive,” page 100

Shriver, Lionel.
We Need to Talk About Kevin
(Harper Perennial, 2006). “Girlfriends,” page 134

Sim, Dave. Gerhard (Illustrator).
Cerebus
#300 (Aardvark-Vanaheim, 2004). “The Young Lovers, Part I,” page 76

Smart, Elizabeth.
By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept
(HarperCollins, 1991). “Six Spin,” page 28

Smith, Ali.
The Whole Story and other stories
(Hamish Hamilton, 2003). “Love Noted,” page 72

Stern, Jerome (Editor).
Micro Fiction: An Anthology of Really Short Stories
(Norton, 1996). “A Room of His Own,” page 120

Stewart, Mary.
The Gabriel Hounds
(HarperTorch, 2006). “Monsters in the Bones,” page 160

Taylor, Timothy.
The Blue Light Project
(Knopf, 2011). “When You Least Expect It,” page 152

Tolstoy, Leo.
Walk in the Light & Twenty-Three Tales
(Orbis Books, 2003). “Glory, Glory,” page 144

Vassanji, M.G.
The Book of Secrets
(McClelland & Stewart, 1994). “If This Buick Could Talk,” page 126

Vonnegut, Kurt.
Slaughterhouse-Five
(Dial Press Trade Paperback, 1999). “It Begins the Same,” page 58

Walls, Jeannette.
The Glass Castle
(Scribner, 2006). “Dress Rehearsal,” page 16

Walls, Jeannette
. The Glass Castle
(Scribner, 2006). “Red,” page 112

Wells, H.G.
The Time Machine
(Phoenix Pick, 2008). “Sugar Bowls,” page 122

Whedon, Joss. Jeanty, Georges. Owens, Andy. Chen, Jo. (Illustrators).
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home
, Season 8, Issue 4 (Dark Horse, 2007). “Rumble Row,” page 146

Woods, Sherryl.
Feels Like Family
(Mira, 2010). “Lots and Lots,” page 40

Wurtzel, Elizabeth.
Prozac Nation
(Houghton Mifflin, 1994). “Surplus,” page 36