4 books Cape Breton fiddler legend Natalie MacMaster loved reading
Natalie MacMaster, the acclaimed Cape Breton fiddler, recently published her memoir, I Have a Love Story. As the author of a new book, she notes that she wasn't huge into literature and reading in her early years.
"I did not come from a reading family," she said. "I didn't grow up reading books. Music and culture was definitely our main focus."
But she remembers discovering books by way of the local library's bookmobile in her high school years and fully realized the importance of reading when she attended the Nova Scotia Teachers College to earn a bachelor of education degree.
MacMaster said that was only after entering the program when she decided that instilling a love of books and reading was something she wanted to do for her own children.
I Have a Love Story is a memoir delving into MacMaster's life and career in music — detailing how she rose from humble Cape Breton roots to playing with some of the world's finest musicians.
MacMaster stopped by The Next Chapter to discuss her current love of books and the titles she's loved reading.
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
"The first book I ever read that was a real book, that was not something I had to read for school, was called A Prayer for Owen Meany," MacMaster said.
What she found most compelling about the book was that the main character is a child born with disabilities who faced the challenges of his life with bravery, a huge heart and incredible spirituality.
"That little guy kept putting, as we say, one foot in front of the other," she said, adding that fortitude and resilience are themes she wanted to explore in her own book.
The Possibility Mom by Lisa Canning
MacMaster's next pick was The Possibility Mom by Lisa Canning.
It's all about how to set up one's life to be a present wife and mother, MacMaster said, but still also be able to focus on one's personal goals.
"It resonates so much with me."
MacMaster said that many driven women with goals get up out of the bed feeling great, and with a full list of things to accomplish. But, the more things they do, the more things get added to the list — and they go to bed thinking of all the things they didn't get done.
The book looks at how to track daily accomplishments, she added.
The Music Lesson by Victor L. Wooten
MacMaster's next pick was The Music Lesson by Victor L. Wooten.
"Victor Wooten is the most wonderful human being," she said. "I see his instrument as an extension of his heart. He's a bass player but his energy and his broad spectrum of thinking and believing and feeling comes out in music."
The book explored a cool way to express how we learn music, she added.
"It forced me to think about music in a way that was more free, more beautiful, more as a passing of something," MacMaster said. "I'm sure he has created a new genre of thinking about and playing music."
Beautiful Scars by Tom Wilson
MacMaster's final book was Beautiful Scars by Tom Wilson.
"I was taken out of my regular elements," she said about when she first picked up the book.
"I saw Tom at a gig. He told me he wrote a book. I was in the middle of writing my book. He gave me a copy and I was so excited to read it. I started that night and I gobbled it up. I thought it was an excellent read and, as I went through it, he just became more and more endearing."
She said that Wilson's openness about his flaws and the things he did wrong in his life really made the book powerful to her. Knowing him personally made the book stand out that much more, she said.
"It's his words, it's his spirit and energy in there. The story is grand, as he is. There's a lot of depth to it. And when you talk to him for any period of time, he's on that level."
Comments have been edited for length and clarity.
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