Chris Riddell (a political cartoonist for the Observer) has selected 46 poems, some older and well-known, and some newer, then he has grouped them into sections, each with a theme. The book is full of his own illustrations, and the combination in this small volume has a grace and symmetry to it that was pleasing. Some favorite poems are … Continue reading →
I have enjoyed several of Bill Bryson’s books. They are usually light, accessible, and easy to read. This book was an interesting read too. It does not try to be an anatomy text, nor does it try to be a version of The Human Body for Dummies. Bryson organizes his book into chapters by functions of the body (the brain, … Continue reading →
For years we have been seeing more and more people who seemed to spend a lot of time in trailers or vans. When we talked to a few people we were surprised to find out that they were actually traveling in their homes. We assumed it was just a choice they made, to be unattached, except to a love of … Continue reading →
The setting for The Round House is on an Ojibwe Reservation in North Dakota. The main character and the point of view in telling the story is through the eyes of 13 year old Joe Coutts. His mother is brutally raped and narrowly escapes being murdered. After being hospitalized she is released to her family, but has been traumatized and … Continue reading →
Piranesi has a magical quality to it. It is a simple tale that unfolds gradually and any review should avoid spoilers since there are a series of revelations throughout the book, which is all part of the delight of the tale. It is a tale of an alternate reality and Piranesi himself is our guide. We start with the places … Continue reading →
This is what I wrote on Goodreads right after finishing the book: This book came as a blessing in a time of difficulty because of the epidemic, but also in the dark and cold winter. The tale is told with a simple style, but with a gentle blend of humor and pathos. There is some of Ove in all of … Continue reading →
Sapiens is an account of the history of mankind, using both natural science and social science to detail how homo sapiens became the predominant species on the planet. The core premise is that sapiens’ ability to cooperate in large numbers enabled them to survive and flourish in the environments they faced. He divides our history into 4 eras – the … Continue reading →
This non-fictional oral history would be best “read” on Audiobook. I was reviewing the top-rated audiobooks and The Only Plane in the Sky won top honors in 2020 and had wide-reaching praise for the research, storytelling, and production. The account is a moving one, telling the larger story from many perspectives, using the actual voices of the people who were … Continue reading →
Kingdom of the Blind is the 14th book in the Inspector Gamache Series, written by Louise Penny. All of her books are well-written, cleverly designed, and enjoyable throughout. Some of the same characters are again in this novel – from the village of Three Pines, from Gamache’s family, and from the Sûreté du Quebec. Penny intertwines 3 stories together, one … Continue reading →
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr belongs on the must-read shelf for many readers and it now is on my Favorites shelf. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2015 and has won other awards and has received many fine reviews, deservedly so. I started reading it without knowing anything about it, other than a couple … Continue reading →
This simple poem has stuck with me for decades. When I took a Poetry course in a third year English class at UBC we spent an hour talking about the poem. The instructor was a gifted professor. He allowed us to find the meaning and allowed for contemplation with some silence between each stanza. “Whose woods these are I think … Continue reading →
I was a geography wonk as a young person. My room’s walls were covered with National Geographic Maps. I scrutinized atlases and memorized countries, capitals, and natural features. I practiced drawing maps from memory. Social studies was my favorite subject and in high school I aced geography and history, then got scholarships in both. I took geography at UBC, but … Continue reading →
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane was written in 2003. It was made into a movie in 2009, but it was a movie I had not watched and so I knew very little about the book. I had previously read Mystic River and had admired it, finding the whole reading experience to be moving, but very visceral. I had done some … Continue reading →
