Annual #tellastory day and Pop’s birthday, and so another pop tale. I don’t recall exactly when it arrived in our home, but at some point when I was young, Pop acquired a banjo. He would spend hours in the evenings and weekends plinking and plunking away, often playing along with something on the stereo or... Continue Reading →
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. Book report #14 (2022)
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. Pub 2005 I don't recall where I heard about this book, but it must have been in late 2021 because it was on the list I gave as Christmas suggestions. I am very glad I did and that it was included in that Christmas bounty, as it was excellent.... Continue Reading →
The Overstory, by Richard Powers. Book report #13 (2022)
The Overstory, by Richard Powers. Pub 2018 This book was a slog and a half. I started it in the first week of January and have whittled away at it over the past 3 months, finally closing it this past weekend. It is long but felt oh-so-much longer with its complex and convoluted characters and... Continue Reading →
A Deceptive Devotion, by Iona Whishaw. Book report extra #2* (2022)
A Deceptive Devotion, by Iona Whishaw. Pub 2019 Book 6 in the Lane Winslow series continues the thread of intrigue and spy-craft from Book 4, with Soviet, British, and Canadian intelligence agencies battling to secure a retiring spy and his important information. As usual, all the plot lines end up leading to Lane’s lovely house... Continue Reading →
When We Cease to Understand the World, by Benjamin Labatut. Book report #12 (2022)
When We Cease to Understand the World, by Benjamín Labatut. Translation by Adrian Nathan West. Pub 2020 This book was an impulse purchase. At the bookstore to collect some books for work, I overheard the clerk telling another customer about this one and was intrigued by her effusive praise for the strange science and compelling... Continue Reading →
Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro. Book report #11 (2022)
Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro. Pub 2021 I selected this book as a Christmas present, based on my recent reads of other Ishiguro works. Oddly, I have not read his most famous, The Remains of the Day, but I suppose that will happen eventually. SPOILER ALERT: Klara is an android/robot, known in the novel's... Continue Reading →
Corvus, by Harold Johnson. Book report #10 (2022)
Corvus, by Harold Johnson. Pub 2015 This book was a recommendation from a good and old friend. Harold Johnson was an Indigenous writer and former lawyer from Northern Saskatchewan, and his novels reflect that experience and location. This novel incorporates some sci-fi technology that is likely not that far-fetched, and presents yet another dystopian world,... Continue Reading →
Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell. Book report #9 (2022)
Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell. Pub 1949. As I saw on Twitter recently, satire writers are having a hard time these days keeping up with reality. In the current state of the world, reality seems like it must be satire, and writers have difficulty making up things that are too absurd. There are also plenty... Continue Reading →
A Sorrowful Sanctuary, by Iona Whishaw. Book report extra #1* (2022)
A Sorrowful Sanctuary, by Iona Whishaw. Pub 2018 Book 5 in the Lane Winslow series looks at yet another slice of early 20th century Canada, bringing a national story to a local setting in King's Cove, BC. In this story, Whishaw explores the difficult history of displaced persons and enemy aliens, especially in the form... Continue Reading →
On the Beach, by Nevil Shute. Book report #8 (2022)
On the Beach, by Nevil Shute. Pub 1957 My copy of this book is a remnant from my pop's library (he once told me that the things you should never get rid of books, which I think explains a bit of my bibliophilia). I recall reading this same copy in Grade 9, on his recommendation/requirement... Continue Reading →
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