I sought out this book as the basis of a film we watched last year, Dans les forêts de Sibérie. The book is actually quite different, which was good, as the film, promoted as being about a man living alone for 6 months, is actually a very odd buddy-film. The book is very good. Tesson arrives... Continue Reading →
The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, by John Koenig. Pub 2021
This has lingered on my shelves for a while now, something I started and stopped a few times. After the disastrous previous read about language, I decided to try again to make this one for my language category. We use foreign words in English to name things, for precision and greater expression of feeling. Words... Continue Reading →
The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman. Pub 2020
This book was a gift from a fellow book clubber who shares my affection murder mysteries. This book series is a best seller in England, and it’s understandable why – it is terrific. The eponymous club is comprised of four residents of Coopers Chase retirement community who share a penchant for true crime mysteries –... Continue Reading →
We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin. Original pub 1924. Translation by Clarence Brown, pub 1993
This selection was driven primarily by the need to complete the banned-book category, but also by several pieces in The Happy Reader (issue #10) which made me dig it out of my bookshelves. Briefly, the story is set in the future - the 26th century. After a 200-year war, civilization has settled down into a... Continue Reading →
The Adversary, by Michael Crummey. Pub 2023
Michael Crummey is a favourite author. I've read almost all his novels and short stories, and a few books of poetry, too. I heard about this book coming out, and while I'd normally wait till Christmas or for a paperback version, I also saw that Crummey was going to be part of the 2023 Vancouver Writers... Continue Reading →
Art, compiled by Shaun Usher. Pub 2020
I chose this book in order to satisfy the languishing category of "art" for this year's list. This little book of letters was delightful but very light. I think perhaps that artists - especially painters and sculptors - are not especially good writers. The best letters here are those from Oscar Wilde (of course), Martin... Continue Reading →
The Bone Clocks, by David Mitchell. Pub 2014
I've been meaning to return to David Mitchell after enjoying Slade House a few years ago. I chose this one as it's related to that other book in a prequel kind of way, and also because it helps to satisfy a tricky book club category (a book with a body part in the title). I was a... Continue Reading →
Something to Do with Paying Attention, by David Foster Wallace. Pub 2022
This novella was only recently published on its own. It was originally a part of the last novel of David Foster Wallace, The Pale King. I have not attempted any Wallace fiction in any significant way before (I have previously read and enjoyed the essay collection Consider the Lobster), daunted by both the length and the... Continue Reading →
The Wayfinders, by Wade Davis. Pub 2009
I've had this book for many years, likely from not long after it was published. I recall reading a few previous books in the series - especially Payback (Margaret Atwood) and A Short History of Progress (Ronald Wright) - and purchasing this one when it came out. After starting it, I think I ran out of steam for... Continue Reading →
Pandexicon, by Wayne Grady. Pub 2023
I don't recall where I first heard of this book, but I know it was in the last month or so, likely on a podcast of some kind. Needing a book to fill the language category, this seemed like a timely fit, and promised (according to the cover) to describe "how the language of the... Continue Reading →
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