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. 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 stories. I thought it might make a good gift book for someone (and so an allowable purchase... Continue Reading →
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 world as an artificial friend (AF). AF's depend... 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 →
Everything is F@cked, by Mark Manson. Book Report #7 (2022)
Everything is F*cked, by Mark Manson. Pub 2019 This book was a gift from a friend and colleague, arising from a discussion last year wherein I'd said that I did not especially enjoy Manson's previous book as it didn't flow well (that book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, was essentially a compendium of... Continue Reading →
Play It As It Lays, by Joan Didion. Book Report #6 (2022)
Play It As It Lays, by Joan Didion. Pub 1970 Joan Didion died in late 2021. While I had heard of her before – my impression was of an elite New York writer dissecting upper class America – I’d never been moved to learn more about her or her writing. Until I read an obituary... Continue Reading →
Sad Cypress, by Agatha Christie. Book report #5 (2022)
Sad Cypress, by Agatha Christie. Pub 1940 I read something in the past year that recommended this somewhat obscure Hercule Poirot story, but I can't recall what or where. As a result, I deliberately sought this one out from the local bookshop, and waited months for its delivery. Now having read it, I'm not at... Continue Reading →
Fallout, by MM Blume. Book reports #3 (2022)
Fallout, by Lesley MM Blume. Pub 2020 I read the "Hiroshima" issue of The New Yorker a few years ago, and like most people over the decades - from 1946 to now - I was spellbound by the issue and article. I was therefore intrigued to read Fallout to learn, as advertised, about the cover-up behind it... Continue Reading →
How to Pronounce Knife, by Souvankham Thammavongsa. Book reports #4 (2022)
How to Pronounce Knife, by Souvankham Thammavongsa. Pub 2020 I selected this book (as a Christmas present) for a few reasons: I liked the title; it is a prize winner; there was positive "buzz" about it. Lessons learned - those are terrible reasons to read a book. All of these stories are about the... Continue Reading →
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