This was an impulse purchase at the local bookshop. By rights, I should have waited for a birthday or Christmas list (and for paperback), but impulses rarely give way to such sober second thinking. I was keen to read more of Wade Davis’ writing after enjoying The Wayfinders last year, as well as his public... Continue Reading →
The Order of Time, by Carlo Rovelli. Pub 2017. Translation by Erica Segre and Simon Carnell, 2018.
I heard about this book on a podcast sometime in the past year. While on a bus one time, the person sitting next to me was reading it, and when asked how it was, said, “It’s good but some parts are tough.” I agree with that assessment, but ultimately I found the push through the... Continue Reading →
The Wayfinders, by Wade Davis. Book report #31 (2023)
The Wayfinders, by Wade Davis. Pub 2009 I've had this book for many years, likely 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... Continue Reading →
Pandexicon, by Wayne Grady. Book report #31 (2023)
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... Continue Reading →
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, by Karen Joy Fowler. Book report #28 (2022)
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, by Karen Joy Fowler. Pub 2013. This book was a re-gift from a friend (who herself received it as a re-gift). My friend reported being surprised at enjoying this one, as she did not enjoy the author’s more famous book. At the heart of this book is a surprising... Continue Reading →
The Feather Thief, by Kirk Wallace Johnson. Book report #18 (2022)
The Feather Thief, by Kirk Wallace Johnson. Pub 2018 I first heard about this story and book in an episode of the podcast This American Life. It is one of those stories of a seemingly oddball crime by an oddball character that takes the journalist and ultimately the reader to some fascinating places and times.... 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 →
2021 Reading Challenge – summary
I didn't quite make it through the entire 2021 list, but was very close. The goal was 34 books, and I got to 33, including one that did not make the official list due to redundancy. Here's the final book list for 2021: 1 - Book with a murder in it Death in a Darkening... Continue Reading →
Everything in Its Place, by Oliver Sacks. Book report #28 (2021)
Everything in Its Place, by Oliver Sacks. Pub 2019 A now-former work colleague recommended Oliver Sacks as good reading. As this same person had recommended Harari's Sapiens, which was excellent, I took their advice again and was not disappointed. This is the most recent of Sacks' books, a posthumous one. It is a collection of essays... Continue Reading →
A Scientific Romance, by Ronald Wright. Book report #17 (2021)
A Scientific Romance, by Ronald Wright. Pub 1997 I first read this book pre-2000, so not too long after it was published. It became a Desert Island book, one that I always list as an all-time favourite. Like others on this year's list for me, it's a favourite that I had not read in many... Continue Reading →