Category Books
Most Embarrassing
Anne Carson has won the 2026 Nobel Prize for Literature. She’s Canadian. It naturally makes me proud when a fellow Canadian receives such an accolade. Especially given that there is no bigger prize than the Nobel, which is given in recognition of a career of achievment. What embarrasses me though is that until the prize […]
Resolutions
I don’t usually make New Years resolutions. This year I am making an exception. I’m promising myself I will read fewer books Don’t get me wrong. I still love to read. In 2025 I read 102 books. I’d never tracked my reading before. I’m not sure what the list says about me or my reading […]
Book Bans
As the new school year approaches, book banning is in the news again. The impression I have is that it is a fairly common occurrence in the United States, but less so in Canada. The latest list of 200 books being removed from Edmonton Public School libraries has me wondering who is the bad guy. […]
The Collection
With the latest downsizing, I have managed to cull my collection so that now it only fills three bookcases. With some shelves having two rows of books. And books piled on top of the bookcases. I’ve gotten rid of hundreds of books this year. Actually, probably more than a thousand. I miss them. But there […]
On Track
I love to read. And re-read. Some of my favorite books I have read a dozen times or more. This year I decided to try and do something I have never done before – keep track of my reading. I wondered if I would reach a hundred books by December 31. If I stick to […]
Flashback Argument
On this Flashback Friday, as we begin the month, we return to November 1, 2017. Sadly, public discourse has deteriorated considerably since I wrote this. The ending disturbs me even more than it did seven years ago. I like a good fight, of the verbal kind anyway. A spirited exchange of ideas, an attempt at […]
The Word
When I was a teenager I used to carry a Bible in my back pocket. It was great to have it available to read at a moment’s notice. It was the King James Translation. Back then it was the only full Bible available in the appropriate size, and I wanted more than just a New […]
Known By His Initials
Does the name Clive Staples Lewis ring a bell? I asked three people earlier today, and they all said “no.” However, when I asked about C.S. Lewis the response was a resounding “yes.” The author if the Narnia series, and theological treatises like Mere Christianity was always better known by his initials than his full […]
The Dystopian Venn
I had something else planned for today, but the message of this t-shirt has been haunting me. Like an earworm, maybe if I share it I can get it out of my head. Those of you who took any English literature classes in high school immediately understood the references. 1984 is a novel written by […]
I Love Books
I saw this photo on Twitter (I’m still resisting calling it X) and immediately wished I was browsing this library. It reminded me of the main branch of Canada’s Parliamentary library, which is closed while Centre Block is being renovated. My guess is that this particular library is British, though I suppose there are similar […]
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