Cullen, Lynn. (2011). Reign of Madness. G.P. Putnam’s Sons; New York. I have a very great weakness for historical fiction, though I am not as enamored with the stories of the great kings and queens from the past as I am of the lesser-known figures*. For those with a decided interest in the kings and…
Category: Book Thoughts
To Play the Fool by Laurie R. King
King, Laurie R. (1995). To Play the Fool. St. Martin’s Press; New York. If you’re someone who is particular about starting a murder mystery series with the first book, do not start reading about Kate Martinelli in To Play the Fool. Instead, start with A Grave Talent and proceed from there. The story and characters…
Rusalka by C. J. Cherryh
Cherryh, C.J. (1989). Rusalka. Ballantine Books; New York. As a young adult, I devoured the tales of the brilliant and consummately skilled science fiction writer C.J. Cherryh. The first of her books that I enjoyed was Rider at the Gate, and the memory of it still leaves me with chills of mystery, magic, and adventure….
Black Swan, White Raven: Edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling.
Datlow, Ellen, & Windling, Terri. (1997). Black Swan, White Raven. Avon Books; New York. This enchanting compilation of fairy tales – 21 in all, with a mix of short stories and poems – contains the typical tropes and memes of the classic fairy tale in new and disruptive contexts. While some people have examined these…
How to Find Fulfilling Work by Roman Krznaric
Krznaric, Roman. (2012). How to Find Fulfilling Work. Picador; New York. Despite its discrete size and colour, this book packs quite a punch. It’s part of The School of Life book series – described as a “cultural enterprise offering good ideas for everyday life” (The School of Life, 2014). Consequently, How to Find Fulfilling Work…
The Turquoise Dragon by David Rains Wallace
Wallace, David Rains. (1985). The Turquoise Dragon. The Yolla Bolly Press; California. I picked up this book at the library and signed it out primarily because the synopsis began as follows: “…George Kilgore, a forester living quietly in the foothills of California’s rugged Klamath Mountains, stumbles into a deadly web of intrigue when he discovers…
The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart
Stewart, A. (2013). The Drunken Botanist. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill; New York. Amy Stewart has here provided every curious tippler with the natural origins of their favorite drinks. She is an award-winning author of six books on the natural world and lives in Eureka, California, where she owns an antiquarian bookstore and tends to…
Remote: Office Not Required by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Fried, J. & Hansson, H. (2013). Remote: Office Not Required. Crown Publishing Group; New York. Given my interest in work life and the work place, I picked up this book hoping to identify some of the pros and cons of being a remote employee. Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, founders of 37signals (now called…
The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy
Hardy, T. (1996). The Woodlanders. Wordsworth Editions Limited: Hertfordshire, London. Full of multiple romance triangles and natural splendors, The Woodlanders marks the beginning of controversy in Thomas Hardy’s novels and remained as one of his personal favorites throughout his lifetime (Wikipedia article). Set in a small woodland village called Little Hintock, the novel chronicles the…
Rush: Why You Need and Love the Rat Race by Todd Buchholz
Buchholz, Todd. (2011). Rush: Why You Need and Love the Rat Race. Penguin Books Ltd.: New York. You get an immediate impression of this book in the Preface – if you’re the kind of person that reads over a Preface before starting into a book (I do; some might find it to be a bad…
Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain
Although you may know Mark Twain (aka. Samuel Langhorne Clemens, or just Clemens for short) primarily as the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, this all-important American author also penned a strange tale entitled Pudd’nhead Wilson (Wikipedia article). Anyone who attempts to read this story should use a…
In the Land of Long Fingernails by Charles Wilkins
Wilkins, Charles. (2008). In the Land of Long Fingernails. Greystone Books: Toronto. I loved this book for its familiarity to my sense of place – the setting of Toronto, Ontario, is very close to my hometown of Kitchener, Ontario. It’s not often that I have the chance to read a novel by a local author….
Maria Legault 