Woolfson, E. (2008). Corvus: A Life with Birds. Granta Books; London. If you’ve ever walked past a wild animal and wondered what it’s like to have that creature as a pet, this is the book for you. Esther Woolfson’s life changes when she begins taking in fledgling birds of all shapes, sizes, and sounds, living…
Category: Book Thoughts
The Rope by Nevada Barr
Barr, Nevada. (2012). The Rope. Minotaur Books; New York. I’ve always been a big fan of Nevada Barr’s mystery novels, for two reasons: 1) they take place in the serenity of nature (more specifically, in various U.S. national parks), and 2) her central protagonist is the gutsy and seemingly invincible park ranger, Anna Pigeon. I…
The Incense Game by Laura Joh Rowland
Rowland, Laura Joh. (2012). The Incense Game. Minotaur Books; New York. Sometimes it’s nice to delve into a book packed with historical details and rife with emotional intrigue. Laura Joh Rowland‘s book The Incense Game nicely delivers on both fronts; it details what happens before, during, and after a powerful earthquake that struck a vast…
The Outcasts by Kathleen Kent
Kent, Kathleen. (2013). The Outcasts. Little, Brown and Company; New York. I have not come across many Western novels that I find particularly thought-provoking, but Kathleen Kent’s novel The Outcasts was one of the most moving and thoughtful books I had the pleasure of reading in 2013. Set in Texas in the 1870s, the novel…
So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport
Newport, Cal. (2012). So Good They Can’t Ignore You. Hatchette Book Group; New York. I have followed the work of Dr. Cal Newport with interest for some time now – his blog called Study Hacks: Decoding Patterns of Success is immensely popular and started when he was a computer science Ph.D. candidate at MIT. Even…
Maria Legault 