I was recently ‘gifted’ with a book from a friend; unfortunately, the author and the plot were really not to my taste. Rather than letting the book sit and molder on my bookshelf, I decided to donate it and complete the cycle of gifting. I knew of many sources which happily accept gently used items…
Tag: Wikipedia article
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Le Guin, Ursula K. (1969). The Left Hand of Darkness. Ace Books; New York. You can read a lot of great reviews, analyzes, and summaries of The Left Hand of Darkness online (for an example, check out the humorously-written cheat sheets over at Shmoop). Indeed, this Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel has been critically acclaimed…
Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
Stoppard, Tom. (1993). Arcadia. Faber and Faber; London. The first time I read through Arcadia, the subtle nuances went right over my head – whoosh! – and I was left contemplating the slim paperback with some discomfort at the end of my reading. I’m sure that seeing the play would have left me similarly disjointed….
The Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse
Hesse, Herman. (2002, 1927). Steppenwolf. Picador; United Kingdom. My first exposure to the work of Herman Hesse was in his most well-known book, Siddhartha. While Siddhartha relies heavily on the stories and principles of Eastern mysticism to engage with a series of (very distinct) self-discovery experiences, Steppenwolf is set in European culture and addresses the…
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Bradbury, Ray. (1950). The Martian Chronicles. Bantam Books; Toronto. For the curious and creative reader, this Ray Bradbury novel is a loosely episodic collection of short stories woven together with vignettes; as such, it allows the reader to interpose their own conclusions onto the plot line (Wikipedia article). The stories describe the colonization of Mars,…
Audiobooks: Hands-Free Entertainment
I don’t mind confessing that I have a life-long love affair with audiobooks. If you’ve never tried ‘reading’ a novel with an audiobook, the experience is somewhat challenging to describe. It’s a visceral, enchanting, and hands-free way of experiencing a story. The performer(s) reading the story will bring the characters to life in ways that…
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…
Let the Shopping Begin!
Today is Black Friday, which is “often regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season” (Wikipedia article). The term ‘Black Friday’ originates in “Philadelphia, where it originally was used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic which would occur on the day after Thanksgiving” (Wikipedia article). Origins of the name are…
A Plethora of Beverages
This week I have an interview with the Liquor Control Board of Canada (LCBO), for a position as temporary contract staff in the holiday season*. Not being a terribly heavy drinker myself, I decided to do a bit of background research on alcohol and was astonished to find the great diversity of beverages available; hence…
How the Movie “Big River Man” Made Me See Success Differently
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to watch the 2009 documentary film Big River Man. Though the film was often shaky and the voice overs a little grainy, I had to go for a long walk to reflect on the movie after watching it. My emotional response to the footage was immediate and intense….
Nostalgia is The Red Green Show
Recently, I have acquired Netflix and been enjoying access to the limited spread of television shows and movies available to Canadian consumers (Akkad, August 29th, 2012). For a light and brainless activity in the evenings, shows like Community and Futurama suit quite well. Trends in viewing amongst young people are increasingly oriented towards this form…
Happy Halloween! And Why I Can’t Compete
Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope that you all survived last night – whether you were hiding out from vandals in Ontario or Michigan (i.e. Devil’s Night), or fearing a rather serious prank from a neighbor in the United Kingdom (i.e. Mischief Night). Although October 30th does go by many names depending on where you live,…
Maria Legault 