This year’s reading plan is more open-ended — designed to give me focus but not overwhelm. I’ve created what most people seem to call a reading challenge, but that term doesn’t work for me. So here’s the plan. ** Five current (within 3 years) nonfiction ** Five older nonfiction from
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wmtc: what i’m reading: 2022 wrap-up
The results of my 2022 reading plan were completely predictable. I created an overly long list, and that created pressure, and that ruined the point and the enjoyment of the plan. I knew that would happen, and it did: I wrote about that here. I started feeling this self-inflicted pressure in
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: nine nasty words by john mcwhorter
If you enjoy language, and history, and humour, you will probably enjoy Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter — Then, Now, and Forever by John McWhorter. A slim book written in a breezy style, Nine Nasty Words is an absolute delight. McWhorter takes the reader through a history of English words
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: krakatoa: the day the world exploded: august 27, 1883 by simon winchester
The 1883 volcanic eruption known as Krakatoa was the largest, loudest, and most destructive natural event in human history. The explosions (there were many) were heard almost 3,000 miles away. The eruption produced shock waves that travelled around Earth seven times. Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 has
Continue readingwmtc: worlds collide: more notes on "gods of the upper air"
Gods of the Upper Air, by Charles King, which I recently wrote about, highlights several books that were highly influential in their time, for good and for ill. In The Passing of a Great Race, published in 1916, a man named Madison Grant foretold the extinction of the “Nordic” race and their
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: gods of the upper air, outstanding nonfiction by charles king
Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century by Charles King is a compelling, fascinating, impeccably researched, and thoroughly readable work of narrative nonfiction. It is one of the very best nonfiction books I’ve read. I borrowed it from
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the night watchman by louise erdrich
I read Louise Erdrich long ago, in the 1980s and ’90s, devouring several titles, including Love Medicine, The Beet Queen, and my favourite, Tracks. Erdrich remained on my radar, but somehow I didn’t pick up another of her books for decades — until now. And I’m so glad I did. The Night
Continue readingwmtc: barbara ehrenreich, rest in power. i will miss you.
I was very saddened by the news that Barbara Ehrenreich had died earlier this month. She was one of my favourite thinkers and writers, and I found it difficult to bundle my thoughts and feelings into a tribute. From her last book, Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the leak: great junior graphic for the young activist in your life
It starts with a trip to the dentist. Ruth Keller swears she brushes her teeth and flosses daily, yet the cavities are piling up. The dentist lectures, her mom scolds. No one believes that Ruth takes proper care of her teeth — but she does. Then Ruth and a friend
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: like other girls: best youth fiction i’ve read in a long time
A girl wants to play football. That’s all. Well, not quite all. Mara wants to be herself. And that self wants to play football, among other things. Mara isn’t trying to make a statement. She doesn’t want to be political, and although she knows she’s gay, she doesn’t want to
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: killers of the flower moon: the osage murders and the birth of the fbi
I’m sure many of you have read Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann. It’s an award-winning bestseller that garnered a lot of attention when it was published in 2017. If you haven’t read it, get it from your library, or
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: four fish: the future of the last wild food
After reading a review of Paul Greenberg’s Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food when it was published in 2010, I added the title to The List. When I read it recently, more than 10 years later, the subject matter had become so much more relevant to me, in
Continue readingwmtc: in which i remember the pitfalls of creating rules, or, painting myself into a corner (again)
In our last episode of Laura’s Reading Plan, I posted a very long list for 2022. On that 2022 reading plan post, I wrote: This year’s plan is much longer. This is probably a bad idea. I also wrote: One thing is obvious: this plan is too long! I hope
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: animal, vegetable, junk: a history of food, from sustainable to suicidal, by mark bittman
Mark Bittman’s Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal is a fascinating, readable, and wide-ranging nonfiction. With clear and simple language, Bittman unpacks the many threads that have determined, throughout history, how we humans feed ourselves. As an alternate subtitle, I might suggest “How Imperialism and Capitalism
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: say nothing: a true story of murder and memory in northern ireland
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland is without a doubt one of the best nonfiction books I have ever read. I’m in awe of Patrick Radden Keefe’s ability to weave together so many disparate and often contradictory sources to re-create a story that is incredibly
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the turning point: 1851: a year that changed charles dickens and the world
The Turning Point: 1851 — A Year That Changed Charles Dickens and the World was written for me. I love Dickens. He’s among the core writers whose work means the most to me (along with Orwell and Steinbeck). Bleak House is my favourite of all Dickens. I wrote a mini-thesis on it
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: four lost cities: a secret history of the urban age by anna newitz
Wmtc readers may know that I am endlessly fascinated with ancient civilizations. Allan and I will go anywhere to see ruins from antiquity or Neolithic sites. My desire to see the remains of ancient civilizations has driven much of our travel, and the list of places I still want to
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the uninhabitable earth by david wallace-wells: a handbook for despair
The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells is a book about the not-distant future: what will happen to the planet as climate change continues. I waited a long time to read this book — first because of a very long waitlist at the library, but later because I was so
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: gone to the woods, a riveting memoir by author gary paulsen
Gary Paulsen wrote some of the best children’s literature, most famously Hatchet. The tale of a boy who must survive on his own in the woods until he is at last rescued, Hatchet (published in 1986) is a go-to book for librarians facing the challenge of a reluctant reader, and many kids’
Continue readingwmtc: a reading plan for 2022, plus how the 2021 plan fared
I’m enjoying my new-ish habit of having a reading plan for the year ahead. I like having the structure and the direction. But I also like — and need — to keep it flexible. It’s not a reading challenge. No x number of books for the year, no goal at
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