Until very recently, I didn’t know anything about Louise Fitzhugh and had not thought about her at all. Of course, as a child I read and loved Harriet the Spy,…
When I read a review of The Sword and The Shield: the Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., I knew it was a book I’d been…
Like everyone in the time of Covid, I’m watching a lot! I’m also reading a lot and walking more than ever, so I have zero qualms about an increase in…
Beverly Cleary, who died last week at the astounding age of 104, was a pivotal figure in the world of children’s literature. Her books are treasures; her influence can scarcely…
The covid lockdown began on March 17, 2020. On March 20, I began piano lessons. I took piano lessons from age 6-10, before switching to violin (a mistake), then quitting.…
I recently attended a six-hour workshop called Decolonizing Community Spaces. The workshop was led by two facilitators, one a Native American speaking to us from her traditional territories in Montana,…
Everything in life is a trade-off. Everything has pros and cons, advantages and pitfalls, clouds and silver linings. I honestly can’t think of anything this rule doesn’t apply to, including…
As a teenager and in my early 20s, I was somewhat obsessed with Janis Joplin. I read all the available biographies of her, and took any opportunity to see footage…
My heart is heavy. My heart is broken. Boomer cannot stay with us. We can’t even foster him while we search for his forever home. One of our dogs is…
This handsome boy is Boomer, the newest addition to our family. I saw him a couple of times outside the library, scrounging food. He was quiet and meek, friendly but…
Shine, 2007 Shine is Joni’s most recent, and likely final, studio album. She came out of retirement in 2007 to release the album, nine years after her previous Taming the…
The Bridge, by Bill Konigsberg, is the best YA novel I’ve read since Eleanor & Park in 2012. Unfortunately, I know that many readers won’t go near this book, because…
Ever since reading, in 2006, The National Dream and The Golden Spike, Pierre Berton’s books about the building of the Canadian railroad, I’ve been interested in the Chinese railroad workers.…
This post has been half-written and sitting in drafts for many months. Days after an armed mob tried to violently subvert the results of an election seems like a good…
2018: Titles and reading projects that were languishing on my List. 2019: The year of the biography. The first time I created a reading plan for the year. 2020: I…
I have read many essays and op-eds by Farley Mowat, the legendary Canadian naturalist, but until now, had never read any of his many books. (He was incredibly prolific.) When…
Tl; dr: Greetings Island is the best e-greeting-card site. * * * * I love greeting cards — birthdays, anniversaries, thank yous, “glad you’re my friend”. I used to love…
I’ve always loved working at home. I loved it when I first started writing fiction and working as a freelance proofreader in 1985, and I loved it even more when…
Librarians like to ask readers about their reading habits. How do you read? What format do you most prefer? Do you have a secondary format? These days, most avid readers…
Wishing you all a happy, healthy 2021. Peace, love, and vaccinations! Click here to open the card. PS: This is my new favourite e-card site. I will post about them…
