A few weeks ago, I wrote Journaling and Mental Health to remind readers of the value of journaling. As a short guide to journaling, for both young adults and their parents, I recommend Keeping a Journal by Trudi Strain Trueit. This is a concise, clearly written text on the subject that can help anyone get …
When I learned that Anthony Bourdain had died by suicide on June 8, I wanted to look through some of his life’s work, to celebrate the great talent that we had lost with his death. No Reservations is a book developed out of Bourdain’s television program of the same name. The program was an innovative …
I have no reason to believe that I will die soon, and yet, I realize that I must begin to prepare for my demise since it would not be impossible for me to die tomorrow. My children are all grown and so it is also possible that I might someday like to move out of …
I heard Michael Redhill read from Bellevue Square during the televised Giller Awards. Other than listening to the brief reading, I knew nothing about the book other than the fact that its author won the Giller Prize for it and that it involved a woman and her doppelganger. That the book was a thriller with …
Sometime in the spring, a copy of the Montreal Review of Books arrived with the Saturday papers. I have a great weakness for these periodicals. The Montreal Review of Books (MRB) is published by the Association of English-Language Publishers of Québec. Like the best book review periodicals, MRB is beautifully produced on high quality paper. …
Every week or so, in this space, I will publish a review of a book I’ve read. There are excellent blogs about books and literature, such as Life of Chaz or Book Hub, Inc. I realize that I’m not a replacement for the New York Review of Books or the Times Literary Supplement. Maybe I’m …
When I am on holiday, I like to read a book that reminds me of the place where I am vacationing. I spent last week in Rhode Island and so I read Linda Greenlaw’s The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Very Small Island. Greenlaw earned her reputation as a writer with her book The Hungry …
I am on holiday this week. I’m walking, knitting, reading and writing like I never do at home. During the past few days, I have read Rachael Matthews’ The Mindfulness in Knitting:Meditations in Craft and Calm. This reading continues my consideration of mindfulness and allowed me to understand how knitting can be a mindful as …
Later today I will leave for a holiday in the United States. At a time when many Canadians would boycott the United states, I will not. No matter what the President says, or how the Prime Minister responds, Canada and the United States are neighbours (We are neighbors, if you’re American.) More than that, we …
Natalie Goldberg has been assisting her students into a writing life for forty years. She has developed her own teaching series to do this, a teaching series captured in The True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life with Language. This is a peaceful book to read, a book that reminded me of the sanctity of the …
