Magnificent Octopus

The Comfort of Strangers , by Ian McEwan, is a strange little novel, set in Venice. One of his early works. It's short, and nothing much...

I leave for Italy next week, and as such I've been reading all things Italian. Here are two guidebooks I recommend: Italy, Insight G...

We were packing our bags. There was nothing that they could say now. Now they were trying anything to make us stay. Like a lover who was try...

I started reading The Windup Girl some time ago, by Paolo Bacigalupi. It's slow going and fairly demanding reading, but in a rewarding ...

Two more days of school (sigh), but prom was Friday night.

Still reading, but in a pretty distracted way, and mostly just on my short commute. Vacation planning and house hunting, both of which are...

Having enjoyed Robin Sloan 's Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore , I long ago subscribed to his newsletter. This week he tells of a ...

1.1 Satin Island , by Tom McCarthy, is one of my favourite books in recent history. 2.1 Some books I want to read cold. I don't want r...

Last night I dreamt there was a rat in my bed, but ultimately I expelled it from the Eden that is my home. In my dream, I stirred from my ...

"In the Bible, it says that God invented the universe in seven days," I started. "But there was actually an eighth day, and o...

Early this month I started a reading a novelization of the life of George Sand. How is it that such an interesting historical figure could b...

The Service of Clouds , by Delia Falconer , takes its title from the epigraph from art critic John Ruskin in "Of Modern Landscape"...

There are no unicorns in this book, not really. The Gallery of Lost Species , by Nina Berkhout, has a picture of a unicorn on the cover. It ...

"You're mistaking happiness for unhappiness. That's why the French are so melancholic. Everything beautiful makes them cry. The...

When I was 17, I would ride the bus up to the university. For art and culture. By myself. I'm not sure why I thought that would be a coo...

I've played with personas, I've tried to compartmentalize my various selves, but it's too hard. It's contrary to my experi...

His real talent, what people went crazy for, was his knack for writing song lyrics. There was a song about a mechanic who builds a snowbmobi...

In New York City last month, I treated myself to some shoes. We hadn't set foot in a single bookstore (gasp!), so it's the least I c...

I'm only on page 51 of Tom McCarthy's Satin Island , and I think it's extraordinary. 5.7 His most famous riff, perhaps, was abo...

The Days of Abandonment , by Elena Ferrante, was an absolutely devastating book. It made me thoroughly miserable and I wallowed in it. I...