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Starlight Tour
I feel struck by the tragedy of the death of Neil Stonechild and the callousness that the Saskatoon Police had in dealing with the death of a first nations person. Really how they dealt with all the first nations people spoken with in the book. The police often talk about a single bad officer, but…
Style: Non-fiction -
On Work
This is a collection of essays from the author all about the culture of work. Thompson covers our move from religious accomplishment as a defining factor of our lives in previous generations, to how we’ve supplanted that need for accomplishment with workism, the worship of work. The biggest benefit to reading this short book was…
Style: Non-fiction -
How to Do Nothing
Jenny Odell spends the first half of this book looking at how to disengage from the attention economy and the second half trying to give us the tools to engage with something worthwhile in our live. I particularly like the idea she presents that social media promotes connectivity, mere likes and shares, while what we…
Style: Non-fiction -
How to Make Notes and Write
The goal of Dan’s book is to teach you to take good notes and turn them into good writing in the academic/school world. Dan says that if you have an assignment you should always be able to find something interesting in it and turn that interesting bit into something you can write well about. I’d…
Style: Non-fiction -
Warbreaker
In this part of Brandon Sanderson’s world magic is endowed by the consuming of the spirit of another being. While this doesn’t kill the being, this does leave them “drab” so they pass through life as just a little bit less than whole. Full of political intrigue and the bad people aren’t who you think…
Genre: FantasyStyle: Fiction -
Conspirituality
Conspirituality examines how the Yoga and wellness world moved from doing things that are good for your body, into conspiracy theory through the COVID19 pandemic. This book covers insights from the 3 authors that were very involved in the health and wellness world, until they started to see the bad turn it was taking into…
Style: Non-fiction -
The Good Enough Job
The main premise of this book is that workism is particularly American and a fairly modern phenomenon. Workism is the belief that work is the source of meaning in your life, and the author explores how work has come to replace religion, and any other type of volunteering, to become the main focus for everyone.…
Style: Non-fiction -
Manufacturing Happy Citizens
This book explores how the wellness industry has built itself by telling us that we’re not complete without whatever trick they have to offer. One of my favourite insights comes near the end where the author states that happiness doesn’t fit into our lives now, we have to shape our lives around the ideas that…
Genre: HappinessStyle: Non-fiction -
A Day of Fallen Night
This is a prequel book to The Priory of the Orange Tree, which I read a few years ago and enjoyed. A Day of Fallen Night takes you back to earlier days of The Priory, and we get to see how the blood of the Priory with it’s magic is brought into a kingdom that…
Genre: FantasyStyle: Fiction -
Jaws – The Story of a Hidden Epidemic
Jaws explores the idea that our jaw is becoming undersized and it’s a hidden thing that no one but the author sees. The “establishment” won’t recognize the problem, but keeps treating the symptom only. The first hint that this book might not be as good as the author thinks is that it’s co-author is Paul…
Style: Non-fiction