For all its self-regard and loud declarations of being an innovative, risk-taking, cutting-edge country, the United States is incredibly and stupidly conservative when it comes to many things, including not punishing its criminals just because they happened to be presidents.

"Mankind was my business"--Jacob Marley's Ghost.

I reread A Christmas Carol today (it's pretty short), and I love that line. It's a good definition of being a humanist. The story is an inspiring tale of being able to change--at any age.

Read the NYTM article on Alice Munro. Goddamnit. I am a big fan of her fiction. I was happy she won the Nobel. "Fuck you!" I now want to say to her. If Stephen King is ever revealed as a terrible person or monster, I won't be able to take it.

A number of years ago, I came up with a maxim that all great art was about love, and time. How they flow together; how they split apart. And so it goes with this 2023 novel, my favorite read this year. A beautiful, lovely story about middle-age, family, youth.

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Libraries are an investment. Not an expense

I was deeply disappointed by the lack of nature/science/climate/enviro on many major end-of-year book lists—so I decided to make my own!

Introducing: ✨🎁📚 The 2024 Holiday Gift Guide to Nature & Science Books ✨🎁📚

Please share: Let's make this go viral in time for Black Friday / holiday shopping!

Happy to make the Globe and Mail's 100 Best Books of 2024! www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books/a...

saddened to report that my Buying Too Many Books disease is progressing rapidly