Art Work by Sally Mann (2025)
Part memoir and part advice to young photographers and artists of all kinds.
I wasn’t familiar with Sally Mann or her work before stumbling across this book, but I found her really funny and interesting and wise.
Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch (2006)
Short pieces on film-making, transcendental meditation, reminiscences and his philosophies on life.
I didn’t like it as much as Sally Mann’s Art Work, but I enjoyed his perspective. It’s just a book, of course, but I get the feeling he was a pretty decent, thoughtful kind of guy.
Every Salad Ever by Greta Podleski (2025)
I’ve always avoided those Looneyspoons cookbooks because the cartoons and overwhelming punniness are definitely not my thing, but this is cartoon-free and minimally punny and the recipes are very do-able in terms of time, effort and ordinary ingredients. I also like that the author wanted to keep it Canadian and off of Amazon. Gotta love a person with principles.
Leonard and Hungry Paul by Rónán Hession (2019)
Follows two quiet, gentle bachelors through some ordinary ups-and-downs of life.
I kept waiting for terrible characters to come along and hurt them, but this is a world populated by mostly good and kind people. It’s a nice, ordinary story about nice, ordinary people.
Look to the Lady by Margery Allingham (1931)
Albert Campion helps the Gyrth family save an ancient chalice, a family heirloom, from thieves contracted to steal it for a wealthy buyer.
Very entertaining. I’m starting to think Margery Allingham might be my favourite author from The Golden Age of Detective Fiction.
A huge thanks to the Edmonton Public Library for sending a copy all the way to NS.
The Peepshow by Kate Summerscale (2024)
The fascinating and enraging story of the horrific murders committed by Reg Christie in London in the 1950s, as well as the effects that covering the story had on journalists and journalism.
Excellent, compelling reading, just like all Kate Summerscale’s books.