Category Archives: Books

Canadian Urban Legends: Newfoundlanders Can Tell You All About the Old Hag

Allie Turner : NUVO Writing about urban legends can be a tricky business because there is no way to guarantee the facts. By nature, the stories operate in the shadows, feeding off misinformation, rumours, and furtive glances. Therefore, it’s a rare thing … Continue reading

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Sadness, Depression, and the Dark Night of the Soul

Transcending the Medicalization of Sadness By: Glòria Durà-Vilà An interesting book I happened across today: I found that religion played a crucial role in the way sadness was understood and resolved: symptoms that otherwise might have been described as evidence of … Continue reading

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How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy

Book by Jenny Odell | Review by Jonah Engel Bromwich | NYT In 2015, Jenny Odell started an organization she called The Bureau of Suspended Objects. Odell was then an artist-in-residence at a waste operating station in San Francisco. As the … Continue reading

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Project Northmoor

Establishing the First Centre in the World, Dedicated to all Things J.R.R. Tolkien There is no centre devoted to Tolkien studies anywhere in the world – a remarkable fact considering the writer’s importance and continuing popularity. Purchasing Tolkien’s former home … Continue reading

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Why is the Awful Stuff Winning?

I’ve recently read a chapter from “Reality Lost: Markets of Attention, Misinformation and Manipulation”, by Mads Vestergaard and Vincent F. Hendricks (2018) in which they explore the phenomenon of constant (and dissonant) disinformation on the population’s shared reality. Can democracy … Continue reading

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Will America’s Alliances Survive the Trump Era?

BY SAM WINTER-LEVY, NIKITA LALWANI | FOREIGN POLICY A new book advances a robust defense of the U.S. system of alliances. A post-pandemic world requires adaptation and renewed coordination against common threats. In Sept. 19, 1796, George Washington’s Farewell Address appeared in … Continue reading

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A Scheme of Heaven is a deep investigation of astrology from a scientist’s perspective

Fun book review at BoingBoing: We humans are castaways on an ocean of uncertainty. Since the beginnings of history, our ancestors sought knowledge and understanding about their lives, their relationship with the cosmos, and perhaps take a peek into their … Continue reading

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The Room Where It Happened

I just finished John Bolton’s latest book. All I will say is that just when you think US politics can’t sink any lower, a whole new elevator to hell opens up. I’ve sniped my thoughts about this guy several times … Continue reading

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Beverly Cleary turns 104 today!

Happy 104th Birthday, Beverly Cleary! “The Mouse and the Motorcycle” changed my life. – cPaul A video interview with Beverly Cleary at Reading Rockets

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How Christian Nationalism Moved from the Fringe to the White House

Previously, I’ve written tangentially about the prevalence of right-wing groups that are bent on establishing a Christian theocracy in the United States, so I was interested to come across this article by Karl Richter at the Texas Observer looking at … Continue reading

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Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect

Amazon Review Here is a conclusive, well-researched, practical reference on why people fall down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole and how you can help them escape. Mick West shares the knowledge and experience he’s accumulated debunking false conspiracy theories, and … Continue reading

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What Makes Dogs So Special? Science Says Love

When I studied Animal Psychology at University a thousand years ago (ok… 40), the last expert word on animal empathy was that it did not exist, other than through our anthropomorphization of our animal friends. Those who have lived with … Continue reading

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Elizabeth Wurtzel, the author of ‘Prozac Nation,’ has died at 52

Wurtzel was best known for her deeply confessional memoirs By EJ DICKSON @ Rolling Stone Elizabeth Wurtzel — the author of the best-selling memoir Prozac Nation: Young and Depressed in America — died in a New York City hospital on Tuesday, according to the New … Continue reading

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“The Holy or the Broken”: The story behind Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”

This was going to be the expression of an indignant rant several years in the making, but instead, it’s going to be an admission that I was wrong. Several years ago, while serving as the Music Director at a Montreal … Continue reading

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