All my reading these days is for work #everyday

"Children must be taught obedience. They must experience violence so that they will be angry enough to practice it on others when they can."

"If the joys of eating are comparable to the joys of sex... then fruits - fun, attractive, breezy and noncommittal - qualify as a summer fling. (By contrast, starches and vegetables are the in-laws, indispensable but tricky to deal with, sniping at us through a fog of flatulence and indigestion.)"

Mr. Le is also known for his glowing review of "Sausage Party" on imdb.

A rather elegant summation of two periods of history - when On the Nature of Things was first written and when an Italian papal scribe rediscovered it - and an ode to the written word. #penmaship

A Quaker linguist - and all that implies - cherry-picks quirks of translating the Bible into English. The chatty informality sometimes grates more than endears, but the woman knows her stuff.
#quakerlife #translating

Library haul for today #smallstack

The history of American slavery and Ghanian colonization, at a break-neck speed. The oldest chapters were the most compelling, and the female characters the most warm and alive, somehow.

Well-deserving of its praise, this book is a biography written like a detective novel, right down to the red herrings that eventually brought our hero down. An unusual choice that worked for me. #biography #detective

The main character is Dorothy and the Internet and bookshelves are Oz. He assembles his crew and finds that what he needed he had all along. Its a slight, charming book, where all the characters are basically the same and nothing bad happens. Especially suited for people whose greatest pleasure is satisfying their curiosity. #monomyth

A retired US Admiral introduces you to the world's oceans like you're his favourite - but unfortunately rather stupid - grandchild.

Did you know Magellan named the Pacific? Did you know piracy in Somalia is due to poverty and warloads? You did?! Adm Stavridis is shocked that someone who'd want to read a book about navies written by an admiral might already know this. #notyar

Tightly-written, funny, and moving, this is Noah's love letter to his mom. Within that is insight into life in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa. #somuchcrying #hismomsoundsamazing #yesiknowimlatetothisparty

Ready for my road trip to Ottawa. Happy Canada Day! #bookstack #150 #plusafewthousandmoreifyoureFNIM #irealizeihavenocanadianauthors

My friends highly recommended this book as inspiring. Perhaps Im just not in the right state of mind for it but I found myself raising an eyebrow at some of what he describes happening to him.

If The Walking Dead were written by a Canadian nerd who really likes Dickens. I wanted to like it, truly. #imalsoacanadiannerd

A science-fiction novel that takes place in a future where you can be immortal or be yourself, but not both. There were few surprises in this, but it was a pleasure. #canadareads #japanknits #ghanadecoupages #usahasoneofthosefidgetcubesyouknowcuztheymadtense

A clear-eyed, quick-paced look at how Elizabeth I began trade with the powerful Muslim countries of her time. As a non-English person, the strict focus on that country was a bit dull to me at times, but I guess the title warned me.

A brusque, inelegant look at the brainy aristocrat who helped found the digital age. It contains nothing you couldnt get from wikipedia. #adalovelace

So excited to read Von Tunzelman's latest! Her first book, Indian Summer, is one of my favourite history books, period. #dontletmedown

"In a little place called Le Monastier, in a pleasant highland valley fifteen miles from Le Puy, I spent about a month of fine days." More so than other genre, I think, the opening sentence of a travelogue tells you so much of the journey ahead. #travelogue #pasodelmulo

What Melville did for whales Gordon does for Mary Wollstonecraft. I dont know if Wollstonecraft's world really needed this much filling in, but Gordon wants us to know this woman by her limits as much as her successes. #frankensteinsnana

The heroine is plucky, and the setting fun, but ultimately the book takes a long time to leave no lasting impression. Fermata, diminuendo a niente.

"Burgh had held that a girl should know just enough arithmetic to do household accounts, and just enough geography to converse with her husband and his friends." Every word in this is pure comedy, I dont even know where to start.

Im *from* the high mountains of Portugal, and even I couldnt muster up enough interest to finish this book. #visitaltominho #itsbeautiful

A series of short sketches anthropomorphizing trees. Both whimsical and rooted in science , this is the kind of book Romantics would take with them into the woods. #itsgoodtobethoreau #ihadoneapunalreadyanyway

"The loners I just mentioned are similarly susceptible- they might look healthy, but they have no idea whats going on around them." Trees=humans?

Library haul for tonight is a bit of a mix #shortstack

A valiant self-improvement effort, better chronicled in a blog than in a book. #bookdeal

A Victorian spinster recounts her travels in West Africa with good humour and true grit. Somewhat lacking in detail and context. #explorers #travelogue