Murder in Amsterdam: The Death of Theo van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance by Ian Buruma

A very interesting read indeed. Buruma uses this work to discuss tolerance, intolerance, Islamism and radical Islamism. An articulate and easy read - and definitely a topic we need to understand.

Right Side Up: the Fall of Paul Martin and the Rise of Stephen Harper's New Conservatism by Paul Wells

Well-written and undoubtedly well-researched, but oh my aren't many of our politicians and their activities just so boring? Or maybe it's me but I just couldn't get excited about it. Much of their activities just seemed so petty. Of course, now that our provincial politicians are even thinking about considering things like Shia Law and Faith-based schools, I'm a little more attentive.

Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King, by Antonia Fraser

I really didn't think I was going to like this book, but after the first 50 pages I was hooked. Extremely well-written, Ms. Fraser makes you care. The names, and their similarities, are a little overwhelming, but I persevered and learned a lot of history. Yes - the Royals really do lead a very, very different life than the rest of us. I find it amazing that the institution still exists.

The Weather Makers: How We are Changing the Climate and What It Means for Life on Earth by Tim Flannery

Probably my book of choice to recommend for those people who want to read something, but not everything, about climate change. Accessible - well-written, straightforward, intelligent.

Pandemonium: Bird Flu, Mad Cow Disease, and Other Biological Plagues of the 21st Century by Andrew Nikiforuk

Written in a completely accessible style, read this book and - "Be afraid, be very afraid." And also be shocked by the general incompetence of various agencies that have allowed us to get here. Very well written. Scary reality.

Heat : an amateur's adventures as kitchen slave, line cook, pasta-maker, and apprentice to a Dante-quoting butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford.

If you thought you knew anything about cooking, you will find this book a real eye-opener - as well as a fabulous read! Bill Buford takes us into the real Hell's Kitchens with a insider's insight into a life about which I now realize I knew nothing! - no idea about the amount or extent of the work involved in bringing a meal to my table - no idea of what Italian cooking is all about. A page-turner.

Bay of Spirits: A Love Story by Farley Mowat

A wonderful and interesting story about a specific time during the author's life. A love story about Mowat's wife, Newfoundland, and the animals he loved and worked to protect. I would have loved to have heard more about his children and how they coped - a bit of an incomplete story but that of course must be up to the author.

Mick: The Real Michael Collins by Peter Hart

Wow - I can really appreciate the amount of scholarly work that went into this work, but I just couldn't get through it the first time around. The Globe and Mail review is correct that the work is "meticulous, doggedly factual and minutely detailed" and for me, that was the problem. I just couldn't cope with reading who was at every single meeting and where they met - I wanted more about what it meant! However, the review also says "Hart's account is so carefully considered, so detailed and so nuanced, that a final delight will land on the reader only after the book is finished." So I might have to try again at another time.

Reluctant Genius: The Passionate Life and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell by Charlotte Gray

Best biographical work I have ever read. There may be better ones, but none that I've experienced. I have just put on hold at my local library everything else that Charlotte Gray has ever written. A complete page-turner and just chock full of information one might never have known otherwise. For instance, did you know that it was Alexander Graham Bell and his fatehr-in-law who kept alive, then transformed the National Geographic Magazine? Absolutely fascinating and great read.

Of This Earth: A Mennonite Boyhood in the Boreal Forest by Rudy Wiebe

I like the comparison made in the Globe review - "Canada's own Grapes of Wrath." It is true that, like that other great work, the insight into a world that the average reader cannot begin to compare to one's own, is bound to add to one's understanding of another life and time. Autobiographical, and including family photos and excerpts from his sister's diary, the novel is touching as well as revealing.

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

This was my first graphic novel and I found the experience very compelling - this from a skeptic. I am so in love with the written word and it has been decades and decades and decades (I'll stop now) since I read a comic book - and of course this is nothing like a comic book. It is hard to explain. There is just an added element which adds another dimension to the whole experience of the story. Partly it is ironic I suppose because I associate graphic images in a cartoon-strip format with light entertainment - and this is about a dysfunctional family. Highly recommended.