• Books Read

    Shakespeare Wrote for Money

    Shakespeare Wrote for Money by Nick Hornby Published: 2008 This is another collection of Nick Hornby’s articles from The Believer, an American literature magazine, in which he recounts his reading and book-buying habits each month. This is the third volume I’ve read, out of the four that currently exist, and I still just love them. These are essential a published book blog, but instead of a post for each book there’s a chapter for each month. It’s interesting to see how previous books and events in his life influence what he buys and reads each month. These collections don’t vary much, to be honest, so the description and review of…

  • Books Read

    King Solomon’s Mines

    King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard Published: 1885 This is the novel that first introduced the world to Allan Quartermain, the English-born hunter, trader, and renown marksman of southern Africa. Sir Henry Curtis, and his companion Captain Good, recruit Quartermain to find his brother, a man who went missing after last being seen searching for the fabled King Solomon’s Mines. He agrees to lead them on the expedition for either a share of the treasure or payment to his son should he die on the journey. They encounter an unknown civilization on the way, and the majority of the novel is actually focused on their civil war and the…

  • Books Read

    The Things They Carried

    The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien Published: 1990 Narrated by: Bryan Cranston When I read that Bryan Cranston was narrating this book, I knew I had to give it a listen. I didn’t realize at the time that this was so highly regarded, that it was a runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize, or even that it is commonly included in high school curriculums (I’m from Canada, okay?). Embarrassingly, I wasn’t even sure which war I’d be reading about. Vietnam is the war, it turns out. Tim O’Brien is a veteran, and this is actually a collection of related short stories centred around a platoon of soldiers, based semi-autobiographically on…

  • Comics Read

    Maus I & II

    Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale : My Father Bleeds History and Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began by Art Spiegelman Illustrator: Art Spiegelman Published: 1991 Publisher: Pantheon Books I read Maus I and II right after each other, so I figured I’d do a combined post. These are another example of a comic I picked up ages ago because I felt like they were required reading, but then let them waste away on the shelf untouched. I’m really kicking myself for not getting to them sooner. They were fantastic. In the story, Art Spiegelman is interviewing his father Vladek, a Polish Holocaust survivor. The real story is of his…