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    July in Review

    Books Acquired: Forgiveness by Mark Sakamoto Book of Longing by Leonard Cohen Paper Girls, Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan Books Read: Portuguese Irregular Verbs by Alexander McCall Smith Himself by Jess Kidd Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis Packing My Library: An Elegy and Ten Digressions by Alberto Manguel And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie Paper Girls, Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan Not a lot happened this month. I’ve been dealing with some on and off health stuff and generally feeling meh, but in an attempt to kick me out of this little slump (and to celebrate/hide for my birthday), we’ve booked a trip to Oahu! We…

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    June in Review

    Books Acquired: None Books Read: The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman Nimona by Noelle Stevenson Whisky Galore by Compton Mackenzie Happy Canada Day! I am at the end of a multi-week chest cold, and I’m currently wallowing in self-pity until this bloody thing finally finishes with me. We’ve had some beautiful weather here this month too, but when I’ve been outside I mainly just felt like lying in the middle of a field and quietly dying. The last few days have been much better, thankfully, so I’m starting to find joy in life once more. We did still get out, though, and Paisley…

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    May in Review

    Books Acquired: Raw Spirit: In Search of the Perfect Dram by Iain Banks The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid Blood, Bones, and Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton In One Person by John Irving Acquired Tastes by Peter Mayle Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas…

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    March in Review

    Books Acquired: Tom Waits on Tom Waits: Interviews and Encounters by Paul Mahar Nimona by Noelle Stevenson Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals That Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor Books Read: The Land of Mist by Arthur Conan Doyle 32 Yolks: From My Mother’s Table to Working the Line by Eric Ripert Brother by David Chariandy I was sick for a good chunk of this month. It was one of those sicknesses that just would not go away. It unfortunately also involved nausea and headaches, so I couldn’t really focus too much on a book or a screen, which is the only good part of being sick! I’m…

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    February in Review

    Books Acquired: None. Books Read: Saga, Vol. 8 by Brian K. Vaughan Candide by Voltaire Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie Sex Criminals, Vol. 4: Fourgy! by Matt Fraction Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship by Robert Kurson February! My least favourite month! I should remember every year to just lock myself indoors with a glass of whisky and a good book. My #Ardbeg came in a cool tin case! It's the warehouse gift case, made to resemble their distillery building. A post shared by Rob McMillan (@mcmillan) on Feb 24, 2018 at 11:20pm PST That is basically what I attempted this month, but I…

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    January in Review

    Books Acquired: Assassin’s Fate by Robin Hobb Stoner by John Williams Shakespeare’s Sonnets: The Complete Illustrated Edition by William Shakespeare Saga, Vol. 8 by Brian K. Vaughan Sex Criminals, Vol. 4 by Matt Fraction Books Read: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer Akira, Vol. 1 by Katsuhiro Otomo American War by Omar El Akkad I spent my bookstore gift certificates from Christmas at the beginning of the month, which always makes for a good start to the year. I picked up Assassin’s Fate, the last in the Fitz and the Fool trilogy. Loving it so far, sad to see their journey potentially nearing its…

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    December in Review

    Books Acquired: Akira boxset (Vol. 1 – 5) by Katsuhiro Otomo Artemis by Andy Weir Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis Books Read: Dear Fahrenheit 451 by Annie Spence Ayoade on Ayoade by Richard Ayoade Get Jiro: Blood and Sushi by Anthony Bourdain Law School by Benjamin Law, Jenny Phang Cloudstreet by Tim Winton Happy New Year! If you had time off during the holidays, I hope you’re coming back well rested. I was feeling relaxed and re-energized, and then I came down with a cold on New Year’s Eve – 2017’s last kick in the ass as I stepped out the door. We had a great month here. There was…

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    November in Review

    Books Acquired: Get Jiro: Blood and Sushi by Anthony Bourdain The Amateur Gourmet by Adam D. Roberts A Girl and Her Pig by April Bloomfield Food Artisans of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands by Don Genova Books Read: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince by Robin Hobb The Amateur Gourmet by Adam D. Roberts Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck After a busy October, it was nice to spend November unwinding a bit. Normally I might need that, with stressful holidays coming up, but Christmas should be smooth sailing this year. I’m staying in…

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    September in Review

    Books Acquired: None Books Read: The Dinner by Herman Koch Microserfs by Douglas Coupland Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome Small Gods: A Discworld Graphic Novel by Terry Pratchett, Ray Friesen The reading slump! It continues! September was a bit of an unfocused month for me, but I did finally finish Microserfs, which I actually did enjoy despite not being able to read more than a few pages of it each night. It’s an incredibly quick read too, but I think I was just a bit scattered these last couple of months. I also need to learn to put down a book if it isn’t working out,…

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    August in Review

    Books Acquired: The Blue Guitar by John Banville The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham The Chrysalids by John Wyndham Small Gods: A Discworld Graphic Novel by Terry Pratchett Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb The Wilful Princess and the Piebald Prince by Robin Hobb Back, Sack & Crack (& Brain) by Robert Wells The Gastronomical Me by M.F.K. Fisher The Driver’s Seat by Muriel Spark The Girls Of Slender Means by Muriel Spark The Sellout by Paul Beatty Tetris: The Games People Play by Box Brown Travels With My Aunt by Graham Greene The Paintings That Revolutionized Art by Claudia Stauble The Innocence and…