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The End of the Affair
The End of the Affair by Graham Greene Published: 1951 Narrated By: Colin Firth I’ll start this off by saying I pirated this book. I usually buy all of my audio books from Audible, but The End of the Affair isn’t offered in Canada. Licensing issues I’m guessing, which is something that occasionally plagues us here. I’d been itching to read a Graham Greene book for quite some time, and the chance to have Colin Firth narrate it was too tempting to pass up. I blame Canadian licensing restrictions for forcing me into a life of crime. Maurice Bendrix is a writer in London during the Second World War. While…
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On a Pale Horse
On A Pale Horse by Piers Anthony Published: 1983 This is my first Piers Anthony novel. My dad was a big fan of him when I was growing up, and I always saw his books lying around the house. Curiosity got the best of me, and I thought I’d start with his most famous. Zane is a would-be photographer who has fallen on rough times. The story begins with him in an enchantments store looking for something that will change his life for the better, even though he can barely afford food. It’s an interesting scene, and does a good job of introducing the world. On A Pale Horse is…
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Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World
Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World (audio) by Dalai Lama XIV Published: 2011 Narrator: Martin Sheen I really like the Dalai Lama. I never thought I would, to be honest, but the more I read from him the more I see he’s someone with a real grounding in reality and science. I suppose my vision of him has been skewed somewhat by middle-class, new-agey white folk selling cancer-healing crystals at $60 a pop, but there’s definitely sincerity and real intelligence behind his advice. […] as the peoples of the world become ever more closely interconnected in an age of globalization and in multicultural societies, ethics based in any one…
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Sum: 40 Tales From The Afterlives
Sum: 40 Tales From The Afterlives by David Eagleman Published: 2009 I first heard about this little book when Stephen Fry mentioned it favourably on Twitter, and since I am powerless to his suggestions, I added it to my next Amazon shipment. It’s taken me a long time to get around to it, but I’m glad I did. The title of the book really says it all. This is a collection of forty vignettes that imagine different afterlife scenarios. They range from comical to heartbreaking, and each one is perfectly sized but could easily inspire longer pieces. The amount of creativity packed into this is astonishing. As someone who used…
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The God Delusion
The God Delusion (audio) by Richard Dawkins Published: 2006 Narration: Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward I remember discussing Dawkins and Hitchens with a friend a few years ago, and he felt that all of these pro-atheism books were a bit silly and pointless, as they were really just preaching to the choir (so to speak). It is preaching to the choir, but that choir is filled with a lot of people who benefit from hearing this side of the discussion. There is quite a bit of hate and distrust towards atheists out there, and anything gaining popularity that might support those who are feeling alone is a good thing. I live…
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Dawkins on Religious Indoctrination
Finishing up The God Delusion, and this jumped out at me as being very true. I think we should all wince when we hear a small child being labelled as belonging to some particular religion or another. Small children are too young to decide their views on the origins of the cosmos, of life and of morals. The very sound of the phrase ‘Christian child’ or ‘Muslim child’ should grate like fingernails on a blackboard… Our society, including the non-religious sector, has accepted the preposterous idea that it is normal and right to indoctrinate tiny children in the religion of their parents, and to slap religious labels on them –…
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The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living
The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living by
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Pax Romana
Pax Romana by Jonathan Hickman Format: Trade Paperback Comic Published: 2008 Publisher: Image Comics I’ve been hearing about Jonathon Hickman since I started getting back into comics. He’s was touted as a wonder child in the indie comic scene and has now been brought into Marvel. This is the first comic of his I’ve read, and I’m looking forward to picking through the rest. Pax Romana begins 40 years in the future, when the Catholic church has lost most of its followers. The Vatican has finally embraced technology and have managed to unlock the secrets behind travelling back in time. They decide, in typical churchy fashion, that they know enough…
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The Subtle Knife
The Subtle Knife (audio) by Philip Pullman Published: 1997 Narration:Philip Pullman, Full Cast This was my first full cast audiobook, and I didn’t think I’d like it at all, but it really worked. The voice acting was all great, apart from the guy voicing Lee Scoresby sounding like he was trying to do a bad impression of John Wayne. The also started each chapter with ear-piercingly bad music, which I assumed was BBC stock music from the 70s, but it was apparently composed just for this book. Those are minor gripes, though, in what was otherwise a great production. The story starts with a new character – Will, a boy…
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Cat’s Cradle
Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Published: 1963 My third Vonnegut book, and a strong contender for my favourite. Of the three, this is his most straight-forward book as far as the plot is concerned – straight-forward for Vonnegut at least. The story begins with the narrator, John, setting off to write a book on what important Americans did the day the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. He focuses on Felix Hoenikker, a fictional physicist who developed the bomb, and while interviewing his co-workers and children, he learns that the scientist may have left behind a substance that could threaten life on earth. Cat’s Cradle centres around the juxtaposition…