Dave's Page

(last modified on October 14, 2023)

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Music

I enjoy listening to music and I play banjo, mandolin and fiddle in the Dave Brothers Band.

Why don't you visit my banjo page? Only banjo afficianados welcome, so you must prove your suitability by answering the following skill testing question.

When was the 5-string banjo invented?

Here are some CDs that I have acquired recently:

• New Shoes by The Bombadils
• Grassy Roads, Wandering Feet by The Bombadils
• Shapeshifters by The Good Lovelies
• Outshine the Sun by The Foghorn Stringband
• Granddad's Favorite by Nadine Landry and Sammy Lind
• En Panne de Silence by Bon Débarras
• Errance by Bon Débarras
• Benefit of the Doubt by Kelli Loder
• Girls from the North Country by Dala
• Best Day by Dala
• Cuore: The Italian Sessions by Rita Chiarelli
• Inuusiq by The Jerry Cans
• Come As You Are by Madison Violet (This one is actually a DVD.)
• Old Peninsula by Caribou Run
• One Night Only! by Old Man Luedecke
• Live at the Citadel House by Nick Earle and Joe Coffin
• Balance by Tad Ruszel
• The Illiwara Sessions by The Small Glories
• Wondrous Traveller by The Small Glories
• Chasing the Sun by The Sweet Lowdown
• Light Up the Dark by The Outside Track
• Rivière Rouge by Dans l'Shed
• Les Chats Jaunes ne Meurent Jamais by Les Chauffeurs à Pieds
• Partons Allons by Les Chauffeurs à Pieds
• Au Studio des trois lits by Les Chauffeurs à Pieds
• Beyond Borders by Jesse Cook
• Perpetual Motion by Béla Fleck
• Neck and Neck by Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler
• Hot Dawg by David Grisman (though I've had it for decades on vinyl).
• Icon by Jesse Cook
• Coffee 'til Midnight by Alan Jeffries
• Good Clean Fun by Rosie and the Riveters
• Parade Day by Sussex
• Sorows and Glories by Red Moon Road
• Searching for Abeqweit by Lennie Gallant
• Rove by Còig
• Constellation by Gypsophilia
• Tender is the Night by Old Man Luedecke
• Lonely Runs Both Ways by Alison Krauss and Union Station
• The Definitive Doc Watson
• Seven Classic Albums by Flatt and Scruggs
• Oh My Soul by Trio Bembe
• Feel It by Kelli Trottier.
• Sharp's Appalachian Harvest by Brian Peters and Jeff Davis.
• Love Sask by Connie Kaldor
• If You're Drunk You Cannot Buy a Puppy by Christine Lavin
• Surrounded by Buffy and Larry
• Where the Days Went by Breagh MacKinnon
• Current affairs by RUNA
• Our Own by The O'Pears
• Wired for Sound by Alicia Putnam
• Step by Step by John McCutcheon
• Borderline by Gordon Stobbe
• Twin Fiddles by J.J. Guy and Gordon Stobbe
• My Father's Compass by Vince Morash and James Crouse
• The Old Silo by James Hill
• Philippe Audibert joue Sidney Bechet
• The Essential Dave Brubeck
• Roger's Last Show by Fred Eaglesmith.
• Tinderbox+ by Fred Eaglesmith.
• Saints and Sinners by Molly O'Brien and Rich Moore.
• Row Upon Row of the People They Know by The Once.
• Genticorum, Enregistré Live.
• Birdseed by Joe Robinson.
• Toe Jam by Joe Robinson.
• Man with a Love Song by James Hill.
• The Blue Guitar Sessions by Jesse Cook.
• My Hands are on Fire by Old Man Luedecke.
• Room of Wonders by Jayme Stone.
• The Rumba Foundation by Jesse Cook.
• The Hare Said a Prayer to the Rainbow and Followed the Fox Down the Hole by Dana Lyn and Kyle Sanna.
• Elemental by Gillian Boucher.
• Tune In by Nuala Kennedy.
• All I Intended to Be by Emmylou Harris.
• Cha Cha Cha by Fred Eaglesmith.
• Good Lovelies by The Good Lovelies.
• Postcards from the Road by Connie Kaldor.
• Love and Other Tragedies by Red Molly.
• A Flying Leap by James Hill.
• Dancing Fiddles by Scott Woods.
• Old Time Mojo by Mike Stevens and Raymond McLain.
• Life's Railway to Heaven by Mike Stevens.
• Harmonica by Mike Stevens.
• Andrew White - Live by Andrew White.
• 18 Months Later by Angus Lyon and Ruaridh Campbell.
• State of the Harp by Brendan Power.
• Bloom by The McDades.
• Spirit of the Strings by Sierra Noble.
• Stealin' Home by Bob Snider.
• Now by Kelli Trottier.
• 50,000 Dollars by Fred Eaglesmith.
• Live by Andrew Whyte.
• Lipstick, Lies and Gasoline by Fred Eaglesmith.
• Guitar Songs by Dave Clarke.
• The Road Less Travelled by Steel Rail.
• 40 Days by The Wailin' Jennys.
• The Creaking Tree String Quartet by The Creaking Tree String Quartet. I went to see these guys at the Atlantic Jazz festival on a tip from my fellow Dave Brother Dave Chapman.
• People's Spring by The Warsaw Village Band.
• Drive-In Movie by Fred Eaglesmith.
• Gravity and Nomad by Jesse Cook.
• Out of the Living Room and Live at the Harvest by Rick Fines.
• Steel String Americana by Paul Asbell.
• Twistin' the Bow by Samantha Robichaud.
• Anthology by Emmylou Harris.
• Alison Krauss and Union Station Live
• Facing the Future and Alone in Iz World by Israel Kamakawiwo`ole.
• The Sensitive New Age Cowpersons and I'll Fly Like a Chicken by the Sensitive New Age Cowpersons.
• No Strings Attached by Michael Kaeshammer. I have always liked stride and boogie-woogie piano, so when I first heard Michael Kaeshammer on CBC's Vinyl Café, I knew I would have to get one of his albums. It took me a while but the wait was worth it.
• Free Fall by Jesse Cook. I heard Jesse Cook first on CBC too and liked him a lot. When our friends Beth and Rob stayed with us they gave me this album.
• Verchuosity by April Verch. We saw April recently at the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival. A very good fiddler and a nice album.
• A Cowboy's Wild Song to His Herd by Skip Gorman. Skip was also at the Lunenburg Festival this year. I had not heard of him before, but I really enjoyed his cowboy songs and fiddling.
• Rhythms of the Heart by Regina Carter. Ann got me this jazz violin CD on the recommendation of someone in a record store while the Atlantic Jazz Festival was on. Some very nice playing.

Books

And here are some books that I have read recently.

• A Song of Comfortable Chairs by Alexander McCall Smith (October 2023).
• The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman (October 2023).
• The Wrong Box by Lloyd Osbourne and Robert Louis Stevenson (September 2023).
• Bryant & May: Oranges and Lemons by Christopher Fowler (August 2023).
• Knife by Jo Nesbo (July 2023).
• The Abbott's Senior Moment by David Bird (July 2023).
• The Thirst by Jo Nesbo (June 2023).
• Bryant & May: London Bridge is Falling Down by Christopher Fowler (June 2023).
• Bryant & May: The Lonely Hour by Christopher Fowler (May 2023).
• Bryant & May: Hall of Mirrors by Christopher Fowler (April 2023).
• Bryant & May: Wild Chamber by Christopher Fowler (April 2023).
• Bryant & May and the Burning Man by Christopher Fowler (March 2023).
• Bryant & May and the Bleeding Heart by Christopher Fowler (March 2023).
• The Invisible Code by Christopher Fowler (February 2023).
• The Memory of Blood by Christopher Fowler (February 2023).
• Bryant and May on the Loose by Christopher Fowler (January 2023).
• The Victoria Vanishes by Christopher Fowler (January 2023).
• The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osmond (January 2023).
• Fayne by Ann-Marie MacDonald (December 2022).
• Heroes, Icons and Scandals by Barnet Shenkin (December 2022).
• Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler (November 2022).
• Bryant & May: Strange Tide by Christopher Fowler (October 2022).
• The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (June 2022).
• The Uncommon Reader (again) by Alan Bennett. (June 2022)
• Talking to Canadians by Rick Mercer (May 2022).
• The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (April 2022). Also found on WikiBooks, this was one of my favourite books as a child.
• King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard (April 2022). I recently discovered WikiBooks and have been going through their library looking for light reads while away from home. I first read this one back in school. What is striking now is how racist it is but back in the 60s no-one batted an eye.
• Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (April 2022)
• The Darkest Night by Ann Cleeves (March 2022)
• The Seagull by Ann Cleeves (March 2022)
• The Moth Catcher by Ann Cleeves (March 2022)
• What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad (March 2022)
• Harbour Street by Ann Cleeves (March 2022)
• Silent Voices by Ann Cleeves (February 2022)
• Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves (February 2022)
• Telling Tales by Ann Cleeves (February 2022)
• The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves (February 2022)
• The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osmond (January 2022)
• The Long Call by Ann Cleeves (January 2022)
• Permanent Astonishment by Tomson Highway (January 2022)
• The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield (January 2022)
• State of Terror by Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny (January 2022)
• Police by Jo Nesbo (January 2022)
• The Phantom by Jo Nesbo (December 2021)
• Kingfisher Days by Susan Coyne (December 2021)
• Orwell's Roses by Rebecca Solnit (December 2021)
• How to Raise an Elephant by Alexander McCall Smith (October 2021)
• Headhunters by Jo Nesbo (October 2021)
• Operation Angus by Terry Fallis (September 2021)
• The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (September 2021)
• Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (August 2021)
• Arsène Lupin: gentleman cambrioleur by Maurice Leblanc (July 2021)
• The Leopard by Jo Nesbo (July 2021)
• Bridge Literature by Nick Smith (June 2021)
• My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises by Fredrik Backman (May 2021)
• Bridge and the Romantics by Nick Smith (May 2021)
• Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman (May 2021)
• Indians on Vacation by Thomas King (April 2021)
• The Redeemer by Jo Nesbo (April 2021)
• Robin Hood's Hold Up by David Bird (March 2021).
• Arrow Through the Heart by David Bird (February 2021). This is a book of humorous stories about bridge based on the Robin Hood tales.
• Sleeping on the Couch: The adventures of Dave playing bridge with his wife, Anne by Dave Caprera (January 2021).
• The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion (January 2021)
• To the Land of Long Lost Friends by Alexander McCall Smith (January 2021)
• The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo (January 2021)
• Masterpiece Deals by Augie Bohm (January 2021)
• Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (November 2020)
• A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (November 2020)
• Quick Service by P.G. Wodehouse (October 2020)
• Chop Suey Nation by Ann Hui (August 2020)
• My Stories, My Times by Jean Chrétien (August 2020)
• Road Rage by Ruth Rendell (August 2020)
• The Snowman by Jo Nesbo (June 2020)
• Mythos by Stephen Fry (March 2020)
• The Color of All the Cattle by Alexander McCall Smith (January 2020)
• Clapton by Eric Clapton (January 2020)
• The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley (December 2019)
• Nemesis by Jo Nesbo (December 2019)
• The Abbot, the Parrot and the Bermuda Bowl by David Bird (December 2019)
• Dreyer's English by Benjamin Dreyer (November 2019)
• The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo (September 2019)
• The Waiter by Matias Feldbakken (August 2019)
• The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas (July 2019)
• The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny (July 2019)
• Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo (June 2019)
• Louise de la Vallière by Alexandre Dumas (June 2019)
• Ten Years Later by Alexandre Dumas (May 2019)
• Reporting by David Remnick (May 2019)
• The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas (April 2019)
• The Bat by Jo Nesbo (March 2019)
• The House of Unexpected Sisters by Alexander McCall Smith (March 2019)
• Losing It by Simon Hally (March 2019) This is an unpublished draft of a book written by my brother Simon.
• Sapiens by Harari (February 2019)
• The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli (January 2019)
• Lost in Math by Sabine Hossenfelder (December 2018)
• The Death of Expertise by Tom Nichols (December 2018)
• Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (November 2018)
• Eggs, Beans and Crumpets by P.G. Wodehouse (October 2018)
• Death of an Airman by Christopher St. John Sprigg (August 2018)
• Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson (June–August 2018)
• Mad Enchantment by Ross King (May 2018)
• Minds of Winter by Ed O'Loughlin. (January 2018)
• At the Strangers' Gate by Adam Gopnik. (January 2018)
• The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry. (December 2017)
• The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson. (December 2017)
• The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton. (November 2017)
• The Sellout by Paul Beatty. (September 2017)
• The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hamett. (August 2017)
• The Man with Two Left Feet and Other Stories by P.G.Wodehouse. (July 2017)
• Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. (May 2017)
• Thank-you for Being Late by Thomas Friedman. (April 2017)
• Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. (March 2017)
• The Word Detective by John Simpson. (February 2017)
• Thrice the Brinded Cat Has Mew'd by Alan Bradley. (December 2016)
• Kim by Rudyard Kipling. (November 2016)
• Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis. (September 2016)
• The Adventures of Sally by P.G. Wodehouse. (August 2016)
• Hitman Anders and the Meaning of it All by Jonas Jonasson. (July 2016)
• Algorithms to Live By by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths. (July 2016)
• Who Rules the World by Noam Chomsky. (June 2016)
• The Trouble with Bill by P.G. Wodehouse. (May 2016)
• The Girl who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson. (April 2016)
• The The Handsome Man's De Luxe Cafe by Alexander McCall Smith. (March 2016)
• Maigret en Vichy by Georges Simenon. (March 2016)
• Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome. (March 2016)
• The Luck of the Bodkins by P.G. Wodehouse. (March 2016)
• So Anyway by John Cleese. (January 2016)
• Poles Apart by Terry Fallis. (December 2015)
• As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley. (December 2015)
• The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich (December 2015)
• The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais (November 2015)
• The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny (October 2015)
• The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg (October 2015)
• Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (September 2015)
• The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (September 2015)
• The Battle of the Narrow Seas by Lt.Cdr. Peter Scott. (August 2015)
• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. (July 2015)
• Why Men Lie by Linden McIntyre. (July 2015)
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. (June 2015)
• Ru by Kim Thuy. (June 2015)
• The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein. (March 2015)
• The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley. (March 2015)
• Adventures in Card Play by Geza Ottlick and Hugh Kelsey. (February 2015)
• Diamonds are the Hog's Best Friend by Victor Mollo. (January 2015)
• The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith. (January 2015)
• Bridge in the Menagerie by Victor Mollo. (December 2014)
• The Solar Revolution by Steve McKevitt and Tony Ryan. (December 2014)
• While Mortals Sleep by Kurt Vonnegut. (December 2014)
• The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion. (December 2014)
• City of Falling Angels by John Berendt. (November 2014)
• The Long Way Home by Louise Penny. (October 2014)
• How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny. (October 2014)
• The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny. (Octoberber 2014)
• Ring of Bright Water by Gavin Maxwell. (September 2014)
• A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny. (September 2014)
• Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. (August 2014)
• Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh. (August 2014)
• The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett. (August 2014)
• Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day by Doug Mack. (August 2014)
• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. (August 2014)
• No Relation by Terry Fallis. (June 2014)
• Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley. (June 2014)
• The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman. (March 2014)
• The Specialist by Chic Sale. (February 2014)
• The Education of Hyman Kaplan by Leonard Q. Ross (Leo Rosten). (February 2014)
• Payback by Maragret Atwood. (January 2014)
• Who Am I? by Pete Townshend. (December 2013)
• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. (December 2013)
• Beautiful Evidence by Eward Tufte. (October 2013)
• The Mating Season by P.G.Wodehouse. (October 2013)
• Come Thou, Tortoise by Jessica Grant. (October 2013)
• U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton. (September 2013)
• I Am Half Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley. (July 2013)
• Our Endangered Values by Jimmy Carter. (July 2013)
• Very Good, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. (June 2013)
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. (May, June 2013)
• Aunts Aren't Gentlemen by P.G. Wodehouse. (May 2013)
• Up and Down by Terry Fallis. (March 2013)
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Robert K. Dick. (March 2013)
• Why You Lose at Bridge by S.J. Simon. (February 2013)
  This is a classic that's probably on the top ten list of most bridge players. I lent it to a friend before we went to France 17 years ago. I ran into him recently and he returned it to me; a welcome surprise.
• Isaac Newton by James Gleik. (February 2013)
• Ringworld, Ringworld Engineers and Neutron Star by Larry Niven. (January 2013)
• Bridge on the Edge by David Bird and Boye Brogeland. (January 2013)
• It's All in the Game by Jeff Rubens and Bob Ewen. (December 2012)
• The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. (September 2012)
• Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie. (September 2012)
• Pick-Up on Noon Street by Raymond Chandler. (August 2012)
• Late Nights On Air by Elizabeth Hay. (August 2012)
• The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith. (June 2012)
• A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley. (May 2012)
• Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd by Nick Mason. (May 2012)
• The Outport People by Claire Mowat. (May 2012)
• Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. (May 2012)
• The Bishop's Man by Lyndon MacIntyre. (May 2012)
• The Sisters Brothers by Patrick de Witt. (April 2012)
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. (April 2012)
• FSTR by James Gleick. (March 2012)
• The Table Comes First by Adam Gopnik. (March 2012)
• The Rodwell Files by Eric Rodwell. (February 2012)
• The Abbott's Sensational Squeeze by David Bird. (January 2012)
• Heavenly Contracts by David Bird. (January 2012)
• The Hog Takes to Precision by Victor Mollo. (January 2012)
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest by Stieg Larsson. (September 2011)
• Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn. (June 2011)
• The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith. (June 2011)
• Look at the Birdie by Kurt Vonnegut. (April 2011)
• The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson. (March 2011)
• The High Road by Terry Fallis. (March 2011)
• The Quantum Ten by Sheilla Jones. (March 2011)
• The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley. (March 2011)
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. (March 2011)
• The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis. (February 2011)
• The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paulo Giordano. (December 2010)
• The Honourable Schoolboy by John Le Carré. (November 2010)
• Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. (July 2010)
• Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. (July 2010)
• Fleshmarket Close by Ian Rankin. (July 2010)
• I Shall Not Hate by Izzeldin Abuelaish. (July 2010)
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows. (July 2010)
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. (July 2010)
• Reading Lolita in Teheran by Azar Nafisi. (July 2010)
• The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett. (July 2010)
• Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith. (July 2010). More of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.
• What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell. (June 2010)
• S is for Silence by Sue Grafton. (June 2010)
• Jeeves in the Offing by P.G. Wodehouse. (May 2010)
• Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. (May 2010)
• Emma by Jane Austen. (April 2010)
• Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman. (February 2010)
• Ideas on the Nature of Science by David Cayley. (December 2009)
• A Soldier First: Bullets, Bureaucrats and the Politics of War by Gen. Rick Hillier. (December 2009)
• Rumpole at Christmas by John Mortimer. (December 2009)
• Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar by Tom Cathcart and Daniel Klein. I picked this up in Schiphol Airport to read on the flight home from my recent business trip to The Netherlands. (December 2009)
• The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. (November 2009)
• Fish Preferred by P.G. Wodehouse. (November 2009)
• Thank-you Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. (November 2009) James and I were in the library looking for a book for his homework when I happened across the P.G. Wodehouse section. How could I resist?.
• Darwin's Origin of Species by Janet Browne. (October 2009) Ann bought this when we went to a lecture marking the 100^th anniversary of the writing of the Origin of Species.
• My Life in France by Julia Child. (September 2009) I read this after seeing Julie and Julia and while visiting, and eating well, in Paris.
• Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik (September 2009). I reread this before we went to Paris. As good as ever and being back in France reconfirmed how close to the mark he is.
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. (August 2009) Emily left this on the coffee table in the living room and I tumbled into it almost by accident.
• Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. (June 2009) The prequel to The Da Vinci Code. Ann got this for her birthday and asked me to read it so that I could tell her what parts of the physics were correct. As it turns out, almost none of it. In fact it is pretty funny because it is so ridiculous.
• The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith. (June 2009). More of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. A birthday present to Ann.
• Le Tour du Monde en 80 Jours by Jules Verne. (May 2009). James read this for one of his school projects. I decided to read it too.
• More Lost Massey Lectures. Five of the Massey Lectures broadcast on CBC betweenn 1961 and 1982; by Barbara Ward, Frank H. Underhill, George Grant, Claude Lévi-Strauss and Willy Brandt. (March 2009).
• The Heart of a Goof by P. G. Wodehouse (February 2009).
• The Inimitable Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse (January 2009).
• The Lone Wolff by Bobby Wolff (December 2008). An autobiography of one of the best American bridge players over the past 30 years.
• Uncle Fred in the Springtime by P. G. Wodehouse (December 28, 2008).
• The Backwash Squeeze and Other Improbable Feats by Edward Mcpherson (December 2008).
• The Wisdom of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton (June 2008).
• Blue Shoes and Happiness and The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith. (June 2008). More of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. A birthday present to Ann from my Mum.
• Call of the Wild and White Fang by Jack London (May 2008).
• Travelers' Tales Tuscany (May 2008). A collection of true stories about travelling in Tuscany.
• The Mirror Cracked, A Caribbean Mystery, Nemesis, What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!, The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie. (May 2008). For some light reading on our trip to Italy I took along a compendium of these five Miss Marple stories.
• Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes. (April 2008).
• Musicophilia by Oliver Saks. (February 2008). A birthday present from my Mum.
• The Lost Massey Lectures. Five of the Massey Lectures broadcast on CBC betweenn 1965 and 1984; by John Kenneth Galbraith, Paul Goodman, Jane Jacobs, Eric W. Kierans and Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 2008). A Christmas present from Katy.
• The Artist and the Mathematician by Amir D. Aczel (December 2007). A Christmas present from Emily.
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows by J. K. Rowling (July 2007).
• The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White (June 2007). Read to Emily and James.
• This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin (May 2007). My friend Carl lent this to me. Very interesting.
• Infinity by Brian Clegg (May 2007). A rather superficial look at what could have been an interesting subject. I liked his book on Roger Bacon much more.
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel (April 2007).
• The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (March 2007). Reading Arthur and George (the Arthur of the title is Conan Doyle) rekindled my interest in the Sherlock Holmes stories which I hadn't read for about 35 years. Still as good as ever.
• Great Northern? by Arthur Ransome (February 2007). More Swallows and Amazons. Read to Emily and James. My grandfather gave me this book in 1962, but for some reason I never read it, though I did read Swallows and Amazons. It was still pretty good 45 years later.
• Red, White and Drunk All Over by Natalie MacLean (February 2007)
• Arthur and George by Julian Barnes (January 2007)
• The True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey (December 2006)
• We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea by Arthur Ransome (December 2006 - January 2007). More Swallows and Amazons. Read to Emily and James.
• Rumpole and the Reign of Terror by John Mortimer (December 2006). The latest Rumpole which I received for my birthday.
• Swallowdale by Arthur Ransome (October 2006). More Swallows and Amazons. Read to Emily and James.
• Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (October 2006).
• Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maude Montgomery (August-September 2006). Read to Emily and James.
• The First Scientist: A Life of Roger Bacon by Brian Clegg (August-September 2006).
• The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith (August 2006). Quite enjoyable but not in the same league as the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency by the same author.
• Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome (July 2006). Read to Emily and James.
• In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith (July 2006). More of the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency.
• The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East by Robert Fisk (January-June 2006). I was given this book for Christmas and have been ploughing through its 1200-odd pages ever since. Not a pleasant read, but certainly a different perspective from that given by the mainstream Noth-American media.
• The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis (June 2006). Read to Emily and James.
• The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis (April 2006). Read to Emily and James.
• Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (March 2006). I was given this on CDs for Christmas and saved it to listen to in the car on the way to Quebec City on our recent ski trip.
• The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis (March 2006). Read to Emily and James.
• Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (February 2006).
• The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis (December 2005 -- January 2006). Read to Emily and James.
• Talk to the Hand by Lynne Truss (January 2006). I enjoyed Eats, Shoots and Leaves but this is a real pot-boiler; best avoided.
• Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders by John Mortimer (December 2005). The latest Rumpole which I received for Xmas.
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis (November 2005). Read to Emily and James.
• Rumpole and the Primrose Path by John Mortimer (October 2005).
• Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (September 2005).
• Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis (September 2005). Read to Emily and James.
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (August 2005). Read to Emily and James.
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (August 2005). I have to keep up with the younger generation.
• Cue for Treason by Geoffrey Trease (August 2005). Read to Emily and James.
• The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman (July 2005). A discussion of how technology and globalization are changing the world.
• The Flanders Panel by Arturo Perez-Reverte (July 2005). A mystery based on a fifteenth century painting showing two chess players. Pretty good.
• Takeout Double by Jim Priebe (July 2005). A mystery based on the goings-on at a bridge club. Only so-so.
• A Short History of Progress by Ronald Wright (July 2005).
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (June 2005). Read to Emily and James.
• On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt (June 2005).
• Morality for Beautiful Girls, The Kalahari Typing School for Men and The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith (May 2005). More of the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency.
• Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (April 2005). Read to Emily and James.
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (April 2005). This was another book that on Ann's Book Club list that I found lying around after she had finished it.
• The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston (April 2005). Ann read this for her book club. I found it lying around and, since I have been to St. John's a couple of times this year, decided to give it a try.
• The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency and Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith (March 2005). I took these to read on our ski trip to Stoneham.
• The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (March 2005). Read to Emily and James.
• The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien (January - February 2005).
• The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene. A layman's description of string theory, the theory that physicists hope will unify all the forces of nature.
• The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien (November - December 2004).
• P is for Peril and Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton (November 2004). Some light fare for my recent trip to Washington.
• The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (October 2004). I am reading The Lord of the Rings to Emily and James.
• God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible by Adam Nicolson (October 2004).
• Naked in Baghdad by Anne Garrels (October 2004).
• Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond (September 2004).
• The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (August 2004). So what's all the fuss about? A passable thriller at best.
• How the Scots Invented the Modern World by Arthur Herman (July 2004).
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (May 2004). Read to James; the fourth or fifth time through for me.
• Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss (April 2004).
• Catch 22 by Joseph Heller (March 2004). Last year Katy was looking for something to read for school, so I suggested this. I found it lying around a few weeks ago and decided to reread it again myself (the last time was about thirty years ago).
• Great Hands I Wish I Hand Played by Raymond and Sally Brock (February 2004).
• The Third Rumpole Omnibus and Rumpole Rests his Case by John Mortimer (January 2004).
• Who Has Seen the Wind by W.O. Mitchell (November 2003). On my recent trip to Ottawa I was browsing in the National Gallery store when I ran across this Canadian classic (the full version with illustrations by William Kurelek). As I had never read it, I picked it up.
• Bellwether by Connie Willis (October 2003). Ann and I heard bits of this on CBC, so Ann got it from the library and has been reading it to me before bed. Very funny.
• Oversold and Underused by Larry Cuban (October 2003). A critique of the use of computers in schools.
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (June 2003).
• The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life the Universe and Everything, So Long and Thanks for all the Fish and Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams (June 2003). David was looking for something to read recently, so I suggested he try these. As they kept on being left out in the living room, I started reading them again. Enjoyable fluff, though the last two, which I hadn't read before, were disappointing.
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Spring 2003). There was recently some controversy in Nova Scotia about whether To Kill a Mockingbird should be allowed to be studied in schools, owing to its use of the N word. My interest was piqued so, when I noticed it in the bookstore, I picked it up and reread it (the last time was in high school). As good as ever. (Katy likes it a lot too.)
• Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (October 2002). Lent to me by my friend Gavin. Although it was a reasonably enjoyable read, I found Stephenson's style very irritating at times. It is also at least twice as long as it should be.
• Mercy Among the Children by David Adams Richards (September 2002). Mum and Dad gave me this for Christmas last year, but I had to finish Anna Karenina before starting it. A very powerful book; worth reading. (Type "Mercy Among the Children" into your favourite search engine and you will come up with lots of reviews, mostly good.)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (August 2002. The second time around for me, but the first for Emily and James. We decided that they should read (or be read) the book before seeing the movie to prepare them for the scary bits. (A quick search for Harry Potter on the Web brought up nearly two million hits, so I haven't bothered to give a link; J.K. Rowling only got about 150,000 hits.)
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (December 2001 - August 2002). As you can see, it took me a while to finish this classic. When things were moving slowly I tended to read bridge books before retiring instead. Nevertheless, I did enjoy it, especially the second half, after all the characters are firmly established.
• The Cult of Efficiency by Janice Gross Stein (July 2002). Well worth reading.
• Bridge with Aunt Agatha by Freddy North (June 2002). I bought this book last summer in a second hand book store in Halifax, then promptly left it at a picnic park in PEI. During a recent visit to the same store I found it again (in hard cover this time). I have managed to hang on to this one.
• Bridge Over Troubled Waters by David Bird (May 2002). The sequel to All Hands on Deck. The hands are still good but I find that the characters in the stories are wearing thin.
• All Hands on Deck by David Bird (January 2002). A humorous bridge book with a number of interesting hands.
• The Pleasure of Finding Things Out by Richard Feynman (January 2002). A collection of articles by one of the most important physicists of the last century. (excerpts: 1, 2)
• Killing Defence at Bridge by Hugh Kelsey (January 2002). A classic which has recently been reissued. I was given it as a Christmas present.
• Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder (November 2001). A lightweight history of philosophy with a few mind-benders to keep it interesting.
• Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik (September 2001). This is based on a series of articles written for the New Yorker describing the author's life in Paris between 1995 and 2000. Since we were also living in France between 1995 and 1996, I found many of the articles very close to home, but would also recommend the book to anyone. Here are some excerpts: 1, 2.
• The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester (September 2001). Ann's Mum left this behind after their recent visit. I enjoyed it more for the sections on the OED than for the rather tortuous descriptions of Minor's life and afflictions.
• The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum (August 2001). We rented the video of the Wizard of Oz recently as David, Emily and James had never seen it. I realized that I had never read the original, although we had bought it for Katy several years ago. I am now reading it to Emily and Jamie at bedtime. There is lots of on-line information on the Wizard of Oz; try The Wonderful Wizard of OZ Website or The International Wizard of Oz Club.
• Bastards and Boneheads by Will Ferguson (August 2001). Canadian history in a very flippant style.
• Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum (August 2001).
• Bridge with the Blue team by Pietro Fourquet. A wonderful collection of hands played by the best bridge team ever (July 2001).
• No Logo by Naomi Klein (June 2001).

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