Science Fiction Horror in a Suburban Garage
On parasitism, possession, and the collector who became the collected
books
Being A Human Book
Really, it’s true — literally (pardon the pun). I recently participated as a Human Book in an event of the Human Library Organization. What is the Human Library Organization? The Human Library Organization was founded in Denmark 25 years ago and operates in 85 countries. Their tagline is “unjudge someone”
We Really Love Working Here — Really…
There was a comedy game show on television not so long ago called “Whose Line is it Anyway?” The tagline was: Where the show is made up and the points don’t matter. I always thought that tagline could have been an insightful summary of the North American workplace. Was
What George Orwell and I Have in Common
I would like to think that Orwell and I have a few things in common, but I can confidently say that our bookshop experiences are quite similar. Orwell worked for a few years in a secondhand bookshop, and he memorialized some of that experience in two works. One was an
Dreamseller: Turtle Creek Books
My secondhand bookshop trades in ideas, knowledge, and wisdom, often providing access to wonderfully word-crafted works that may inspire hope and provide solace. Our trade can be as simple as entertainment and humour; a balm to the ravaged soul. We broker esoteric theories and the wondrously simple commonality of being
Review: Fire Underground
The book Fire Underground: The Ongoing Tragedy of the Centralia Mine Fire by David DeKok tells the story of how a mining disaster made a ghost town of Centralia, Pennsylvania. Back in 1999 a friend of mine was playing a rather dark yet compelling video game called “Silent Hill”. I
Poetry in Gormenghast
I recently re-read this little gem, a small segment from Titus Groan, the first volume of the Gormenghast Trilogy written by Mervyn Peake in 1946. It's an odd fantasy and the plot is hard to describe succinctly. I've always loved the book (only the first one,
Review: The Bad Seed
Is it nature or is it nurture? The author of this cult classic (book, then play, then 1955 movie) definitely believes it's nature all the way. Rhoda Penmark is the perfect child, lovely to look at, smart, quick, mature beyond her 8 years, dedicated to her studies — who
Education through Scarcity
In June 1974, at the age of 16, my parents and I moved from Canada to Italy. I had just completed Grade 11, acquired my driver’s license, and begun to create a certain type of life in Canada largely focused on dating, movies, malls, clothing, television and other suburban