Douglas > Recent Status Updates

Two days ago if you had asked me who or what Hampton Sides was, without context, I'd have guessed an American seaport. (That is Hampton Roads, alas.) Now: a favourite author. Brilliantly readable history.

Blown away by how good this is. Rather than a mere slasher, it is a deft character of a man slowly losing his grip on reality. The call to Ullman leaves me with Dostoevsky vibes and his Underground Man.

With the move by Goodreads to disable notifications on comments, unless you manually toggle them on individual reviews, on top of many other changes for the worse over the years, I will be deleting my account in the next few days.

Instead, I just created an account on StoryGraph. It is awesome. dclark32 is me.

Excellent! One of those books that will be an easy recommendation for teacher friends.

I just love this book.

If we can agree that the Fort McMurray wildfire is essentially a Newfoundland issue, then this might be the best book ever written about Newfoundland and its people. Shortlisted for Britain's Baillie Gifford prize - the English speaking world's most lucrative for non-fiction - and it sure looks right now like a compelling candidate to win. Exhilarating, and terrifying.

At the halfway mark, the best book I've read since well back in 2022. Getting the feeling that when the hammer drops, it will be gutting. The ride is stirring enough as it is. Never mind the technical achievement of the prose.

Past the halfway mark, and still feeling personally essential.

Serious 5-star vibes in the early going. The book I needed right now.

This is not to say I find the reading unenjoyable, but I am glad there is not a multiple choice quiz on the concepts in each chapter. Atomic physics is hard.

It's been a while since I read a non-fiction book that felt truly essential. Say Nothing was probably the last one. A third of the way in, Of Boys and Men appears to be another.

Been a while since I've read something so immersive.

What happened to the great book I was reading 100 pages ago? Get me outta Vegas.

Well, this is revolting.

Teacher friends: This is currently on sale at indigo in hardcover. Don't think, don't ask, just pick yourself up a copy and thank me later. An incredibly useful and entertaining resource for correcting student work/devising writing activities.

Chipping away. Great book, though.

Giddyup

Still in the early stages, but already it's pretty clear that this is one of the best books I've read this year.