tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28748638173530265902024-03-13T08:57:18.435-04:00Barbara McVeighStories, bikes, librarianshipAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.comBlogger159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-12024024367190078282018-11-06T18:39:00.001-05:002018-11-06T18:39:25.812-05:00New Website!Hey All! I decided to put links to all my published work in one streamlined place. Please check out my new website:<br />
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<a href="https://barbaramcveigh.weebly.com/">https://barbaramcveigh.weebly.com/</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-18783855060383950062018-06-17T10:09:00.000-04:002018-09-03T15:27:27.226-04:00Banksy or Home as a SharkJust a rumination about what’s going on in the world. The news this morning started with the plight of asylum seekers, reminding me of the poem, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/let-them-in-where-s-the-poetry-in-politics-what-is-the-middle-class-trump-and-the-know-nothings-1.3223214/no-one-puts-their-children-in-a-boat-unless-1.3224831" target="_blank">“Home” by Warsan Shire.</a> Powerful. Read it.<br />
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Which led me to think about a stencil I saw in a park recently.</div>
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My thoughts then meandered to the art of Banksy.<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloon_Girl" target="_blank">Wikipedia article on “Balloon Girl”</a></li>
<li><a href="https://hauntedwalk.com/news/torontos-hidden-banksy/" target="_blank">Toronto’s Hidden Banksy</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/art-and-architecture/article-unauthorized-banksy-show-strips-street-art-of-its-power-while-cashing/" target="_blank">Unauthorized Banksy Show Strips Street Art of Its Power While Cashing In On Its Fame</a></li>
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#WithRefugees</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-5001367218981918142018-02-11T17:05:00.000-05:002018-02-11T17:05:22.978-05:00Top 20 Books I Read in 2017My friend Natalie asked me to create a top ten list of the books I read in 2017. Of course, I have more than ten. So to celebrate this plethora of riches, I present to you my favourite reads of 2017.<br />
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<u>Historical Fiction</u><br />
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<li><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32065577-his-bloody-project" target="_blank"><i>His Bloody Project: Documents Relating to the Case of Roderick Macrae</i> </a>by Graeme Macrae Burnet</li>
<li><i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/706072.Outlander" target="_blank">Outlander</a></i> by Diane Gabaldon</li>
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Very different books. Both set in Scotland. There may be a few more Scottish titles on this list. I've been hypnotized by the Edinburgh Book Festival.<br />
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I had intended to add book covers and links to all of the books below. But then I'll never get this posted and it's already February. Here goes!<br />
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<u>Young Adult</u><br />
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<i>Rodent</i> by Lisa J. Lawrence<br />
<i>Fifteen Lanes</i> by S.J. Laidlaw<br />
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Both titles were nominated for the White Pine 2017 awards. Please keep in mind that I'm only listing books which I actually read in 2017. There are a couple of other White Pine 2017 titles that I loved, but I read them in 2016.<br />
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<u>Education</u><br />
<i>Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student</i> by John Spencer<br />
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Enjoyed meeting up with my Tweeps old and new in the #LaunchBookChat this year!<br />
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<u>International</u><br />
<i>Exit West</i> by Mohsin Hamid<br />
<i>Goblin</i> by Ever Dundas<br />
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<u>Essays</u><br />
<i>Nasty Women</i> by 404 Ink<br />
<i>One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter</i> by Scaachi Koul<br />
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Nasty Women led the revolution in the year of the great shake up of #MeToo #BlackLivesMatter and #OscarsSoWhite.<br />
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Scaachi Koul's acerbic essays hit the funny bone. Clever book jacket design, too.<br />
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<u>Non-Fiction</u><br />
<i>Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind</i> by Yuval Noah Harari<br />
Mind blown<br />
<i>The Fact of a Body </i>by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich<br />
Finely peeling away the layers of secrets<br />
<i>The Vanishing Man: In Pursuit of Valazquez</i> by Laura Cumming<br />
Winner of the 2017 James Tait Black Prize for NonFiction, a stunning tale of how art can consume us.<br />
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<u>Picture Books</u><br />
<i>The Tale of Tam Linn</i> by Lari Don<br />
Scottish fairytale. A favourite of my niece's.<br />
<i>Journey</i> by Aaron Becker<br />
Only illustrations. Beautiful ones, at that. Great way for pre-literate or early literate children to tell stories.<br />
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<u>Literary Fiction</u><br />
<i>What Belongs to You</i> by Garth Greenwell<br />
Nominated for the 2017 James Tait Black Prize for Fiction<br />
<i>The Last Neanderthal</i> by Claire Cameron<br />
Made me mourn for the extinction of the neanderthal. I want a lip like Girl's. Nominated for the 2017 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize.<br />
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<u>Mystery</u><br />
<i>All the Devils</i> by Neil Broadfoot<br />
Broadfoot's writing keeps getting better. Novel is set in Edinburgh. Scotland, yet again!<br />
<i>Glass Houses</i> by Louise Penny<br />
A perennial favourite - it's a good thing that Penny tends to publish a book a year!<br />
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<u>Fantasy</u><br />
<i>A Darker Shade of Magic</i> by V.E. Schwab<br />
This book was partly written in Edinburgh. And it shows.<br />
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<u>Short Stories</u><br />
<i>The 2017 Short Story Advent Calendar</i> by Hingston & Olsen Publishing<br />
Forget about the chocolate - open a new short story every morning leading up to Christmas. Great being introduced to new writers and chatting with other readers about the tales on Twitter. #ssac2017<br />
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<u>Poetry</u><br />
I tend to read bit and bites of poetry, but what got me hooked on poetry this year like never before was the FutureLearn course, "Literature and Mental Health". Highly recommended.<br />
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<u>Other Recommendations</u><br />
This list from Kirsty Logan who read 220 books. Quite a diverse range of books that puts my list to shame. Enjoy!<br />
<a href="http://www.kirstylogan.com/best-books-of-2017/">http://www.kirstylogan.com/best-books-of-2017/</a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-33561216785189906452018-02-11T16:33:00.001-05:002018-02-11T16:34:20.490-05:00The Power<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33641244-the-power" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Power" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1503003629m/33641244.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33641244-the-power">The Power</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/118226.Naomi_Alderman">Naomi Alderman</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2275546592">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
3.5 stars<br /><br />I remember when I was in university and how we said that if the world were ruled by women, it'd be a much kinder, gentler place.<br /><br /><i>The Power</i> demonstrates that old adage about how "absolute power corrupts absolutely". The books is immensely readable, but I wanted more of a transformation in the society that was created. Or some sort of realization in the epilogue that is more than just a sly wink (albeit entertaining) between the author and reader.<br /><br />The book has got a lot of buzz, and provides a good amount of fodder for discussion. A warning for some readers: There are depictions of violence, and two rape scenes.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5655776-barbara-mcveigh">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-48721981689973416082018-01-03T10:46:00.000-05:002018-01-04T08:19:57.940-05:00Autumn by Ali Smith<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34511800-autumn" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Autumn" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1505227272m/34511800.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34511800-autumn">Autumn</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/68992.Ali_Smith">Ali Smith</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2231422279">5 of 5 stars</a> <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5655776-barbara-mcveigh">View all my reviews</a><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-2916c55d-bcae-9d4d-66e4-26ee30370013"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Autumn</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the way you would a collage painting: What’s the big picture? What’s in the details? How does the story all hang together, and what do we imagine happens next? </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Autumn</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a painting made up of words, as Daniel shows Elisabeth when he asks her to close her eyes and imagine as he describes a collage by Pauline Boty. Elisabeth is able to recognize the painting when she actually sees it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sixties icons play a central role in the novel: Pauline Boty, as well as Christine Keeler (who was the subject of one of Boty’s paintings), serve as totems for us to examine our present time. In an article by Ali Smith herself, </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/22/ali-smith-the-prime-of-pauline-boty" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">she describes the work of Pauline Boty</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as dropping “us head-first into a dream, and when the dream turns into a nightmare she slaps it in the face, wakes up into what’s now a multilayered narrative of dreamworld and mundanity” [1]. Quite often in the book, when things seem to be quite grim for Elisabeth (and the world), Daniel shows how art can lift you out of the darkness. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ali Smith, writer, signing books at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. By Tim Duncan. From Wikimedia Commons.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christine Keeler’s role seems to guide us to the question, </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/16/ali-smith-autumn-interview-how-can-we-live-ina-world-and-not-put-a-hand-across-a-divide-brexit-profu" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What happens culturally when something is built on a lie?”</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> [2]. The fallout from Brexit is definitely in the book, from the comically absurd task of applying for a passport, the fences around common land, and the spray painting of “GO HOME” on people’s houses. Ali Smith uses fiction and painting </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/16/ali-smith-autumn-interview-how-can-we-live-ina-world-and-not-put-a-hand-across-a-divide-brexit-profu" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to remind us</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> “to read the world as a construct. And if you can read the world as a construct, you can ask questions of the construct and you can suggest ways to change the construct. You understand that things aren’t fixed” [2].</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Initially, I thought about giving the book a four star rating because of its lack of resolution. But you have to stare at the novel, dissect it, make connections, and do research. By God, did Smith do a lot of research - which is not immediately apparent, especially considering </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/16/ali-smith-autumn-interview-how-can-we-live-ina-world-and-not-put-a-hand-across-a-divide-brexit-profu" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the speed with which this book was written and published</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: “Maybe an accelerated news cycle requires accelerated art” [2].</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We live in the era that comes after Rule Britannia (political empire) and Cool Britannia (the resurgence of the cultural empire). Does Europe and the rest of the world ask what happens Post-Britannia? What has the empire stood for, for us? Smith looks to the art of Pauline Boty and </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/22/ali-smith-the-prime-of-pauline-boty" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">her final testament</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: A “message of undying hope, of solidarity with the oppressed, and of certainty about the future that gave all us us more than courage. Determination” [1].</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Works considered while writing this wee review:</span></div>
[1] <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/22/ali-smith-the-prime-of-pauline-boty" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">Ali Smith on the prime of pop artist Pauline Boty</a></span><div>
[2] <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/16/ali-smith-autumn-interview-how-can-we-live-ina-world-and-not-put-a-hand-across-a-divide-brexit-profu" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre;">Ali Smith: ‘a question of what happens culturally when something is built on a lie’</a><div>
[3] <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/02/ali-smiths-autumn-is-a-post-brexit-masterpiece/516660/" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ali Smith’s Autumn Is a Post-Brexit Masterpiece</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-7814437194177728622017-11-26T11:10:00.000-05:002017-11-26T11:10:15.292-05:00Enter the DarknessAs we head into darker days and longer nights, we celebrate what scares us. Perhaps, in our fear, we will cling to each other to keep safe until the daylight comes. Or perhaps the darkness will follow us - as Del Toro wishes - home.<br />
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Here are three of my favourite spooky things from this year:<br />
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<li>"Time Warp Saloon" from Epidsode 2 Lost in Time <a href="https://spookedpodcast.org/">https://spookedpodcast.org/</a></li>
<li>The Ghost Box from Hingston & Olsen <a href="https://www.hingstonandolsen.com/store/the-ghost-box">https://www.hingstonandolsen.com/store/the-ghost-box</a></li>
<li>The AGO's Guillermo Del Toro Exhibit: At Home with Monsters <a href="https://ago.ca/exhibitions/guillermo-del-toro">https://ago.ca/exhibitions/guillermo-del-toro</a></li>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-20335711723455078082017-01-21T16:50:00.000-05:002017-01-21T16:50:14.323-05:00His Bloody Project<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32065577-his-bloody-project" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="His Bloody Project: Documents Relating to the Case of Roderick Macrae" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474131568m/32065577.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32065577-his-bloody-project">His Bloody Project: Documents Relating to the Case of Roderick Macrae</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8186576.Graeme_Macrae_Burnet">Graeme Macrae Burnet</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1861297523">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Coincidentally, after I finished this book, I listened to a CBC program about Indigenous issues in Canada. Both the book and the interview shared the following aspects:<br /><br />-19th century racial theories; <br />-Colonial control over native peoples (in the book's case, the English over the Highlanders);<br />-and the power struggle between people who are kept under the heel of others.<br /><br />The powerlessness of Roderick Macrae is what has stuck with me. As Bob Rae said in the interview: "People need the power to control their own lives" or else tragedy follows. <br /><br />So despite my lack of an "a-ha moment" while reading the novel, I found I gained insight upon digestion. <br /><br />FYI link to the Interview: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cbc.ca/radio/outintheopen/what-does-colten-boushie-say-about-us-1.3923927/there-s-a-price-to-be-paid-for-450-years-of-discrimination-bob-rae-says-we-must-right-canada-s-racist-past-1.3923997" rel="nofollow">http://www.cbc.ca/radio/outintheopen/...</a>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5655776-barbara-mcveigh">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-40817156803096965802017-01-21T16:45:00.000-05:002017-01-21T16:50:34.344-05:00The Storm<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25163939-the-storm" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Storm" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1438841548m/25163939.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25163939-the-storm">The Storm</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5776569.Neil_Broadfoot">Neil Broadfoot</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1880034758">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
A fast-paced and sometimes gory crime story set in Edinburgh, Scotland - with a visit to the Isle of Skye. Part of the fun of this book is to see notable places mentioned and to hear a Scottish voice telling the tale. I thoroughly enjoyed being back in Scotland again. <br /><br />The murder investigation is told from two points of view: one, a scalawag journalist; and two, a bright, ambitious police officer who doesn't fit into the mold. Even though Doug and Susie are kept apart in this book, their relationship is revealed and further complicated by the introduction of Rebecca to the series. To make matters worse in this triangle, Susie and Rebecca are friends. How could you, Doug?
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5655776-barbara-mcveigh">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-63551539191082584572016-11-20T13:15:00.000-05:002017-01-21T16:47:50.343-05:00Worlds of Ink and Shadow<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25818163-worlds-of-ink-and-shadow" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Worlds of Ink and Shadow" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1446009167m/25818163.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25818163-worlds-of-ink-and-shadow">Worlds of Ink and Shadow</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/594951.Lena_Coakley">Lena Coakley</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1812919514">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Really enjoyed reading this book: It made me believe that many fictional characters are living real lives in alternate realities. Great way to understand the inspirations for the novels of the Bronte sisters. <i>Worlds of Ink and Shadow</i> is a YA book, but as an adult reader, I am frustrated that some of the darker aspects of the Brontes (repressed sexuality, ambition, and rivalry) isn't explored more fully. Hmmm, guess I should pick up a copy of <i>Wuthering Heights</i> or <i>Jane Eyre</i>.<br /><br />4.5 stars - keep thinking about this book
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5655776-barbara-mcveigh">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-34748233725991146972016-11-13T08:47:00.004-05:002016-11-13T08:47:57.311-05:00The Best Kind of People<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29220492-the-best-kind-of-people" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Best Kind of People" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1471027272m/29220492.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29220492-the-best-kind-of-people">The Best Kind of People</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/378154.Zoe_Whittall">Zoe Whittall</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1786284606">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Solid, crafted writing from an unusual perspective: the wife, son and daughter of someone accused of sex crimes. The book details their year of living in isolation and suspension.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5655776-barbara-mcveigh">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-83862485846813287352016-11-09T12:05:00.000-05:002016-11-09T16:56:26.434-05:00Reading List for a Trumpish America<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some context, after the election. Five new books and one oldie, but a goodie. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38447.The_Handmaid_s_Tale" target="_blank">The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, once the United States of America” (back cover).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13493462-safekeeping" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Safekeeping by Karen Hesse</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“America is on the verge of anarchy. Survival is all that matters now” (front cover).</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GQuANwkiwVQ/WCNV-ksg10I/AAAAAAAAEV4/MYoWyjptozUgu-proQ3ymXNi6BqqQzAxwCEw/s1600/IMG_3051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GQuANwkiwVQ/WCNV-ksg10I/AAAAAAAAEV4/MYoWyjptozUgu-proQ3ymXNi6BqqQzAxwCEw/s200/IMG_3051.JPG" width="149" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28595947-we-gon-be-alright" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation by Jeff Chang</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Trump, the silver spoon-fed child who, as a second grader, punched his music teacher in the eye, aspired ‘to be the toughest kid in the neighborhood’” (5).</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qh9AkrICAQw/WCNV-P1Q3OI/AAAAAAAAEVs/qnMIVIaslIoW9EmfVCDwpLDV8Ysczr2hgCEw/s1600/IMG_3046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qh9AkrICAQw/WCNV-P1Q3OI/AAAAAAAAEVs/qnMIVIaslIoW9EmfVCDwpLDV8Ysczr2hgCEw/s200/IMG_3046.JPG" width="149" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28957367-the-return-of-history" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Return of History: Conflict, Migration, and Geopolitics in the Twenty-First Century by Jennifer Welsh</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The public utterances of almost every populist politician today include the refrain ‘Take back control’” (31).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25786205-the-black-presidency" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America by Michael Eric Dyson</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“The birthers cut straight to the chase and argued that Obama’s birth certificate was phony and that he was not born in America, a claim amplified by billionaire political huckster...Donald Trump” (135).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25953369-hidden-figures" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“During World War II, America’s fledgling aeronautics industry hired black female mathematicians to fill a labor shortage. These ‘human computers’ stayed on to work to NASA and made sure America won the Space Race. They fought for their country’s future, and for their share of the American dream. This is their untold story” (front cover).</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-59948943392019934912016-10-18T09:57:00.000-04:002016-10-18T18:07:50.229-04:00Do You Need Help?I've noticed something lately. Cars parked awkwardly at the side of the road, sometimes in places (such as a roundabout) where it's not really safe to stop.<br />
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It turns out there's no emergency. I see the driver a few feet away holding up his phone. It's October and since everyone is carrying a phone with them at all times, there doesn't seem to be any reason not to stop and capture the beauty of the leaves.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-78508002756193585732016-10-16T14:15:00.001-04:002016-10-16T14:15:35.301-04:00Girl Mans Up<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28217802-girl-mans-up" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Girl Mans Up" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1455172527m/28217802.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28217802-girl-mans-up">Girl Mans Up</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7847846.M_E_Girard">M-E Girard</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1786079797">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Wow! What a great way to spend a weekend. M-E Girard's <i>Girl Mans Up</i> first impressed me with its universalism on how we all have to deal with the vagaries of love. The book deals with gender, sexuality, family drama, high school bullies, peer pressure, friendship, videogames! and grabbing your own power. <br><br>The protagonist, Pen, is a girl who is mistaken for a boy, but defies categorization. When someone asks her if she is a gay girl, Pen thinks: "I don't think of myself as being gay, because that word sounds like it belongs to some guy. <i>Lesbian</i> makes me think of some forty-year-old woman. And <i>queer</i> feels like it can mean anything" (65). The one thing that Pen is adamant about is that she is a girl.<br><br>Out of the two female relationships Pen has in the book, I find her friendship with Olivia the most interesting. There's more growth between those characters, maybe because there is much more at stake. The love interest, Blake, is definitely kick-ass, but restricted in her role as the object of desire. That said, their scenes together are well written: not graphic, but plenty to activate the imagination.<br><br>The guys in the book don't come off well. The opening chapters of Pen hanging out with the boys have a greasy feel. Maybe those guys just need to Woman Up. <br><br>Except Johnny, of course. I love Johnny. We all need a big brother like Johnny.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5655776-barbara-mcveigh">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-64334261654666749422016-10-16T11:09:00.000-04:002016-10-16T14:16:07.236-04:00The Return of History<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28957367-the-return-of-history" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Return of History: Conflict, Migration, and Geopolitics in the Twenty-First Century" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1472734015m/28957367.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28957367-the-return-of-history">The Return of History: Conflict, Migration, and Geopolitics in the Twenty-First Century</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/842663.Jennifer_Welsh">Jennifer Welsh</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1780614797">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Four and a half stars<br><br>I have to admit, I had some trouble getting into the first two essays, but the book picks up power and speed with the last three: The Return of Mass Flight; The Return of the Cold War; and The Return of Inequality. Jennifer Welsh clearly explains the times we are living in. Scary. The coming American election has become all that more important in my eyes. <br><br>Vital reading to fix the cracks in our liberal democracies.<br><br>Listen to the Massey Lectures on <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/masseys" rel="nofollow">CBC Radio's Ideas</a> from Mon Oct 31 to Fri Nov 4.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5655776-barbara-mcveigh">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-63005695868101934952016-10-03T19:34:00.000-04:002016-10-03T19:36:30.138-04:00Between Buddha and the Bible: The Mercy Journals<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27130421-the-mercy-journals" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Mercy Journals" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1447140467m/27130421.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27130421-the-mercy-journals">The Mercy Journals</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/726012.Claudia_Casper">Claudia Casper</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1771353455">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Four and a half stars<br><br>The book opens with a brief explanatory prologue: In 2072, these journals have been found next to the human remains of an adult male, a pistol and a cougar. The journals begin in the year 2047, after a third of humanity has died off due to war, ecological collapse and a flu pandemic. There’s a new world order where the state has much more control of its citizens, doling out rations for food, power and data. The younger generation find that they like this socialist lifestyle and are angered by those who still insist on being wasteful and greedy, while a murky resistance group criticizes the state. <br><br>Our hero and writer of the journals is Allen Quincy, a war veteran who is almost permanently holed up in his apartment fighting PTSD. He comes back to life when he meets the singer and dancer, Ruby. They quickly become lovers. She, herself, is dealing with the damage from the past; her performances are an exorcism of that time because she is “afraid we’ll stop the process of destroying and tearing down too soon. We need to keep going if we’re going to break through to something truly different” (99). <br><br>Quincy began to write these journals in his own attempt at obliteration. He reads a quote from Socrates that “[w]riting destroys memory” (17) and so he describes his world in an attempt to rid himself of his taunting PTSD visions. These visions stem from a calamitous army tour defending the border after Mexico ran out of water. From his time there, he earned the nickname, Mercy.<br><br>The book is made up of two parts: Journal One is a meditation on writing and memory. When recording the first time he met Ruby, Quincy realizes that his writing may be “accurate but [he still] left so much out. The part is made to stand for the whole, and then the part becomes the whole” (151). <br><br>In Journal Two, the book becomes a thriller. I found that answers to questions about characters are left implied, so that you can let your imagination get away with itself. The re-entry of Quincy’s brother Leo into the story creates a tension; Leo’s actions are underscored by incredible malice. Language becomes a slippery thing. Where once Quincy wrote to forget, around Leo he is hesitant to ask questions because “asking was a submissive act; it left you waiting for an answer, vulnerable to a lie” (222).<br><br>Like in Margaret Atwood’s <em>The Handmaid’s Tale</em>, Canada is seen to be some sort of haven: the place Americans escape to. Quincy, Leo and Leo’s stepson, Griffith head up to Vancouver Island where their family had a cottage named Nirvana. The band is mentioned a couple of time, as well as Buddhist philosophy. There’s also the paradigm of Cain and Abel and talk of beginning a “new covenant” (228). Ostensibly, they are there to find Quincy’s lost sons, as Leo has reported that they have been spotted. They go deeper into the forest, and away from what they knew as civilization. <br><br>Initially, I found myself comparing <em>The Mercy Journals</em> to Cormac McCarthy’s <em>The Road</em> - sparse writing style, limited punctuation and almost as bleak. There’s also a little bit of Conrad’s <em>Heart of Darkness</em> when journeying up the river and having to deal with Kurtz.<br><br>Claudia Casper’s writing and observations are exquisite. The split nature of the novel (part meditation, part thriller) may bother some readers, but the book made me think and kept me wanting to read past my bedtime.<br><br>There’s something about dystopian novels that I really like: <em>Station Eleven</em>, <em>Hunger Games</em>. My husband hates them: He says they’re too dark. Maybe I am a pessimist of the highest order. But I find these kinds of books are ultimately about faith in humanity - how low we can go and still survive. <br><br><em>The Mercy Journals</em> is highly recommended.<br>
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5655776-barbara-mcveigh">View all my reviews</a>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-12925303471585986582016-10-01T14:27:00.000-04:002016-10-01T14:27:33.008-04:00Book SigningAt the Edinburgh Book Festival, I attended an interview with a former pro athlete who had written a book. He was very animated and outgoing during the talk - even leaping up to kiss a woman at the back of the auditorium.<br />
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I sometimes dread asking an author to sign my book because it's hard for me to make small talk with someone who doesn't mind spending hours alone scribbling. Based on his personality during the interview, I thought that this elite athlete would be a chatterbox.<br />
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But as the long line coiled out the door and around the gardens, the author looked petrified as the queue never seemed to end. When I got to him, I tried to be chirpy and upbeat, but the work of performance had worn him down.<br />
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An introvert. Like me.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-76837915368053167332016-08-31T11:29:00.000-04:002016-09-06T18:17:33.218-04:00Edinburgh<h2>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">What's not to love about Edinburgh? If it's not the open madness of the festivals in August, how about the fact that they have poetry inscribed on the walls of their parliament and on the pavement of Makar's Court? Or that they have the greatest collection of T.A.R.D.I.S.s that I've ever seen. This fact only verifies that Dr. Who is undoubtedly Scottish.</span></h2>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-68677816914310930902016-07-13T12:59:00.000-04:002016-07-17T12:21:24.477-04:00Page 110<h2>
In light of recent events, page 110 got me thinking...</h2>
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<u>The Context</u></div>
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<a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/12/whats-wrong-with-all-lives-matter/?_r=1" target="_blank">What's Wrong With "All Lives Matter"?</a> (2015)<br />
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<a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/07/11/baby-storm-five-years-later-preschooler-on-top-of-the-world.html" target="_blank">Baby Storm Five Years Later</a> (2016)</div>
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<a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/7/11/12136140/black-all-lives-matter" target="_blank">Why you should stop saying "all lives matter," explained in 9 different ways</a> (2016)<br />
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<a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/07/11/lgbtq-activists-would-like-to-see-sex-markers-scrapped.html" target="_blank">LGBTQ activists call for scrapping sex markers on ID cards</a> (2016)</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-80601244224651306992015-01-28T08:58:00.000-05:002016-09-15T18:49:13.247-04:00Sharp Tools, Dull Minds & Thinking MagicI was reading Nicholas Carr's <i>The Glass Cage: Automation and Us</i> when I came across this passage:<br />
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"Modern [applications] are getting 'helpful' enough that at times I feel like an [application] operator than a programmer," writes Vivek Haldar, a veteran software developer with Google. "The behavior all these tools encourage is not 'think deeply about your code and write it carefully,' but 'just write a crappy first draft of your code, and then the tools will tell you not just what's wrong with it, but also how to make it better" (78).</blockquote>
Like the programming tools mentioned above, "applications automate many tricky and time-consuming chores" (78). Even though I know how to create a reference from scratch, I used <a href="http://www.bibme.org/" target="_blank">BibMe.org </a> to create the following citation:<br />
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<span style="color: #4c1130;"> Carr, Nicholas. <i>The Glass Cage: Automation and Us</i>. New York: W.W. Norton, 2014. Print. </span><br />
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Why not? It's easier and I don't have to waste time on the nit-picky stuff. Haldar draws this "verdict: 'Sharp tools, dull minds'" (78).<br />
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I remember hearing how calculators would make us lazy when I was a tot in school. But we wouldn't take back the calculator from education these days, would we? Students are now free to move onto more practical applications of mathematics since calculators have liberated them from memorizing times tables.<br />
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But reading Nicholas Carr's book reminded me of the time, early one morning, a student asked me, "When will the library open?"<br />
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I replied, "In five minutes."<br />
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For some reason, the student then asked, "How many seconds is that?"<br />
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I paused for a moment and then said, "300."<br />
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The student was shocked: "How did you do that? How did you calculate that in your head?"<br />
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Magic.<br />
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Image credits:<br />
<em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.142858505249px;">Artificial intelligence</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.142858505249px;">. Photograph. </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.142858505249px;">Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.142858505249px;">. Web. 28 Jan 2015. </span><br />
<a href="http://quest.eb.com/#/search/107_295715/1/107_295715/cite" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.142858505249px; outline-offset: -2px; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">http://quest.eb.com/#/search/107_295715/1/107_295715/cite</a><br />
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.142858505249px;">Magicians at the Carnival in Berlin, 1836 </em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.142858505249px;">. Fine Art. </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.142858505249px;">Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.142858505249px;">. Web. 28 Jan 2015. </span><br />
<a href="http://quest.eb.com/#/search/108_277187/1/108_277187/cite" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.142858505249px; outline-offset: -2px; outline: none; text-decoration: none;">http://quest.eb.com/#/search/108_277187/1/108_277187/cite</a><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-19531354666344050362015-01-26T14:54:00.000-05:002015-01-28T08:13:29.624-05:00As Good as It Gets<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Why travel?</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-riyfMnmhUyk/VMac5ct3nhI/AAAAAAAAD_M/jZKlrEHULFo/s1600/IMG_3793%2B(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-riyfMnmhUyk/VMac5ct3nhI/AAAAAAAAD_M/jZKlrEHULFo/s1600/IMG_3793%2B(1).JPG" height="640" width="508" /></a></div>
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Picture taken at the AGO's Alex Colville exhibition December 30, 2014.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-36887081716566434172015-01-26T14:36:00.000-05:002015-01-28T08:12:51.708-05:00The Art of Fiction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Years ago in a writing workshop, our instructor said: "Fiction is a lie that tells the truth." </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tWEkPH_yGlg/VMaV-Hj0C-I/AAAAAAAAD-w/mtM0mTzVL7A/s1600/IMG_3792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tWEkPH_yGlg/VMaV-Hj0C-I/AAAAAAAAD-w/mtM0mTzVL7A/s1600/IMG_3792.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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How often do we create mythologies about our own lives?</div>
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Picture taken at the AGO in the gift shop of the Alex Colville exhibition, December 30, 2014.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-63414507885166432832014-09-30T16:46:00.000-04:002014-09-30T17:47:54.856-04:00Bad Feminist: Essays<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18813642-bad-feminist" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Bad Feminist: Essays" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1389909963m/18813642.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18813642-bad-feminist">Bad Feminist: Essays</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3360355.Roxane_Gay">Roxane Gay</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1067541358">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
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I quickly devoured <em>Bad Feminist</em>. Even though Roxanne Gay cites some academic heavyweights, the text is utterly readable. These essays are more personal and political than theoretical, and my favourite topics include:<br />
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• the question of privilege<br />
• race<br />
• gender: featuring Judith Butler & Helene Cixous<br />
• humour<br />
• pop culture: Loved her essay about the Hunger Games, “What We Hunger For”<br />
• fairy tales<br />
• misogyny –topics as diverse as Junot Diaz’s “This is How You Lose Her” and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”<br />
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The book won me over at the beginning. When talking about advising and helping students, Gay reports that the students would “generally say, ‘Don’t tell anyone I came to see you.’ It wasn’t that they were embarrassed to get help, most of the time. They were embarrassed to be seen putting effort into their education, to be seen caring” (9-10). A couple of years ago, we had a documentary filmed at our school called, <em>Colour Me. </em> It was about race and education. The students reported that doing well in school wasn’t considered the “black” thing to do. Wow. Together with Roxanne Gay’s observations, I am stunned.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/FZzesdSPdeI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Sometimes I was bothered about the "shape" of the essays. In some cases, I anticipated that I was being led somewhere and found myself left hanging at the end of the text. Maybe a re-read is necessary.<br />
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Some mature content and language.<br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5655776-barbara-mcveigh">View all my reviews</a>
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Video credit:<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZzesdSPdeI" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;" title="Edit this item">Barsoum, Sherien. "Colour Me Documentary Film Official Trailer."<i>YouTube</i>. YouTube, 13 May 2011. Web. 30 Sept. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZzesdSPdeI>.</a><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-81892685301064208302014-07-08T15:17:00.000-04:002014-07-08T15:25:35.018-04:00Why We Still Teach Language"In the previous, exclusively oral culture, language controlled people and their behaviour; with writing, the reverse became true. Societies that could read and write achieved a degree of control over language that allowed them to gain a new kind of mastery over their destinies" (De Kerckhove, 194).<br>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9VVHZ3EThfU/U7xBr-PPvNI/AAAAAAAADrY/cPA44Kp0DMU/s1600/langpower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9VVHZ3EThfU/U7xBr-PPvNI/AAAAAAAADrY/cPA44Kp0DMU/s1600/langpower.jpg" height="300" width="400"></a></div>
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Quote from:</div>
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De Kerckhove, Derrick, <i>The Skin of Culture: Investigating the New Electronic Reality</i>. Toronto: </div>
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Somerville House Publishing, 1995. Print.</div>
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Image posted on Facebook by @asobec, July 5, 2014.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-86436661014668234312014-02-18T18:23:00.000-05:002014-02-18T18:23:00.097-05:00Your Teacher Loves Wikipedia, Part 2 - Creating an eBookEarlier I had written a post called, "<a href="http://barbaramcveigh.blogspot.ca/2013/10/your-teacher-loves-wikipedia.html" target="_blank">Your Teacher Loves Wikipedia</a>" to highlight how Wikipedia is a great place to start (but not finish) your research.<br />
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Today I found this <a href="http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/02/a-quick-visual-guide-on-how-to-create.html" target="_blank">fantastic guide on how to create an eBook from Wikipedia articles</a>. By using visuals, this guide demonstrates step-by-step how to generate an eBook. Students can gather, discuss and analyze the information they find on Wikipedia. EBook creation is a form of content curation. In this case, it is limited because students would be only using one source. But this compilation would form the exploratory step of their research. Also, if teachers need their classes to do some background reading on a topic, they can use this tool to gather factual material for their students.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uNK-LjHu1Kc/UwPksAHOpcI/AAAAAAAADmk/Cwpqw_4ZM-I/s1600/Wiki+tshirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uNK-LjHu1Kc/UwPksAHOpcI/AAAAAAAADmk/Cwpqw_4ZM-I/s1600/Wiki+tshirt.jpg" height="320" width="273" /></a></div>
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I'd love to collaborate with other educators to think about how to leverage Wikipedia in student research. We should discuss with students what a wiki is, its benefits and its pitfalls. We need to recognize that Wikipedia is a valid starting point in research, a way of developing critical thinking skills and a launchpad for further inquiry.<br />
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Image credit:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Mikeedesign. </span><i>Wikipedia -
T-shirt</i>. 2008. Photograph. <i>Flickr</i>. 29 Apr. 2008. Web. 18 Feb. 2014. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeeperez/2453225588/in/photostream/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeeperez/2453225588/in/photostream/</a>
and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeeperez/2453225588/sizes/o/in/photostream/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeeperez/2453225588/sizes/o/in/photostream/</a>.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2874863817353026590.post-67016445308360679182014-02-08T13:13:00.000-05:002014-02-08T13:18:30.985-05:00Close Reading in the Digital Age<h2>
Is close reading becoming a lost art?</h2>
I hope not, but I find that our digital tools are often a distraction and used more for entertainment than illumination. Next week at my school the distraction is being taken away from us--at least temporarily. Our computer network will be shut down for a week for an OS upgrade. There's no better time to reacquaint ourselves with the important skill of close reading. Of course, we won't give up our digital tools once the upgrade is complete. Below are some suggestions on how to use technology to enhance reading.<br />
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<a href="http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2014/01/a-beautiful-classroom-poster-on-close.html" target="_blank">A Beautiful Classroom Poster on Close Reading</a> provides teachers with a free, downloadable poster suggesting ways to help students become better close readers:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c2hNSJeZ4x0/UvZsLGXnscI/AAAAAAAADkY/DnCPRTzkk8Q/s1600/pearson-literacy-teacher-infographic-close-reading--final-1-7-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c2hNSJeZ4x0/UvZsLGXnscI/AAAAAAAADkY/DnCPRTzkk8Q/s1600/pearson-literacy-teacher-infographic-close-reading--final-1-7-13.jpg" height="640" width="293" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teachthought.com/technology/close-reading-digital-tools/" target="_blank">Actually Achieving Close Reading with Digital Tools</a> shows ways to leverage screen capture and annotation tools to assist with close reading.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_640073565"></span>10 Strategies to Reach the 21st Century Reader<span id="goog_640073566"></span></a> examines how media design influences the modern reader. Skip to the end of the article to see how using media can enhance reading skills.</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09715404942431387768noreply@blogger.com0