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The Hard Switch by Owen D. Pomery
I finished reading The Hard Switch (2023), a graphic novel written and illustrated by Owen D. Pomery. It’s a science fiction tale set in a world in which interstellar travel has long been an established reality thanks to a mineral called alcanite. However, the end of such travel is fast approaching, as the finite galactic…
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The Arctic Prairies by Ernest Thompson Seton
I just finished reading The Arctic Prairies (1911) by Ernest Thompson Seton. This memoir is an account of a six month journey by canoe Seton took into northern Canada in 1907. Seton was an artist, writer, and naturalist who undertook the trip in hopes of finding bison and caribou and, in his words, “the chances…
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Alone by Megan E. Freeman
I just finished reading Alone (2021) by Megan E. Freeman, a young adult novel in free verse. It is narrated by a young girl, 12 years old in the beginning, who finds herself in a very serious survival situation after waking to find herself completely cut off from human contact. It is an extremely compelling…
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My Crowd by Charles Addams
I just read My Crowd (1970), a collection of cartoons by Charles Addams. It’s the first time I’ve read one of his books and I found a lot of it hilarious. It reminds me very much of The Far Side…both share a similar sense of the absurd. I would definitely like to read more of…
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Galactic Warlord by Douglas Hill
I finished reading Galactic Warlord (1979) by Douglas Hill. I’ve read it once before; this time I read it aloud to my daughter. She very much enjoyed it and wants to start the second one in the series right away. It’s a young adult science fiction novel that unfolds at a rapid pace with a…
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Eleodes armata, tree forts, and snowballs
A while ago, I thought our little beetle friend in the terrarium, a beautiful Eleodes armata, must have died. I had watered the terrarium pretty thoroughly and this usually brought him out from his subterranean refuge. This time, however, he made no appearance. Inspecting the terrarium, I thought I saw a dark beetle carcase and…
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A Walk in Spring
I took a walk on this beautiful brisk, sunny first day of spring. It was so good to get out…it felt like a bit of an adventure, like how I used to spend many a day. I came across some interesting art… And some geese… And a wooly bear! And moss, sweet moss!
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Comenius and the Beginnings of Educational Reform by Will S. Monroe
I finished reading Comenius and the Beginnings of Educational Reform by Will S. Monroe (published in 1900). John Amos Comenius (1592-1670), sometimes referred to as the “father of modern education,” was referenced in something else I was reading. When researching who he was, I ended up coming across this book and decided to check it…
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Red
I often walk by this International truck parked in an alley…
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The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman
Here’s an old book jot from February 2021: I just finished reading The Unexpected Mrs Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman. It is a mystery novel published in the 1960s and the first in a series. Emily Pollifax is a retired woman who lives a quiet life and yearns for something a little different. And she soon…