As a professor I am very busy and rarely, if ever, have time to read for pleasure. But I do usually enjoy the books I read as part of my research and teaching.

Presently, I am browsing through a number of books including: Other Destinies by Louis Owens; I Thought Pocahontas was a Movie edited by Carol Schicks and James McNinch; The Colonizer's Model of the World by J.M. Blaut; 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann; One Native Life by Richard Wagamese and any poetry by Pablo Neruda or Louise Halfe.

For pure fun or relaxation I read Winnie the Pooh (I have many collections). Or the Library Lion or laugh over cat pics and sayings in cat calendars.

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When I'm writing well I don't read much and so for the past year I have a stack of books waiting to be started or finished. And because I write late into the night and get up very early, I don't have a night-table; in fact I don't often use a bed. I unroll a sleeping bag on the floor of my office with the cats so my wife can sleep through the night. A lot of books get read not at home, but in various places as I travel.

I like to read far above my weight. It shows me what writing can be when its done right.

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Independent booksellers in the United States each year choose what they think are the best books published for children. The list is big, as is the American Booksellers Association that sponsors these awards. The reason this list is of interest to us is because we wonder if these choices will appeal to Canadian readers as well.

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The Secret Scripture, by Sebastian Barry.

A powerful novel by an Irish writer. Set in the Donegal area of Ireland in a hamlet close to Sligo, it paints a marvelous picture of small-town life in the 50s and 60s while asking interesting fictional and philosophical questions, such as, "How do we know what really happened when we hear two or more accounts of the same events?" and "Can fictional narrators be trusted?" An intriguing study that goes beyond life into literature.

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