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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To HBO, at least. Fans of A Song of Ice and Fire who are eagerly awaiting the fifth book in George R.R. Martin's popular fantasy series, will have to continue to wait for A Dance with Dragons.

Martin announced the news recently, that HBO has greenlighted A Game of Thrones for a full ten episode first season, due to air next spring. The plan is to adapt one book in the series per season. The cast includes Lord of the Rings alumni, Sean Bean in the role of Eddard (Ned) Stark, Lord of Winterfell and the King's new Hand.

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I've been reading funny books, it seems, and books with a satiric edge. Oh, just looking for laughs to get me through the winter. And these are all Canadian writers!

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This week saw the release of a report from the OECD, Pathways to Success: How knowledge and skills at Age 15 shape future lives in Canada. Its most revealing observation is that there is no greater predictor of a child's future educational success than reading proficiency.

The Globe and Mail emphasizes that these results confirm the necessity of a basic education focused on foundational skills. They also bolster the egalitarian credentials of Canada's education system where learned traits such as reading overwhelm inherited factors such as parental income. So, all things being equal, read, read, read.

Holly McNally