Remind Me

All My Friends are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman (Coach House Books)

The perfect length for visiting friends and relatives to finish before they've overstayed their welcome. Original, witty, fun and touching, Andrew Kaufman's novel All My Friends are Superheroes should be on every guest room night table. Just check their bags before they leave.

One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw by Witold Rybczynski (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.)

Know someone who lacks historical perspective? Buy this little gem of a book and throw it at them. Rybczynski has authored many excellent non-fiction books (The Perfect House is another personal favourite). This one should be part of every high school history and science class. Brilliant. Clear. Always interesting. He makes us all smarter.

The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester (Oxford University Press)

Think you love words? Try defining the half-million that make up the English language and explain their history and pronunciation. Winchester celebrates the obsession that drove a myriad of men and women to create the OED. A great book about an amazing achievement.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Craig Russell grew up on what may be the flattest half-section of land on the planet, six miles north of Carman, and is now a lawyer living in Brandon. He recently celebrated the launched of his first published book, Black Bottle Man (Great Plains Publications), at McNally Robinson Booksellers Grant Park.