“Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” by Eric Idle

From the moment I first experienced the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail at the Paramount theatre many years … More

Bad Singer: The Surprising Science of Tone Deafness and How We Hear Music by Tim Falconer

Everyone knows him – the child in the grade school choir who is asked to mime along when the class … More

Dance of the Banished by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

Part action novel, part history, part love story – Dance of the Banished is a book which will linger in … More

Line of Fire: Diary of an Unknown Soldier (August, September 1914) by Barroux, translated from the French by Sarah Ardizzone

This book’s origins are quite remarkable. It began when a French artist named Barroux noticed some garbage being thrown out … More

Animal Madness: How Anxious Dogs, Compulsive Parrots, and Elephants in Recovery Help Us Understand Ourselves by Laurel Braitman

I couldn’t resist picking up this book to read after seeing the title. It did not disappoint. The author has … More

The Tastemakers: Why We’re Crazy for Cupcakes But Fed Up With Fondue by David Sax

If you have ever wondered why certain foods “appear” out of nowhere to suddenly show up on every menu, store … More

Yesterday’s Dead By Pat Bourke

“If all the adults are all sick, who’s in charge?” This is the tag-line for an absorbing children’s novel by … More

Declan Hughes mystery series

Ed Loy is the private detective who returns to Dublin and encounters the gritty Irish underworld – many of whom are former school mates or neighbours. Suspenseful and rich with characterization.

The Sano Ichiro Mystery Series

This mystery series set in medieval Japan features Samurai detective Sano Ichiro. Together with his wife and best friend they delve into both the brutal world of the Imperial court, gangs and villages where evil have many guises. Although it is exotic in setting, the emotions and motivations are all too recognizable, whether it is the jealousy of the rivals for the Emperor’s attention, the machinations of the thwarted concubine or the meglomania of the the cult leader and his single-minded followers. Addictive.

Fred Vargas French detective series

You can tell by the titles that this is no ordinary mystery series. Travel to France with these books and meet the most extraordinary characters to populate a contempory mystery. Vargas deserves her many awards (and more).