#i am reading
Friday Reads: June 9, 2017
Enjoying the beautiful weather, bookworms? We sure are! Check out what people in the office are reading this week (hopefully, outside)!
Andrea, Digital Marketing Associate: I just finished The Assassin’s Curse by Kevin Sands, it’s the third book in The Blackthorn Key series. Honestly, I feel bad sharing this Friday Reads with you, because it’s SOOOOOO good but it won’t be coming out until September. Sands gets better with each book; the puzzles continue to stump me, the characters grow with each book, and the action always gets my pulse racing. *spoiler alert* My favourite scene is when Christopher tries to buy time by getting the bad guy to monologue, and they are having NONE OF IT. This scene brings me particular joy because The Incredibles is one of my favourite movies, and you’ll know monologuing is a running joke in it. To summarize, mark your calendars and pick up The Assassin’s Curse as soon as it comes out.
Siobhan, Assistant to the President & Editorial Director: I’ve been reading Notes from a Feminist Killjoy by Erin Wunker, and it makes my heart so happy and so angry at the same time. It’s the feminist manifesto I have been searching for, and she so poignantly captures the multitudes of being a woman, a Canadian, a mother, a daughter, a student, a teacher, an activist, a millennial, etc.! I just want to put it in the hands of everyone I know.
Rebecca, Marketing Assistant: Lately, I’ve been struggling to find time to read, but with The Glass Castle Imade the time. After reading this book I am in awe of author Jeannette Walls and all she has accomplished in her life considering her upbringing. I laughed, cried and was left in complete shock at various times while reading. It’s the perfect quick read for the summer and should be on everyone’s TBR with the film adaptation coming out in August!
Holley, Publicity Assistant: I am currently reading The Mother of All Questions by Rebecca Solnit. This collection of essays is short but pack a powerful punch! I have not stopped talking or thinking about this book since I started it just a few days ago.
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With summer officially here, and more time to read, we thought we’d start up our Friday Reads posts again. Check out what the gang at Simon & Schuster Canada are reading this week!
Brendan, Editor: I can never read just one book at a time, but I’ve started trying to balance the number of books on my nightstand by picking just one book of poetry and one full-length book. Right now, I’m pairing Adrienne Rich’s The Dream of a Common Language withLincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. Each writer knows how to craft superb poetry and prose, so even if I don’t read for a long time, every word is exquisite.
Shannon, Publicity Assistant: I’m in the midst of the last in Jenny Han’s latest series, Always and Forever, Lara Jean,and it is just as page turning as To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before andP.S. I Still Love You. I’m so going to miss these characters, but I’m excited to see where their stories end. How will Lara Jean deal with moving away to college? Will Kitty be okay as the only one of the Song Sisters left at home? Will Lara Jean and Peter make it through all the changes?! I guess I better keep reading to find out!
Alexandra, Marketing Assistant: This week I’ve been reading Roz Nay’s Our Little Secret. This book packs a punch, taking psychological thrillers to the next level. Angela is being held in a police interrogation room and questioned on the disappearance of her ex’s wife, Saskia. Our Little Secret has everything I love in a book: a sweet romance, intriguing characters, and unexpected plot twists. Trust me, you won’t see this ending coming!
Samantha, Sales Operations Associate: I tore through James Maskalyk’s Life on the Ground Floor in two days – it’s Maskyalyk’s engaging memoir of life as a doctor in a Toronto emergency room and his trips to Ethiopia to train doctors in emergency medicine. In Toronto, he works long shifts at St. Mike’s dealing with everything from heart attacks to homeless people looking for a place to sleep. In Ethiopia, the hospital doesn’t even always have electricity, and there have never been emergency rooms before. Maskalyk is patient and compassionate in his writing, not ignoring the toll the profession takes on him, but not neglecting the patients’ dignity, either. It’s clear that outcomes are affected by the resources the hospital has available, but in the end he is hopeful that continuing training and funding will raise standards outside of Canada. Highly, highly recommended.
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“There are moments in history when people all over the world seem to rise up and say that something is wrong, to ask for change.”
Published in 2012, Joseph Stiglitz’s treatise on neoliberal economics, globalisation and inequity rings true today. This is a comprehensive, dissection of how both Democrats and Republicans have pursued policies that have increased inequality in the U.S. While both parties have talked about building a fairer, more equal society, money has trickled from the bottom to the top with their help. This, Stigltiz argues, has put the U.S economy in bad shape in the long term. Stiglitz argues for universal healthcare, strong labour laws and regulating the financial sector to guard against the behaviour that caused the 2008 crash.
Stiglitz was a member of the Clinton Administration. This book is light on direct criticism of that government and its policies, which is disappointing. Stiglitz does critique Obama and correctly points out that his bank bailout damaged public trust. Socialists, Bernie Bros and Progressive Dems will probably think Stiglitz’s proposals are tame. Certainly in light of the current administration, one can’t help feeling that more needs to be done.
Criticism aside, this is an excellent book about how America (and the world) has lost its way.
