Waves

Although it seems not to be the case lately, my reading patterns usually follow what I term ‘obsessions of the moment’. I used to, until recently, set up subjects of study for the semester (I am unable to shake a lifetime of school patterning). Past topics have included everything from French post-war intellectuals to globalization; poverty to Harry Potter.

I still go through waves of interest of sorts, and one of the current ones is Quebec. I know it seems unsexy, as most state or provincial politics would, but I am truly captivated, not just by the history, but by the culture as well. Anyone visiting here could immediately see how it stands apart from the rest of North America. I will admit that I wasn’t at all interested in anything to do with Quebec when I learned about it in school many years ago. Lately though, (in no small part thanks to an old friend), I can’t get enough. Bear with me.

A related title I finished this week, Watching Quebec: Selected Essays by Ramsay Cook, was good but incomplete. He assembled his writings, the bulk of which are from the 1960s. Many crucial issues, like referenda, were barely touched upon, detracting from the overall impression of the book.

This phase, I assure you, will eventually pass, but it’s not my only one anyway. I can feel other interests bubbling on the horizon including Benjamin Franklin, about whom I will post in the near future, civic duty, and science (note the link between the three).

I will sign off for the evening with a wholly unconnected recommendation, for Harriet Russell’s Envelopes: A Puzzling Journey Through the Royal Mail. This clever British author/artist decided to test out the Royal Mail service and send herself a variety of, well, envelopes. The thing is, each one contained a puzzle which had to be solved in order to render it deliverable. Believe it or not, most carriers actually took the trouble to fill in her crossword puzzles, connect the dots, figure out word problems and follow maps. It’s just amazing. I love this creative and eccentric woman, and I adore this book.