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 Book Review: “You can’t have a democracy if citizens can’t propose new ideas and vigorously debate them… In 2024, the Trudeau government proposed Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, which is perhaps the biggest threat to free expression in Canada in decades.” (Free Speech in Canada p.5, 18) Not only in Canada but throughout the western world, new hate speech laws are being enacted that are saddling citizens and journalists with huge fines and even jail time just for things they are saying and/or posting online. Sound scary? It should! Nothings shuts down free speech more effectively than the fear that you might be persecuted by the government if someone doesn’t like your ideas. It is one of the more unsettling developments of our time. “It's no coincidence that one of the first actions taken by authoritarian regimes is to limit the freedom of the press, which is the freedom to publish without government permission.” (Free Speech in Canada p.36) To understand this issue more...

Book Review:   It is hard to believe that “As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow” is a debut novel. Author Zoulfa Katouh pulls out all the emotional stops in this heart-wrenching, yet hopeful story set in the Syrian Revolution of 2011. Her writing is gripping, lyrical, raw, and fresh. Honestly, this is not usually my kind of book, but Katouh had me hooked right away and held my attention to the last word. I was impressed! The story follows Salama, an eighteen-year-old pharmacy student whose world is shattered by violence and death. She has lost her family and her future to the revolution. Now she must piece together a life out of the shards that are left. Struggling to keep her sanity and her hope intact, she dodges her way through chaos in a tenuous search for love, and a life worth living. I’ll give no spoilers except to say that the reader is rewarded at the end of this roller coaster ride with a happy ending – and believe me, by the time you get to the last few pages you reall...

  Book Review:   For me, this was one of those books I just couldn’t put down. Told in a straightforward and non-sensational manner, this book spins out a harrowing real-life dystopian adventure story. A dangerous escape from the hell that is life in North Korea, then abduction and sex slavery in China, and finally sweet freedom in the West, this is an intimate, heart wrenching account of what it costs to fight (and flee) for liberty in one of the darkest corners of the world. North Korea is a country shrouded in mists of rumor and propaganda. Reading “In Order to Live” was like shining a clarifying ray of bright sunshine into the unspeakably oppressive shadows Kim Jong Un and his communist party have cast over the country. More than that, Park’s story is one of courage, hope and an indomitable spirit. Best of all, it has a happy ending! This is the most inspiring book I have read this year!! Recommendation: for anyone who loves a true adventure story, wants to underst...

  Book Review:   OK, romance fans. This time I’m reviewing a modern classic, “Love Story” by Eric Segal. Recognize the catch phrase… “Love means never having to say you’re sorry”? That’s from (you guessed it) this heart-wrenching slice of life tearjerker. Written in a straight-forward pithy style with a sharp yet tender voice, this book will only take you a few hours to read… but what a read! Romance and realistic fiction are my two least favorite genres (for personal reasons that I won’t go into right now). That said, I was deeply moved by Segal’s story. The emotional truth of the writing was clear and convincing. The ending was tragic but transformational. College love and lose narrated in a believable way that won’t make your average cynic want to throw up. Five stars for this amazing accomplishment. “Love Story” was released as a motion picture in 1970 (the same year the book was published) and has been rated 9 th most romantic film of all time by the American...

 News: One Dazzling Dozen:   The Fault in Our Stars (J. Green) The Perks of Being a Wallflower (S. Chbosky) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian (S. Alexie) The Hate You Give (A. Thomas) Looking for Alaska (J. Green) Out of My Mind (S.M. Draper) Fangirl (R. Rowell) Thirteen Reasons Why (J. Asher) To Kill a Mockingbird (H. Lee) Eleanor & Park (R. Rowell) Speak (L.H. Anderson) The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)

 Book Review: Hey everyone. I gotta say, this is a hard book review to write. It's not that the book is badly written or that I didn't get immersed in it. I thought it was actually really good. The problem is the heaviness of the content - just a bit hard to handle. And I guess, how could it be anything else. So, let's get into it. If you saw the film 'Sound of Freedom' that was such an unexpected hit at the box office last summer (see trailer below), this book contains the true life story that inspired the movie. Tim Ballard wrote Slave Stealers in an effort to raise awareness about the nauseating reality of modern day sex trafficking which enslaves more people today  (many of whom are children)   than American slavery ever did.  And Tim Ballard doesn't just write about the problem - he fights it, hands-on. He is a real life operative who puts his life on the line to catch the criminals, and free the kids kidnapped into a life of sex exploitation.  Slave Ste...

  Book Review:   “Gripping… Snowden demonstrates a knack for explaining in lurid and compelling language the inner workings of (CIA and NSA) systems and the menace he came to believe they posed.” (The Washington Post)   Who hasn’t heard of Edward Snowden? He is one of the greats, a hero of our time. But what did he actually do? Well, if you’re anything like me, you only have the vaguest of ideas what his enormous contribution to society was (and is). In this young readers edition of the New York Times bestseller Permanent Record , we get an up close and personal account of the man, his life, and the truth he disclosed about the US government’s digital spying system that it used unlawfully against it’s own citizens and the entire world. It was a system Snowden helped create, and a system he successfully hacked in order to avoid capture after his bombshell disclosures in 2013. Today he still survives and thrives, living in Moscow in exile where he continues the fig...