Judith Johnston

She's Back in Form!, Dec 9 2009

I haven't read an Atwood book since "Alias Grace" in the early 1990s, which I found disappointing. However, I was intrigued by this and put it on reserve at the library.

I enjoyed it so much that I borrowed "Oryx And Crake" after so I would be caught up for the third book in this series, and I just finished reading "The Blind Assassin" too which was an excellent book.

I rarely read fiction these days, and Atwood's fine writing is like light in the shadows; she really is good.

As other reviewers have said, I can hardly wait for the third book.

Circle of Something New at Last, Dec 19 2008

This is one of the finest card decks that Lo Scarabeo has published in years. Instead of being a rehash of the usual, the cards are a large, circular shape and the art by Maria Distefano is fantastic, while the meanings in the booklet are fresh and intriguing.

Unfortunately this is another instance where people sometimes label cards "unreadable." It's not a conventional deck, we are in the Celestial City of Imagination, which requires invention and creativity.

I have had several enjoyable sessions with this deck just inventing with the images on the cards. In one exercise, I used a card, along with some word tickets. Word tickets are fashioned from a roll of "Admit… Read more

Ghostly Thoughts on the Human Condition, Dec 18 2008

I re-read the "Great Railway Bazaar" before reading this book and was glad I did, because Theroux over the years has become a much better writer. It was interesting to hear him tell what was really going on in his life when he wrote the first book.

He is a fantastic observationist, and genuinely enjoys listening to other people's lives and stories. Many travel writers will ask questions, yet they always seem a bit distracted as if they are only half listening, but Paul Theroux actually listens. I like the way he phonetically writes the English that people use when it is not their first language, it cements the moment with the accents of people in the world. Mostly Theroux's books… Read more