Laura Langston's Blog, page 2

My February Reads

 It’s Freedom to Read Week, a time that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom. Now, more than ever, we need to hold onto the right to read whatever we please. We need to make sure all voices are represented and all readers can find themselves reflected in the books they select.  Pick up a book this month. Any book you like. It’s your right to choose. Here’s what I’m reading this month:

The Leap Year Gene by Shelley Wood

Af...

The Shadow Ban Against Libraries and Books

                                    

I know the news is dark, and I have no desire to add to that darkness, so I’ve waffled for a few weeks about writing this blog post. In the end, I couldn’t not write it. I will, I promise, write something a bit lighter in the future. But not today.

Book censorship and book banning is a very real threat right now, not just in the US but also here in Canada. It’s growing at an alarming rate, it’s impacting schools and libraries in particular, and it’s...

Book Love

 People are often surprised when they learn that I don’t belong to a book club. I adore everything about books – reading them, writing them, and (in spite of my well-used eReader) the very physicality of them, as witnessed by the overflowing bookshelves in my house.

So why not a book club? Many people swear by them. Several of my friends, in fact, belong to book clubs and love them (I’m waving at you, Leah and Alice).

For me, though, book clubs conflict with how books are meant to be e...

The Year of the Snake

                                               

Happy Chinese New Year! According to the Chinese lunar calendar, 2025 is the Year of the Wood Snake. Sometimes referred to as the Spring Festival, this 16-day celebration originated 3,500 years ago in ancient China and is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture as it marks the end of winter and the beginning of the new year.

In Chinese mythology, the snake symbolizes wisdom, initiation, charm and slyness. It’s often linked t...

My January Reads

                                                    

The garden might be in hibernation mode, but the neighborhood birds are active. They love that we didn’t get to the deadheading last fall. After dining on the seed heads, they play tag with each other before resting on the branches we didn’t prune. One of my favorites is a tiny green Anna’s hummingbird that loves to drink nectar from the Sarcococca Confusa (Sweet Box) outside our kitchen window before perching on the weeping Maple. I...

Happy New Year

                                 

The Christmas lights are put away, the extra treats have all been consumed (in rather alarming quantities this year) and my 2025-day book is open and ready to be marked up. Yes, I still like a physical planner, in spite of the fact that I also keep track of deadlines and appointments on my phone.

A number of my friends choose a word of the year. Doing this encourages them to think carefully about what they want to focus on over the coming months and ho...

Happy Solstice and Merry Christmas

Today I’m celebrating with my family. It’s solstice – the start of winter and a time of renewal as we welcome the gradual return to more light. A few days from now it will be Christmas, and then we’ll be turning the calendar on another year. However you celebrate, and whatever you have planned (or not planned) for this holiday season, I wish you peace, joy and love. And I hope 2025 brings you many happy surprises. See you in the New Year!

My Reading Wish List, Take Two

                                   

As much as I love to lose myself in a good novel, I also enjoy a great non-fiction read. Dipping into a memoir or a book about cooking or gardening takes me out of the realm of plotting, setting, and character development, and puts me into someone else’s life or gets me thinking about flowers or food!  Here are a few books I’d be happy to find under my tree this holiday season.

The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise by Olivia Laing....

My Reading Wish List

                                           

Usually at this time of year I recommend book picks for the readers on your holiday gift giving list. This year, instead of trying to guess the tastes of your lucky recipients, I thought I’d tell you what I’d love to find wrapped and under my tree. Below are some fiction picks I’d be thrilled to receive.

A Way to Be Happy by Caroline Adderson.  A Globe 100 Best Book of 2024 and longlisted for the 2024 Giller Prize, Adderson’s short story coll...

What We Conceal

                                                           

After a few months of being happily distracted and out of my routine, I’m back at my desk enjoying the pleasures of writing, reading, and tending to simple tasks.  It’s the old Zen proverb in action: ‘Before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water.’

Cue enlightenment. Last weekend I took a writing workshop from Becca Puglisi (for any writers reading this, do yourself a favor and...