The Uncommon Reader, by Alan Bennett, is a very short book--took me only two hours to read it (in electronic format). And I loved it. In this story, Queen Elizabeth II one day discovers a "travelling library" near her palace and feels compelled to borrow a book, any book (because her dogs were barking loudly).... Lire la Suite →

This collection of essays is fascinating because it spans about 35 years! Some of the essays are written during the reign of the first Bush, while others were written during Clinton, the second Bush, Obama, and even the first orange nightmare. So, even though some of the issues she discussed then may seem "old," they... Lire la Suite →

The research I did for my master's and doctoral studies was about "the native speaker." More specifically, I wondered if native speakers of a language were better teachers of that language than non-native speakers. While I was studying, I was also working as a language teacher. First, I taught French—my "native" language—to university students, and... Lire la Suite →

This is a book, narrated by the author herself, with the letters she received and the answers she sent back to many people in her column, Dear Sugar. She usually first tells some stories about her own past to explain what she is trying to say, and some of the stories are simply heartbreaking. Others... Lire la Suite →

This book was really, really interesting! It tells the story (narrated by the author himself) of the life of a forensic pathologist in the UK—his childhood, how he became a forensic pathologist, his first few years on the job, the famous and less famous cases he worked on, infanticide, how things unfold during a trial,... Lire la Suite →

This was not an easy book to listen to. The author was the narrator, too, and he was great, but the story was pretty scary. Payne tells about his job as an undercover agent for the FBI for 30 years. He also explains how he became an undercover agent, his parents, high school years, his... Lire la Suite →

I had this book on my to-read list for a very long time. Some of the reviews weren’t very positive, so I hesitated, but after Cabane, I needed something shorter, easier, less philosophical, and less French! It turned out to be neither much easier nor much shorter, but it was a lovely story. Eddy, who... Lire la Suite →

The first time I thought about my parents from my parents' perspective, and not from my perspective, that is, when I thought of them as the parents of me, as opposed to my parents, was when I read The Boy in the Moon, by Ian Brown. That book really shook me. I just finished this... Lire la Suite →

This book looks silly but it's actually extremely interesting. My favourite Librarian-in-Chief suggested it, so of course I loved it! Children in the US (I don't know about other countries) are very familiar with Dr. Seuss' stories, like The Cat in the Hat, Horton Hears a Who, Green Eggs and Ham, and Yertle the Turtle. These books... Lire la Suite →

This was a long (12 hours) but intersting book to listen to. C'est l'histoire d'un jeune charpentier danois, Ole Kirk Christiansen, qui ne trouve pas assez de travail et commence à faire des jouets en bois pour les enfants. Ces jouets ayant de plus en plus de succès, il décide d'arrêter la charpenterie et d'ouvrir... Lire la Suite →

This was a long book to listen to (about 12.5 hours) but totally worth it! I was tired of serious books, bored with everything, and I started and gave up three other books before deciding on this one and not regretting it for a minute. This is the story of two men and two women... Lire la Suite →

In my attempt to "contaminate my digital twin," as I explained earlier, I not only watched an interesting documentary on Schumacher but also listened to a book that talks about all the different people and jobs that are a part of F1 racing. The world of F1 is not something that everyone knows much about,... Lire la Suite →

"You are going to spend your whole life learning how to write... and then you are going to die" (Jeff O'Neal, as cited by John Warner). This is a wonderful book, and I recommend it to anyone interested in writing, teaching, thinking, feeling, and living! And artificial intelligence, of course. This is a book I... Lire la Suite →

I am not exactly sure how to talk about this book. The basic story is simple: a group of people live on Apple Island, off of the coast of the state of Maine, descendants of runaway or freed slaves, in utmost poverty but in peace, at the beginning of the 20th century. One day, a... Lire la Suite →

I decided to read this book because I am often frustrated when I have to defend myself or argue with someone. This book offers many strategies on how to negotiate a better salary, a lower price on a car, a better rental fee, and the release of hostages (which is less useful to you and... Lire la Suite →