Monthly Archives: September 2020

September 30, 2020 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: The Non-Fiction Book Everyone Should Read and Why

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

American College of Emergency Physicians First Aid Manual book cover. Image on cover is of four people seeking first aid for fevers, broken limbs, and other ailments.Narrowing down my ideas to only one suggestion was tough. There are many topics I believe all adults should have a good working knowledge of, from history to budgeting, the latest scientific data on what constitutes a healthy diet to how to do basic repairs at home.

But by far the most important book everyone should read is anything that gives scientifically-accurate, up-to-date information on first aid like the American College of Emergency Physicians’ First Aid Manual.

(Ideally, I’d want everyone to take a basic first aid course, too! I took one many years ago and hope to refresh my memory as soon as these sorts of classes are offered again in Toronto).

No matter who you are or where you live, there may come a time when you or someone near you about will unexpectedly need medical care for a physical or mental health condition if it hasn’t happened already.

It’s imperative that all of us know how to:

  • Determine when you should call a medical provider in a day or two, visit a non-urgent medical clinic this afternoon, or call for an ambulance immediately.
  • Immobilize a broken bone
  • React to possible spinal injuries or head trauma after an accident
  • Treat burns, sprains, cuts, fevers, panic attacks, dehydration, blisters, bruises, bites, sunburns, nausea, gastroenteritis, heat exhaustion, hypothermia and other illnesses that may or may not be able to be treated at home depending on the circumstances.
  • Help someone who is choking, seizing, having an asthma attack, or having a mental health crisis
  • Safely address heavy bleeding after, say, a puncture wound
  • Perform CPR
  • Recognize the signs of a heart attack, stroke, severe allergic reaction, or any other life-threatening health problem
  • Behave in an emergency in general.

There are no doubt other many other things to add to this list, too. Some people will naturally freeze up in an emergency, so it’s crucial that all of us study the best ways to react when someone suddenly needs medical care.

The more of us that know how to respond to scenarios like these, the easier it will be for everyone who needs help to receive it whether they’re being treated by a lay person or a professional.

Have you taken a first aid class? Have you read any nonfiction books on this topic recently? I’m curious to hear your thoughts on my pick for this topic and see what everyone chose as their answers, too.

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September 29, 2020 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Humorous Book Quotes

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Okay, so technically this week’s prompt was “favourite book quotes.” I tweaked it a little to become humorous book quotes because the world needs more laughter at the moment in my opinion.

1. “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.”
― Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt

 

2. “Reality continues to ruin my life.”
― Bill Watterson, The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

 

3. “Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying ‘End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH’, the paint wouldn’t even have time to dry.”
― Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time

 

4. “Begin at the beginning,” the King said, very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

 

5. “If you ever find yourself in the wrong story, leave.”
― Mo Willems, Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs

 

a drawing of the sun that includes a smiley face on the sun

6. “You deal with mythological stuff for a few years, you learn that paradises are usually places where you get killed.”
― Rick Riordan, The Battle of the Labyrinth

 

7. “Are you always a smartass?’

Nope. Sometimes I’m asleep.”
― Jim Butcher, Blood Rites

 

8.“If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.”
― George Bernard Shaw, Immaturity

 

9.“We’ll never survive!”
“Nonsense. You’re only saying that because no one ever has.”
― William Goldman, The Princess Bride

 

10. “No sight so sad as that of a naughty child,” he began, “especially a naughty little girl. Do you know where the wicked go after death?”

“They go to hell,” was my ready and orthodox answer.

“And what is hell? Can you tell me that?”

“A pit full of fire.”

“And should you like to fall into that pit, and to be burning there for ever?”

“No, sir.”

“What must you do to avoid it?”

I deliberated a moment: my answer, when it did come was objectionable: “I must keep in good health and not die.”
― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

 

 

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September 28, 2020 · 1:00 am

4 Creative Ways to Overcome a Reading Slump

A girl with a bored expression on her face reading a book.Today I wanted to share some tips for overcoming a reading slump and (hopefully) finding the joy of losing yourself in a story once again.

Most readers have probably experienced this phenomenon at one point or another.

You slowly, or maybe quickly, shift from your regular reading patterns to no longer feeling anticipation at the thought of picking up another book in your preferred genre(s).

Maybe you’ll start one book only to grow bored and wander away from it after a chapter or two. This can happen again and again during a slump.

I know I’ve sure found it harder to stay focused since this year began.

Stop Reading

Drawing of a perturbed black cat. The phrase "not entertained" is written next to and underneath it.I’m totally serious about that, too. It feels obvious to me, but so many lists on this topic seem to skip over this solution.

How long should this break last? That’s up to you. I think about my interest levels in reading in general instead of how much time has passed.

Generally, my breaks last between a week and a month, but I’d have no problem going much longer than that if needed.

The thing about being an avid reader is that you often eventually begin to see the patterns in the genres you read. It’s harder to surprise someone who has been reading the same genre for years or decades.

Reading also isn’t so much fun when one can predict what will happen next in a story, especially if you’re already feeling tired of this hobby in general.

Sometimes the best way to react to this feeling is to stop trying to make yourself enjoy reading and find something else to fill your free time.

What else can you do? Well…

Get (More) Active

Reading can be like exercise for your mind. Books can teach new words (or even entire languages),  challenge your pre-conceived notions of the world, and introduce you to sorts of people and situations you might never come across your daily life.

There’s definitely something to be said for switching between activities that challenge your brain and activities that challenge your body, so stay with me here.

Depending on your current fitness level, interests, and what equipment you might have access to, this could take a wide range of forms:

  • Jogging
  • Dancing
  •  Swimming
  •  Playing sports
  •  Hiking
  •  Weightlifting
  • Taking a long walk

If you’re already physically active, now could be a good time to increase the length of your workouts or try a form of exercise that isn’t part of your regular routines.

Try Something New

White rabbit wearing yellow sunglassesNo, I’m not referring to trying a new genre (unless you already have the urge to do so). It’s been my experience that this technique works best if it has nothing to do with books or reading at all.

There’s nothing like tasting a new food, buying something small you’ve been wanting for a long time, or visiting an autumn forest so filled with brightly-coloured leaves that it almost seems as if all of the trees themselves are glowing.

Sometimes the “new” thing I try is as simple as walking down a street I don’t normally visit to see what interesting landmarks might exist there or crouching down on the ground to observe a plant I’d normally walk past without a second thought.

This can take many forms, and it can be as thrifty as you’d like it to be. Honestly, most of my favourite memories in life involve intangible things that no store can ever box up for sale.

Perform an Act of Kindness

A rock painted orange that says "stay safe be kind." It is lying on a much larger, lichen-covered rock. It’s been my experience that reading slumps are often tied into how I’m feeling in general. I’m much more likely to have them when I’m dissatisfied with other aspects of my life.

There are many things that are out of our control, and many more that can only be changed after months or years of effort and a great deal of luck.

That’s part of the reason why I think that performing acts of kindness are so effective. For that moment, I’m pulled out of whatever is going on in my own head and only focusing on making someone else’s day a little bit brighter.

A random compliment for a stranger or a quick text to a loved one about something you know they’d love only takes a few seconds to accomplish.

That instant mood boost might eventually trickle over into other parts of your life as well. It often does for me! Even if it doesn’t work right away or at all, you’ll still have the satisfaction of knowing you had a positive impact on someone else’s day.

And who knows how far one act of kindness can spread?

One of my high school English teachers always paid the fee for the car behind her when she drove on toll roads because she wanted to make strangers smile. She once pulled up to the teller only to learn that the car ahead of her had already paid her fare, so she paid for the next two people in line after her!

I’ve often wondered if they kept that chain of kindness going. It’s nice to think that they did.

How have all of your reading habits been this year? What do you find effective when you’re in a reading slump?

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September 24, 2020 · 1:00 am

Rural Frights: A Review of Cabin for Rent

Book cover for Seth Tucker's Cabin for Rent. Image on cover is of a cabin surrounded by a dark woods and with a muddy lake in the foreground of the shot.

Title: Cabin for Rent – A Short Horror Story

Author: Seth Tucker

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: February 19, 2018

Genres: Science Fiction, Horror, Contemporary

Length: 19 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

Learn about the macabre history of the cabin on the lake, as you take a boat ride to view this unique property. Despite its dark past and mysterious disappearances, this beautiful secluded get away will take your breath away and you’ll never be able to leave.

Review:

If you love local legends, keep reading.

This is one of those short stories that works best if the reader knows as few details about it in advance, so I’m wording this review carefully.

One of the unique things about it that I can share is that it was framed as one half of a conversation. That is, you read Jimmy’s responses but not the things his companion says that urge him to share the dark history of the property they’re viewing on their boat ride.

Anyone reading this review also knows that local legends also play a role in what Jimmy has to say. He was someone who had deep roots in his small, rural community and knew all sorts of things that outsiders wouldn’t have even thought to ask about. This gave the tales he told an extra layer of fright as I put all of the pieces together.

One of my favourite parts of the storyline was how well I got to know the unnamed visitor even thought he never had a single line of dialogue and the audience only had the faintest clues about his physical appearance. Jimmy’s responses to the questions he asked were so detailed that none of this mattered. I knew the visitor exactly as well as I needed to in order to get sucked into their conversation and the hints about what was going on at that property.

While I did figure the ending out in advance, it didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for it in any way. There were enough clues along the way that it wasn’t so important for the audience to know what was going on as it was for the visitor to figure it all out.

Yes, this was firmly rooted in the horror genre, but it wasn’t gory for anyone who might be wondering about that. It relied on psychological horror, a slowly growing sense of doom, and some strategically-placed hints to make the audience shudder instead. That’s exactly what I seek out when I wander into this corner of the speculative fiction genre!

Cabin for Rent was an immensely satisfying read that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys horror or dark science fiction.

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September 23, 2020 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Favourite Things to Do in the Autumn

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

Autumn is a beautiful season in Ontario. You can spend hours outdoors without worrying about sunburns or frostbite, so most of my answers will reflect the benefits of taking advantage of such mild weather.

The Word on the Street Festival. This is an annual Toronto festival about literature that features local and well as international authors and publishing houses. It covers every genre and age group you can imagine, and everyone is welcomed. Of course, it was virtual this year due to Covid-19, but the food there was amazing in the past. They had cuisine from many different cultures, and the portions were so generous at many stalls you could easily buy one meal and split it with another adult if you wanted to.

A bush whose leaves are beginning to change from green to redPhotography. I’ve mentioned my interest in this hobby in previous Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge posts. Autumn is the perfect time of year to play around with this, especially when I’m photographing the marvellous autumn landscape.

Stocking Up on Treats. Every store that sells food will have some candy that’s dairy-free, but it’s always fun to visit specialty shops and, before this pandemic happened, various food fairs/festivals to stock up on fancy vegan chocolate and other hard-to-find treats that are safe for my milk allergy before winter hits. (I get the winter blues, so having small things like this to look forward every X number of weeks helps my mental health).

Nature Walks. Autumn is my last hurrah for long nature walks until spring, so I spend as much time as I can outdoors before (this part of) the world freezes and everything is coated in ice and snow.

Nuit Blanche. This is an outdoor, overnight, free art show in Toronto that features the work of (mostly) local artists. You can find everything there: robotics, concerts, dances, interactive art displays, live theatre, light shows, and so much more. One year the city was even “attacked” by zombies. (Nobody was actually harmed. My spouse and I saw dozens of folks dressed as zombies who were roaming around and groaning dramatically every so often). I’m officially inviting all of you to come check it out online on between 7 pm on October 3 and 7 am on October 4 if you enjoy this sort of stuff. The programming is wildly different every year, so I can’t even begin to guess what they’ll have this time!

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September 22, 2020 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Fall 2020 TBR

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

It was difficult to narrow this list down to only ten books. There are so many great stories coming out this autumn that I ultimately decided to give this a Young Adult spin.

(photo unavailable)

1.The Forest of Ghosts and Bones by Lisa Lueddecke

Publication Date: October 1

Why I Want to Read It: The idea of acid rain freaked me out a little when I was a kid. While I’m not sure if the rain in this world is quite like that, I’m curious to find out.

2.

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam 

Publication Date: October 6

Why I Want to Read It: Unexpected blackouts are scary but also fascinating.

We Hear Voices by Evie Green book cover. Image on cover is of a silhoutte of a child standing next to a roaring fire that is much taller and bigger than him.

3. We Hear Voices by Evie Green

Publication Date: 

Why I Want to Read It: It’s normal for a child to have an imaginary friend, but generally they aren’t as violent as this one. I have no idea where this blurb is going with this idea and hope it’s a creative one.

Sugar in Milk by Thrity Umrigar book cover. Image on cover is of girl sitting on a stylized shore while looking out to sea at a boat filled with immigrants.

4. Sugar in Milk by Thrity Umrigar,

Publication Date: October 6

Why I Want to Read It: I haven’t read many picture books about immigration before. It will be cool to see how its written.

A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey book cover. Image on cover is of two girls sitting on a picnic blanket eating food.

5. A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey

Publication Date: October 6

Why I Want to Read It: I’ve often wondered what it would be like to work in, or better yet own, a bakery.

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen book cover. Image on cover is of boy reading a book and of mermaids swimming in the background.

6. The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

Publication Date: October 13

Why I Want to Read It: The protagonist’s love of fairy tales grabbed my attention immediately, and I only wanted to read it more after the blurb mentioned him having a secret.

My Heart Underwater  by Laurel Flores Fantauzzo book cover. Image on cover is of young girl cupping her chin with her hand and looking elsewhere thoughtfully.  

7. My Heart Underwater  by Laurel Flores Fantauzzo  

Publication Date: October 20

Why I Want to Read It: This book covers so many topics I find interesting, from coming out to immigrating. I think it will be a great read.

 

8. Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett

Publication Date: November 17

Why I Want to Read It:

 

Patience & Esther by SW Searle book cover. Image on cover is of two Edwardian women kissing romantically.

9. Patience & Esther: An Edwardian Romance  by SW Searle

Publication Date: November 17

Why I Want to Read It: I rarely read romances, but this one looks good. It’s always interesting to see examples of how LGBT+ people lived in the past.

This Is Not a Ghost Story by Andrea Portes book cover. Image on cover is of an old house with one window lit up on a foggy day.

10. This Is Not a Ghost Story by Andrea Portes

Publication Date: November 17

Why I Want to Read It: There’s something about late autumn to late winter that makes me even more apt to read ghost stories than usual.

 

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September 21, 2020 · 1:00 am

A Photo Essay of Toronto in September

A red leaf lying on the ground. Each month I share photos from one of the parks in Toronto to show my readers what our landscape looks like throughout the year. This is the eighth instalment of this series.

Click on February, March, April, May, June, July, and August to read the earlier posts. It was  13 Celsius (55 Fahrenheit) and slightly cloudy during this month’s visit.

September is a wildcard month like March. This was one of the cooler days in it so far, but we’ve also had days that were about 30 C (86 F). Last year, our September was just as hot and humid as August was.

If you ever visit southern Ontario in this time of year, remember to pack for both extremes of temperature. You might shiver one day and perspire the next. Even locals can’t assume anything about next week’s weather based on what we’re wearing today which is why my wardrobe currently includes everything I own other than my thickest winter sweaters in it. Ha!

Two things make September look and feel different from August other than the unpredictable temperatures swings that happen as the seasons change. One, the humidity generally goes down. Two, a few trees begin to change colour before the dramatic shift that will come in October.

But before we talk about that, I sadly must show you our Covid-19 protests. This shot was taken at a distance so you can also see the greenery at the park.

Landscape portrait of a park in September. There is a road in the foreground and green trees in the background.

Are they protesting for better wages for the doctors, nurses, and other hospital workers saving lives? More personal protective equipment for frontline workers? A stronger social safety net for everyone who has suffered financially during this pandemic? Free counselling for anyone who needs it?

Shot of World War I memorial at a park. Sign on the memorial says "Covid-19 survival rate 99.8%"

The sign said: “Covid-19 survival rate: 99.8%.”

No, they’re protesting because they don’t want to wear masks, prevent the spread of disease, or listen to the experts on public health, epidemiology, and medicine. I respect everyone’s right to protest, but please note that most of us are taking this pandemic seriously and are embarrassed and annoyed by the small percentage of Canadians represented here.

This shot was taken from a distance in order to protect the identities of the protestors. May they and their loved ones stay healthy and never learn the hard way just how dangerous this virus is.

In more cheerful news, look how green the trees remain!

A tree-lined running path in a park.

You could almost think it’s still August here. The running path remains as busy and dusty as always for this time of year.

A park filled with green, lush trees.

Many portions of the park look as green and lush as ever.

A thick, green canopy of leaves under a blue sky

The canopy of leaves is nearly as thick as it was last month. Have you noticed any of the subtle changes yet?

A humongous tree whose leaves have just begun to turn yellow.

Maybe this will help. Most trees are still 100% green, but some of them are showing the first signs of their autumn colours. It can be fairly subtle like this tree…

A sapling whose leaves are 70% green, 30% red.

Or a bit more advanced like this sapling whose leaves seem to be about 30% red…

A tree that is more than 50% turned into its autumn colours

Or well ahead of the curve with about half of its leaves changing….

 

A tree with one-third bare branches, one-third red branches, and one-third green leaves still on it.

Or even like this oddity that is simultaneously bare, covered in red leaves, and still hanging on to the green ones. My spouse and I wonder if this is normal for large, towering trees in a forest. Maybe they get the lion’s share of strong winds that rip off their leaves as soon as they’re the tiniest bit loose?

A tree that had half of its leaves shorn off in last winters storm now growing strong in september

Our tree friend that lost half its branches last winter seems to be thriving. All of its leaves are still green, and its trunk looks as solid as can be expected given the damage it sustained last winter.

A tree that lost a third of its branches. It's remaining branches are drooping, and the trunk looks like it will split in half

But the tree friend that lost about a third of its branches doesn’t seem to be doing well. Many of its branches are bent over now, and the crack in its trunk seems to be widening and creating new, smaller cracks in its wake.

I’ve avoided walking underneath its branches for some time now. Many of them are large and quite heavy looking.

Close-up shot of a badly damaged trunk of tree with deep cracks in it.

This was as close as I dared get. As I’ve said before, I’m not an arborist, but this tree really doesn’t look healthy to me. I hope I’m wrong about that and it wakes up stronger than ever next spring.

A bare tree against a green one

On a lighter note, this is the time of year when you can see a tree that has lost all of its leaves right next to one that’s still green. That juxtaposition always makes me smile.

A bush whose leaves have begun to turn red.

Do you remember how I told you all to look at the ground six months ago when seeking out the first signs of spring? That rule doesn’t really apply in the autumn.

Bushes and trees alike are showing the first hints of their autumn colours. Whether you look up, down, or all around, you’ll find them with a little bit of patience.

A shaded stone path through a park.

The famous stone walkway remains more or less the same shady, green spot its been since May for the time being.

Ontario seems to have entered our second wave of Covid-19 infections, but I don’t expect that to interrupt this series.  Our parks always remained opened for socially-distanced walkers and joggers even when the first wave of cases was as its highest and all other park amenities were closed (including benches for a brief time last spring!) If I get sick or if Toronto’s bylaws unexpectedly change in ways that require this series to be paused, I will let you all know about it as soon as possible.

Next month will bring dramatic and, in my opinion, breathtaking changes for our foliage. I can’t wait to share it with you all! Stay safe, friends. I cherish these virtual walks with all of you.

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September 17, 2020 · 1:00 am

A Review of A Bit of Pickled Pumpkin and Other Short Horror Stories 

A Bit of Pickled Pumpkin and Other Short Horror Stories by B.A. Loudon book cover. Image on cover is of a pile of pumpkins.Title: A Bit of Pickled Pumpkin and Other Short Horror Stories

Author: B.A. Loudon

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: September 12, 2019

Genres: Young Adult, Horror, Paranormal, Contemporary

Length: 45 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Blurb:

Review:

In this collection of stories, all is not what it seems…Broken promises have unexpected consequences.Going to space should be a day of celebration.A sunny disposition conceals a dark family secret.And why does a bit of pickled pumpkin have an entire neighbourhood on edge?

Content warning: mental illness, domestic abuse, cannibalism, postpartum depression, and murder. I will not be discussing these things in my review.

It’s never too early to start thinking about Halloween.

There were a surprisingly amount of short stories and flash fiction in this collection, so I’l only talk about a few of them in my review. Do check out the whole thing if any of this intrigues you.

The narrator in “Promises” was someone who grew up in a small town and desperately wanted to leave it. When they were finally given a chance to do just that, the person who took them far away from home wasn’t exactly what they were expecting. This was such a quick little tale that I can’t say much else about it, but I did find it interesting to learn what happened to the narrator after they left home.

In “A Bit of Pickled Pumpkin,” a grieving spouse must decide what to do with their wife’s massive collection of pickled foods after she died. The spouse had never learned to like the taste of pickled things and didn’t want all of her hard work to go to waste. This wasn’t a topic I was expecting to read about, but I liked reading the main character’s thoughts about how to tie up all of the loose ends of this part of their life.

“The Performance of a Lifetime” reminded me of how much stage fright I’ve had in the past much like the protagonist of this piece. As much as I enjoyed the beginning of this tale, the middle and ending of it seemed to come out of nowhere. It would have been nice to have more clues about what was about to happen and how the beginning was tied to what came after that. This was something that was repeated with many of the stories in this anthology. Their endings were well worth reading, but I wasn’t always entirely sure how they arrived there.

“Clean” was quite the read. At first it seemed like it was written for adults instead of teenagers because most teens aren’t permanently put in charge of cleaning their entire homes the way the mother is in many families. Yes, I wrote mother on purpose. The gendered aspects of who cleans and who keeps track of what should be cleaned next was written well. It actually turned out to be my favourite part of this tale as well as one of the best stories in this anthology.

If you’re counting down the days to Halloween and want to get into the spirit of it early this year, A Bit of Pickled Pumpkin and Other Short Horror Stories is a good place to start.

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September 16, 2020 · 1:00 am

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Books with the Most Words I Had to Look Up

Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.

A person thumbing through a large dictionary. My answer for this week is going to be short and sweet.

When I read The Lord of the Rings trilogy many years ago, I kept a dictionary open right next to it. There were so many new vocabulary words included in it that I kept having to stop reading to find out on what Earth the characters were talking about.

To be fair, I was in middle school when I read this series. Some of those words might be more familiar to me if I were to come across them again as an adult. But the memory of looking up words regularly during these hours of reading is a strong one for me.

If you’ve read this series, did you have the same experience?

 

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September 15, 2020 · 1:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Rubber Duckie Book Covers

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Three rubber duckies sitting on the edge of a white bathtubI don’t know about all of you, but I’m sure in the mood for lighthearted and dare I say slightly silly conversations at the moment.

For example, did you know there are dozens of books out there that feature rubber duckies on their covers?

I have no idea how or why this ever became a trend, but it does make me smile.

Have you read any of these books? Do you have a rubber duckie sitting on the edge of your bathtub at this exact moment?

Is That a Fact?- Frauds, Quacks, and the Real Science of Everyday Life by Joe Schwarcz book cover. Image on cover is of a rubber duckie floating in a beaker filled with blue liquid.

1. Is That a Fact?: Frauds, Quacks, and the Real Science of Everyday Life by Joe Schwarcz

Plus 2, Minus 2 by Ann H. Matzke book cover. Image on the cover is of four rubber duckies sitting on an inner tube in a pool.

 

2. Plus 2, Minus 2 by Ann H. Matzke

Moby-Duck by Donovan Hohn book cover. Image on cover is of a rubber duckie sitting on a patch of sand at the beach.

3. Moby-Duck: the true story of 28,800 bath toys lost at sea and of the beachcombers, oceanographers, environmentalists, and fools, including the author, who went in search of them by Donovan Hohn

Stiltskin by Andrew Buckley book cover. Image on the cover is of rumplestiltskin clasping a knife and glaring at the reader while wearing a rubber duckie perched on his head.

4. Stiltskin by Andrew Buckley

Regarding Ducks and Universes by Neve Maslakovic book cover. Image on cover is of a male toddler walking down a deserted highway on a bridge. There is a rubber duckie sittting on the road beside him.

5.Regarding Ducks and Universes by Neve Maslakovic

Rules by Cynthia Lord book cover. Image on cover is of a goldfish swimming in some water and looking at a rubber duckie floating on top of the water.

6. Rules by Cynthia Lord

My Miserable, Lonely, Lesbian Pregnancy by Andrea Askowitz book cover. Image on cover is of a rubber duckie floating upside down with it's head pointed underwater.

7. My Miserable, Lonely, Lesbian Pregnancy by Andrea Askowitz

Neurotica by Eliza Gordon book cover. Image on the cover is of a rubber duckie sitting next to a typewriter that has the title and author typed out on a sheet of paper.

8. Neurotica by Eliza Gordon

De mooiste dagen zijn het ergst by Anke Scheeren book cover. Image on cover is of a sinking rubber duckie that has bubbles coming out of its body underwater.

9.De mooiste dagen zijn het ergst by Anke Scheeren

Alternadad by Neal Pollack book cover. Image on cover is of a rubber duckie whose beak has been pierced by a metal ring. It's sitting against a black background.

10. Alternadad by Neal Pollack

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