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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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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.

Photography. 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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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.

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?