Christmas is almost here

The Reading List for 08 Dec 23

Books and Christmas go together for some of us as much as the tree, lights, presents and some hot drink to sit by the fire with.

This year, there aren’t any books on my wish list nor are there any about Newfoundland and Labrador I’d especially recommended other than the ones I have already told you about.

Ted Rowe’s new biography of Richard Squires is well worth your time, as are both Mike Heffernan’s history of the local punk music scene - Let it all fall - and Mike Connors’ history of the political punks of the press gallery at the House of Assembly, Admit strangers. Or were they writing about the political punks?

There’s a new instalment of the history of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. It’s expensive and physically heavy and once I’ve finished it, there’ll be a review. But for now, let’s just flag that without a verdict in favour of it or against it.

With those few suggestions, subscribers can carry on and find some columns and other things worth reading. We’ll see the rest of you here next week for another couple of columns on local goings-on.

Movies are also a big part of Christmas and not just Die hard, Krampus, or Miracle on 34th Street.

No.

Big movies come out around this time of year.

And just to give folks a sample of what comes for subscribers in this space after the paywall, consider this:

The Last Duel

With all the controversy about Napoleon, Jason Herbert explains how Ridley Scott got it right in every respect with The Last Duel, released in the midst of COVID.

Sometimes there’s added commentary. Sometimes it’s just the links like this one to the Substack or to another website.

And for those wondering, next week, I’ll give you my list of books from anywhere on any subject that you can pick up as a last minute gift for the book lover on your list.