Countess Street Publishing Company (2024)

08/08/2024

A few more mysteries:
4. The Rostnikov Series by Stuart Kaminsky – one of my favourite cops, Rostnikov is a weightlifter, a plumber for his building, and a great boss. His assistant AKA “the Vampire” is awesome. Set in Moscow.
5. The Fiona Griffiths Series by Harry Bingham – Fiona is my favourite female character in detective fiction. She is awkward socially but a brilliant cop. Excellent series. Set in Cardiff.
6. The Bernie Gunther series by Philip Kerr – I think this is my second all-time favourite series and I have read them all. Bernie is a cop during the N**i rise to and achieving of power, but he is not one of them.
7. The Lane Winslow Series by Iona Whishaw -This series blew me away when I first found it. It was like reading a story about my early childhood. The setting is post WWII in the interior near Nelson, BC.
8. The Thumps Dreadfulwater Series by Thomas King – I must admit to not having been impressed by the first couple in this series, but as I read more, I became a big fan. Great characters, humour, and murder all in one place. What’s not to like?
9. The Maigret Series by Georges Simenon – Georges Simenon was a writer like no other. The Maigret series is my absolute favourite – a thinking reader’s series set in Paris.
10. The Napoleon Bonaparte Series by Arthur Upfield – I had never heard of this series until the late eighties. It is interesting both because of the character and because of the setting in the Australian Outback. Books are short and enjoyable.
11. The John Rebus Series by Ian Rankin set in Edinburgh – The Rebus series is excellent.
12. The Inspector Morse Series by Colin Dexter set in Oxford – I discovered the Morse books from a colleague while living in Harbin in 2003. They are all excellent as are the three TV series that grew out of them – Inspector Morse, Inspector Lewis, and Endeavour.

07/08/2024

In 1973 when I decided to get back to reading fiction after working through a couple of history degrees and their required reading, someone suggested that I try reading some Agatha Christie books because they were easy and enjoyable reads. As a result, I became hooked on the Hercule Poirot mystery/detective novels. My interest naturally expanded out from there to other similar works until I realized that I really loved that genre. Since then, I can safely say that I have read well over 500 mysteries set all over the world. One day, I asked myself why I liked them so much because I know lots of readers do not. Here are my reasons.
1. I like a mystery. I never try to solve them though. I just like the idea, and I like following the process.
2. Mystery writers tend to set their stories in very specific locations, usually places with which they have some attachment – for example Donna Leon’s Brunetti series set in Venice. The stories are usually full of interesting facts about said places. For me, reading mysteries is like travelling the world and learning about different cultures.
3. Mysteries are not heavy on description. They are narratives, and I prefer a good story to a description of the tree beside the house.
4. Generally, mysteries are easy reads, and sometimes that is what I need to rest my brain.
5. Mysteries tend to be character driven, and I love interesting people.
Favourite Mystery Series
1. The Brunetti Detective Series by Donna Leon – certainly in my top five. A cop who is a good family man and husband with one of the bests side-kicks in literature - Senorina Elettra. Set in Venice.
2. The Robicheaux Series by James Lee Burke – a dark series set in Louisiana near New Orleans. Burke is a master of prose, perhaps the best among detective writers.
3. The Spenser Series by Robert B. Parker – Spenser is a character. These books are heavy on dialogue and humour and make fast reads. Set in Boston.
To be continued -

05/08/2024

All-time Favourite Fiction Books That Changed Me (not in order)
1. Dracula by Bram Stoker – I was impressed by his beautiful writing.
2. Shibumi by Trevanian – One of my favourite characters ever.
3. Sh**un by James Clavell – opened my eyes to the Asian world.
4. The Source by James Michener – opened my eyes to the vast history of Palestine and the Near East.
5. The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens – made me laugh and want more; I have read all but one of Dickens’ novels.
6. The Magus by John Fowles – Fowles’ vocabulary blew me away; I have read all of his novels.
7. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas (père) – I read it in grade twelve and the story has stayed with me.
8. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien – I did not know this book existed until I was thirty-three, and I was stunned.
9. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert – a great love story which I have read three times.
10. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John LeCarre – I thought Le Carre was toying with my mind. So complicated - I have read most of his works.
11. Ragged Company by Richard Wagamese – this book opened my eyes to the writer I now consider one of the greats of Canadian literature. I have read all but one of his books thus far

05/08/2024

Astonishing numbers of books are published around the world each day. According to wordsrated.com, this number is in excess of 11,000 which amounts to over 4 million in one year. Back in the seventies, when I first entertained the possibility of writing a book myself, a professor, whom I considered to be a mentor, suggested that I would be facing competition from at least 10,000 others in North America alone, in any given year. So, the competition a budding author faced in 1975 in a year has become the competition said author, budding or otherwise, faces on any given day. Yikes!
“So what?” you might ask. Here’s why I care. I have done and continue to do a lot of reading. Before computers and before self-publishing became a big thing, I often read tried and true classics, well-respected novels both contemporary and from the past. I read so-called best sellers and those recommended by friends and colleagues, and on occasion, I was moved to the point of changing reading habits and even ways of thinking about life. I have kept a record of books I have read including ratings since December of 1977. For the record that is approximately 46.5 years with a total number of entries surpassing 2500. I am not bragging about the number here because lots of folks read more than I, but I have a record, and I can tell you to the day when I finished any given book.
My goal, if you will, is to promote the oldies and the forgotten wonders. Forgotten, not because they were or are bad but because they have been overwhelmed by all the new stuff to the tune of 11,000 books per day. In my next post, I will list 11 books that opened my eyes to something new at different times in my life. They are not necessarily the greatest books on my big list, but they were meaningful to me at the time. If you are curious about the why for any, just make a comment. In addition, if you have your own list, I suggest you consider posting it. As I mentioned above, I have had lots of useful tips from others over the years.

02/08/2024

One of the things I have enjoyed most during the last few years has been re-reading old, favourite books, especially novels that once meant a lot to me, perhaps even changed me. What I have learned from this experience is as follows:
1. My memory of books read in the past isn’t nearly as good as I might have thought. I may remember the gist of the story but not the deep connections it once stirred. Sadly, I have discovered that I have even mis-remembered facts.
2. Re-reading is not boring; it is enlightening.
3. When we read a book, we read it with the baggage, both good and bad, that we happen to have at that time.
4. When we re-read a book, we are doing so with a new set of baggage and with the new perspective that baggage brings to bear. If it makes you feel better, you can substitute wisdom for baggage, but no one will ask you to declare your wisdom at the airport.
5. I have long believed that my main purpose in life has been to learn what life means to me, to learn my truth. I once thought that reading a lot of new books might aid in this goal. I am beginning to think that having a second look at something that moved me once might be more rewarding.
I am sharing this as a post today to see if there are any old-timers out there who have experienced the joy of a re-read. I am curious to know if my experience is a one off or something shared by others. I have a second motive for making this request, and at first glance, one might find it contrary to what I have said above. I am also looking for some recommendations, not about what’s new out there in this ever-expanding universe of books but about books that have moved you in your life along with the why and the how. One day soon, I will post my list of novels that moved me from the last fifty years. Please feel free to share back. Perhaps you can post your list on your page and just draw my attention to it. You can also ignore all of the above, but then you won’t get to see my list of detective fiction from around the world.

02/08/2024

I first read Siddhartha fifty years ago and I was enchanted by the story. At that time, I had recently introduced a course in world religions at my high school and reading Siddhartha was a logical bit of research. I even watched the movie Siddhartha with my grade eleven class; luckily they did not report me as it had some graphic s*x scenes, albeit between the silhouettes of a man and woman. Over the years since then, I have read several more books on the subject of Buddhism, and I have just become aware that I had, over time, conflated the story of Siddhartha, in my memory, with the story of the Buddha, who also happened to be named Siddhartha.
Re-reading has set that error to rights, but it has done so much more. I will turn eighty in ten days, and as I am reading, I think back to that time when I first read the story at age thirty. I was still a child, even though you would not have been able to convince me of that. Now as I read, with an extra fifty years of living and making mistakes behind me, the story resonates with me, with the person I am today. I can feel Siddhartha’s pain at the mistakes he has made, and I can see the world and life from a very different perspective. Re-reading is everything it is said to be, except it is not boring.
One final note. Hermann Hesse’s prose is one of the reasons why this story is so very beautiful. If you are an older person, read it. If you are a younger one, read it but make sure you keep the copy for later, much later.

01/08/2024

London is the fifth book of Rutherfurd's historical fiction series that I have read in the last four years. One does not enter into the agreement to read Rutherfurd without a commitment to time. His books are usually over 800 pages and London was 1298. I do not skim read, especially when it comes to history, so it takes time. London follows Rutherfurd's typical style, i.e., he begins in the long ago and usually ends in the now. It is an interesting read full of interesting characters, and rich with tidbits of information about events and people from the past. I would not rate London as highly as Sarum, The New Forest, or even Paris, but if you have time and an interest in London's long and colourful history, you should consider it.

31/07/2024

Although not quite as chilling or suspenseful as earlier entries in this series, A Death In Cornwall is still a good read. In fact, I almost felt relieved that Gabriel Allon was only in life-threatening danger once in this book. Allon is a favourite character of mine, and even when he is not being a master spy, he remains a man of interest. An added benefit in this novel was Silva's use of humourous dialogue to ease tension or to set the tone for certain relationships. It was great fun re-connecting with old friends and places. I am beginning to think that I missed out by never having visited Corsica.

09/07/2024

Life in Harbin was never ordinary or boring. I spent a year and a half at the Harbin University of Science and Technology teaching English to year one and two students. It was a new and very modern university which lay about twenty minutes by foot from one of the city's largest shopping centres, so my location was convenient, but what I loved about it was the path I had to take to get from one modern spot to the other. Harbin still had many such secret enclaves or Hutongs back then (2005-2007). Sadly modernization has taken most of them by now.

04/07/2024

Tomorrow
No wonder my best plans fail.
I keep giving tomorrow as the starting time.
Tomorrow has influenced me too often,
Considering how infrequently it arrives.
I will begin everything yesterday.
Thus, I will always be in the midst of great deeds.

03/07/2024

One of my favourite photos from the HUST campus in Harbin. Whenever I look at it, it reminds me of Pieter Bruegel's lovely peasant scenes which I came to admire when I taught history so many years ago.
The reality behind the photo is that it was the soccer field which was flooded completely to accommodate a love (not mine) of outdoor activity. This scene was on my usual daily path to class. The students also played basketball on the courts behind my apartment, even if they had to sweep the snow off first.

02/07/2024

What is today?
It is tomorrow, finally come.
Tomorrow that seemed so distant
but a few yesterday’s ago.
Now it is here.
What will I do?
Am I as brave today as when it was just tomorrow?

Living in today presents us with lots of problems because it is here and cannot be denied or made up. It requires being real.

28/06/2024

In the fall of 2003, I switched teaching assignments and moved to Harbin Institute of Technology. At the time, HIT was China's equivalent to the University of Waterloo back home. I was teaching fourth year English classes. In those days, Harbin universities often had a two-tier system. The first tier was made up of students who had qualified to enter university. The second tier was for students who had not qualified but were willing to pay a very high tuition rate to spend four years of studying and not receive an official diploma at the end. I was teaching tier two students and trying to give them something extra. One of the extras was inviting students to come over to the lobby of the teachers dormitory for evening chats to improve their speaking skills. On the first night, I was sitting in the lobby awaiting the arrival of some students when a gentleman in his thirties came over and asked me if I would look over some advertising material he had written. His name was Ulla Yu, and he had studied in Canada in the past. Over the next few months Ulla and I would become friends, and he engaged my services not just to review his ads but also to make a television ad for his new product/invention - a pre-heater to warm car engines in winter. During that winter I was on tv every night pretending to be a Russian engineer endorsing Ulla's invention. In addition, I had a one page ad in a national auto magazine. Ulla claimed that mine was the best known foreign face in Harbin at the time. It was great fun, and our friendship has lasted all these years, and it all happened because I just happened to be to the only English speaker in that lobby the night Ulla came in looking for help. That is what serendipity is all about and I experienced it many times during my time in China.

27/06/2024

One of my favourite places in Harbin, the Ji Le Temple. A beautiful place to walk, never crowded, and bearable in mid-January. I loved the big Buddha. Sadly, he has been transformed with a coat of very bright gold paint, but his eyes still follow you as you pass in front of him.

26/06/2024

Wisdom
Wisdom arrives slowly, with clarity and with wonder.
Wisdom loves our foolishness.
It absorbs it and calls it practice.

25/06/2024

His name is Mr. Hou, at least to me. He was my best male friend in China even though he spoke no English and I only rudimentary Mandarin. He was my Tai Ji teacher. I first saw him one early morning in the spring of 2003 because I chose a different route home from my daily exercise activity in ZiangFang Park. He was dressed in his elegant black suit and the peaceful look on his face inspired me to want to learn to do what he did. We met, our friendship grew, and I continued the practice for ten more years. Serendipity strikes again.

24/06/2024

Fear of Being Too Little
Why do I care who I am, or how I fare among others?
What do comparisons gain besides envy or feelings of inadequacy?
When the ego holds sway,
Most of our opportunities for growth disappear,
In the myths of comparison.

20/06/2024

In Harbin, they are Street Potatoes, and on a cold winter's day, they are better than gloves. They taste good too.

14/06/2024

I love this picture. It reminds me of how I feel at times - old and gnarly - but still hanging on. Admittedly, the view from our front window isn't as spectacular, but we can see the lake ten kilometres away to the south, and our shoulders are not covered in snow all winter long.

14/06/2024

I love this picture. It reminds me of how I feel at times - old and gnarly - but still hanging on. Admittedly, the view from our front window isn't as spectacular, but we can see the lake ten kilometres away to the south, and our shoulders are not covered in snow all winter long.

12/06/2024

I was first exposed to Lost Horizon as a grade eleven high school student. I am not sure who made the decision to put that book on our curriculum, but I am forever grateful that he, she, or they did. Lost Horizon was my first exposure to the beautiful mysteries of eastern thinking. I really had no idea what I was reading about at that time, but a few years later when I studied world religions at university, I began to get an inkling. Thirty years later I discovered Tibetan Buddhism and the circle was complete.
Lost Horizon is a magical story as well as being blessedly short. One does not require massive tomes to explore the mysteries it unfolds. It is sad that it is unlikely to be on any high school curriculum today. Please make it available to those you care about.

10/06/2024

Last night, I finished my re-read of Mary Stewart’s The Crystal Cave. I first read this book forty-seven years ago in 1977. It seems like an incredibly long time and it has been. For years, I chose not to re-read books, but lately I have found re-reading to be a great pleasure. One reason is that, in spite of one’s supposedly good memory, the events of a story become lost over time. One may recall the essence or even a dim memory of how one felt after that first read, but the true beauty of the book is gone. By beauty I mean things like the author’s choice of words and descriptions or how you really felt when you understood what was being said or described.
I rediscovered all of that beauty over the last few days. Mary Stewart was a gifted writer and the story of Merlin’s youth up to the conception of the future King Arthur is a thing of beauty. If you have never read this book and the other two volumes of the Merlin trilogy, I recommend that you do. Modern literature has created a number of alternative fantasies meant to attract the younger generations, but for me the fantasy of Merlin will always be the best.

07/06/2024

I would prefer this quote to read 'everything you have been taught' as well as 'everything you have learned' because, for a significant part of our lives, what we have learned is what we have been taught, by well-intentioned adults be they parents, teachers, or elders in our communities. They felt that it was their responsibility to guide us and to teach us truth, but it was and always will be their truth. As Krishnamurti has said, "Truth is a pathless land". I take this to mean that I must find my truth which means that I may have to unlearn what I have been taught and also what I have come to believe as a result of past experiences. I have spent my life unlearning. Sometimes, I have been aware of the process, and sometimes, it has simply happened as a part of my maturing. One thing I do know is that it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking you have it figured out. I offer two thoughts:
1. Never stop unlearning and finding your truth.
2. If you do find your truth, do not fall into the trap of thinking you should now teach it to the younger generation.

04/06/2024

When I drive or walk around my now, hometown of Mississauga in Ontario, I see a multitude of faces from around the world. When I visit a mall or grocery store I hear a variety of spoken languages. These are the things that I look at or listen too. What I see is a world at my doorstep. I now have those whom I can call friends from the Philippines, Nicaragua, Poland, China, India, the Middle east, and South East Asia. When I look, I do not see threats to our safety, our jobs, or our freedoms. Instead, I see opportunities to learn things we did not know, to eat foods, we have never tasted, or to listen to music we have never heard. I see opportunities for change and growth without the cost of a long distance flight, and I am grateful to live in this place.

03/06/2024

The Mark of the Mongoose is the latest in the Enola Holmes series. I enjoyed it as I have all of this series. Nancy Springer has introduced an interesting character in Enola. She is brave, curious, resourceful, and intelligent. She is an excellent role model for girls in this age. Unfortunately, there is probably little interest in Sherlock Holmes these days, so I recommend that those of you who grew up with the Sherlock Holmes stories to introduce your children and grandchildren to this worthwhile series. I also recommend Springer's Rowan Hood novels about Robin Hood's daughter.

31/05/2024

Last night, I finished Richard Wagamese's A Quality of Light. I have now read nine of his ten novels and have yet to be disappointed, but I must say that A Quality of Light has touched me, on a personal level, more deeply than the others. It is the story of a native Indian boy who is adopted at birth and raised by farm owning parents, who are deeply religious and teach him their Christian values. Joshua grows up thinking he is white until the reality of his native heritage becomes apparent in uncomfortable ways once he begins high school. The story continues to follow Joshua through high school and into adulthood during which time a variety of events contribute to his rediscovering his native heritage and ultimately, learning what he must be to honour both his heritages. Throughout the story his friendship with best pal Johnny plays a significant role in the eventual discovery of his true path. This book brought tears to my eyes many times. At times, it was because of similar experiences such as having religious parents, a love of baseball as a young boy, or the difficulty of deciding the path that one must follow. At other times, it was through empathizing with his struggles or with the beauty of his discoveries. Another connection I felt was with the Cape Croker Native Reserve near Wiarton, a place that was instrumental in Joshua's awakening and also a place where I have enjoyed special moments on my own path toward awakening.

29/05/2024

One of the most important benefits of attending university the first time in the 1960s was finding out how little I really knew about the world. I doubt if I could have described what I felt at the time, but on looking back the truth Confucius' words becomes obvious. I was introduced to knowledge I could not have imagined before, and I liked it so much that I went back more than once.
But, I want to make it very clear that this is not just about attending university. When we open ourselves to any, new possibilities or any, new way of thinking, we also discover the extent of our ignorance. What is important it not to retreat into that ignorance out of fear but to push ahead and discover just who we might be capable of being.

27/05/2024

My first Harbin dentist. I found hm a bit cold and not at all talkative, and I did not look forward to the possibility of a winter appointment. I have experienced winter days in Harbin with a high temperature of -35 C. Luckily, I found the door to the right and was relieved to know that they also had a dental practice inside.
It was one of those serendipitous experiences that I have come to enjoy in life. I had a tooth problem, and it so happened that a colleague had taught English at this office, so he introduced me. My first appointment, as a walk in, lasted four hours. Can you imagine that in North America? I was also hired to teach the staff English which went a long way toward paying my bills. "Only in China," you say.

24/05/2024

The Four Noble Truths that I learned and tried to pass on to my students fifty some years ago were these -
There is suffering.
There is a cause of suffering.
There is an end to suffering.
The way out is the eightfold path.
Would that I had had access to Buddha's Four Noble Truths for a four-year-old back then.

22/05/2024

In the spring of 2008, Geoff, Dani, and I visited the famous LeShan Buddha in Szechuan province in China. It was a long climb to the top and on the way, I spotted this warning sign. At the time I was a mere sixty-four years old, and I laughed, but today, as my eightieth birthday approaches later this summer, I see it in an entirely different light. I even practise when Anny is not looking.
I also had a picture of another sign which read, "Slip and fall carefully". Sadly, I cannot find it.

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