In Pursuit of Love by Mark Bostridge

★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review.

If you've ever been captured by an idea that has reshaped your life, you'll love this tale of pursuit. I liked the now-and-then exploration of life in Hugo's time. The genre of creative non-fiction allows for musings between what we actually can prove and what might or could have been. Bostridge combines facts and speculations in an engaging and interesting way.

Recommended for history buffs, for literature and Victor Hugo fans, and for the curious. Useful for academics as well as literary bystanders. Enjoy this unusual and engaging book (complete with photos.)

Why? What makes us Curious? by Mario Livio

★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review.
What's the first question you remember asking? The curiosity that drives innovation and exploration is unique to humans. Livio explores the qualities of asking "why" that compel us to seek answers. No matter what work we are drawn to - science, art, mathematics, literature ... we want to know why and what and how, when, what for, and what ways things work.

A fascinating look at the inner life and outer workings of curious minds.

Llewellyn's Complete Book of Essential Oils by Sandra Kynes

★★☐☐ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review.
Essential oils: you've encountered them in pharmacies, on gift shop shelves, and at holistic medicine displays.

Kynes presents a what, why, what for, and how to of using these oils in religious practice (she's a modern witch) and home life. While my faith conflicts directly with hers, I found some of the ideas for health useful. I skipped the religious chapters.  I suggest you do the same.

Read with caution - it's as much a philosophy of religion as a manual for using naturopathic aids. (It fascinates me that earth-as-mother religions are presented without apology while ancient faiths such as Christianity are censored.)

Recommended with the same cautions.

The Canadian Manifesto by Conrad Black

★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review.
As a Canadian who's lived elsewhere (including in the USA) for over 30 years, this was fun to read. It starts with a review of our history and the relative tranquility of our national ethos. We've had no emancipation of slaves or civil war,. We've skipped most shows of force in industry contexts that result in loss of life. (No coal wars for us.)

So how do we appreciate and contribute our ethos to the world at large when our southern neighbor is writing the script for global interactions and forceful (sometimes even bullying) in promoting their worldview and agendas?

Black suggests several areas in which Canada could become a role and world leader. Can he galvanize a nation of responders and generally apathetic citizens to action? That remains to be seen.

I enjoyed it, cheered for much of it, and will ask my expat friends to read it as well.

Publish with Purpose by Tara R. Alemany

★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review.
So many of today's books feel aimless. They wander through a story or landscape with half-formed characters and no point to reading them beyond an interesting observation or two.

Alemany aims to change that with her categories of selection - audience, purpose, methodology - to make writing books a purposeful exercise. This results in reading that is more fun, more challenging, and more useful to those who pick up your book.

This book reminded me of explanations of using social media, selling online / in person, and other ways of connecting your expertise to a wider audience. So it's a sales book in that sense.

But its DIY focus is clear. Following its steps will result in more satisfaction in getting yourself and your information to the public. Recommended for writers.