Author Archives: John Sloan

Ives, Lucy. Cosmogony: Stories. Soft Skull, New York, 2022. F; 4/22. Cosmogony denotes scientific theories about the origin of the universe, particularly the solar system. Ms. Ives wrote a great story I read a while ago that led me to … Continue reading →

April 2022 This second location of the excellent Japanese/Peruvian restaurant in Vancouver opened in 2019 across the street from the Ambleside waterfront. Viaggio Hospitality, Ancora’s owners, also have four hotels and some casual dining places in southern BC. No question … Continue reading →

Forster, E M. A Room With a View. Edward Arnold London 1908. F; 3/22. I read something else by Forster many many years ago and remember enjoying it but can’t recall the title. This one got me interested as I … Continue reading →

Winman, Sarah. Still Life. Penguin UK, 2021. F; 3/22. I’ve run across and read impressive novels based on other classical literature before: A Thousand Acres based on King Lear and The Hours on Mrs. Dalloway. But this long and magnificently … Continue reading →

March 2022 I had driven by this location many times coming up Smithe from Cambie Street and thought it was just a small café because of its unassuming corner front in a renovated brick building. For sure the entrance is … Continue reading →

Barzun, Jacques. The Use and Abuse of Art. A W Mellon Lectures, Princeton Press 1974. NF; 3/22. I can’t avoid mixed feelings about contemporary (modern, post-modern or whatever we call it) art (painting but also music, poetry, dance, theatre etc) … Continue reading →

Krystal, Arthur. Except When I Write. Oxford, New York 2011. NF; 2/22. This author who is new to me wrote a piece of atypical fiction I read in a recent New Yorker. He’s a couple of years younger than I … Continue reading →

Mason, Daniel. A Registry of my Passage upon the Earth. Little, Brown, New York 2020. F; 2/22. This is a collection of short stories by a psychiatrist who also teaches writing at Stanford University. It was shortlisted for the Pulitzer … Continue reading →

February 2022 This restaurant was triangulated by three reliable recommendations as one of the best in town so we had to give it a try. It has a central location, unique ambience and service and is certainly creative. If we … Continue reading →

February 2022. We’ve been to this lovely restaurant before, and typically I would just add a note to that visit, but this time it felt good enough that I wanted to post it separately. It’s adjacent to an uber ritzy … Continue reading →