There are long-term care workers picketing across Nova Scotia and Cumberland libraries staff unionized. Tim Houston doesn’t respect lower-paid workers who really keep province running.

Photo on the back deck. Book on my knee (I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith) and beer in my hand.

A nice, productive weekend. Around 500 cloves of garlic planted and now it’s time to relax for a bit.

Book cover of In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes.

2026 Reading Challenge (1900-2026) Book 48, 1947. In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes.📚💙

So, it's autism acceptance month and the @nsgov.bsky.social is forcing everyone back into the office on Monday. An easy, cheap way to support neurodivergent workers is work-from-home (when possible). Instead, the NS gov. is making them jump through bureaucratic hoops for expensive accommodations 🙄

Nova Scotia's 2024 greenhouse gas emissions numbers are in; the province likely won’t meet 2030 reduction targets - Halifax Examiner Recent world events, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s war on Ukraine, the election of President Trump, and the household energy affordability crisis have resulted in climate change becoming a l...

Nova Scotia’s 2024 greenhouse gas emissions numbers are in; the province likely won’t meet 2030 reduction targets

by Larry Hughes

The hollowing out of public postsecondary education: What do we have to lose? - CCPA Is post-secondary education in Canada a pipeline to train students for jobs or a source of critical perspectives essential to a healthy society?

"Canada’s system of public postsecondary education is being hollowed out through chronic underfunding combined with a marketized orientation that values postsecondary education primarily as a pipeline to train students for specific jobs."

Book cover of Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor E. Frankl.

2026 Reading Challenge (1900-2026) Book 47, 1946. Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl.📚💙

The Internet's Most Powerful Archiving Tool Is in Peril As major news outlets cut off the Wayback Machine, journalists and advocacy groups are rallying to protect the Internet Archive’s vast collection of web pages.

Journalists know that losing the Wayback Machine would be a nightmare: www.wired.com/story/the-in...

Book cover of Loving. Living. Party Going. By Henry Green.

2026 Reading Challenge (1900-2026) Book 46, 1945. Loving by Henry Green. 📚💙

Book cover of Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges.

2026 Reading Challenge (1900-2026) Book 45, 1944. Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges. 📚💙

Book cover of Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector.

2026 Reading Challenge (1900-2026) Book 44, 1943. Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector. 📚💙

The more badly things go, and the more desperate he gets, the greater the risk of this happening.

Book cover of The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus.

2026 Reading Challenge (1900-2026) Book 43, 1942. The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus. 📚💙

This! Understanding marginal tax rates—

When the government says that tax cut will put an average of $1,400 in your pocket. (Nova Scotia)
Or how adjusting brackets for inflation helps everyone the same?
NM all the tax breaks that the highest income also get -the Effective tax rate which is lower.

Book cover of Chess Story by Stefan Zweig.

2026 Reading Challenge (1900-2026) Book 42, 1941. Chess Story by Stefan Zweig. 📚💙

What an amazing book. So very much ahead of its time. I need to read more of her work.

Book cover of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers.

2026 Reading Challenge (1900-2026) Book 41, 1940. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. 📚💙

Nova Scotia is now the only province in Canada that does not provide direct funding to publishers. Full article written by workers at @fernpub.bsky.social

Although I can’t seem to make myself write about all the books as I go along, I am always happy to answer questions or talk about any specific book. That is always fun and never a burden. Also love to hear from others with their thoughts about these books or who want to share what they’re reading.

Rebecca and The Sentence were the real standouts for me here but that’s not to take anything away from the others.

Lots of great reading this month. Lots I want to say about all of them, but while I am thoroughly enjoying the reading challenge, the thought of making myself write something about each book I read turns this from a fun challenge into a burden and fills me with dread.

In the month of March I read 12 books. Nine of those were for my reading challenge. This is a little below the average 10-11 books per month I need to read to finish the challenge, but with the high book count of the last two months I’m still several books ahead of schedule.

Cover collage from @apash’s StoryGraph account for March 2026. Top row from left to right: Sanctuary by William Faulkner; Rebecca by Rebecca du Maurier; Lost Horizon by James Hilton; and The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain. Middle row: Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck; Nightwood by Djuna Barnes; Martin Eden by Jack London; and Carl’s Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman. Bottom row: Ferdydurke by Witold Gombrowicz; The Sentence by Louise Erdrich; The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler; and Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones.

March 2026 Reads. 📚💙

Alberta and Saskatchewan NDP Leaders Freak Out After Lewis Win | The Tyee Why the surprise that a social democratic party would elect a leader with those values?

David Climenhaga: Who could have imagined that social democrats, democratic socialists and their ilk wouldn’t want Conservative policies rebranded as Liberal policies from their own party as well? #canpoli #abpoli

Book cover of The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler.

2026 Reading Challenge (1900-2026) Book 40, 1939. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. 📚💙

Audiobook cover of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.

2026 Reading Challenge (1900-2026) Book 39, 1938. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. 📚💙

Book cover of Ferdydurke by Witold Gombrowicz.

2026 Reading Challenge (1900-2026) Book 38, 1937. Ferdydurke by Witold Gombrowicz. 📚💙

Audiobook cover of The Sentence by Louise Erdrich.

Listening to the audiobook of The Sentence, narrated by the author Louise Erdrich. It is so damn good. Something about the style and narration is giving me real Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead vibes. Similar dark, wry humour. I love books where the love of books is central.