Literary Review Of Canada November 2023 Preview

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Literary Review of Canada – November 2023: The latest issue features Who Keeps Killing Canadian History; The Influencers – A dual biography from Charlotte Gray, and more…

The Influencers – A dual biography from Charlotte Gray

David Marks Shribman

Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons: The Lives of Jennie Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt by Charlotte Gray

They were born the same year. Their families left Paris the same year. Their sons entered institutions that would shape their lives the same year. If Stephen Sondheim had written Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons instead of Charlotte Gray, he might have employed one of the timeless lines from his Broadway show Company to depict the lives and loves of Jennie Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt: “Parallel lines who meet.”

Fowl Lines – Speaking of speakers

Kyle Wyatt

Anthony Rota stepped down as Canada’s thirty-seventh Speaker of the House of Commons on September 27, for reasons pretty much the entire world knows. Between his unprecedented resignation and the election of Greg Fergus to take up that fancy oak and velvet chair, the electorate was treated to some familiar headlines. “Who Can Bring Back Commons Decency?” the Toronto Star asked on its front page. “Being Speaker Isn’t Easy,” the CBC reminded us. “And It Just Got a Lot Harder.”

World Economic Forum: Top Stories – Oct 14, 2023

World Economic Forum (October 14, 2023) – This week’s top stories of the week include:

0:15 Why engagement in the news is in decline – A massive media survey looked at trust and engagement in the news and found both are in steady decline. Just 48% of people say they are very or extremely interested in the news in 2023 down from 63% in 2017. Trust in the news has fallen 2 percentage points in a year. Now, only 40% say they trust the news most of the time and 36% say they actively avoid the news sometimes or often.

1:53 This robot can help people with disabilities dress – The robot was designed by a team at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). They used a simulation to teach it how to perform its task. The team used an AI-driven approach called ‘reinforcement learning’. The robot was rewarded each time it correctly placed a shirt further along an arm.

3:25 Company captures and stores CO2 with limestone – Heirloom takes crushed limestone and heats it in a kiln powered by renewable energy. The reaction generates two products. These are CO2, which can be permanently stored underground or in materials like concrete and a powder, which is hydrated with water to make calcium hydroxide. When the calcium hydroxide is spread onto trays, it absorbs CO2 from the air to become limestone and the whole process can begin again.

5:24 How to use ChatGPT more safely – ChatGPT is an AI tool that gives detailed, natural language answers to prompts based on a database of 300 billion words drawn from books and articles. The AI learns from its interactions with you, so here are 5 ways to ensure you’re using it safely.

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The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.

Arts & Culture: The New Criterion — Nov 2023

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The New Criterion – November 2023 issue:

The burden of the humanities  by Wilfred M. McClay
A lyrical populist revolt  by Victor Davis Hanson
Blanquette de Bard  by Anthony Daniels
Polymorphous Peretz  by Myron Magnet


New poems  by David Mason & Ian Pople

The New York Times Book Review – October 15, 2023

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THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (October 15, 2023): This week’s issue features  a fabulous historical novel, the Janet Malcolm-like account of an Australian murder triala sprightly history of the Oxford English Dictionary, a homage to “The Haunting of Hill House”,  historical fictionthrillerscrime novelsromancehorror & Gothic fictionscience fiction & fantasy.)

A Fitting — and Frightening — Homage to ‘The Haunting of Hill House’

Apparitions, black hares and time warps festoon the pages of Elizabeth Hand’s “A Haunting on the Hill,” set in the same moldering mansion as Shirley Jackson’s classic horror novel.

The Wife Has Committed Murder but It’s the Husband Who Scares Her Lawyer

In Marie NDiaye’s new novel, “Vengeance Is Mine,” a woman is haunted by a decades-old trauma she feels, but cannot quite remember.

The book cover of “Vengeance Is Mine” is designed like a ripped sheet of paper. The image features a blank surface with a triangular cutout running down from the top. The layer underneath the tear is red and reveals the author’s name and the novel’s title.

By Lovia Gyarkye

VENGEANCE IS MINE, by Marie NDiaye. Translated by Jordan Stump.


The characters in Marie NDiaye’s novels are an unsettling brood. They fret and pace around their homes, tormented by their pasts. Their minds trap and trick them. A daughter can’t shake memories of her mother’s murder; a man gropes for the truth about his imprisonment in a deserted vacation town; a chef pursues culinary perfection at any cost; a woman — reminded of a friend, a schoolteacher or was it her mother? — fatally chases an apparition in green.

Saturday Morning: News And Stories From London

Monocle on Saturday, October 14, 2023: A look at the week’s news and culture with Georgina Godwin. Also in the programme: David Bodanis reviews the morning’s papers and Meryl Halls, managing director at the Booksellers Association, tells us about Bookshop Day.

The New York Times — Saturday, October 14, 2023

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Israel Sticks to Call for Gaza Evacuation and Readies a Possible Invasion

An Israeli soldier stands outside a burned-out house in the Be’eri kibbutz in Israel on Friday, days after it was overrun by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip.

The United Nations and others condemned the call for more than a million people to leave northern Gaza, and Israel softened its initial 24-hour timetable.

For Jewish New Yorkers, Shared Grief Puts Divisions on Hold

Jewish New Yorkers from across the political spectrum gathered outside the United Nations this week in the wake of the terror attacks in Israel.

Usually lively and often fractious, political conversations are set aside among the large community of Jews in the city.

Thousands Flee Northern Gaza as Israeli Evacuation Order Stirs Panic

Some residents fear a start of another permanent displacement. Gaza authorities said at least 40 people were killed when Israeli airstrikes hit some vehicles heading south.

Across U.S., Chinese Bitcoin Mines Draw National Security Scrutiny

Microsoft reported one site in Wyoming because of its proximity to a data center and nuclear missile base. Records show other cryptocurrency facilities have ties to the Chinese state.

Finance Preview: Barron’s Magazine – Oct 16, 2023

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BARRON’S MAGAZINE – October 16, 2023 ISSUE:

Why Apple Wants Its Chips Made in a Desert

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Rising geopolitical tensions are stoking demand for U.S. semiconductor production. What to watch—and how to invest.

Oil Prices Could Spike Above $100 if the Israel-Hamas War Widens

Oil Prices Could Spike Above $100 if the Israel-Hamas War Widens

So far, the fighting has affected oil prices only modestly, in contrast to past wars in the Middle East. That could change, depending on Iran’s role.

Insurance Stocks Have Been Hammered. 6 Picks for the Rebound.

Insurance Stocks Have Been Hammered. 6 Picks for the Rebound.

Insurers have been hit by a one-two punch of natural disasters and lackluster financial markets. But there’s a silver lining: the profits and surpluses that come with rising premiums.

Don’t Make This Common Medicare Open Enrollment Mistake

Don't Make This Common Medicare Open Enrollment Mistake

Enrolling in the wrong plan can cost you hundreds of dollars a year.

Where We Would Invest $100,000 Right Now

Where We Would Invest $100,000 Right Now

Walmart, Moderna, Tesla, and IBM are among our favorite ideas for the current market.