Howdy, Ottawa legal community! It’s the weekend, so the reference desk is closed. But to give you some inspiration, here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.

Reading

Jen: Murder of a Lady: A Scottish Mystery – Anthony Wynne
Another cozy British mystery (surprise!).  This is another book is a series that’s published by the British Library of, basically, forgotten books from the Golden Age of crime writing.

Brenda: “Inside the Shafia killings that shocked a nation” -Michael Friscolanti, Maclean’s
I was reading about the Shafia appeal trial this week and stumbled across this article, which I somehow missed back in March.

Emily: The New York Times Book Review
This is one of my favourite sources for book reviews. This weekend I’ll be reading “A New Novel Stars Astronomer in the 1700’s”, and “10 Books We Recommend This Week”.

Watching

Brenda: Doctor Strange
I haven’t been to the movies in forever, and have heard good things!

Emily: “What a driverless world could look like” – Wanis Kabbaj, TED Talk
Ideas and news surrounding autonomous cars is always a topic that catches my interest when I come across it. 

Listening To

Jen: Missing & Murdered: Who Killed Alberta Williams? – Connie Williams and Marnie Luke, CBC Podcast
I’ve been very much wanting to listen to this new podcast from the CBC for the last week, so this weekend I’ll be catching up on episodes one and two.

Howdy, Ottawa legal community! It’s the weekend, so the reference desk is closed. But to give you some inspiration, here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.

Reading

Jen: Closed Casket – Sophie Hannah
Oh hey! You’ve probably heard I like British detective fiction! I really liked Sophie Hannah’s first Poirot novel, and I picked up the second when I was in England last week. It’s so deliciously cozy already, and I’m only a couple chapters in.

Brenda: “Should We See Everything a Cop Sees?” -Mckenzie Funk, New York Times Magazine
I’m interested to read this new article on police transparency and body cameras, and how it’s developed for the past two years in Seattle.

Emily: Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween – Lisa Morton
Continuing with my thematic Halloween reading month, I’ll be brewing some tea and reading the chapter “Snap-apple Night and November Eve: Halloween in the British Isle”.

Watching

Brenda: Black Mirror, Season 1
This series has come highly recommended to me from a couple people now, so I think I’ll have to finally check it out.

Listening To

Jen: Lore – Trick or Treat 2016, Set 1
Lore is a delightful podcast that tells mysterious, sometimes scary stories. Halloween is obviously the best time of year for these sorts of tales. Check it out if you’re looking for something a little dark and spooky!

Emily: Mars Cosmic Rays – Quirks & Quarks
The red planet has been making the news lately, and it never fails to fascinate me. This video discusses how exposure to cosmic rays on future mars missions could cause astronauts to experience a condition dubbed as ‘space brain’.

Happy Thanksgiving! It’s going to be a busy weekend no doubt and Jen is off gallivanting in Europe, but here’s what we’re trying to read, watch, and listen to this weekend.

Reading

Brenda: “A Home Invasion, A Torture Session, One Lawyer Nearly Killing Another—The Gruesome November Night in One of Washington’s Wealthiest Suburbs.”
Next up on my true crime longform reads.

Emily: Dracula – Bram Stoker
Fact about me: I love Halloween. As such, I usually reserve the month of October for reading spooky stories. This classic is simply amazing so far.

Watching 

Brenda: Luke Cage
I’m sure I’ll find some time to binge-watch this between Jays games and Thanksgiving dinners!

Listening To

Emily: Quirks & Quarks – CBC Radio
I’ll be catching up on fascinating science with last week’s episode, which includes: “The origins of a good beer”, “Powerful microbe fights a crop fungus”, “Looking for life inside the red planet”, and “Trees survive the cold weather”. 

Howdy, Ottawa legal community! It’s the weekend, so the reference desk is closed. But to give you some inspiration, here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.

Reading

Jen: “Missteps Hamper 1999 Hit-and-Run Death Probe”
Brenda sent me this article to read ages ago, and I’m finally getting to it. I’ve long found true crime stories to be interesting, and here’s another from the infamous Manitowoc County.

Emily: “Nightfall” – Isaac Asimov
Nightfall is a short story recommended to me by science fiction fans. It has been awesome so far!

Watching

Jen: All of Shomi.
This is a cop-out answer but count me among the people sad that it’s going away. I have two months to watch whatever I’ve been wanting to from the service!

Brenda: Jays
#OurMoment? Right? I’ll be in my blanket fort.

Listening To

Emily: “From Tree to Shining Tree” – Radiolab Podcast
This weekend I’ll be going for a hike in the woods to enjoy the fall colours, and think this will be an inspiring video to watch before I head out!

Brenda: “Bring on the Female Superheroes” – Christopher Bell, TED Talks Podcast
Having myself tweeted #WheresRey, I found this a very interesting talk on the merchandising of female characters in media, and the effects that it has on gender perceptions.

 

Howdy, Ottawa legal community! It’s the weekend, so the reference desk is closed. But to give you some inspiration, here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.

Reading

Jen: Bryant & May and the Burning Man
This is one of my favourite British detective / mystery series guilty pleasure reads. I saw this on the new arrivals shelf at the public library and scooped it up.

Emily: Inventing English: A Portable History of the Language
Language history is always fascinating, and this book was next on my non-fiction reading queue.

Watching

Brenda: Psych
I have no idea how I missed this show when it was on TV, but I’ve recently discovered it on Netflix and am loving this fun procedural.

Listening To

Jen: “Money Tree” – Episode 51 of Criminal podcast
Do you listen to Criminal yet? You must. It is hands down one of my favourite podcasts. Each episode looks at some manner of criminal activity, with stories that are captivating and, quite often, moving. 

Brenda: “King of Kings I” – Show 57 of Hardcore History podcast
I love Dan Carlin’s History series, and as a Classics/Medieval Major I’m very excited to start listening to the episodes on the Persian Empire.

Emily: “I Don’t Have To Answer That” –  Radiolab podcast
Radiolab is definitely one of my favourite podcasts. I’ll be catching up on some of the newer episodes this weekend!

Howdy, Ottawa legal community! It’s the weekend, so the reference desk is closed. But to give you some inspiration, here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this weekend.

Reading

Brenda: Devil in the White City
Finally getting to this after having borrowed it for years. As a fan of anything true crime, I am loving it!

Jen: How Green Was My Valley
I’m going to Wales next month, so I’m getting in the spirit with this classic Welsh novel.

Emily: The Girl Who Drank the Moon
This book was recommended to me by Neil Gaiman fans, so I had to pick it up. 

Watching 

Brenda:
Do Blue Jays count? -said ad nauseam until October

Jen: “The Night Of” – Episode 3
This show is so gripping and intense that I’ve had to space out my viewing of the episodes. No spoilers!

Emily: “The Secret Lives of Plants” – TED Talk Playlist
I’m interested in botany and have been enjoying this playlist. This weekend I’ll be watching the second video, “The Mysterious Lives of Giant Trees”.

Listening To

Brenda: “Seth Godin tells lawyers how to make art and start a ruckus” – Episode 10 of Building New Law podcast
Fascinating listen on the future of the legal profession; I highly recommend to anyone in the industry.

Jen: “Six Degrees of Joan Crawford: Mommie Dearest” –  Episode 92 of You Must Remember This podcast
You Must Remember This is essential listening for anyone who loves old Hollywood stories. This miniseries on Joan Crawford is excellent, but if you’re a new listener, go check out the series from last summer on Charles Manson.