Stirred by a Noble Theme: God's Heart, Israel and the Nations - Annie Elliott

It's not a terribly long book, about 200 pages, but Stirred by a Noble Theme: God's Heart, Israel and the Nations, by Christian pastor and personal friend Annie Elliott, delivers a religious, spiritual and powerful punch, and one overriding message. That message, simply enough and painstakingly documented using Biblical literature, is that the land of Israel, for all eternity, belongs to God and the Jewish people. Period, end of argument.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy

For me one of the best parts of reading 19th century British literature is imagining the author's 19th century British experiences and perspectives. Compared to what we now enjoy just over 100 years later, Thomas Hardy's were extremely limited. It's fascinating to picture him, hunched over his desk -- in Higher Brockhampton, Dorset, England, where he lived for all but five of his 87 years -- under a dim, recently-invented electric light bulb, writing with an unperfected, recently-invented ballpoint pen, or possibly with a revolutionary yet antediluvian typewriter. Under such conditions, employing his collective historical knowledge and exceptional talent, he produced dozens of short stories, hundreds of poems and 15 great novels, among them the 1889 masterpiece Tess of the D'Urbervilles.

Most of These Stories are Somewhat True - Jeff Mackwood

The 2015 soft-cover book titled Most of These Stories are Somewhat True (Naughty and Nice), by Ottawa's Jeff Mackwood, is pure delight in 228 pages. Okay, some of it is a little annoying, but then I'm pretty sure that doesn't bother the author, who I only met after the book was published. It could be called an autobiography in 101 vignettes, which together draw the picture of a man who - though he claims to be secretly introverted - comes across as highly confident, mentally healthy, physically strong and tall, extremely smart, competent, articulate, funny, well-travelled, tough and athletic, a guy with a terrific family and an interesting, humorous way of interpreting his own unique experiences. But because of the title, the reader is frequently left asking: Is this true or is it a somewhat bold-faced lie?

The Glory and the Dream: A Narrative History of America 1933 - 1972 - William Manchester

Talk about a trip down memory lane. Every famous and notorious occurrence that took place from the Depression until Watergate -- as well as some not-so-famous events -- is recounted in The Glory and the Dream: A Narrative History of America 1932 - 1972. William Manchester's 1400-page tome, which made the New York Times best seller list in 1975, begins with a long reach back to the darkest days of the darkest decade. It moves forward one excruciating, exciting -- and yes, even the odd boring -- year at a time until, some 40 chapters later, it finishes at the beginning of Richard Nixon's second term as president.

Conservative Confidential: Inside the Fabulous Blue Tent - Fred Litwin

Fred Litwin, a good friend, is a highly intelligent, ambitious, capable and successful Ottawa businessman. He is, as well, a book worm, a news hound, a partisan political activist and a man of integrity with an open mind and an eye for the patently ridiculous. Having said all that, it's a bit of a curiosity that Litwin -- author of the 2015 Conservative Confidential: Inside the Fabulous Blue Tent -- didn't find his way a lot sooner into the amazing turquoise gazebo of the conservative movement. After all, he was coming from the very middle of the absurdly irrational and tottery liberal red pergola.

In Trump We Trust: E Pluribus Awesome! - Ann Coulter

Ultraconservative and super-rational pundit Ann Coulter finished her ninth blockbuster -- In Trump We Trust: E Pluribus Awesome! -- in time to boost Donald Trump's dipping presidential campaign, the one where he alone has been focussing on immigration problems and solutions, the most pressing issues facing America. She turns a phosphorescent spotlight back onto the Republican, Democratic and media culprits who are helping to destroy America. I know, the claim is extremely harsh, but the brilliant and hilarious Coulter proves her devastating declarations again and again, using her trademark writing tactics: authentic statistics and facts, humour through obvious sarcasm, humour through clear exaggeration, and detailed footnotes, lots of footnotes.

My Shoes are Killing Me - Robyn Sarah

I am convinced the goal of most solemn poems is to remind the reader that a hollow, perpetual depression is lurking just underneath the surface of everyday feelings. Joy is fleeting. True happiness is an illusion for all but children. Contentedness is only for those who don't think too deeply. Those are my thoughts after reading and rereading the 35 poems in My Shoes are Killing Me, the most recent book by award-winning Canadian writer Robyn Sarah. If I am right, then, ironically, Sarah triumphs with My Shoes -- the only book of hers I have ever read -- by igniting especially despondent feelings, the ones rational people presumably spend much of their lives running from. Good work Robyn, you've ruined my day.

An American Life - Ronald Reagan

Though it may seem an odd choice for this summer's reading, President Ronald Reagan's autobiography  -- Am American Life -- contrasts nicely with the chaotic fracas that is US election year 2016. Written in 1990, only two years after he left office, the overall book -- which is 748 pages, though I read it on Kindle -- especially with respect to his profound challenges as a child and a young man, grips the soul and amazes the mind. But it also leaves the reader with a melancholy sense of emptiness, a desolate feeling of dejection and longing. It was sad to regularly look up from the Kindle, stare off into space and remember that those incredible political days are long over. Reagan's near destruction of liberalism seems like a century ago.