Terry O’Reilly is one of the most beloved radio personalities on CBC, host of the CBC Radio One series O’Reilly on Advertising, The Age of Persuasion and Under the Influence, which examine the cultural and sociological impact of advertising and marketing on modern life.

He has a few books.

I read Against the Grain: Defiant Giants Who Changed the World (2025) and was much impressed. It’s non-fiction.

… mavericks who go “against the grain” in their work …

People who chose to ignore conventional wisdom, found or invented a better way, questioned the status quo at great sacrifice and pushed for change against all odds.

Some were drummed out of their careers for it but in the end were proven right (Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis).

Some were celebrated but had to fight every inch of the way (Norman Lear).

Some re-invented their industry but preferred to stay an outsider (Tom Laughlin—aka Billy Jack).

Some confounded their competitors with ingenious strategies (NHL coach Roger Neilson).

One even saved millions of people around the world, but was humiliated, demoted, and dismissed for her entire career (Dr. Katalin Karikó—co-creator of the COVID vaccine).

I don’t normally enjoy fantasy — but there was something about this book that kept me going.

The pace at the beginning was encouragingly quick.

It’s set currently with mobile phones and apps. Less world building than typical for the genre.

Sera Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain.

Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her Guild.

Now she (slightly reluctantly and just a bit grumpily) helps Jasmine run an enchanted inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guests’ shenanigans, tries to keep said talking fox in check, and longs for the future that seems lost to her. …

Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic, and staying one step ahead of the watchful Guild is a lot for anyone, but Sera Swan is about to discover that she doesn’t have to do it alone…and that the weird, wonderful family she’s made might be the best magic of all.

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping (2025) by Sangu Mandanna

Very original. A terrific plot.

Kate Wilhelm is the author of the Hugo Award–winning Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang. Excellent.

Welcome, Chaos (1983) is the second of her books I’ve read.

Though it’s a bit dated, I found the story intriguing.

Disillusioned and sorrowful history professor Lyle Taney retreats to the Oregon mountains to study eagles but becomes entangled with her neighbors, kindly polymath Saul Werther and his assistant Carmen, and a manipulative CIA agent, Lasater.

She discovers Werther and Carmen are part of a secret organization guarding a dangerous immortality serum from Nazi Germany. A serum that grants immortality but can also kill half its recipients and cause infertility.

When Russia independently obtains the serum and unleashes it as a flu epidemic, Lyle must choose sides in a struggle that could lead to global destruction or the start of a new civilization

AI summary

Sure you can argue the writing is not great.

BUT the 4 main characters are really well developed.

It’s a thought provoking read.

Interesting.

Not a great dystopian novel as it didn’t have enough to say about our current pre-dystopian present.

But still worth reading.

All the Water in the World is told in the voice of a girl gifted with a deep feeling for water.

In the years after the glaciers melt, Nonie, her older sister and her parents and their researcher friends have stayed behind in an almost deserted New York City, creating a settlement on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History.

The rule: Take from the exhibits only in dire need.

They hunt and grow their food in Central Park as they work to save the collections of human history and science.

When a superstorm breaches the city’s flood walls, Nonie and her family must escape north on the Hudson.

They carry with them a book that holds their records of the lost collections.

Racing on the swollen river towards what may be safety, they encounter communities that have adapted in very different and sometimes frightening ways to the new reality. But they are determined to find a way to make a new world that honors all they’ve saved.

Amazon