Author: Simon Reader

  • The Royal Visit to Ashbridges Bay

    The Royal Visit to Ashbridges Bay

    As I see it, fair reader, you likely find royal tours either (1) unambiguously thrilling; (2) dull as dishwater; (3) dull as dishwater and thus quite enjoyable. I fall into the third category, which is why I happily agreed to live-tweet Charles and Camilla’s visit to Ashbridges Bay for the Victoria Day fireworks. Here is…

  • Darwinian Wonder

    Darwinian Wonder

    Listen to the author read this piece: [audio: issue3/reader.mp3]   “Cultivate a superiority to reason, and see how you pare the claws of all the sensible people when they try to scratch you for your own good!” ~Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone I Charles Darwin liked to roam through national galleries smelling paintings. He did not get…

  • How to Make $100,000 and Infinite Units of Charm

    How to Make $100,000 and Infinite Units of Charm

    The Victoria College Book Sale—one of the great used book sales put on annually by University of Toronto colleges—is a fine example of how to make $100,000 in a single weekend while turning out vast quantities of enchantment and love. Outside the slick infinity of Googlebooks there is a world of heavy old paper things…

  • University Calendar

    University Calendar

    Imaginary courses for the new school year. Illustrated by Danny Zabbal.