Alwynne Beaudoin

Landscape history, natural history, museums, curatorial practice, research, science, music, literature, visual art, being outdoors, and really good coffee.

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

Since Feb 1980, I have kept a record of almost every book I've read, with commentary & notes. Updated my database for 2025. The tally is 5970 books read since 1980, 503 read 2x, 84 read 3x, 6 read 4x, 1 read 5x. 1052 e-books borrowed from @EPLdotCA since 2011. #BookotWeek

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

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[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

@ahistoryinart It’s the River Kennet (I grew up near this river!)

[Alberta Arts, Culture and Status of Women @AlbertaCulture]

Alberta’s Francophone stories are now on display at @RoyalAlberta.
The new exhibition Chez nous: la francophonie de l’Alberta explores the people, communities and contributions that shaped our province.
Open until May 9, 2027.
Read more : https://t.co/ZczujZGVyT
#FRAB

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

@itihaasnaama @RogueChieftan I second this recommendation. Plus, it’s a great read.

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

@wuraa_olaaa Can’t pick just one!
Pride and Prejudice - Austen
The Balkan Trilogy - Manning
Lymond Chronicles, House of Nicole series - Dunnett
Rebecca, Jamaica Inn - du Maurier
Antarctic Navigation - Arthur
Curiosity - Thomas
Changing Heaven, A Map of Glass - Urquhart
Possession - Byatt

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

@a_heteronym Hope you enjoy it! He’s an unjustly neglected writer now. Try “Wolf Solent”, “Weymouth Sands” and “Maiden Castle” - the 4 form a linked series. Good find on the Fuentes and Ballard too!

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

@Scholars_Stage And for the 19th C: Mrs Craik, Sir Walter Scott, Susan Coolidge, Charles Kingsley, and James Fenimore Cooper.

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

@Scholars_Stage Ooo! This is fun! Here are my 5 20th C authors: Arnold Bennett, John Galsworthy, Anthony Powell, Olivia Manning and Alfred Duggan. And two more: Jeffery Farnol and John Cowper Powys

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

@ofthevolsci The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood (2010). This was made into a stage play as well, which I saw and found compelling. #BookotWeek

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

@TSoS_ You can't understand Wuthering Heights unless you've walked on the moors in mist and driving rain, on gritstone paths, by shallow peat pools, and seen sunlight on cotton grass. The terrain and the environment shape the story which could not take place anywhere else. #BookotWeek

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

@Kulambq Try reading his wonderfully ironic novella “The Death of Napoleon”. #BookotWeek

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

@JMcNallyBooks Add “The Dean’s List” to this pile. Read that one several times - wry humour and college dynamics. #BookotWeek

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

@RobertAllenPoet The lion in winter - awesomely brilliant!!

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

@ediacaran538 @PaulSkallas Since Feb 1980, I have kept a record of almost every book I've read, with commentary & notes. Updated my database for 2025. The tally is 5970 books read since 1980, 503 read 2x, 84 read 3x, 6 read 4x, 1 read 5x. 1052 e-books borrowed from @EPLdotCA since 2011. #BookotWeek

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

Monica Ali - Alentjo Blue (2007)
Han Suyin - The Crippled Tree (1972)
Robert Graves - I, Claudius (1934)
Richard Morris - Churches in the Landscape (1997)
Several were re-reads. Each memorable for different reasons - the writing, the stories, the insights.

B

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

Here are my top 12 most memorable books I read (or re-read) in 2025:
Gore Vidal - Burr (1973) and Lincoln (1984)
Rebecca Solnit - Orwell's Roses (2021)
Kai Bird and Martin J. Sharwin - Promethean Fire: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer (2006)
#BookotWeek

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

Anthony Doerr - All the Light We Cannot See (2014)
Maureen Gibbon - The Lost Notebook of Édouard Manet (2021)
Anthony Fauci - On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service (2024)
Mary Larson - Road Ends (2013)
Penelope Lively - The Photograph (2004)
#BookotWeek

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

@jegaevi More C20 classics:
Dos Passos-Manhattan Transfer
Marquez-Love in time of Cholera
Davies-Salterton, Deptford & Cornish trilogies
Buck-Good Earth
Powys-Wolf Solent, Glastonbury Romance
Mantel-Wolf Hall
Murakami-1Q84, Wind-up Bird Chronicles
Grass-Flounder
Heller-Catch-22
Kafka-any

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

@jegaevi C20 classics:
Miller-Canticle for Leibowicz
Snow-Strangers&Brothers series
Powell-Dance to Music of Time series
Steinbeck-Grapes of Wrath
Camus-The Plague
Manning-Balkan trilogy
Golden-Memoirs of a Geisha
Dunnett-Lymond series, Niccolo series
Mistry-Fine Balance
Fitzgerald-Gatsby

[Alwynne Beaudoin @bluebulrush]

@jegaevi Interesting selection! Some ideas for new reads.