As we approach the last two weeks of January, those of us in Canada are nestling in for the upcoming critical period of winter including what we all hope will be a forgiving short month of February before launching into what is commonly the wistful month of unpredictable (but nonetheless inspiring) March. Only 8 weeks to go! Under the circumstances – unless one is a cross-country skier or other avid outdoorsman – the most favourable resort is one’s drawing room. That means books, podcasts and movies.

We no longer have a television.  Instead everything of that literary or entertainment nature is a product of our individual electronic devices; namely, computers, iPads and iPhones. Curiously my latest recollection of television is that I never learned to manage the handheld remote devices; it is an unexpected novelty that I have however fully adjusted to the electronic devices. The surviving improvement of this transition from public to private communication is the corresponding relief from ambient sound and diverse conflict of interests. I will however confess I do miss the social familiarity of watching something “together” (though the separation between the study and the drawing room is of course negligible).