Hello. My name is Stephen, and I'm an Amazon.ca addict. And, what's worse, I'm utterly unrepentant!

Once upon a time, in an age long-forgotten and technologically-deficient, books were bought in bookstores. This was good. It meant that there was usually a gap, sometimes weeks or months long, between hearing about a book and actually buying that book, giving one time to forget about the book. No more. Tonight I was seated on my couch, sipping a glass of wine, and reading "Passage to Juneau", by Jonathan Raban. He writes both fiction and non-fiction. His fiction is good, but nothing that will last through the ages. His non-fiction is much more interesting and I would strongly recommend it. "Hunting Mr. Heartbreak", "Old Glory", "Bad Land", and, of course, "Passage to Juneau" are all fine books, well worth reading. This latter book I purchased recently from Amazon. I can't remember, now, why, but I'm willing to bet it was because I'd just read something else that reminded me of Raban and made me aware of this book. In it, Raban mentions a book about crows and ravens. I've got a strong fondness for these birds, as does a good friend of mine. Two copies of the book are now on their way to me (one for me, one for the friend), thanks to the instant gratification granted by Amazon. Along with a book of photographs by Saul Leiter (recommended on a photography web site I read regularly), another of photographs by Annie Liebovitz (same reason, coupled with an admiration of her work, different site), and Jose Saramago's latest, "Death with Interruptions". I only hope I can finish Raban's book (almost there) and James Woods's "How Fiction Works" (also from Amazon) before the next shipment arrives.

Like I said, my name is Stephen, and I'm an Amazon.ca addict. And don't try to stop me!

And, no, I'm not getting any monetary reward from Amazon for this confession.