12:32 p.m.

I stood looking at a wall in the kitchen where there was a funny little hole. I could see its tiny unpainted inside. I wondered what could have made the puncture. Ah well, a paint job doesn’t last forever, I thought, and moved on to other things.

Later, from my chair in the office, I peered into the kitchen and noticed that a wall hanging Mom gave me was hanging askew. The tack at one top corner had come out from the wall. How did that happen, I wondered, and got up to go tack the hanging back into place. That’s when I realized the hole I’d been looking at earlier was from the tack.

I’d stood there looking at that hole, not seeing the wall hanging right there beside it.

What does that say about my powers of observation? Maybe I don't want to think about that.

***

Who's up for Canada Reads this year? It starts tomorrow. Here's an article from today's CBC website:

"Past Canada Reads champions are set to go head-to-head for the all-star edition of CBC's literary book battle beginning Monday.

For the sixth edition of the annual CBC Radio series, producers are pitting the winning defenders from the past five years against each other.

Musicians Steven Page of the Barenaked Ladies, Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo and John K. Samson of The Weakerthans will face off against author and broadcaster Denise Bombardier and novelist Donna Morrissey to defend all new book choices.

This year's competing titles are:

David Bezmozgis' Natasha and Other Stories, a short-story collection about a family of Latvian Jewish immigrants in Toronto in the early 1980s, to be defended by Page.

Children of My Heart, the English translation of Gabrielle Roy's final novel Ces enfants de ma vie, to be defended by Bombardier.

Timothy Taylor's Stanley Park, the popular Vancouver title about a chef's efforts to run a restaurant and reconnect with his homeless father, to be defended by Cuddy.

Anosh Irani's The Song of Kahunsha, a portrait of Mumbai from the viewpoint of a child, to be defended by Morrissey.

Heather O'Neill's Lullabies for Little Criminals, a debut novel about a teen girl who spins stories to help her cope with a harsh life of poverty, to be defended by Samson.

Moderated by CBC Radio host Bill Richardson, the five panellists will begin debating their choices Monday, with the first book voted out the following day.

The All Star edition of Canada Reads will air on CBC Radio One beginning Monday through Friday, at 11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. (a half-hour later in Newfoundland)."

The Canada Reads webpage is here.

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