The Seaboard Review of Books, October 27, 2025
Volume 2, Issue 46 of The Seaboard Review of Books, October 27, 2025
*Editor’s note: There will be no Monday or Wednesday issues of The Seaboard Review of Books the week of November 3rd. The next issue will be out on Monday, November 10th.
In this issue:
Most Grievous Fault by Meg Todd (Fiction)
Three Million Acres of Flame by Valerie Sherrard (Historical Fiction, YA)
Raymond Klibansky: A Life in Philosophy, Conversations With Georges Leroux (Non-Fiction)
The Loneliness Industry (Non-Fiction)
I’ll Get Right On It: Poems on Working Life in the Climate Crisis (Poetry)
Thanks for reading this issue of The Seaboard Review of Books!
James M. Fisher, editor-in-chief
Fiction
Most Grievous Fault by Meg Todd
Crystal is a 29-year-old single mother raising her 14-year-old daughter, Becky. Struggling to make ends meet and living in social housing on the brink of homelessness – a fate she is all too familiar with. After an incident at school, Crystal’s friend Jean arranges for Becky to attend a small Catholic school. It is suspected that Becky suffers from Feta…
Three Million Acres of Flame by Valerie Sherrard
Three Million Acres of Flame (2007, Dundurn Press) is a historical novel by Miramichi author Valerie Sherrard. It tells the story of young Skye Haverill and her family and friends against the backdrop of the Great Miramichi Fire of 1825, one of the largest forest fires ever recorded in North American history.
Non-Fiction
The Loneliness Industry
What does loneliness mean in an era when machines promise to alleviate it? And how does intimacy change when its gestures can be bought, tailored, and refreshed? These are the questions Victoria Hetherington explores in The Friend Machine: On the Trail of AI Companionship,
Poetry
I’ll Get Right On It: Poems on Working Life in the Climate Crisis
Incoming storms, invasive species, and farmer’s laments. Overheated classrooms, reconciliation work, and an uncertain future. These are some of the scenarios addressed in I’ll Get Right On It: Poems on Working Life in the Climate Crisis.
Michael Greenstein Reviews
Raymond Klibansky: A Life in Philosophy, Conversations With Georges Leroux
Raymond Klibansky, the fascinating philosopher who lived through most of the twentieth century and taught at McGill University, is hardly a household name; nor, for that matter is Nicolas Cusanis, the fifteenth-century German philosopher, who was one of the many subjects Klibansky studied. Thanks to Alberto Manguel’s lucid “Foreword” and Georges Leroux’…
Raymond Klibansky: A Life in Philosophy, Conversations With Georges Leroux
Brief Notes on Books Present & Past
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Fired Up, Frantic, and Freaked Out by Laura VanArendonk Baugh
It may sound like some kind of apocalyptic horror novel featuring bizarre beings, but Fired Up, Frantic, and Freaked Out is actually a nonfiction work offering advice and training exercises for dealing with agitated dogs. The book was recommended by an instructor at a “Reactive Dogs” workshop I attended with my somewhat anxious Jack Russell-Cocker Spaniel cross Chet. Though he manages to play nicely with his friends at the boarding kennel, Chet has a tendency to become overwrought when he encounters (even from a distance) other dogs on our walks, so I thought I’d give the book a try.
Fired Up, Frantic, and Freaked Out did not disappoint. The book gave me greater insight into Chet’s behaviour and what might be motivating it. VanArendonk Baugh encourages patience in dealing with issues related to agitated dogs, which she categorizes as “any dog so caught up in his emotions or innate responses that he cannot think rationally, respond to cues, or control his reactions.” Fired Up, Frantic, and Freaked Out provides step-by-step exercises to help reshape behaviours, while at the same time encouraging realistic expectations. Perhaps most importantly, VanArendonk Baugh’s advice to “train the dog you have” reminds me to focus on Chet as he is, rather than comparing him to other dogs I’ve owned. Did the book help? Yes, and prompted by a quick refresh as I prepared to write this “hot take,” I’ve been inspired to go back to some of the exercises I skimmed over before. Who knows, maybe one day Chet will be a model of comportment as we stroll around town. (Contributed by Lisa Timpf)
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