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I’ve got another book by Canadian author Karma Brown to talk about, and this is a bit of a departure from her other novels which I review here and here, among others that she’s published. Her latest book Mother is Watching is a work of horror, so compared to her previous releases of romance and…
I have very fond memories of the poet and writer Steven Heighton, who sadly passed away in 2022 at the age of 60. I don’t often say I have fond memories of writers, as my time organizing their schedules and whereabouts was extremely stressful when in my role at Wordfest. However, Heighton was one of…
I’m a big fan of Canadian author Terry Fallis, both as a person, and a writer. Having interacted with him a few times, I know he’s a great guy, but he’s also a good writer, and the light humour of his novels has always appealed to me. He’s fairly prolific so I haven’t read all…
I typically like to listen to self-help books rather than read them in hard copy, so I rarely review them on this blog. I also assumed it was less interesting for my readers to read a review of a self-help book, simply because they seem so personal and specific; what one wants to improve upon…
Does the idea of reading a book that takes place over a single day appeal to you, or put you off? Three Parties by Ziyad Saadi is one of this anxiety-inducing stories that some may shy away from because it centers on a stressful day of party preparations. All activities are leading up to a…
It’s -40 outside, and a giant moose head has gone missing. There’s an epic snowmobile race planned for that evening, and everyone is so hung over from the night before that a double double from Tim Horton’s just won’t cut it. Northern Bull by Michelle Swallow opens with these dramatic circumstances, and although it may…
I knew I would probably love the mystery series The Thursday Murder Club, but hadn’t gotten around to reading it. There’s many books like this of course, but I always tell myself ‘when I retire!’ is when I’ll get to them. But when a publicist from Penguin Random House offered to send me the first…
Have you heard of this breakout book, Theo of Golden by Allen Levi yet? When it arrived on my doorstep a few months ago, I felt like the last person in the world to know about it, because this is the kind of story that self-published authors dream of; it was self-published in 2023 and…
When Sharon Bala released a new book titled Good Guys, I recalled loving her debut novel a few years ago, so I was tempted to read it for that reason alone. Then, I learned her new novel was about a Canadian-based charity that does international aid and the complications of helping others, which really clinched…
When I received a copy of Karl Ove Knausgaard’s latest book The School of Night, I knew it would be a challenging read. My first clue? The fact that it was 500 pages, and heavy as a brick. My second clue was when I mentioned him to other readers – many would react with a…
I’ve known Alberta writer Fran Kimmel for quite some time, and because I loved her last book, I knew I would enjoy her latest release, Cattail Lane. Just like in No Good Asking, this book provides a rich look at family in all its forms. Her publisher compares Cattail Lane to an Anne Tyler book,…
This past summer I was visiting the beautiful offices of Penguin Random House Canada in Toronto, and a publicist had pitched Nowhere Girl, Life as a Member of ADHD’s Lost Generation by Carla Ciccone to me. It was an interesting memoir because it was attached to this emerging diagnosis that women in their 30s, 40s…
