After seeing Some Hellish by Nicholas Herring win the Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize late last year, I made the mental note to dig it out of my (rapidly expanding) bookshelves and give it a try. The fact that it didn’t have a clear plot scared me away from it until now, but I…
I’m currently reading my way through a few self-help books in anticipation of my January radio segment, focused on New Years resolutions. It will likely have aired by the time I get around to posting this, but I just finished reading Workday Warrior by Ann Gomez and a few of her tips and tricks are…
I love hiking! Our family are big hikers, we’ve been hiking with our kids since they were babies, and living so close to the mountains here in Alberta, we are very lucky to be less than a one hour drive to some of the most beautiful provincial and national parks in Canada. Because I like…
Although the title of this book may seem as though it’s the latest thriller to hit the shelves, it’s actually a lot scarier than that. Generation Dread by Britt Wray is a work of non-fiction, exploring the increasing climate anxiety that many people are experiencing, especially younger generations. Despite some of its dire predictions and…
I read the blurb of The Stroke of Winter by Wendy Webb in a publisher’s catalogue and was immediately intrigued; a renovation of a bed and breakfast gone awry due to a potential haunting? All taking place within a frozen lakeside tourist town? Sounds perfect! I wasn’t familiar with this author, but she appears to…
Released back in January 2019, Talent by Juliet Lapidos has been starting at me from my bookshelf for quite awhile now. I took it with me on my family Christmas vacation, that in-between time where my reading commitments are minimal, and I can finally get to some of those books that are long overdue. Normally…
I’ve only read one other Celeste Ng book, you can find the review here. I don’t mind remember being wowed by it, but her latest release, Our Missing Hearts is definitely a new favourite of mine. There’s good reason why this book is yet again a Reese Witherspoon book club pick, and I’m sure this…
The bright colours of this cover initially drew me into reading Muddy People by Sara El Sayed. I was reading it at my hair appointment and even my hairdresser remarked on how beautiful it was – you just can’t help but like it! The cheerful colours may mislead some readers however, not everything is happy-go-lucky…
Just in time for Christmas, I received the third and latest installment in the Paradise Café Mystery series, Cold Snap by Maureen Jennings. Although not truly a holiday tale (it’s quite dark) it does happen to take place right before Christmas, and as I read it, Calgary was experiencing its own cold snap, so it…
Reading holiday books as Christmas draws nearer is a tradition I truly cherish with my kids. We all get excited to pull out the favourites from the years before, and discover the new gems that publishers send my way for review. I didn’t receive as many as I typically do this year, which I’m grateful…
Last year I reviewed the three latest releases from Biblioasis’ Haunted Bookshelf Series, a set of pocket-sized ghost stories meant to be enjoyed on Christmas Eve, as per an old tradition. I loved them, and really enjoyed the whole concept of reading ghost stories for the holidays ( I appreciate a good scare any time…
I was at a book event a few weeks ago chatting with my bookish friends (usually a mix of publishers, authors and librarians, the best kind of people) when I was introduced to a local author. She pitched her new book to me, which I just had happened to have on my shelf anyway, (one…
