Another example of my favourite genre; books about books, The Paris Bookseller by Kerri Maher tells the story of the infamous book store Shakespeare and Company. Is ‘books about books’ an actual genre? No, I made it up, but it’s a way to categorize my absolute favourite kind of book, and I know that lots…
Right off the bat, just want to warn you all this book is NOT about candy, or treats of any kind (disappointing, I know). The Candy House by Jennifer Egan is a warning wrapped in multiple layers of story. The candy house in the title is referring to a few different things, mainly the promise…
I always rejoice when I get the chance to read a classic mystery. The Tangled Miracle by Canadian author Bertram Brooker was originally published in 1936 under the pseudonym Huxley Herne, and has recently been re-released by indie publisher Invisible Publishing which has a Throwback Series that re-introduces public-domain books. A locked room mystery of…
A crossword puzzle, a packing list, a script for a play, a journal of writing prompts, real estate listings, a dictionary, a legal contract, a grimoire, and a tree atlas – all of these writing forms and more are included in the book Persephone’s Children, a Life in Fragments by Rowan McCandless. The best way…
It’s not often you read a book written by two different authors, especially when the authors are black and white and writing about an act of racism in modern-day America. We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza is a novel about an unarmed, 14-year-old black boy shot by two white police…
Alexander MacLeod and his father, celebrated canlit icon Alistair MacLeod are two writers I’ve always felt I should read more of – this is partly due to the wonderful book reviews of Alistair’s writing that can be found on the fabulous book blogs Consumed by Ink and Buried in Print, two book reviewers I follow…
When I realized my reading last year was #sowhite, especially considering I’m reading all books published within the last few years, I’ve been making a concerted effort to read with diversity in mind, and it has been a rewarding experience. Surviving the White Gaze by Rebecca Carroll is a memoir about growing up half black,…
I had been reading a string of heavy books lately, and felt as though I deserved a little indulgent reading, which for me can be a cozy mystery, or a domestic thriller. I leaned into the thriller/suspense category and picked up Would I Lie To You? by Aliya Ali-Afzal, which lands squarely into the domestic…
I won’t say my reading is influenced by awards, because it rarely is – quite often, my book choices depend on the themes I’ve come up with for my monthly radio segment, and the books that land on my doorstep for review. But every so often I break out of this pattern and pick up…
When I originally received this book for review, I dismissed it thinking it was YA, which I don’t normally read except under special circumstances. But after seeing it appear on more than one ‘notable spring books’ list, I thought I’d give it a try, knowing at the very least that it was written as a…
Sometimes it feels good to just have a little cry, and you’ll have to keep the therapeutic benefits of sobbing in mind if you plan on reading If You Hear Me by Pascale Quiviger, translated from the French by Lazer Lederhendler. It’s a daunting read knowing it centers on the fracturing of a family’s life…
Picture yourself in a dark basement club in downtown Montreal, small votive candles burning away on each little table. Across from you is a woman with a raspy voice smoking a cigarette, telling you her life story in between sets on stage. She is surprisingly forthcoming considering you’ve never met, but she seems have this…
