The Amateurs by Liz Harmer is hard to slot into one category;  it’s literary, philosophical, dystopian and science fiction, all within 300-ish pages. Even the publishers had to use other books like The Leftovers by Tom Perotta, The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood, and The Circle by Dave Eggers to describe what this…
When I received this book in the mail for review, I was immediately hooked after reading the premise; a tropical couples retreat headed for impending doom when a hurricane is about to hit? Count me in! As you know, I love reading about marriages (especially those that are imploding) and the fact that this book…
I adore this book. I knew I would, there’s a cat on the cover and I heard Patrick deWitt read from it during his Giller event here in Calgary last year and the section he read was HILARIOUS. Luckily the rest of the book lived up to his stellar performance, and I think I’ve found…
I’m making more of an effort to read out of my comfort zone these days, and To Me You Seem Giant by Greg Rhyno is a definitely a great example of this. It’s about music and teenage boys, both things I’m not too interested in these days (mind you, it was all I thought about…
With thoughts of Mother’s Day no doubt swirling around in everyone’s minds this weekend, I thought I’d post a review of a book of 15 essays about motherhood. What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About, Fifteen Writers Break the Silence are all fairly short pieces written by authors about their mothers. They range from…
I originally read A Good Enough Mother by Bev Thomas with the intentions of including it in a mother’s day book recommendations wrap-up. I thought it would be perfectly suited for this purpose; it has the word “mother” in the title and it’s all about a woman who’s a mom trying to be ‘good enough’…
Last year, a book called The Italian Teacher by Tom Rachman was released, it was all about a famous artist and the people who circled around him. It also had a beautiful cover; a collage of vibrantly coloured paints splashed onto a canvas. Similar to that book, The Strays by Emily Bitto is about a…
It’s been a rough 24 hours in our house, as we returned home from vacation to find our beloved Smokey had passed away. It feels like just a few short months ago we were mourning the death of her sister Pearl, so I wonder if the loss of her only feline companion shortened Smokey’s life…
I knew I’d like Nobody Cares by Anne T. Donahue before I even opened the front cover. Why? Please refer to my list below: The author Anne T. Donahue has the same first name as me, AND we’re the same age, so obviously we are soul sisters. She grew up in and still lives in…
How do you feel about books that jump from one time period to another? Is it jarring? Does it annoy you when it’s in a suspense novel especially? Of course it does, when you’re on the cusp of a cliff (hanger), you want to leap to the next page as quickly as possible to find…
What’s that you say? Another Alan Bradley book? Why yes please! The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley is the tenth installment in the Flavia de Luce series, which begins after a short period of time has gone by since the last Flavia book, The Grave’s a Fine and Private Place. Released once…
I love a good work of fiction that focuses on marriage. Do I want to read a true story about marriage? Not particularly. But do I want to read about a fake couple and all the trouble they have without feeling guilty or voyeuristic? Absolutely. This is one of the reasons why I loved Dear…
