Book Reviews
I typically post between two and three book reviews a week. Please refer to my review policy if you’d like to submit a book for consideration. I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter to get a summary of my reviews once a month.
Book Review: White Elephant by Catherine Cooper
This is one effed up family. White Elephant by Catherine Cooper follows mother Ann, father Richard and son Tor as they struggle to navigate their new world in Sierra Leone at the beginning of the civil war there. I found this a really fascinating premise for a novel;...
IveReadThis is back on the radio-again!
Well folks, people don't seem to be getting sick of my voice yet, because I've been asked to return CBC Calgary as their summer books columnist again. Many of you will recall me doing this a few years back, which was a ton of fun. And then last year I was on CKUA a...
Book Review: Still Mine by Amy Stuart
The mountain landscape pictured on Amy Stuart's breakout thriller Still Mine has crossed my computer screen many times this year-it was a buzz book for 2016, so I was super excited to crack it open. Apparently it isn't available in the U.S. until August, so my...
Book Review: Pen & Palate, Mastering the Art of Adulthood with Recipes
My reading of this book seems to have coincided with a very important milestone in my life: the marriage of a best friend. I find this happens to me quite frequently; I will pick up a book and find it is the perfect thing to be reading at that very specific time in my...
Happy 200th Post!!!!
Whew, how did I get here? 200 posts plus numerous cat pictures later, and I'veReadThis is still going strong, thanks to you guys, my readers. When I first began this blog, I had just left my job in the publishing industry, and was desperate to keep ties to the book...
Book Review: The Crooked Heart of Mercy by Billie Livingston
Oh jeez guys, oh jeez. I seem to have been on a streak lately, reading books about children dying, being kidnapped, and other horrible things. Billie Livingston's The Crooked Heart of Mercy continues this terrible theme as it begins with the accidental death of a two...
Book Review: Carry Me by Peter Behrens
Many Can-lit fans will know of Peter Behrens. He comes out with a new book every few years, he's won the GG for his fiction in the past, and he looks like he a real-life cowboy. I will admit that I've harboured a bit of a crush on him in the past, and when I was lucky...
Book Review: Black Apple by Joan Crate
In honour of the recent Alberta Book Awards being given out, I wanted to highlight another wonderful book I just finished by an award-winning Alberta author Joan Crate. Black Apple follows a young Aboriginal girl named Sinopaki as she is forcefully taken from her...
Just Call Me President
Wowza! I'm so excited to announce that I was voted in as President of the Writers' Guild of Alberta on the weekend. Many of my blog followers will know that I've been involved with the organization for a few years now, but this promotion is a big step for me, so I...
IveReadThis Jr. Edition: If I Had a Gryphon by Vikki Vansickle and Cale Atkinson
The good folks at Penguin Random House Canada heard that I had a kid, so they sent me a picture book to enjoy with my daughter. They didn't ask for a review in return, but I feel as if it's the least I can do, so here it goes, a review of a kid's book: my best...
Book Review: The Loss of All Lost Things by Amina Gautier
People who work at or attend universities seem to make numerous appearances in Amina Gautier's collection of short stories The Loss of All Lost Things. Is this a problem? No, of course not, and it makes a lot of sense when you discover that Gautier is a professor of...
Book Review: Kalyna by Pam Clark
Before I get into the actual review, I wanted to point out some exciting news; this book is published by Stonehouse Publishing, a brand new Alberta publisher based out of Edmonton! Very exciting (and a little bit crazy) right? Besides opening a new independent...