This is definitely a first for this blog-the review of a ‘zine’, which is defined by urban dictionary as basically a cheaply made publication filled with passion. I love this definition because it perfectly describes this fashion revolution zine. I ordered it awhile ago, probably about a year ago now when I first started researching the…
I’ll admit I was dreading reading this book. It’s a memoir based on the lives of Clem Martini, his brother Olivier Martini and their mother Catherine. It includes haunting, beautiful images drawn by Olivier, who suffers from schizophrenia (although based on the book, seems to be doing an admirable job of managing it, contributing to…
In the past, I’ve made comments on this blog that basically follow the theme of “it’s usually the parents’ fault” when referring to stories about adult break downs and shortcomings. I of course say this a bit tongue-in-cheek because I’m a parent myself, and now that I know how difficult being a parent is, I…
Whenever I personally know the author of a book I’m reviewing, I always like to state that outright. Rona Altrows and I are regular acquaintances in the Calgary literary scene, it’s a small industry here in cowtown so we inevitably run into each other at various events. And as I mentioned before, to keep my…
So this will be my last radio segment for a few months as I hunker down and give birth to my second child soon. Strangely, I chose quite dark, depressing books to speak about on-air for this one, which doesn’t bode well for my mood in general, but I think I give pretty good reasons…
Long-time readers of this blog will already know how much I love the Flavia de Luce novels by Alan Bradley. Perfect examples of the cozy mystery, these books depict the precocious 12 year old Flavia who solves mysteries that seem to fall in her lap. Much like my other murder mystery hero Jessica Fletcher, death…
It’s been awhile since I’ve really LOVED a short story collection, but I can finally say that The Dead Husband Project by Sarah Meehan Sirk is definitely one of the best I’ve read in a long time. Each piece in this collection is strong and emotionally affecting, but there are a few that really stood…
I’m really torn between my conflicting thoughts on this book. Into the Sun by Deni Ellis Bechard is extremely ambitious, it goes into many in-depth descriptions of various people’s lives, starting from their childhood and ending with their deaths, all within a somewhat convoluted plot that attempts to explain their connections with each other. But,…
So, I don’t normally review ‘coffee table’ books but I made an exception for this one because it’s a picture book of cats on outdoor adventures. Yes, you read that right, cats are in canoes, hiking mountains and perching on paddle boards in the great white north that is the Canadian wilderness. Bolt and Keel…
I’ve been reading more non-fiction lately…not for any particular reason other than publishers just seem to be churning out more these days so I’m receiving more for review. Although I read far more fiction than non-fiction, I find real-life stories stick with me for longer, probably because the people are real and truly endured what…
My Canadian readers will probably be familiar with this latest can-lit thriller: Hysteria by Elisabeth de Mariaffi. It’s just come out, and it’s getting a hysterical amount of press (obviously I had to use that adjective somewhere in this review, but I promise I won’t do it again). Is this book a page-turner? Yes. Is…
So I’ve never really watched the television show Murdoch Mysteries, but of course being Canadian and a long-time devotee of the CBC I had certainly heard about it, so it’s definitely on my Netflix list of ‘to be watched’. Because of this, when I was given the chance to review a forthcoming Murdoch Mystery book…
