A unique premise of a book always draws my attention, simply because there are SO many books being published these days, it feels like many are a recycling of older themes and ideas. But when A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke was pitched to me, I immediately asked for it because…
Continuing on my recent ‘books about books’ kick, I picked up this thick paperback called The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson, which promised a snapping good story. It delivered; on both the good story, and the warm and fuzzy feeling when reading about the power of books and their ability to improve one’s outlook…
Books about books will always pique my interest, but when highly lauded author Patrick deWitt releases one, I get even more excited. I had really high hopes for The Librarianist and it did not disappoint. It’s a quiet novel about a quiet man, with glimpses of humour and humanity throughout its 300ish pages. The majority…
Not quite a book about books, The Night of Many Endings by Melissa Payne is a book about libraries instead. It’s a feel-good novel that tackles some weighty subjects but ties up the issues nicely, giving the reader a semblance of control where there really isn’t one. Taking place in the snowy Rocky Mountains (Colorado,…
It’s a great title, right? It’s definitely one of the reasons I picked up this book about books, but I was quite pleased that this work of contemporary women’s fiction held my attention to the very end based on the character development alone. The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick is focused more…
A book of essays about reading? Sign me up! It will come as no surprise that I loved Big Reader by Susan Olding. Each piece revolves around a particular book, a form of reading, a page in the life of being a writer, and reading experiences evolving over a lifetime. There are even a few…
I am continually impressed by the eclectic mix of books that Matt Haig has published in the past few years. The first book of his I read was historical fiction, then I moved onto a work of non-fiction which I failed to write a formal review of, but talked about on the radio a few…
This may be a first for my blog. In the 8 years I’ve been writing ivereadthis (yes, it has been that long!), I believe this is my first review of a middle grade work of fiction, which is books written for 8-12 year olds. Although I don’t plan on making this a habit, I just…
I rarely do this, but when my new boss handed me a book and said ‘you have to read this’ I quickly slotted Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen into my reading queue. Why did I make an exception this time? Number one: she’s my new boss and I want to keep her happy because I’m…
