I read the blurb of The Stroke of Winter by Wendy Webb in a publisher’s catalogue and was immediately intrigued; a renovation of a bed and breakfast gone awry due to a potential haunting? All taking place within a frozen lakeside tourist town? Sounds perfect! I wasn’t familiar with this author, but she appears to…
Released back in January 2019, Talent by Juliet Lapidos has been starting at me from my bookshelf for quite awhile now. I took it with me on my family Christmas vacation, that in-between time where my reading commitments are minimal, and I can finally get to some of those books that are long overdue. Normally…
I’ve only read one other Celeste Ng book, you can find the review here. I don’t mind remember being wowed by it, but her latest release, Our Missing Hearts is definitely a new favourite of mine. There’s good reason why this book is yet again a Reese Witherspoon book club pick, and I’m sure this…
The bright colours of this cover initially drew me into reading Muddy People by Sara El Sayed. I was reading it at my hair appointment and even my hairdresser remarked on how beautiful it was – you just can’t help but like it! The cheerful colours may mislead some readers however, not everything is happy-go-lucky…
Just in time for Christmas, I received the third and latest installment in the Paradise Café Mystery series, Cold Snap by Maureen Jennings. Although not truly a holiday tale (it’s quite dark) it does happen to take place right before Christmas, and as I read it, Calgary was experiencing its own cold snap, so it…
Reading holiday books as Christmas draws nearer is a tradition I truly cherish with my kids. We all get excited to pull out the favourites from the years before, and discover the new gems that publishers send my way for review. I didn’t receive as many as I typically do this year, which I’m grateful…
I was at a book event a few weeks ago chatting with my bookish friends (usually a mix of publishers, authors and librarians, the best kind of people) when I was introduced to a local author. She pitched her new book to me, which I just had happened to have on my shelf anyway, (one…
I came across Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson in a publisher’s catalogue, and requested it for some unknown reason (likely, on a whim). It sat on my shelf until it was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, which prompted me to a) remember I even had a copy of it and b) make a…
I don’t like watching dystopian films – I cringe all the way through the movies that depict our last few days on earth due to some asteroid, climate event, or alien invasion because I’d rather not watch something so hopeless. But I don’t mind reading a dystopian novel, often because the narrative will be focused…
I recently posted a review of a novel that made me grateful for the job I currently have in the charitable sector, and by total coincidence, right after that I picked up a non-fiction book that outlines the challenges of working in the charitable sector. Building Unity by Michael ‘Piecez’ Prosserman is a memoir /…
It was pure coincidence that I read this book during a particularly busy time at my day job, but while Careering by Daisy Buchanan is all about a thankless pursuit of a dream career that doesn’t exist, I’m lucky enough to work in the un-glamourous but particularly fulfilling industry of non-profits and charities where I…
We all know social media platforms aren’t good for us. Low self-esteem, fear of missing out, general depression and envy are some of the more common side effects that most people experience and are aware of when it comes to their participation on these sites. But The Chaos Machine by Max Fisher takes this knowledge…
