Cats! Books! A woman with glasses on the cover! This book just calls to me, for obvious reasons. Based on the font, colour scheme and title of this book, you would think it’s chick lit. My friends, it is most definitely not. It is quirky, it is funny, but there is no romance in it….
This book begins with a suicide; an aging man, obsessed with his mistress, tracks her down in a restaurant having dinner with another married man, and shoots himself in the face. We learn this in the first paragraph of the book, told bluntly by the first-person narrator and protagonist, Joan. Animal by Lisa Taddeo is…
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 am loving the female-centric takes on historical fiction that seem to be filling bookshelves more and more. Only recently have we begun to view our history through the female lens; what was it like to be a woman before we were considered equals to men? How did women cope, when were they able to…
Like many people, I picked up this book because of the title. I haven’t gotten sick of ‘quirky’ yet, so I gave Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin a go. Is it just me, or does this book look American to you? I’m not sure why I feel that way,…
If you haven’t read a book by Kim Echlin yet, you really should. Her latest, Speak, Silence is a beautiful yet horrific meditation on women who are testifying at a trial at the Hague against the systemic rape they experienced during the Bosnian war. The topic is obviously a difficult one, and there were times…
I knew going into this book that it would be about being a young person. As in, the life of a 20-something with no kids, a part-time job, renting with friends kind of story. As a 30-something, I get a real kick out of reading these kind of books. Because I moved in with my…
In a work of fiction, one of the most enjoyable experiences to read about is a protagonist striking it big, finding the perfect person, landing that killer job, or realizing one’s dreams, whatever that may be. Bootleg Stardust by Glenn Dixon is a great example of what makes fiction so damn fun to read; as…
The publishers that I typically review books from know that I lean towards particular genres; thrillers, mysteries, some literary fiction. I read pretty widely in general, but when it comes to books I consider ‘fun’ to read, I’ll go darker. It should come as no surprise then, that I just finished reading The Girls Are…
I’m currently working on a project at my day job centered around Juneteenth, and much to my embarrassment, I had never even heard of this day before our American partner so kindly educated us. I’ve been doing a bit more research since, but I still have much to learn. It’s typically celebrated on June 19,…
At the risk of sounding cliché, Bath Haus by P.J. Vernon is a sizzling sexy read. It captures a snippet of time in the life of two men in a long-term relationship together as their various secrets are coming back to haunt them. I’m just terrible at withholding information from people, (especially my husband) so…
I’m starting to read books in anticipation of my Father’s Day CBC segment in June, which means I’m picking up novels that don’t normally fit my tastes. I scan my bookshelves and look for stories that don’t generally interest me, and that’s how I start to put together my list of book recommendations for Dads…
