‘A fairy tale for adults’ is the best way I can describe The Table of Less Valued Knights by Marie Phillips. This book has it all: unicorns, knights, magical swords, princesses, and of course, lots of swear words. It reminded of why I loved fairy tales so much when I was a kid; you had…
What defines chick-lit? Or as people in the biz like to call it, “contemporary women’s fiction”-what does that even mean? I just finished reading Reunion by Hannah Pittard, and my first instinct was to define it as a ‘heavier’ kind of chick-lit, although I don’t think that’s giving it enough credit, because the book isn’t…
I just finished reading a great mystery by a great Alberta author. And by the way, he’s also got another job as a rodeo announcer, when he’s not writing (see video below). David A. Poulson has written over 20 books, some for kids, some for adults, but according to the acknowledgements at the end of…
So, the Giller Prize is upon us. In just a few short days, an author’s life will be changed forever. No, this is not an exaggeration, this IS a life changing prize, especially now that it is worth $100,000 (basically the equivalent of 10 years of working for most Canadian authors, if not more). But…
Before I launch into my next book review, I wanted to put up a bit of a disclaimer. The author’s books that I have and will continue to review that were part of my Afternoon Tea event at Wordfest last week will all be receiving positive reviews. I’m not being biased, I just enjoyed them…
So as my hosting gig draws closer, I have quickly realized that I should be getting these reviews up quicker than I have been in the past. In my defense, I am taking a professional writing class this fall, so the majority of my online creativity is going towards my course work, rather than this…
I am lucky enough to be hosting a Wordfest event this year, which means I was the giddy recipient of a box of books a few weeks ago. The festival sends each host a copy of the book(s) that will be included in the event they are managing, so in my case, I was sent…
I know, I know. It’s been way too long since I’ve posted a review of a book on here. It took me an entire month to finish this last one, which is quite unusual for me, even though the book was 700 pages long. I don’t want you to misinterpret my tardiness for a dislike…
Does anyone else have a sneaking suspicion that the world’s population is headed straight for a major disaster, and every day we get closer to the eventual annihilation of our species? No, I don’t really believe that either, but a lot of people do (a lot of them are living in Montana and having bunkers…
Find me one person that doesn’t like Richard Wagamese’s books. Seriously, that person doesn’t exist. In the can-lit book circles, talking badly about Wagamese’s writing would be sacrilegious. And really, just plain stupid, because he is amazing at what he does. If I was an aspiring writer wanting to read a book that universally praised,…
Books, cats and murder mysteries: three things that I love, all wrapped up into one. The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun was practically written for me! Other than the fact that it was written back in 1966 of course, a bit before my time. I had never heard of this particular…
Barbara J. Taylor has done an extremely good job with this book. Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night was a dark, but enjoyable book to read, and I will be shocked if she isn’t nominated for some kind of award for her efforts. Although I can’t speak for the American book scene, I know…
