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…
Big books come out in the Fall – it’s book awards season and it’s when all the serious award contenders are released, especially those that should sell well for holiday shopping season a few months later. In the case of Fayne by Ann-Marie MacDonald, this book is not only a big deal for Canadian publishing (she’s the…
These past few weeks I’ve been checking my news feed every few hours, hoping for a break in the case of missing author Dawn Dumont and her son, and I’m happy to report she has been found safe with her son, in the U.S. There will be some difficult times ahead for them, as it…
Another book about books – my favourite! Although I should mention that the titular book is a plot device, rather than a major theme. But this reference certainly piqued my interest, which shot this novel to the top of an otherwise teetering pile of historical fiction. The Lost Chapter by Caroline Bishop is a pleasant,…
Another example of my favourite genre; books about books, The Paris Bookseller by Kerri Maher tells the story of the infamous book store Shakespeare and Company. Is ‘books about books’ an actual genre? No, I made it up, but it’s a way to categorize my absolute favourite kind of book, and I know that lots…
I’ll admit to being a bit confused about what My Best Friend was Angela Bennett by Suzanne Hillier was when I picked it up – a non-fiction account of a particular woman during WWII? A tale of female friendship loosely based in reality? A memoir? In my defense, I received the printed pages of it,…
Years ago I read the book The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and really enjoyed it. Since then, many similar ‘circus’ books have been successfully published and sold. The circus setting is one that gives authors a great deal of characters, conflicts, and magic to play with, almost anything set under the big top is…
I just read a string of particularly grim books so the thought of sinking into the pleasantries of a cozy mystery (by a Calgary author no less!) was more than appealing. The Silver Shooter, A Rose Gallagher Mystery by Erin Lindsey was released in 2020, and although it has been on my shelf for over…
Very rarely will I have the foresight and planning to read a book well before its release date, and post the review to coincide with its hype and subsequent launch. Luckily I’ve managed to do just that today! Some sources have claimed that Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr is one of the most anticipated…
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…
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’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,…
