Beartown by Fredrik Backman is another book I picked up at my local library (curbside that is, apparently Calgary has the highest COVID numbers in the North America at the moment so libraries aren’t open right now). I’ve wanted to read it for awhile since I discovered how much I enjoyed Backman’s writing when I…
I’ll admit to requesting this book because of the title alone: Other People’s Children by R.J. Hoffmann seemed liked the type of catty novel that describes the judgements we make about how people raise their kids ( we all do it!). So imagine my surprise when this book is anything but catty, when it turns…
Even though Charity by Keath Fraser is only a novella (114 pages in length), it felt more like a novel, diving into a multitude of topics; drugs, body image, parental responsibility, ageism. Summaries of a few different people’s lives are included, but much of what elicits its emotion is what is left unsaid or never…
This book surprised me. Based on its cover, and its publisher (Cormorant Books), I was expecting a very literary novel, something with drawn out descriptions and hidden meanings, usually a bit slower in pace. Instead, I found a page-turner of a novel in The Good Son by Carolyn Huizinga Mills, something I raced to finish,…
Have you ever had the experience of reading a book, looking at a piece of art, or even watching a movie and feeling like you are much ‘cooler/hip’ for having taken it in? After reading Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados, I feel as though I’m on the cutting edge of something, but I’m not cool…
One of my upcoming segments for radio is a focus on debut authors from independent presses in Canada, because the Simon and Schuster acquisition by Penguin Random House is a scary one for many Canadians. Although it won’t be all bad for the reader, it will certainly make things harder for booksellers and authors, so…
A few months ago I reviewed a book on this blog that raised the question; why read a book when you know it is going to be disturbing? Because I am a paid book critic, I consider it my duty to read all kind of stories, even when they don’t appeal to me. The breadth…
A new genre is emerging in books, and it’s called ‘climate fiction’. Typically dystopian (because how could it NOT be?) it describes a future in which the environmental impacts of global warming are no longer escapable by anyone, and life as we now it know has been drastically altered because of the selfish acts of…
Valentine’s Day is no doubt going to look a little different for many this year, and for me especially this is going to become a family holiday more than it ever has in the past, because what else am I going to do on a freezing-cold Sunday in the house with my kids? Plus, having…
I’ve had this book on my shelf for awhile now and I didn’t get to it earlier because of other reading commitments, but I was really excited to finally dive in because a) it’s been getting exceptional reviews and b) I loved another book similar to it, Queenie. Although very different from what I expected…
Motherhood is such a hot topic in fiction these days, and why shouldn’t it be? There are lots of feelings and events to muddle through in this time of life, and like parenting in general, the capacity and opportunity for trauma is endless (LOL). One aspect that seems ripe for endless debate is the decision…
I’m a proud Calgarian and the fact that Giller Prize winning author Will Ferguson also lives in Calgary is just the tip of the iceberg of our wonderful writing community. I’ve been posting lots of local book reviews lately for good reason, we have a wealth of exceptional writers in our midst! I’ve often stated…
