If you’ve ever wished yourself out of a conversation at a social event, try bringing up the colorful subject of personal wealth – and watch people disperse immediately! On Class by Deborah Dundas is the seventh in the Biblioasis Field Notes series. In this short, pamphlet-like book, Dundas explores the complicated world of class; the…
Quickly becoming one of my ‘must read everything authors’, Samantha Irby has released a new book of essays just in time for the start of my summer reading. Quietly Hostile looks like her other books; a bright cover with a random animal on the front, and it reads exactly like her other books too: hilarious….
In honour of Father’s Day this month, I’m reading and reviewing books that feature father figures for my upcoming radio segment. The Boy and the Mountain; A Father, His Son, and a Journey of Discovery by Torbjørn Ekelund and translated by Becky L. Crook fit the bill perfectly. It’s a slim work of non-fiction that…
As I was perusing a publisher catalogue a few months ago, a non-fiction book caught my eye: Madame Restell, The Life, Death and Resurrection of Old New York’s Most Fabulous, Fearless and Infamous Abortionist by Jennifer Wright. Why did this particular work interest me? I don’t typically jump at reading books about history, especially American…
I don’t mind a true crime book now and then. I definitely prefer the fictional thriller or detective novel over the factual, but every once in awhile a case catches my interest, and Murder at Teal’s Pond by David Bushman and Mark T. Givens did just that. It describes the murder and investigation of the…
What feels like ages ago now, when I worked at the literary festival here in Calgary we hosted Wayne Johnston, a bestselling Canadian writer. If I had known then what I now know about him, I would have likely seen him in a whole different light when we met in person. He’s been writing for…
A few weeks ago, our kitty Makita (pictured above) gave us a little scare. She stopped eating and drinking for almost 6 straight days, and was in and out of the animal hospital. It was finally determined she was suffering from a bad sinus infection, so luckily a week of antibiotics has returned her to…
This non-fiction book has been lingering on my shelf for four years now as the publishers sent it to me back in 2019. But I hadn’t had the heart to give it away as I was fascinated by the topic, and kept intending to get to it someday. Finally, I read Consent, A Memoir of…
Do you ever see a book and immediately realize it’s written just for you? Seeing the title and cover on this one was an instant hit of recognition for me; Send Me Into the Woods Alone, Essays on Motherhood by Erin Pepler made me feel like I was its ideal audience. It’s a very short…
Some of my Canadian readers will recognize my next title. Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart by Jen Sookfong Lee has gotten lots of recent and positive coverage in the media, and I tend to enjoy non-fiction essays with a lighter touch, so I opted to give it a try when the publisher sent…
I was put onto this book by a social media post from an old friend of mine who I had lost touch with. She was diagnosed with two forms of aggressive cancer, one right after the other. During her treatments, she spoke highly of the bestselling book Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl,…
Happy Valentine’s Day! As I continue my ‘month of love’ reading, this work of non-fiction about the marriage of Rosalie and Issy Sharp, the Canadian founders of the billion dollar hotel chain The Four Seasons, is up next. I expected to read a book about a challenging marriage to a high-powered CEO, but instead A…
