I frequently refer to memoirs as their own subsection of the ‘self-help’ genre, because I believe that learning about someone else’s life circumstances is a wonderful way of gaining a new perspective on your own. This theory is once again being proven with Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother’s Will to Survive by…
Those of us who are lucky enough to have the luxury of living in peaceful countries may be asking themselves what we can do to help the refugee crisis; I would argue our first job is to listen to their stories in an attempt to understand what they are fleeing from and why. With the…
I find the words ‘fed up’ particularly evocative. This may sound sexist, but I think women are pushed to this point much more than men, simply because we (females) take it upon ourselves to make everyone around us ‘comfortable’, whether we realize it or not. It’s not because we think it’s fun, or because we…
The Dinosaur Artist by Paige Williams is an in-depth exploration of dinosaur bones; where they are typically found, how they’re formed, the best way to mount them, etc. Thankfully though, the book focuses more on the people behind the bones (or more accurately, fossils) rather than the dinosaurs themselves. Eric Prokopi is at the center…
Us book-loving Calgarians have a major milestone to celebrate in exactly one week: the opening of our new Central Library. It’s a big deal for us because our old central branch was in dire need of a remodel, and this new building is an architectural marvel that’s making headlines all over the world. In honour…
Seven Fallen Feathers by investigative journalist Tanya Talaga is a few things; it’s a non-fiction account of the death of seven different indigenous children in Thunder Bay, it’s a cautionary tale to parents who send their emotionally unprepared kids to an environment they’ve never experienced, and it’s a crushing blow to Canadians who claim racism…
U.S. politics have been dominating headlines lately , no matter which country you live in. I don’t pay much attention to them, and basically everything I knew about The White House and its protocol is based on things I’ve seen on the t.v. show House of Cards-but not anymore! I feel as though I’ve gotten…
A few weeks ago on twitter I made a bold declaration in relation to Calypso by David Sedaris, his latest book of stories. About halfway through the book, I remembered that I absolutely adore Sedaris’s writing, and I can officially declare him my favourite writer. Yes, you heard me right. After years of dodging this…
I am a very very lucky book blogger in the fact that my bookshelves fill with free review copies from publishers. I don’t have the need to go out and buy/borrow any books, because I get a steady stream sent to me in exchange for an honest review. That being said, any bookworm worth their…
Word by Word by Kory Stamper is a non-fiction book about dictionaries. Wait! Before you close out of this blog post, I promise you reading my review will be worth it, because this my friends, is a great book full of entertaining writing. Yes, a book with the subtitle of “The Secret Life of Dictionaries” may…
I’ll admit I was dreading reading this book. It’s a memoir based on the lives of Clem Martini, his brother Olivier Martini and their mother Catherine. It includes haunting, beautiful images drawn by Olivier, who suffers from schizophrenia (although based on the book, seems to be doing an admirable job of managing it, contributing to…
In the past, I’ve made comments on this blog that basically follow the theme of “it’s usually the parents’ fault” when referring to stories about adult break downs and shortcomings. I of course say this a bit tongue-in-cheek because I’m a parent myself, and now that I know how difficult being a parent is, I…
