It’s been a few years since I read Clea Young’s first short story collection, Teardown, which I don’t recall much of, but luckily I can read my full review of it here when I forget again. Without needing to refer to my archives, I’m happy to say I really enjoyed her next collection, titled Welcome…
To finish up my Halloween reading streak, I finished the The Virago Book of Witches by Shahrukh Husain this past weekend. Not likely a book you are supposed to read straight through in a few days (although that’s what I did), it offers over 50 stories about witches from various cultures around the world. Many…
I saw a brief mention of the short story collection Homebodies by Amy LeBlanc somewhere online, and I decided I just HAD to read it for my spooky October reading series. It’s harder to find Halloween-themed books by small or independent presses, so I’m quite pleased and excited to introduce this Calgary-based author to a…
When this book arrived on my doorstep for review, I remember getting excited about its unique premise; Night Watch: The Vet Suite by Gillian Wigmore is a collection of 3 novellas all about rural veterinarians. I promptly forgot about it for 2 years, but finally picked it up after searching for something on my bookshelf…
While on vacation I indulged by reading my favourite author of all time, David Sedaris. I picked up this quirky little collection of animal-themed stories Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk at the Calgary Reads book sale a few months ago, and because this is a departure from his typical books of essays, I was excited to read…
How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa most recently appeared on the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, and we’ll find out on October 5 if it makes it to the shortlist. Interestingly, it’s a collection of short stories, written by a poet. It’s rare that a collection of short stories appears on an award list like…
Everyone gets excited when Lisa Moore releases a short story collection, mainly because she hasn’t in a while, and it’s the form she ‘broke out’ with. I’ve only read her novels thus far, but I love her writing, so I knew I would enjoy this newest group of stories titled Something for Everyone-I was not…
Probably for the first time ever, I spent months reading one book. Many would take that as a sign that I didn’t like it, but in fact it is quite the opposite. Amina Gautier’s collection of stories At-Risk is quite affecting; stark in its unapologetic depictions of young, black, impoverished youth. I savoured each story…
It’s been awhile since I’ve really LOVED a short story collection, but I can finally say that The Dead Husband Project by Sarah Meehan Sirk is definitely one of the best I’ve read in a long time. Each piece in this collection is strong and emotionally affecting, but there are a few that really stood…
