I have a terrible admission to make: I’ve never read a book by Michael Chabon. What is wrong with me? I know he’s a good writer, and I NOW know he’s a nice person, so what is my problem? I need to fix this asap, so I’m on the hunt for a good Chabon book….
Canadian bookworms are generally a shy bunch. We don’t get out much because we’re so busy reading and drinking tea (especially in the winter months) and our book awards are not as numerous as the Americans, so rarely do we get a chance to have national discussions about a book’s merit. That’s why the Canada…
So I had all these grand plans for fully partaking in Wordfest last week. I told them I would volunteer, host two events, and generally be anywhere and everywhere as much as my schedule would allow. My husband even offered to take some time off work so I could immerse myself in the festival experience….
One of my Presidential duties at the Writers’ Guild of Alberta includes attending very fun events to represent our organization. Last night, the Calgary Awards was a perfect example of this. The WGA partners with the city to present the W.O. Mitchell Book Prize, so we always make an appearance at the event to help…
Whew, how did I get here? 200 posts plus numerous cat pictures later, and I’veReadThis is still going strong, thanks to you guys, my readers. When I first began this blog, I had just left my job in the publishing industry, and was desperate to keep ties to the book community I knew and loved….
Wowza! I’m so excited to announce that I was voted in as President of the Writers’ Guild of Alberta on the weekend. Many of my blog followers will know that I’ve been involved with the organization for a few years now, but this promotion is a big step for me, so I feel the need…
The shortlist for the Alberta Book Awards was just announced, which means a couple of exciting things are happening: The nominated writers will begin to trash talk* each other on social media I can announce that fact that yours truly will be hosting the awards. Yes, me. People will begin reading these specific books in…
A few days ago, I received a lovely email from Donna Bailey Nurse regarding my book review of Marina Endicott’s Close to Hugh. Like myself, she was disappointed it didn’t make the Giller shortlist, but she also wanted to share with me a wonderful piece she did on Endicott for the literary magazine Black Iris. For those…
On my European adventures I visited many car museums, mainly because that was what my husband wanted to do. However, we also visited some literary hotspots to appease my interests too, and one such destination was Grimm World in Kassel Germany. We walked to this beautiful museum through a gorgeous park, and the museum itself…
So with the onslaught of Fall book awards come the annual procession of literary festivals. Canada is lucky enough to have quite a few of them, although there is always room for more! As you all know, I used to work for Wordfest, so this is a topic near and dear to my heart. I…
I recently finished reading Elizabeth Hay‘s new book His Whole Life. And I loved it. Obviously, because Elizabeth Hay is great. I’ve also been helping the wonderful Shelley Youngblut program the 20th anniversary of Wordfest this year. So…they filmed me (nervously) reviewing this book as part of the festival preparations. Should I stick to doing…
Well the Giller Longlist has been announced, and it’s a good one! I may be a bit biased, simply because I’ve read and loved many of the books on the list, but it’s also pointed to a few I need to hurry up and read. You all know by now that I loved Patrick deWitt’s…