I purchased What Strange Paradise a few years ago, shortly after Omar El Akkad won the Giller Prize for writing it back in 2021. When he wrote it, he likely didn’t assume many readers would already be familiar with the book The Boy on the Beach by Tima Kurdi, the real-life account of what his…
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…
After a promising review by fellow book blogger Naomi, I was convinced I should pick up the latest release from Canadian writer Pauline Holdstock. Confessions with Keith is a look at a year in the life of a wife and mother who is barely holding on. I love tales of motherhood, and the frantic scribblings…
Here in Canada we are lucky to have a rich publishing landscape of Indigenous voices, and the numbers are only increasing. In fact, many books on the current and previous bestseller lists are Indigenous writers. I don’t see the same representation in American publishing, and I heard the Native American writer Tommy Orange speak when…
While preparing for a ‘spring books to watch’ segment on my monthly radio appearance, I chose The Fake by Zoe Whittall for two reasons; one, I keep seeing it mentioned everywhere, so obviously the publisher has been successful in creating ‘buzz’. Secondly, it’s a work of fiction about a con-artist, which is always a fun…
Growing up in Ontario means I’m still learning about the Western Canadian books that everyone has read. I moved out west to Calgary 14 years ago now, and even though I’m firmly embedded in our publishing world here, I’m not familiar with what’s considered a ‘classic’ and what all the kids read in high school….
The phrase ‘love marriage’ means different things to different people, but in the context of the book Love Marriage by Monica Ali, it refers to the fact that Yasmin’s Indian parents formed a relationship based on love alone; an assumption for many, but a radical idea for some. Is this the goal for everyone: to…
It’s that time of year again: Canada Reads is getting Canadian booklovers all jazzed up about one of the most popular readers’ choice competitions in the country, and it’s the perfect opportunity to get to those backlist books that may have fallen off your radar. Greenwood by Michael Christie is one of five books competing…
After seeing Some Hellish by Nicholas Herring win the Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize late last year, I made the mental note to dig it out of my (rapidly expanding) bookshelves and give it a try. The fact that it didn’t have a clear plot scared me away from it until now, but I…
Released back in January 2019, Talent by Juliet Lapidos has been starting at me from my bookshelf for quite awhile now. I took it with me on my family Christmas vacation, that in-between time where my reading commitments are minimal, and I can finally get to some of those books that are long overdue. Normally…
I’ve only read one other Celeste Ng book, you can find the review here. I don’t mind remember being wowed by it, but her latest release, Our Missing Hearts is definitely a new favourite of mine. There’s good reason why this book is yet again a Reese Witherspoon book club pick, and I’m sure this…
I came across Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson in a publisher’s catalogue, and requested it for some unknown reason (likely, on a whim). It sat on my shelf until it was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, which prompted me to a) remember I even had a copy of it and b) make a…
