It may be the first time I’m blogging about Canadian-born writer Eleanor Catton, but I’ve been following her career since I read her first book – a breakout novel that her publisher pushed into my hands, predicting she would be huge. Although she hasn’t necessarily found commercial success, she’s won enough book awards (most recently…
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…
Like my recent read of a Colleen Hoover book a few months ago, I finally picked up another bestelling author that everyone seems to swear by: Jodi Picoult. Her 2022 book titled Wish You Were Here was something I put off reading because I knew it was about the pandemic, and I just didn’t feel…
Its fabulous title originally drew me to the short story collection Not the Apocalypse I Was Hoping For by Leslie Greentree, but the fact that it’s a locally published and authored work, right here in Calgary at the University of Calgary Press, was reason enough for me to read this one; I love a book…
A debut novel with a gothic twist, The Cloisters by Katy Hays scratched my itch for a plot-driven story that would offer up some escapism for the snowy March we’ve been experiencing here in Calgary. Taking place in present-day New York City over one hot and sweaty summer, this is a dark look at obsession…
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 love a humourous novel – although David Sedaris is my favourite writer, I seek a laugh in both my fiction and non-fiction reading whenever possible. When I came across the 2018 winner of The Stephen Leacock Award for Humour in a Second Story Press catalogue, I requested it right away. Gone to Pot by…
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,…
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…
I’m very happy to report that I hunted down this book through the Calgary Public Library system after reading and enjoying a review of it from Marcie at Buried in Print, perhaps one of the best-read people in the world (those of you who follow her blog know I’m not exaggerating, she reads hundreds of…
First in this (admittedly vague) grouping of picture books is My Self, Your Self by Esmé Shapiro. As you can tell by the gorgeous cover above, the illustrations are the true highlight of this book. I can’t quite pinpoint what each creature / character is, but I’m going to guess they are a mixture of…
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…
