When I realized my reading last year was #sowhite, especially considering I’m reading all books published within the last few years, I’ve been making a concerted effort to read with diversity in mind, and it has been a rewarding experience. Surviving the White Gaze by Rebecca Carroll is a memoir about growing up half black,…
I had been reading a string of heavy books lately, and felt as though I deserved a little indulgent reading, which for me can be a cozy mystery, or a domestic thriller. I leaned into the thriller/suspense category and picked up Would I Lie To You? by Aliya Ali-Afzal, which lands squarely into the domestic…
I won’t say my reading is influenced by awards, because it rarely is – quite often, my book choices depend on the themes I’ve come up with for my monthly radio segment, and the books that land on my doorstep for review. But every so often I break out of this pattern and pick up…
When I originally received this book for review, I dismissed it thinking it was YA, which I don’t normally read except under special circumstances. But after seeing it appear on more than one ‘notable spring books’ list, I thought I’d give it a try, knowing at the very least that it was written as a…
Sometimes it feels good to just have a little cry, and you’ll have to keep the therapeutic benefits of sobbing in mind if you plan on reading If You Hear Me by Pascale Quiviger, translated from the French by Lazer Lederhendler. It’s a daunting read knowing it centers on the fracturing of a family’s life…
Picture yourself in a dark basement club in downtown Montreal, small votive candles burning away on each little table. Across from you is a woman with a raspy voice smoking a cigarette, telling you her life story in between sets on stage. She is surprisingly forthcoming considering you’ve never met, but she seems have this…
When I saw the cover of this book I was intrigued (and mildly grossed out?), but when I read the description of it, and the promise of sex scandals with professors on campus, I thought – sounds spicy! Perfect for this time of year when everything is melting, muddy, and generally dingy outside of my…
I’ll admit to being a bit confused about what My Best Friend was Angela Bennett by Suzanne Hillier was when I picked it up – a non-fiction account of a particular woman during WWII? A tale of female friendship loosely based in reality? A memoir? In my defense, I received the printed pages of it,…
I seem to have great luck with the translated books that I read, and that success is mostly due to the careful eye of the editors at the Arachnide imprint from Canadian press House of Anansi. They regularly choose the best and the brightest when it comes to translated works that will impress English Canadians…
I had been saving the latest book from David Sedaris on my shelf for awhile, because I wanted to ‘treat’ myself to it when I was ready to enjoy my favourite author without interruptions. So when I managed to score myself a ticket to his Calgary show on February 27, you can imagine how delighted…
I don’t like taking risks, but when I do, they are usually book-related. I threw caution to the wind last week and started reading a mystery series five books in. Obsidian by Thomas King is the latest in his DreadfulWater Mystery Series which I’ve had recommended to me for years, but finally got the chance…
Does a book called “Hot Stew” all about a crowded neighborhood kind of give you the willies? Normally I’d say ‘me too’, but because I’ve spent the last two years avoiding people, Hot Stew by Fiona Mozley sounded like something I wanted to dive into immediately. It’s set in the present day (sans Covid) in…
