What’s the difference between a good and bad person? What makes a person selfish? Can regularly volunteering at a food bank cancel out the sins of cheating on a partner? Even So by Lauren B. Davis asks all these questions, and although not all of them are answered readers are given a glimpse into the…
Years ago I read the book The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and really enjoyed it. Since then, many similar ‘circus’ books have been successfully published and sold. The circus setting is one that gives authors a great deal of characters, conflicts, and magic to play with, almost anything set under the big top is…
Louise Penny is a well-known Canadian treasure; most adore her Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels, and although I haven’t read many myself, I intend to when I have the time (i.e. when my kids are grown and out of the house). Until then, I’ll dive into her one-off novels, and how could I not read…
Poetry isn’t something I read often; every once in awhile I’ll pick it up, but I really don’t look forward to it, and there are way too many novels on my shelf to ignore. But you may find it surprising to hear that my second favourite author (David Sedaris is my first) is the Canadian…
I will fully admit to choosing this book based on the cover alone; the single square of chocolate signaled to me that within these pages, I may find the solution to my chocolate addiction. Now don’t get me wrong, I would never give up eating chocolate entirely, but I would like to have better control…
I don’t get the chance to read classics all that often because I’m usually reading the latest releases from publishers, which is of course exciting and I’m grateful for that opportunity BUT I also follow lots of bloggers who extoll the virtues of classic reading, and I can’t help but feel left out of the…
When I first heard about The Maid by Nita Prose and the enormous buzz it was getting a few months ago, I knew I would love it. A cozy mystery about a quirky maid written by a well-regarded Canadian book editor? Sign me up. Now it’s being made into a movie, and was just named…
I’m not quite sure what prompted my purchase of Dare to Lead by Brené Brown, perhaps I saw it listed on some leadership book list and decided I needed to take the plunge. I read a few pages when I first got it, and then quickly abandoned it for more fun (fictional) pursuits. Right before…
With another year of reading and blogging under my belt, I’ve come to the realization that writing out the entire list of books I read each year is a waste of time. And because time is something I have less and less of these days, I figured it made more sense to use this end-of-year…
This book was sent to me months ago, and I’ll admit I didn’t have immediate plans to read it simply because I had so many other thrillers ready to go on my shelf. But then, Lucky by Marissa Stapley was chosen by Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club, and I usually enjoy her book club picks when…
I do believe I’ve stumbled upon a new must-read mystery series for my Canadian followers. Why just Canadian? I’m not sure you can get the Lane Winslow Mystery Series past our borders as its published by small press Touchwood Editions, so if you are having trouble finding it, please contact them directly to see if…
Recently there’s been a trend in publishing novels that focus on the 70s music scene, typically that focus narrows in on one band or musician in particular, a sort of ‘tell all’ story about their rise to celebrity. Both Glenn Dixon and Taylor Jenkins Reid released books like this, and I genuinely enjoyed them both….
