This is the first (and most likely the last) James Patterson book I’ll ever read. It’s not that I didn’t like it, in fact I enjoyed it, it was highly entertaining and I flew through the pages. Still, I finished the book and thought, what was the point of this? The 19th Christmas by James…
Most of my readers are probably aware of this by now, but I’m not Jewish. Still, I like to read my kids books about Hanukkah because I think it’s important they understand that not everyone celebrates Christmas, there are other holidays that happen around the same time that their friends celebrate instead. There are undoubtedly…
I’ve raved about Calgary author and artist Vivek Shraya on this blog before, so when given the chance to review the 10th anniversary edition of her first book God Loves Hair (previously self-published) I was excited to dive in and witness the evolution of her writing. Now that she’s a famous Canadian, it made sense…
Historical fiction isn’t typically a genre I get excited about. It’s one of those things that I tend to enjoy once I’ve been forced into it, but don’t actively seek it out on my own (I also feel this way about travel, and I blame my father for this general reluctance). Anyway, The Sea Gate…
As the economy continues to take a nose dive here in Alberta, I’m becoming more and more determined to read local and encouraging others to do the same. When possible, buying locally-authored books from an independent book store is even better because it keeps the money in your community PLUS it helps the publishing industry…
I don’t watch a lot of television, and I only have Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ for streaming services (of which I don’t watch very often), so I tend to miss out on the dearth of holiday hallmark movies that come out this time of year. Luckily, books are always the answer to any dilemma…
Each Fall I send an email to the major publishers I review for, asking them for their holiday specific titles. I do this because I need to plan for my radio segments early, but I also love reading for the specific season. If it was a normal year I would recommend these books as hostess…
Do you avoid jumping into the middle of a mystery series and insist on reading the 1st book first? I rarely get the opportunity to read a series in consecutive order, so I have no problem starting halfway through, but I do realize this sets me back in the character development. Keeping this in mind,…
As I plan and prepare for my bookish gift-giving guide for the 2020 holidays, I find myself dipping into books I wouldn’t normally pick up. Many of my long-time readers are probably a bit curious about the selection of books I’ve been diving into lately, and this is why; I’m reading books that will suit…
Rabbit Foot Bill by Helen Humphreys is my online book club’s November pick (yes, that’s still going!), and days after we announced our choice, a reader messaged me to say it took her only four hours to read. I love a fast read, so I was delighted when I read this in a single day,…
When I saw the announcement for the upcoming release of the picture book Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi, illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky, I was really excited. I had been looking for a way to approach the topic of racism with my 5 year-old because she hears the term on the radio, but my husband…
I’ve been so excited to dive into this debut novel since it landed on my doorstep a few months ago, and although I thought it was going to be a book mainly about race, wealth is the true focal point of the story. White Ivy by Susie Yang has been compared to Little Fires Everywhere…
