Do you remember The Jolly Postman books? Each page came with a built-in envelope that harboured mini surprises; little puzzles, simple board games, and tons of letters with special drawings and stories attached. This epistolary tradition continues with three new books this holiday season. Maisy’s Christmas Party by Lucy Cousins is an introduction into this…
You know how people joke they are addicted to something? I regularly claim I’m addicted to chocolate, and those of you who know me well know this is a fairly accurate statement. I almost always have it in the house, and when I go a full day without having any of it (which is rare…
It’s not a groundbreaking statement to say you should get off your phone more often. We are all (mostly) aware of why staring at a screen is bad for us, mentally, physically and emotionally, and yet we just keep coming back to them. For many, this is because we have to be on a screen…
I’m a big fan of Drew Hayden Taylor‘s writing. His words are funny, empathetic, and entertaining all at the same time. Every book of his I read, I’m more hopeful that Canada’s indigenous population, colonizers and immigrants will one day live in harmony, a mutually beneficial arrangement where everyone is legitimately taken care of (getting…
What do you do with your holiday books between January and November? Do they live on your bookshelf with your other kids books, or are you like me and pack them away with your decorations, ready to be discovered each year? It may seem like a strange habit to get into, but because we have…
What’s better than reading a book that takes place at a Christmas party in front of your very own Christmas tree? How about if that book contains a devious murder plot too? Reading a holiday book during the holidays certainly ratchets up the tension and the dark pleasure of a good winter read, which is…
If you want to read a book that will truly horrify you, I recommend The Reality Bubble by Ziya Tong. It packs a scary punch, and not the kind of spooky Halloween-y read I typically recommend to frighten people. No, this book will terrify you because it highlights how much we don’t know or understand…
Calgary Through the Eyes of Writers by Shaun Hunter isn’t a book I’d typically read; it’s an anthology of writing about Calgary, so it’s not meant to be read all the way through, which is pretty much the ONLY WAY I read books. But, I did just that, read it all the way through, and…
Did you watch the Giller awards on Monday night? I was glued to the television screen, strangely nervous to see who the winner of Canada’s biggest book prize would be. As you no doubt realized already, Dual Citizens by Alix Ohlin did not win, but I really enjoyed it, despite my negative comments at the…
Let me set the scene for you: two kids live in an extremely isolated cove, their parents die, and they are forced to harvest and catch their own food as a means of survival. That’s it. That’s the book. And in the words of the author-who would want to read about that? I would actually,…
Long title, long book. Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club by Megan Gail Coles may scare off people for a few different reasons, one of them being the warning issued at the beginning: “This might hurt a little. Be brave.” But those who are brave will be rewarded. I won’t say I…
Reproduction by Ian Williams, winner of the 2019 Giller Prize is a quirky read. Aside from this book being PAINFULLY LONG, I enjoyed it. It plays with lots of things: format, timelines, even phrasing. That being said, I’m a reader who doesn’t like freaky-deaky experimentation in my books, but I still found this story readable….
