So I know Halloween is over, but I’m the type of person who likes to read spooky stories all year around, especially in the winter when I’m curled up by my fireplace. Agnes, Murderess by Sarah Leavitt landed on my doorstep unexpectedly, so the good folks at Freehand Books must have known how much I…
Now I know I’m not the only one who feels a sense of smug pleasure when reading a non-fiction book extolling the positives of a habit you already practice. Doesn’t it feel good to read a news article talking about how coffee is good for you, when you drink it regularly? Or how dark chocolate…
Holiday picture books are my absolute favourite way to get in the ‘mood’ for something. Even though we read them all year around, they seem to radiate an important aura as the relevant date approaches, getting both myself and my kids event more excited for what’s to come. I received two Halloween books in the…
Are you a fan of ‘noir fiction’ ? Do you even know what ‘noir’ means? There are various definitions for it, but I found this wikipedia listing pretty thorough, and the first sentence does enough for my purposes here: “In its modern form, noir has come to denote a marked darkness in theme and subject…
There’s always a few jobs out there that one knows for certain they could never handle. Personally, I could never be a teacher because I can barely manage my own two children and I find all their questions annoying (sorry not sorry). But for some reason the monumental task of being an emergency services responder…
Dear reader; I wanted so much to like Lampedusa by Steven Price. At the time I’m writing this, it was announced as a shortlist contender for the Giller Prize, and because so many people in Canada are forming their reading lists based on this prize alone, I may be one of the few who are…
So it’s been awhile since I posted to booktube-my bad! I’ve made it up to you with a funny/timely/fascinating book about death/cremation/burial, set against a Halloween-ish backdrop in my home. Bundle up for a six minute video about why I love Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? by Caitlin Doughty, and my plans for this…
I think I may have found myself a new favourite author, probably because the brilliance of his writing reminds me so much of my original favourite author, David Sedaris. Toil & Trouble by Augusten Burroughs is a memoir about being a witch, i.e. having special gifts that other people don’t understand or tap into properly….
Can I get a hurrah for linked short story collections? Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta is a quiet yet decisive book that doesn’t gloss over the first and second generation immigrant experience in Canada. And instead of getting a disjointed look at these experiences through a raft of different characters, we follow one person, Kara…
My faithful readers will know all too well how much I love a Ruth Ware book. I’ve had my minor complaints about them over the years, but it’s never enough to put me off reading her. I still get excited each and every time I hear she’s written another, and thank god she’s productive because…
I was first introduced to the music of Tegan and Sara by an old (and short-lived) boyfriend from my university days. He loved them, and their hit song “Walking with a Ghost” was one I immediately added into my playlist. I still have a few of their songs on my iTunes account, and when they…
The Institute by Stephen King is the perfect book to mark the beginning of the spooky season, and even though there are no ghosts in his latest release, there are more than a fair share of ghouls that are terrifying enough to haunt your dreams. Fair warning to those considering this as a future read;…
