I knew reading this book would be difficult for me, it would be for anyone, but especially for a parent. I almost wished I was reading it before I had become a mother myself because it would have been less painful to read. Although, it would have had less impact too, I don’t think I…
Do you watch CSI: Anywhere? Do modern day thrillers with drugs, violence and crime interest you? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, there is no doubt in my mind that you will enjoy Every Man a Menace by Patrick Hoffman. The book is split into five different parts, each focusing on a…
I’ve never read any of Eden Robinson‘s work before, but people discuss her books like she is always writing something worth reading, so I had high hopes when I picked up Son of a Trickster. Unfortunately, I typically approach indigenous writing with a bit of apprehension, just because I usually find most of the characters…
This is a difficult book to classify because it has successfully taken elements from many genres; fantasy, historical fiction, even horror can be found in The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. The story takes place in medieval Russia, mostly in a small village steeped in wilderness. Here, winter lasts the majority of the year,…
So you can always tell when I’ve been travelling, because the pictures of my books don’t feature Pearl or Smokey. I went on a lovely road trip to the UK a few weeks ago with my husband, and while away, I read a few books about travelling, just to help me get in the exploring…
When we look at the covers of books, we sometimes see what we want to, and conveniently overlook the things we don’t. Unfortunately this happens to me often because I do things quickly, sometimes too quickly, so I frequently miss things. My most recent example: not noticing that The Tourist by Robert Dickinson is a…
I loved Maria Semple’s last book Where’d You Go Bernadette, so I was excited to pick up her follow-up novel, Today Will Be Different. It also takes place in Seattle (Semple’s hometown), and once again the protagonist Eleanor Flood is a wacky, stressed-out mom who regales the reader with hilarious insights into the world around her….
Mental illness: many people suffer from it, and everyone fears it. It seems like only lately have we begun getting better at talking about it, although that in itself has been a slow progression. But when we think of how people suffering from mental illnesses were treated even 50 years ago, it’s uplifting to reflect…
I am most definitely not a dog person. I don’t have anything against them, in fact I love petting dogs when I see them on a walk, playing with my friends’ dogs, and giving a nice golden retriever a good belly rub when the opportunity presents itself. But you see, it’s impossible for me to…
I was really excited by the premise of this book when Edge Publishing sent it to me. Essentially, nEvermore! (yes, that is the correct spelling) is a collection of stories inspired by Edgar Allan Poe; many are re-imaginings for his published works while others are simply inspired by his writing. How cool is that? I’ve never…
Heroes of the Frontier by Dave Eggers has a lot going for it, the most important being how funny it is. There were so many laugh-out-loud moments in it that I found myself reading passages aloud to my husband-now that’s a sign of a good book! The majority of the humour comes from the inner…
When I received this book from the publisher, I’ll admit I was underwhelmed. Another book about WWII? Have all the stories been told already? But I had heard so many good things about The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa that I plowed through it anyway with hopes that the praise was not unfounded. My…
