Anthologies aren’t typically my thing, but I’ve kept an open mind lately, and this book came across my doorstep as I was a judge for the Alberta Book Publishing Awards a few months back. Impact, Women Writing After Concussion, Edited by E.D. Morin and Jane Cawthorne is a self-explanatory title, but why this book is…
The subtitle of Sharon Butala’s latest book This Strange Visible Air is: Essays on Aging and the Writing Life. Maybe it’s because I’m keenly aware that my forties are now in my sights, or maybe it’s because I recently discovered I may have trouble digesting gluten and the thought of a life stretched out before…
About a year ago I reviewed a work of fiction called The Subtweet by multi-disciplinary artist Vivek Shraya, and along with many other critics I really enjoyed it, so I was excited when another one of her books People Change landed on my doorstep a few months ago. Unlike Subtweet, this is a short work…
A book of essays about reading? Sign me up! It will come as no surprise that I loved Big Reader by Susan Olding. Each piece revolves around a particular book, a form of reading, a page in the life of being a writer, and reading experiences evolving over a lifetime. There are even a few…
Before I dive into this book review, I’ll offer a definition for the term ‘dad bod’ as not everyone will be familiar with it. According to urban dictionary, “a dad bod is a male body type that is best described as ‘softly round’. It’s built upon the theory that once a man has found a…
Fishing and fatherhood: two subjects I cannot relate to! But as I continue my search for the perfect book for Father’s Day, I can safely say that Reading the Water; Fly Fishing, Fatherhood, and Finding Strength in Nature by Mark Hume is the ideal gift for any papa in your life, even those who don’t…
I half-heartedly complain about the fact that I rarely get to read what I want to, when I want to. When I’m balancing a full-time job with a contract reading gig for the CBC I need to prioritize what books I pick up, which usually means I’m reading the books that I’ve chosen for that…
A crossword puzzle, a packing list, a script for a play, a journal of writing prompts, real estate listings, a dictionary, a legal contract, a grimoire, and a tree atlas – all of these writing forms and more are included in the book Persephone’s Children, a Life in Fragments by Rowan McCandless. The best way…
When I realized my reading last year was #sowhite, especially considering I’m reading all books published within the last few years, I’ve been making a concerted effort to read with diversity in mind, and it has been a rewarding experience. Surviving the White Gaze by Rebecca Carroll is a memoir about growing up half black,…
Picture yourself in a dark basement club in downtown Montreal, small votive candles burning away on each little table. Across from you is a woman with a raspy voice smoking a cigarette, telling you her life story in between sets on stage. She is surprisingly forthcoming considering you’ve never met, but she seems have this…
I had been saving the latest book from David Sedaris on my shelf for awhile, because I wanted to ‘treat’ myself to it when I was ready to enjoy my favourite author without interruptions. So when I managed to score myself a ticket to his Calgary show on February 27, you can imagine how delighted…
I’ve come to that point in my reading life that I no longer can recall if I’ve read certain books. I was so certain I had read an Ann Patchett book before this one, but according to my hand-written reading log and Goodreads, These Precious Days is my first Patchett book. Perhaps I had read…