Back in February I was lucky enough to sit in a theatre audience and listen to David Sedaris live and in-person, try out some of the stories from his upcoming release, Happy-Go-Lucky. Based on what he read and how he spoke of it, I knew it was going to have some darker moments. This collection…
I’ve had the book Dead Mom Walking by Rachel Matlow on my shelf for what feels like ages (its only been two years, but that’s a long time for me). I had read really positive reviews of it when it was released, and I knew it was going to be funny, so I kept it…
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…
