With thoughts of Mother’s Day no doubt swirling around in everyone’s minds this weekend, I thought I’d post a review of a book of 15 essays about motherhood. What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About, Fifteen Writers Break the Silence are all fairly short pieces written by authors about their mothers. They range from…
I knew I’d like Nobody Cares by Anne T. Donahue before I even opened the front cover. Why? Please refer to my list below: The author Anne T. Donahue has the same first name as me, AND we’re the same age, so obviously we are soul sisters. She grew up in and still lives in…
So when I first received this book in the mail I thought: ‘great my 96-year-old Grandpa will love this one!’. But when I noticed a few other books arrived on my shelf that dealt with spies and espionage, I thought I’d give this one a whirl to see how it stacked up to the rest…
I am a terrible excuse for a girl named Anne who loves books. I’m embarrassed to put this down in writing, but I have never read Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. What kind of Canadian book-lover am I? A poor excuse for one, that’s for sure. And instead of going ahead and getting…
I know some women may hear of a book about feminism and think ‘why do we need another one of these, we’re all equal!’ but it’s not until you read books like this that you realize we still have so far to go. If that doesn’t sound appealing then maybe this will: Renzetti writes Shrewed…
I’ve never had the experience of doubting whether I could finish a book. I love reading, and even when I don’t really like a book I’ll usually finish it; my DNF rate is extremely low. Reading The Boy on the Beach by Tima Kurdi is the first time I found myself unsure as to whether…
I frequently refer to memoirs as their own subsection of the ‘self-help’ genre, because I believe that learning about someone else’s life circumstances is a wonderful way of gaining a new perspective on your own. This theory is once again being proven with Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother’s Will to Survive by…
Those of us who are lucky enough to have the luxury of living in peaceful countries may be asking themselves what we can do to help the refugee crisis; I would argue our first job is to listen to their stories in an attempt to understand what they are fleeing from and why. With the…
I find the words ‘fed up’ particularly evocative. This may sound sexist, but I think women are pushed to this point much more than men, simply because we (females) take it upon ourselves to make everyone around us ‘comfortable’, whether we realize it or not. It’s not because we think it’s fun, or because we…
The Dinosaur Artist by Paige Williams is an in-depth exploration of dinosaur bones; where they are typically found, how they’re formed, the best way to mount them, etc. Thankfully though, the book focuses more on the people behind the bones (or more accurately, fossils) rather than the dinosaurs themselves. Eric Prokopi is at the center…
Us book-loving Calgarians have a major milestone to celebrate in exactly one week: the opening of our new Central Library. It’s a big deal for us because our old central branch was in dire need of a remodel, and this new building is an architectural marvel that’s making headlines all over the world. In honour…
Seven Fallen Feathers by investigative journalist Tanya Talaga is a few things; it’s a non-fiction account of the death of seven different indigenous children in Thunder Bay, it’s a cautionary tale to parents who send their emotionally unprepared kids to an environment they’ve never experienced, and it’s a crushing blow to Canadians who claim racism…
