It’s that time of year again! Thanksgiving is almost upon us, which also means Wordfest is right around the corner. Back when I worked for the festival, the falling leaves typically struck fear into my heart because it signalled the beginning of an extremely busy time for me. But now that I can enjoy the…
A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed Shonda Rhimes’ Year of Yes on the radio. Yes, that Shonda Rhimes: the one who writes fabulous television shows like Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy. So now that I’ve declared on-air to the world that I really enjoyed the book, I feel as though I need to justify my…
I realize I keep stating that I’m reviewing books I don’t typically read, but this is yet another case of that happening. I have the CBC Homestretch to thank for pushing me out of my comfort-reading zone, and what an adventure this has been! I had to stop and start Guy Gavriel Kay‘s latest Children…
Never have I read a book that has brought me to tears. I’ve been close, my eyes have maybe even welled up a few times in the past, but A Mother’s Reckoning by Sue Klebold put me right over the edge, forcing me to lie awake thinking of what I just read long after I…
This week, I spoke about the genre of autobiographies on The Homestretch. I like to shake things up every once in awhile, so I chose two VERY different books to talk about. The first made me cry, literally. The second made me laugh because its numerous Beyonce references were fabulous. A Mother’s Reckoning by Sue…
Now I don’t want to give readers the wrong idea here; I’m not usually one to pick up and review the genre of science fiction and fantasy, so don’t expect a one-eighty in the types of books that I’ll pick up going forward. However, it’s important to me that I explore as many genres as…
This past week, I spoke about the genre of humour with the wonderful Chris dela Torre on the CBC Homestretch. I would have posted this segment sooner, but a sick toddler has derailed my blogging schedule (among other things) so I’m just getting to this now. But don’t let my tardiness deceive you, this was…
Yesterday I spoke with the lovely Judy Aldous about one of my favourite genres of books: the thriller. We discussed The Fall by Noah Hawley and In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware. Obviously, I loved both these books, and I knew I would, based on the extraordinary publicity efforts made by the publishers….
Pretty sure I’ve mentioned that I’m a nervous flier before on this blog before. I wouldn’t call myself a bad flier, because I do it quite often (one of my life’s greatest ironies unfortunately), but I’m a white knuckler for sure. I care how big the plane is, I refuse to sit in the back…
I had never read anything by Olive Senior before, but I had heard of her, and I knew she was a good writer, so picking up The Pain Tree was an easy decision for me. As was recommending her, and gushing about her publisher Cormorant Books on the radio last week. If you’re looking for…
My fixation on Alberta writers comes with good reason. I’m on the board for the Writers’ Guild of Alberta yo! Their mission is to connect, encourage, inspire, promote and support Alberta writers and their writing, so it would be a down right travesty if I didn’t feature them on one of my radio segments this…
Is this book literary? Yes. Is this book a thriller? Yes, of sorts. Is this book a worthwhile piece of historical fiction? Definitely! The Butcher’s Hook by Janet Ellis is a lot of different things, it’s very unique in so many ways that it will appeal to many different audiences. But before I get into…
