It has become a new Christmas tradition of mine to read the latest releases of Biblioasis’ Haunted Bookshelf series around the holidays. Each year they release three previously-published ghost stories but with the additions of illustrations by Seth, meant to revive the Victorian tradition of reading ghost stories on Christmas Eve. I’ve done this a…
Have you ever read a book and cringed, because you recognize bits of yourself in a character, but that character is clearly doing the wrong thing? I had this unfortunate experience when reading Avalanche by Jessica Westhead; a short story collection all about white ladies who are trying to be politically correct, but end up…
I’ll admit to reading this book mainly because of the cover. How cute is that little picture? If blasting off into space in a little rocket with some happy babies and a tiny puppy doesn’t pique your interest about what’s inside this ahort story anthology I don’t know what will. Second to the cover was…
To finish up my Halloween reading streak, I finished the The Virago Book of Witches by Shahrukh Husain this past weekend. Not likely a book you are supposed to read straight through in a few days (although that’s what I did), it offers over 50 stories about witches from various cultures around the world. Many…
I saw a brief mention of the short story collection Homebodies by Amy LeBlanc somewhere online, and I decided I just HAD to read it for my spooky October reading series. It’s harder to find Halloween-themed books by small or independent presses, so I’m quite pleased and excited to introduce this Calgary-based author to a…
When this book arrived on my doorstep for review, I remember getting excited about its unique premise; Night Watch: The Vet Suite by Gillian Wigmore is a collection of 3 novellas all about rural veterinarians. I promptly forgot about it for 2 years, but finally picked it up after searching for something on my bookshelf…
Bizarre. Creepy. Horrific. Sarcastic. All these words can be used to describe Tell Me Pleasant Things About Immortality by Lindsay Wong, a collection of short stories that will likely strike every reader differently. To me, these stories came across as a blend between satire and horror. I’m still struggling to decide how I really felt…
Its fabulous title originally drew me to the short story collection Not the Apocalypse I Was Hoping For by Leslie Greentree, but the fact that it’s a locally published and authored work, right here in Calgary at the University of Calgary Press, was reason enough for me to read this one; I love a book…
Last year I reviewed the three latest releases from Biblioasis’ Haunted Bookshelf Series, a set of pocket-sized ghost stories meant to be enjoyed on Christmas Eve, as per an old tradition. I loved them, and really enjoyed the whole concept of reading ghost stories for the holidays ( I appreciate a good scare any time…
Some thriller readers may already be familiar with the author C.J. Tudor – she wrote the bestseller The Chalk Man a few years ago and continues to build her audience from that success. A Sliver of Darkness is the first book of hers that I’ve read, and it’s a collection of short stories, all works…
While on vacation I indulged by reading my favourite author of all time, David Sedaris. I picked up this quirky little collection of animal-themed stories Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk at the Calgary Reads book sale a few months ago, and because this is a departure from his typical books of essays, I was excited to read…
Alexander MacLeod and his father, celebrated canlit icon Alistair MacLeod are two writers I’ve always felt I should read more of – this is partly due to the wonderful book reviews of Alistair’s writing that can be found on the fabulous book blogs Consumed by Ink and Buried in Print, two book reviewers I follow…
