What I Read – October 2015

The Tenderness of Wolves - Stef Penney (Penguin Canada, 2006) Read my review here. The Bone Sharps - Tim Bowling (Gaspereau Press, 2007) Read my review here. Remembrance - Alistair MacLeod (McClelland & Stewart, 2012) The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes (Vintage Canada, 2012) Beatrice & Virgil - Yann Martel (Alfred A. Knopf… Continue reading What I Read – October 2015

Book Review: The Tawny Scrawny Lion by Kathryn Jackson, illus. by Gustaf Tenggren (Reading with Pearl)

Last Christmas my terrific brother-in-law and his lovely wife gave us a collection of Little Golden Books. We all remember Little Golden Books from our childhood, right? They're awesome. I love reading books from my own kid days with Pearl. However, sometimes re-reading kids books as an adult casts a new light on them. (Spoilers… Continue reading Book Review: The Tawny Scrawny Lion by Kathryn Jackson, illus. by Gustaf Tenggren (Reading with Pearl)

Book Review: The Bishop’s Man by Linden MacIntyre

I really disliked this book. It surprised me how much I disliked this book. And then it surprised me to remember that this book is a Giller prize winner*, an award that is highly respected within Canada. I'm not surprised that a book I don't like won the Giller prize because literary enjoyment can be… Continue reading Book Review: The Bishop’s Man by Linden MacIntyre

Book Review: The Bone Sharps by Tim Bowling

There are multiple stories occurring within the scope of this novel. We have Charles Hazelius Sternberg (a real life historical figure), a fossil hunter, creeping closer to the end of his career, possibly losing his mind in the Alberta badlands, in 1916. We have Sternberg's young assistant, Scott Cameron, in the trenches of World War… Continue reading Book Review: The Bone Sharps by Tim Bowling

Book Review: Death Benefits by Sarah N. Harvey

Royce is sixteen and has just moved with his mother across the country, from Nova Scotia to Vancouver Island. He's bored, lonely, and biding his time until he can escape back east to his former life. In the meantime, his mother convinces him to take on the job of caring for her 95-year-old father. Arthur… Continue reading Book Review: Death Benefits by Sarah N. Harvey

Book Review: Peek-a-Zoo (Reading with Pearl)

We have this terrific early literacy program here on the Coast where each month an age-appropriate book is sent to your home for your child. (It's done in partnership with Dolly Parton's reading program.) I love it and Pearl's already received several fun board books. (I always knew board books were great at this age… Continue reading Book Review: Peek-a-Zoo (Reading with Pearl)

Pearl Lately

Nearly eight months old. Still no teeth. Never stops moving. Wispy hair that just reaches her ear on one side. Tall enough that she's now wearing some 12 month sized clothes. Loves her dad. I mean seriously, loves that guy. She loves me and we spend our days together very happily but if he is… Continue reading Pearl Lately

Book Review: The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney

This is a book with a surprisingly tight plot. I say surprisingly because there are a lot of plot lines going on here and yet each one is compelling, thoughtful, and well fleshed-out. There's a murdered French trapper, a remote Hudson Bay Company fort, a Norwegian religious community, the twenty year disappearance of two young… Continue reading Book Review: The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney

Book Review: My Secret Sister by Helen Edwards & Jenny Lee Smith

Whether or not you agree with Tolstoy that all happy families are the same, it's generally true that they're not very interesting to read about. Helen Edwards and Jenny Lee Smith alternate in telling the stories of their lives. While they grew up near each other in England, they had drastically different childhoods. Jenny was… Continue reading Book Review: My Secret Sister by Helen Edwards & Jenny Lee Smith