The Autumn season is prime book-reading time. The rainy and cold weather means I want to stay inside and read and there seem to be so many books to read. The autumn is when many new books are released (leading up to Christmas) and many of the major literary prize winners (and shortlists) are announced.… Continue reading What I Read – October 2016
Month: October 2016
Book Review: Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
The Glass Castle exploded onto the scene of the book world - Jeannette Walls' hugely popular memoir of her unconventional childhood. Many cite Walls as the first in a growing trend of memoirs from "average" people (ie: not celebrities). A huge part of Walls' memoir (and its appeal) were her parents, especially her mother, Rosemary.… Continue reading Book Review: Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
Book Review: The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball
When a friend loaned me a copy of The Dirty Life I wasn't that excited. I don't read a lot of memoirs and it's rare that they appeal to me. My friend also happens to be a little more of a hippy than I am and I wasn't sure I was interested in reading a… Continue reading Book Review: The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball
Autumn Leaves and Gumboots
Please enjoy this picture of my child posing with an apple from which she has taken several tiny bites: Also, she chose to wear that romper over top of the clothes I had dressed her in. I did not expect battles over clothing to begin so early in our mother-daughter relationship. Every September I feel… Continue reading Autumn Leaves and Gumboots
Book Review: An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff & Alex Tresniowski
My initial reaction and concern upon reading the tagline of this book - "The true story of an 11-year-old panhandler, a busy sales executive, and an unlikely meeting with destiny" - was that it would turn out to be a sort of "white saviour" story. Wealthy white women meets young black boy and his life… Continue reading Book Review: An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff & Alex Tresniowski
there is a space
For the past two years on this date I've shared the same poem by Charles Bukowski. I've never explained why. I'm sharing it again below today. October 19, 2014 was the due date for my first pregnancy. I had my first ever positive pregnancy test on a cold February day - so cold that the… Continue reading there is a space
Book Review: The Trees by Ali Shaw
I'm not sure that I would have finished The Trees, except that it was loaned to me by an acquaintance and I didn't want to seem like someone who doesn't finish books. (They offered to loan it to me after I commented on how beautiful the cover is. Seriously, that's a lovely cover, isn't it?)… Continue reading Book Review: The Trees by Ali Shaw
Book Review: Wenjack by Joseph Boyden
Joseph Boyden is easily one of the best Canadian writers currently being published and I'm a big fan. His latest offering is much shorter than his three previous works - I read Wenjack in two sittings over a couple of days - but brings forth all his familiar talent. What sets this brief story apart… Continue reading Book Review: Wenjack by Joseph Boyden
Thanks In All Things
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 This past weekend was Thanksgiving here in Canada. I have so many things to be thankful for - I wake up each morning in a warm house, in a beautiful… Continue reading Thanks In All Things
Life right now
At the beginning of the summer I woke from a dream in which I took a pregnancy test and it was positive. Being a dream, the pregnancy test involved neon lights and a flashing plus sign. And when I woke and took a test in real life, it was positive too. All summer I carried… Continue reading Life right now
Karissa Reads Books 