What I Read – February 2019

Read: When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi (Gale Engage Learning, 2016) Divided Loyalties - Nilofar Shidmehr (Astoria, 2019) Fathers and Sons - Ivan Turgenev (Penguin Books, 1975) (translated from the Russian by Rosemary Edmonds) Minster Without Portfolio - Michael Winter (Hamish Hamilton, 2013) The Bellman's Secret - Heidi Barnes (Rare Bird Books, 2019) Quiet - Susan Cain (Crown Publishers, 2012) Miss Burma - Charmaine Cragg… Continue reading What I Read – February 2019

Book Review: The Education of Augie Merasty by Joseph Auguste Merasty with David Carpenter

The Education of Augie Merasty: A Residential School Memoir - Joseph Auguste Merasty with David Carpenter (University of Regina Press, 2015) With the advent of the Truth and Reconciliation Project in Canada, there has been an increase in stories being told about residential schools. Some of these are oral, some have been written down. There… Continue reading Book Review: The Education of Augie Merasty by Joseph Auguste Merasty with David Carpenter

Pearl is 4!

Our Pearl. She is curious and imaginative and very observant. She loves cars (her chosen party theme) and dinosaurs. She loves playing with her cars and has elaborate worlds built up around her car family (as she calls them). She's very relational in her play and everything is always sorted into families. Pearl loves looking… Continue reading Pearl is 4!

Book Review: Minister Without Portfolio by Michael Winter

Minister Without Portfolio - Michael Winter (Hamish Hamilton, 2013) While books set in Newfoundland or written by Newfie authors definitely qualify as Canadian fiction, the more I read the more I feel like they belong in their own category. I've yet to visit Newfoundland but through books I've come to view it as a somewhat separate entity… Continue reading Book Review: Minister Without Portfolio by Michael Winter

Book Review: The Bellman’s Secret by Heidi Barnes

The Bellman's Secret - Heidi Barnes (Rare Bird Books, 2019) I read Heidi Barnes' first book (and the first in what is supposed to be The Bellman Trilogy) back in 2016 and...I didn't like it. (You can read my review here.) So when I was offered a copy of The Bellman's Secret by Rare Bird Books, I'll… Continue reading Book Review: The Bellman’s Secret by Heidi Barnes

Book Review: Quiet by Susan Cain

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking - Susan Cain (Crown Publishers, 2012) I'm a definite introvert and I'm willing to bet that if you're the sort of person who spends a lot of time not only reading books but following blogs on the internet that talk about reading books,… Continue reading Book Review: Quiet by Susan Cain

Book Review: Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev

Fathers and Sons - Ivan Turgenev (Penguin Books, 1975) Reviewing classic books always feels a bit strange to me because what can I add to the years of literary conversation surrounding an author like Turgenev? So instead I'll focus on what I enjoyed. This was my first read by Turgenev but his work has been… Continue reading Book Review: Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev

Book Review: Divided Loyalties by Nilofar Shidmehr

Divided Loyalties - Nilofar Shidmehr (Astoria, 2019) New and different voices and particularly voices coming from other cultures and histories are something that I'm always on the look out for. So I was excited to get my hands on an Advance Copy of this short story collection. Each story centres around an Iranian woman. The… Continue reading Book Review: Divided Loyalties by Nilofar Shidmehr

The Story God is Writing

These two. What a miracle their lives are to me. I've been thinking a lot about anniversaries, dates on the calendar. This time of year is full of them for me. Five years ago I was pregnant for the first time, weeks away from miscarrying and learning that pregnancy and childbirth were not going to… Continue reading The Story God is Writing

Book Review: When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi (Gale Cengage Learning, 2016) How to classify this book? It's a contemplation of life and death. It's a love letter to a wife and daughter. It's a poem of praise to the beauty of the world and a rage against the fragility of the human body. Paul Kalanithi… Continue reading Book Review: When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi