Read: Ghost Forest - Pik-Shuen Fung (Strange Light, 2021) Gentlemen of the Road - Michael Chabon (Ballantine Books, 2007) The Most Wonderful Time of All Years - Darrell W. Johnson (Regent College Publishing, 2013) 26 Knots - Bindu Suresh (Invisible Publishing, 2019) People from my Neighbourhood - Hiromi Kawakami (translated from the Japanese by Ted… Continue reading What I Read – December 2021
Some sunshine, some baking, some gift wrapping. Extra work days, time with friends, new provincial restrictions starting tomorrow. The ups and downs of December, of life in an ongoing pandemic. The joys and excitement of Christmas and the realities of life. All mixed up together. We are blessed to have extended family to celebrate with… Continue reading 2021 Highlights: Week 50
Today's category is Best Classic. Classics can be hard to define and it isn't uncommon for books to be labelled as "modern classics". Personally, I tend to think of books as classics if they are 1) widely known even by people who have never read them (ie: most people have heard of Pride and Prejudice,… Continue reading Best Classic: The 2021 Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards
This week has really thrown me for a loop. Monday arrived and brought snow! Not a lot but enough for some definite excitement. I was getting the girls ready for the day, getting Pearl ready for school, and texting with a friend group chat about something else when one friend asked if anyone else had… Continue reading 2021 Highlights: Week 49
I'm Canadian. (Surprise!) I'm also of the opinion that there are some great books coming out of Canada and from Canadian writers. Much of our media (movies, music, television) in Canada tends to be dominated by the United States but a lot of our book industry (not all) still stands as independent from our neighbours.… Continue reading Best Canadian Book: The 2021 Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards
Out of the Sun - Esi Edugyan (Anansi, 2021) Esi Edugyan is best known for her award-winning fiction - Half Blood Blues and Washington Black - but in this non-fiction book she tackles the subjects of Race and Storytelling. The book is divided according to geographical areas as well as topics: Europe and the Art… Continue reading Book Review: Out of the Sun by Esi Edugyan
Reading more work translated from other languages into English is a goal of mine every year. I never seem to read as many as I hope to but I'm determined to keep making an effort. Since I only speak and read one language, reading translations is the best way to access an entire other world… Continue reading Best Translated Work: The 2021 Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards
Let's start with this week's big news: Pearl got her first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine! We went in the pouring rain after school. The time slots were set aside for ages 5 to 11 only so the atmosphere was quiet but the staff there had prepped for kids. Some of the nurses wore fairy… Continue reading 2021 Highlights: Week 48
It's that time of year! I am once more presenting my own Annual Literary Awards. I thought this was the third year of doing so until I checked last year's posts and learned that I've been doing this since 2018. As ever, credit for the idea goes to the inimitable FictionFan who is running her… Continue reading The Fourth Annual Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards
Karissa Reads Books 