Flanagan's novel of Australian soldiers in World War Two is well-written. I wouldn't say too well-written but the detail of certain horrors it describes is hard to take. I don't know that I've ever felt so physically ill while reading a novel before. Reading this was often like someone - Flanagan, I suppose - holding… Continue reading Book Review: The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
David would have the throne, the crown, the line of descendants that the Name had promised him. But for the rest of his life, he would be scalded by the consequences of his choices. My task would be twofold: To stand up to him, and to stand by him. To awaken his conscience, and to… Continue reading Book Review: The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks
Mischievous. Inquisitive. Observant. Pearl at 13 months is full of energy, laughs frequently, and always wants to explores. When strangers stop to say hello or wave at her, she stares back, unsmilingly (she reserves her waves for her favourite people or when the person's not looking). But she'll squeal gleefully at a dog or cat… Continue reading Pearl at 13 Months
Although In the Skin of a Lion generally wins top spot when it comes to my favourite book, The Sun Also Rises is a close second. A glance at my shelves will tell you that I'm a Hemingway fan. I even have a t-shirt with the original, Art Nouveau book cover on it. Hemingway was… Continue reading A Friday Favourite: The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
There was a time when Spring Break and holiday and travel meant I had time to read more than usual. Not this year, my friends, not this year. Here's what I did read: The Heart Goes Last - Margaret Atwood (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday Canada, 2015) Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes (Penguin Books, 2003) (translated… Continue reading What I Read – March 2016
Things that happened without leaving home: We did some local hikes and exploration. Which also included some time at the neighbourhood park. (That swing is not really Pearl-sized.) We hung out in our backyard for basically the first time this year. It was sunny enough to hang laundry to dry outside for the first time… Continue reading Spring Break 2016 – Sechelt
If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 1 Corinthians 15:19 If Easter means nothing - if this is a day about only rabbits and chocolate and coloured eggs - then Christianity means nothing, our lives are momentary, a breath of air and gone.… Continue reading He Is Risen Indeed
At the end of 2015, some good friends of ours moved from the Coast to the Kootenays. Peter and I decided to take the opportunity of Spring Break to go and visit them. Their littlest girl is just a few weeks younger than Pearl and it so happened that we got to be there for… Continue reading Spring Break 2016 – Kimberley
I love Anne Michaels' novels (Fugitive Pieces and The Winter Vault) and so was excited to hear she had written her first children's story. The Adventures of Miss Petitfour is a slim book, comprising several short tales of Miss Petitfour, who lives with her sixteen cats and likes best to travel by tablecloth. The accompanying… Continue reading Book Review: The Adventures of Miss Petitfour by Anne Michaels (Reading With Pearl)
To kick off Spring Break 2016, we headed up to Whistler for a night. Way back in 2013, Peter and I had ventured that way for spring break. We had a little less snow and a whole lot more child to deal with. Now, I could show you some sweet pictures and let you think… Continue reading Spring Break 2016 – Whistler
Karissa Reads Books 