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
No help for that a poem by Charles Bukowski there is a place in the heart that will never be filled a space and even during the best moments and the greatest times we will know it we will know it more than ever there is a place in the… Continue reading there is a place in the heart
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
It's Thanksgiving weekend in my part of the world. I know I have so much to be thankful for. This has been a big year. Last night, Peter and I went out for dinner with friends to celebrate his 30th birthday. I'm unspeakably thankful for this guy and that we get to share life together… Continue reading Happy Thanksgiving
Nothing so reminds you like the sea that the enemy of life is not death but loneliness. For some reason, the names of the men who vied to reach the South Pole are far better known than those who competed to reach the North. I know about Scott and Amundsen and, of course, Shackleton, but… Continue reading Book Review: The Navigator of New York by Wayne Johnston
Grace is a small word with a big meaning. It deserves to have an entire book devoted to the subject (or multiple books) and Yancey is an excellent choice to tackle the subject. He delves deeply into grace here. What is it? What does the Bible say about it? Why is it important? And what… Continue reading Book Review: What’s So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey
Here's what I read this month. Reviews are up or coming. 1. Beijing Confidential - Jan Wong (Doubleday Canada, 2007) My review is here. 2. The Curse of the Viking Grave - Farley Mowat (McClelland & Stewart, 1966) Read my review here. 3. What's So Amazing About Grace? - Philip Yancey (Zondervan Publishing House, 1997) 4. The… Continue reading What I Read – September 2015
Photobombing dog. Bella the Dog is no longer with us. (By which I mean she went back to her real home. She's totally still alive.) Our house feels much quieter and afternoon walks are a little less chaotic. Pearl misses her furry friend though. Bella seemed to think that I made little beds complete with… Continue reading Toy-Stealing, Dog-Petting, Beer-Drinking
I've had this book - a copy that my dad apparently received as a Christmas gift in 1966 - on my shelf for years and never read it or realized that it's a sequel to Lost in the Barrens. Fortunately, you don't need to have read that more famous novel to follow the plot in… Continue reading Book Review: The Curse of the Viking Grave – Farley Mowat
I've been the mother of one child for six months now so I am obviously an expert. And everyone loves receiving unsolicited baby advice, right? Three weeks post-partum is too soon to try on your pre-pregnancy pants. Just don't do it. You'll feel sad. You have lost a lot of weight. But not that much.… Continue reading Unsolicited Advice
Karissa Reads Books 