Hao - Ye Chun (Catapult, 2021) I received an Advance Reading Copy of this book. All opinions are my own. It will be available for sale 7 September 7, 2021. This was such a unique short story collections. Many of these stories centre around language, particularly the Chinese language and its writing, and each story… Continue reading Book Review: Hao by Ye Chun
This was an unusual week in our household. I worked! In fact, I've worked 8 of the last 9 days. Normally, throughout the year I work one day a week and am at home with my girls the rest of the time. I take the responsibility of things like cooking meals, doing laundry, getting Pearl… Continue reading 2021 Highlights: Week 28
Transcendent Kingdom - Yaa Gyasi (Bond Street Books, 2020) Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi was one of my top reads of 2020 so I went into reading Transcendent Kingdom with very high expectations. While Transcendent Kingdom has a lot in it that is beautiful and thoughtful, it does suffer by comparison to Homegoing and it was… Continue reading Book Review: Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Made in China - Anna Qu (Catapult, 2021) I received an Advance Reading Copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own. It is on sale 3 August 2021. Anna Qu is a baby when her mother leaves her with her grandparents and heads to the United States. Anna's father having died… Continue reading Book Review: Made in China by Anna Qu
I was at work on Friday when Peter called and told me he was able to snag the last spot at the Inland Lake campsite in Powell River. Last summer we camped for 2 nights at nearby Haywire Bay but had been curious to try Inland Lake as well. It was a little bit rushed… Continue reading 2021 Highlights: Week 27 (Powell River Edition)
The Samurai - Shusaku Endo (New Directions, 2018) (translated from the Japanese by Van C. Gessel) Like Endo's other famous book, Silence, this is a slow moving and contemplative book, dealing with Christianity in 17th century Japan. Which isn't to say it's a boring book or one without much happening; it's simply a deeply thoughtful… Continue reading Book Review: The Samurai by Shusaku Endo
I've had this poetry book on my shelf since university but never made a focused effort to read through it until this year. I enjoyed the variety of voices, styles, and historical contexts brought together by Czeslaw Milosz. Many of the poems are translations with quite a lot of those being done by Milosz himself.… Continue reading Book Review: A Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry edited by Czeslaw Milosz
The Devil and the Dark Water - Stuart Turton (Harper Collins Publishers, 2020) This was a fun read. Historical fiction, mystery novel, adventure story. Most of the action takes place on board a ship called the Saardam, travelling from Batavia (modern day Indonesia) to Amsterdam in the 17th Century. The ship belongs to The Company… Continue reading Book Review: The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
Get ready, this is a long one! It's been quite the week. Beginning at the beginning, can we talk about the heat? Oh man, it's been hot. BC broke records across Canada this week with highs into the 40s (that's Celsius). For context, our typical June average is around 21 degrees. 28 would be considered… Continue reading 2021 Highlights: Week 26
A Children's Bible - Lydia Millet (W.W. Norton, 2020) This is a weird little book. Part coming-of-age, part apocalypse story, full of Biblical references, told in something of a first person plural narrative. I actually picked it up from the library because I read a negative review of it on Instagram. The things this reviewer… Continue reading Book Review: A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet
Karissa Reads Books 