2021 Highlights: Week 7

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,the world offers itself to your imagination,calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -over and over announcing your place in the family of things.Mary Oliver, "Wild Geese" A snowy Saturday! A quiet holiday Monday at home.A sunny Tuesday walk and a picnic at the park park.… Continue reading 2021 Highlights: Week 7

Book Review: On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior (+ a new reading challenge)

On Reading Well - Karen Swallow Prior (Brazos Press, 2018) In On Reading Well, Karen Swallow Prior examines the idea of virtue by examining twelve works of fiction, one for each virtue. The book is divided into three sections: The Cardinal Virtues (Prudence, Temperance, Justice, and Courage); The Theological Virtues (Faith, Hope, and Love); and… Continue reading Book Review: On Reading Well by Karen Swallow Prior (+ a new reading challenge)

Book Review: Land-Water-Sky/Ndè-Tı-Yat’a by Katłıà

This book was provided to me as an e-ARC from the publisher and NetGalley. All opinions are my own. There's a lot to appreciate about this debut novel. It brings the northern region of Canada and the traditional lands of the Indigenous people there to life with all its natural power and beauty. The story… Continue reading Book Review: Land-Water-Sky/Ndè-Tı-Yat’a by Katłıà

2021 Highlights: Week 6

To Do Lists. To Do Lists basically help me function. I have a weekly To Do List and then write daily To Do Lists and I put the dumbest stuff on my daily lists. Stuff that I am absolutely going to do whether or not it's on my list. But I mix it in with… Continue reading 2021 Highlights: Week 6

Book Review: How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa

How to Pronounce Knife - Souvankham Thammavongsa (McClelland & Stewart, 2020) How to Pronounce Knife is the most recent winner of the Giller Prize, probably Canada's most prestigious literary award. It is a collection of short stories, a common thread running through of The Outsider. More specifically, these are stories that detail elements of the… Continue reading Book Review: How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa

Book Review: A Treasury of Short Stories ed. by Bernardine Kielty

A Treasury of Short Stories ed. by Bernardine Kielty (Simon & Schuster, 1947) This is a collection of short stories, spanning two continents and over one hundred years. The stories are organized first by century (19th and 20th) and then by region (European and American). Let's talk first about the flaws here because though they… Continue reading Book Review: A Treasury of Short Stories ed. by Bernardine Kielty

2021 Highlights: Week 5

Exploring new trails. The way little kids enjoy their own reflections. They just enjoy looking at themselves without vanity or shame and it’s wonderful to observe.Various hate groups (including one particularly famous one right now) being labelled as terrorist groups by the Canadian government.A long walk on a sunny day, including a visit to the… Continue reading 2021 Highlights: Week 5

Book Review: A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt

A History of My Brief Body - Billy-Ray Belcourt (Hamish Hamilton, 2020) It's clear from the beginning that this is not going to be a gentle book. Right away in his Preface: A Letter to Nôhkom, Belcourt says, "Nôhkom, I'm not safe. Canada is still in the business of gunning down NDNs...Despite the stories of… Continue reading Book Review: A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt

What I Read – January 2021

Read: What Kind of Woman - Kate Baer (Harper Perennial, 2020) The Arsonists' City - Hala Alyan (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021) A History of My Brief Body - Billy-Ray Belcourt (Hamish Hamilton, 2020) A Treasury of Short Stories edited by Bernardine Kielty (Simon & Schuster, 1947) Currently Reading: On Reading Well - Karen Swallow Prior… Continue reading What I Read – January 2021

2021 Highlights: Week 4

Getting pictures printed. This is something I try and do every January. Just a whole lot of photos from the previous year. It's always fun to look through them, display them, and see how much our kids have grown! A surprise package from some dear friends in Germany. Which has also meant lots of delicious… Continue reading 2021 Highlights: Week 4