Most people get suicide, I guess; most people, even if it's hidden deep down inside somewhere, can remember a time in their lives when they thought about whether they really wanted to wake up the next day. Wanting to die seems like it might be a part of being alive. I've read a few of… Continue reading Book Review: A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
A Visit from the Goon Squad is Jennifer Egan's most celebrated novel (winner of the Pulitzer Prize) and so even though I hadn't really enjoyed her previous novel, The Keep, that much I was looking forward to reading this one. I didn't love The Goon Squad but it was an engaging read. Although the blurbs… Continue reading Book Review: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Welcome! Happy Friday! Friday Favourites are where I spend one Friday a month talking about a book I've read and loved in the past. Ann Patchett is that rare author who straddles the line between literary and popular fiction. By which I mean, she's approachable and readable for that reader off the street who might… Continue reading Friday Favourite: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Paper Towns - John Green (Penguin Books, 2008) Before I Fall - Noah Hawley (Grand Central Publishing, 2016) Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson (Harper Perennial, 2005) A Visit from the Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan (Anchor Books, 2010) Did Not Finish: The Little Red Chairs - Edna O'Brien (Little, Brown and Company, 2016) Currently Reading: Infinite… Continue reading What I Read – May 2016
Despite the fact that I regularly share about what I read here, something you might not know about me is that I also read a fair bit of poetry. In fact, I studied both fiction and poetry in university. (I myself am an unremarkable poet but I occasionally try.) I rarely sit down and read… Continue reading Poetry Monday: Gerard Manley Hopkins
My name is Ruth. I grew up with my younger sister, Lucille, under the care of my grandmother, Mrs. Sylvia Foster, and when she died, of her sisters-in-law, Misses Lily and Nona Foster, and when they fled, of her daughter, Mrs. Sylvia Fisher. These first sentences of Marilynne Robinson's novel Housekeeping (aside from being some… Continue reading Book Review: Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
If there's a lesson to be learned from Before the Fall, it might be "Don't be fabulously rich because people will want to kill you." Or, at the very least, "Don't fly on private planes". The characters in Noah Hawley's debut novel (to be released at the end of this month) are rich in a… Continue reading Book Review: Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
I've read three books by John Green before this one (see my reviews of The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska) so it's safe to say that I enjoy his writing. Green captures teens well, finding that balance between realism and fiction to keep the story interesting. Our main character here is Quentin,… Continue reading Book Review: Paper Towns by John Green
This isn't a book review for the simple fact that I didn't finish reading this book. About halfway through, the main character is the victim of an act of horrific violence and I just couldn't continue. I've never read Edna O'Brien before so I have no idea if this, her first novel in years, is… Continue reading Not a Book Review: The Little Red Chairs by Edna O’Brien
If you're not familiar with Miroslav Sasek's travel books for children, you should be. Filled with colourful pictures and facts about cities around the world, the books are beautiful and interesting. And not just for children. But children do enjoy them! A Czech writer and illustrator, Sasek was first inspired to write about Paris, condensing… Continue reading Book Review: Children’s Travel Books by Miroslav Sasek (Reading with Pearl)
Karissa Reads Books 