Way back at the beginning of the summer, I posted my To Read list for the coming months. So how did I do? Well, here's the list: 1. Maps & Legends by Michael Chabon Status: Unread 2. Crazy Love by Francis Chan Status: Unread 3. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler Status: Read! Read my… Continue reading In Conclusion – My Summer 2014 Reading List
Category: Book Reviews
Book Review – Juliet Was a Surprise by Bill Gaston
It's hard to review a short story collection. You're not discussing and evaluating one plot, one set of characters - you're dealing with many. How do you approach that? Which do you focus on? I recently got to hear Bill Gaston talk about and read from Juliet Was a Surprise (Hamish Hamilton, 2014). He… Continue reading Book Review – Juliet Was a Surprise by Bill Gaston
Book Review – Man by Kim Thuy
What strikes you first when you begin to read Mãn (Random House, 2014) is its unique format. Each chapter of this slim novel reads like a long poem. The headings are unobtrusively displayed in English and Vietnamese. Most of the chapters are less than a page. They are vignettes, moments. Given their brevity, they are… Continue reading Book Review – Man by Kim Thuy
Celebrating the Written Arts
This weekend, I got a full on literary experience, compliments of the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts. This is the longest running Canadian Festival of its kind (this weekend marked 32 years) and features a wonderful line-up of Canadian authors. It's always a delightful mixture of big name writers and up and coming… Continue reading Celebrating the Written Arts
Book Review – The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
I was about halfway through The Bluest Eye (Plume, 1994) when a friend asked me what I was currently reading. "It's pretty heavy, right?" she asked. I glanced at her little girl, munching apple slices next to me at the kitchen counter. "Yeah. It is." Racial tensions, domestic abuse, poverty, incest. Yeah, pretty dark. While… Continue reading Book Review – The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Book Review – The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
This is one that's been on my To Read list for a long time. The Shadow of the Wind (Penguin Books, 2001) takes place in Barcelona, following the Second World War. Daniel is ten years old, living with his father, the owner of a bookshop. As the story opens, Daniel is taken for the first… Continue reading Book Review – The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Book Review – The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
If you love a good mystery novel - with a private eye who smokes too much, drinks too much, likes to comment on a lady's legs (and calls them "gams"), but always gets the job done - you owe a debt of gratitude to Raymond Chandler. The Big Sleep is Chandler's first novel, published in… Continue reading Book Review – The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
Book Review – All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews
Some books should come with a warning. Something like, "You're probably going to cry before this book is through. Even if you think you're not a crier." All My Puny Sorrows (Knopf Canada, 2014) is Miriam Toews' sixth novel. Like the first five, this novel involves Mennonite characters. Though while being Mennonite is key to… Continue reading Book Review – All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews
Book Review – Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
I'm rather inclined to think of Tell the Wolves I'm Home (Dial Press, 2013) as a young adult novel. That's certainly not a bad thing, I just think teenagers would benefit from reading this one. June is 14-years-old and her favourite person in the world has just died. Her uncle Finn, a talented artist, her… Continue reading Book Review – Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
The Well-Read Canadian
Today Canada celebrates its 147th birthday. In honour of the occasion, I would like to present to you the top 50 novels you should read if you want to be A Well-Read Canadian. And who doesn't, right? This idea was inspired by this list, as well as my general love of listing books. My criteria:… Continue reading The Well-Read Canadian
Karissa Reads Books 