Here are a few passages that jumped out at me in my reading over the past week (ok, actually since January 1st): Blessed is the one who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers: but his delight is in the… Continue reading Quotes of the Week
The Goliath Challenge (and Other 2024 Reading Goals)
For the past few years I've set goals as to how many books I hope to read in a year. They've been good goals and they've helped me read more but I feel the need to shake things up in 2024. I've been feeling the pull to read some more of the real tomes that… Continue reading The Goliath Challenge (and Other 2024 Reading Goals)
Book Review: Monsters by Claire Dederer
Monsters - Claire Dederer (Alfred A. Knopf, 2023) What do we do with the art of monstrous men? This is the question - a fan's dilemma - that Claire Dederer delves into. It's an important one and a timely one too in the wake of #MeToo and the controversy of so-called "cancel culture". Can we… Continue reading Book Review: Monsters by Claire Dederer
Winter Holidays 2023
Where to even start with what December has been like in our house? December is always a busy month at my job and of course there are also the usual household and family things. Add to that lots of extras at school and busy times for Peter in his work too. My boss passed very… Continue reading Winter Holidays 2023
What I Read: 2023
Happy (almost) New Year! I did not mean to disappear on here for much of December but I am alive and well and enjoying some much needed time off with my family. At the end of November, my boss passed away very suddenly and I was thrown into a lot more responsibility at work, all… Continue reading What I Read: 2023
Best Canadian Fiction: The 2023 Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards
Hello and welcome to the Sixth Annual Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards! This is my annual occasion of looking back at what I’ve read and choosing the best ones in categories I’ve selected. It’s an entirely arbitrary process as I both choose the categories and the winners and the prize is nothing more than whatever… Continue reading Best Canadian Fiction: The 2023 Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards
What I Read – November 2023
Read: Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston (Harper Audio, 2005) Bangkok Wakes to Rain - Pitchaya Sudbanthad (Riverhead Books, 2019) Girlfriend on Mars - Deborah Willis (Hamish Hamilton, 2023) Stubborn Archivist - Yara Rodrigues Fowler (Mariner Books, 2019) The Wild Heavens - Sarah Louise Butler (Douglas & McIntyre, 2020) Daughter - Claudia… Continue reading What I Read – November 2023
Book Review: Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri
Roman Stories - Jhumpa Lahiri (Alfred A. Knopf, 2023) This is a collection of short stories that aren't necessarily linked but feel like they are. They are all set in the city of Rome and many of them share the theme of outsiders or newcomers to the Italian city. Many of them are told in… Continue reading Book Review: Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri
Book Review: The Wild Heavens by Sarah Louise Butler
The present tense action of The Wild Heavens takes place over a single day but the broader story of the novel is drawn out over many years. We are first introduced to a young seminary student who, after a shocking discovery in the woods of British Columbia, leaves his pursuit of the priesthood and changes… Continue reading Book Review: The Wild Heavens by Sarah Louise Butler
Book Review: Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler
Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler (Mariner Books, 2019) Stubborn Archivist has a lot of the hallmarks of a debut novel - an unnamed narrator whose life reflects the author's in a lot of ways, a focus more on character and situation than plot, a lot of play with perspective and style including a lot… Continue reading Book Review: Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler
Karissa Reads Books 