I'm Canadian. (Surprise!) I'm also of the opinion that there are some great books coming out of Canada and from Canadian writers. Much of our media (movies, music, television) in Canada tends to be dominated by the United States but a lot of our book industry (not all) still stands as independent from our neighbours.… Continue reading Best Canadian Book: The 2021 Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards
Book Review: Out of the Sun by Esi Edugyan
Out of the Sun - Esi Edugyan (Anansi, 2021) Esi Edugyan is best known for her award-winning fiction - Half Blood Blues and Washington Black - but in this non-fiction book she tackles the subjects of Race and Storytelling. The book is divided according to geographical areas as well as topics: Europe and the Art… Continue reading Book Review: Out of the Sun by Esi Edugyan
Best Translated Work: The 2021 Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards
Reading more work translated from other languages into English is a goal of mine every year. I never seem to read as many as I hope to but I'm determined to keep making an effort. Since I only speak and read one language, reading translations is the best way to access an entire other world… Continue reading Best Translated Work: The 2021 Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards
2021 Highlights: Week 48
Let's start with this week's big news: Pearl got her first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine! We went in the pouring rain after school. The time slots were set aside for ages 5 to 11 only so the atmosphere was quiet but the staff there had prepped for kids. Some of the nurses wore fairy… Continue reading 2021 Highlights: Week 48
The Fourth Annual Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards
It's that time of year! I am once more presenting my own Annual Literary Awards. I thought this was the third year of doing so until I checked last year's posts and learned that I've been doing this since 2018. As ever, credit for the idea goes to the inimitable FictionFan who is running her… Continue reading The Fourth Annual Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards
What I Read – November 2021
Read: Nostalgia is Heartless - Sarah Lahey (She Writes Press, 2021) We Run the Tides - Vendela Vida (Ecco, 2021) I hope this finds you well - Kate Baer (Harper Perennial, 2021) Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch - Rivka Galchen (Harper Perennial, 2021) Out of the Sun - Esi Edugyan (Anansi, 2021) Obasan… Continue reading What I Read – November 2021
2021 Highlights: Week 47
This week I've been thinking about how far we've come since last year. Last November, we were three weeks into what started as a 2 week "circuit breaker" lockdown here in BC and ended up lasting for months. Vaccines still felt like a dream on a distant horizon. One year later, the majority of our… Continue reading 2021 Highlights: Week 47
Book Review: Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen
Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch - Rivka Galchen (Harper Perennial, 2021) Katharina Kepler is an eccentric older widow. She lives in a small German village in the early 1600s. She is knowledgeable about herbs and natural healing and she isn't shy about letting her feelings be known. It is perhaps inevitable in this… Continue reading Book Review: Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen
Book Review: Little Pilgrim’s Progress by Helen L. Taylor
Little Pilgrim's Progress - Helen L. Taylor (Moody Publishers, 2021) Little Pilgrim's Progress is an illustrated adaptation of the classic story by John Bunyan. The famous tale tells of the journey of Christian, a man carrying a great burden, living in the city of Destruction. After meeting Evangelist, Christian begins his journey as a pilgrim… Continue reading Book Review: Little Pilgrim’s Progress by Helen L. Taylor
2021 Highlights: Week 46
Another week of extreme rain. Am I sounding like a broken record? It rained most of last weekend and then we had another rain warning Sunday night into Monday. Lots of flooding in the Fraser Valley, just outside of Vancouver and a pretty insane amount of rain here. This is what our backyard looked like… Continue reading 2021 Highlights: Week 46
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