What I Read – July 2017

Woefully lately but in the interests of keeping track (for myself because I'm sure no one has been waiting with baited breath), here is what I read in July: The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O'Neill (Harper Collins Publishers, 2017) Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo (Knopf, 2017) Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero (Blumhouse Books, 2017) Himself by Jess… Continue reading What I Read – July 2017

Book Review: Teardown by Clea Young

My boss handed me a copy of Teardown after I detailed my weekend to her recently. Namely that, while in Vancouver, Peter and I went to IKEA with Pearl in tow. We hadn't been since I was about seven months pregnant with Pearl and had looked forward to the visit. We smugly wandered through the living… Continue reading Book Review: Teardown by Clea Young

Book Review: The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

I've long been told that I should read Isabel Allende so I happily picked up this second hand copy at Powell's Books when in Portland. The Japanese Lover wasn't exactly what I expected but Allende didn't disappoint. Her writing is effective, dense, and infinitely enjoyable. Allende packs a lot into this book. The story encompasses a lot… Continue reading Book Review: The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende

Book Review: Autobiography by G.K. Chesterton

I've previously read Chesterton's The Man Who was Thursday (review here), Orthodoxy, and some of his Father Brown mysteries and generally enjoyed Chesterton's writing. So I thought it might be interesting to read his autobiography, first published in 1936. Autobiography is, perhaps, a misleading title. What this book really is is a series of essays,… Continue reading Book Review: Autobiography by G.K. Chesterton

Book Review: The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O’Neill

I've read all of Heather O'Neill's published work and reviewed two of them here. (Daydream of Angels  and Lullabies for Little Criminals) Obviously, I enjoy her work and thankfully her latest novel didn't disappoint. If you like O'Neill's previous work, then I think you'll be pleased with The Lonely Hearts Hotel. Using Montreal once again as her setting,… Continue reading Book Review: The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O’Neill

Book Review: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

I was inspired to re-read Agatha Christie's famous mystery novel And Then There Were None after reading FictionFan's book review. I'd read this short mystery story a couple of times before, years ago, but it had always stuck in my memory as one of the finest mystery novels I've read. Years ago, reading it for the first time,… Continue reading Book Review: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Canada Day 2017

This year Canada celebrated 150 years of existing as Canada. We are obviously a young country and we would do well to remember that culture existed and people lived on this land for many, many years before European settlers arrived. In 150 years, we as a nation have made a great many mistakes and we… Continue reading Canada Day 2017

What I Read – June 2017

This felt like kind of a strange reading month for me. I started off by reading Alexie's memoir and Verghese' back-to-back, while also working my way through Chesterton's autobiography. While I enjoyed each one, it also felt like a lot of male experiences and I was itching for some feminine perspective to balance it out.… Continue reading What I Read – June 2017

Book Review: Gork, the Teenage Dragon by Gabe Hudson

A couple of disclaimers first: This book will be released on July 11th by Knopf. I got an Advanced Reading Copy, with no expectation of anything in return. I did not finish reading this book. I made it to page 92/chapter 12 and gave up. I knew I wasn't the target audience of this novel.… Continue reading Book Review: Gork, the Teenage Dragon by Gabe Hudson

Life in June

June is coming to a hectic end and we are heading full force into July without a break in sight. But the sun is shining and Peter's work schedule will (eventually) slow down so June is also getting really good. We spent a good portion of this past weekend at the beach, including a Saturday… Continue reading Life in June