(Audio) Book Review: Seascraper by Benjamin Wood

Seascraper - Benjamin Wood (Simon & Schuster Audio, 2025) I received an Advance Listening copy of this book thanks to the publisher and Libro.FM. All opinions are my own. I began listening to Seascraper just before the winter holiday and so even though it is a short novel - just over five hours listening time… Continue reading (Audio) Book Review: Seascraper by Benjamin Wood

The 2025 Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards (Best Fiction)

Hello and welcome back! The vast majority of the reading that I do is fiction. This is a hard category for me to narrow down because it's the closest I'll get to picking a favourite book of the year. But the year is long and the reading is varied and how do you choose? I… Continue reading The 2025 Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards (Best Fiction)

What I Read – November 2025

Read: What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew - Sharone Saline (Tarcher Perigree, 2018) Song of the Sun God - Shankar Chandran (narrated by Shabana Azeez) How About Now - Kate Baer (Harper Perennial, 2025) Palace Walk - Naguib Mahfouz (Anchor Books, 1991) (translated from Arabic by Olive E. Kenny & William Maynard Hutchins) Like… Continue reading What I Read – November 2025

Book Review: Like Family by Erin O. White

Like Family - Erin O. White (Dial Press, 2025) I received an Advance Reader's Copy of this book thanks to the publisher. All opinions are my own. After hearing some positive early reviews of Like Family, I realized I had an ARC at home and so picked it up to read over a weekend. I… Continue reading Book Review: Like Family by Erin O. White

Book Review: What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew by Sharon Saline

I should probably start off by explaining why I read this book. Neither of my children have ADHD. Neither has a diagnosis, nor have I ever suspected that either one should. In fact, reading this book, I was more sure than ever that my children do not have ADHD. That said, humans are unique. Kids… Continue reading Book Review: What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew by Sharon Saline

Book Review: Exposure by Helen Dunmore

Exposure - Helen Dunmore (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2016) Helen Dunmore was on my radar but not my TBR until I read The Railway Children and FictionFan commented that there was a version of that story that focused on the parents. (Her review can be found here.) Simon Callington is a low level office worker for… Continue reading Book Review: Exposure by Helen Dunmore

(Audio) Book Review: Heart the Lover by Lily King

Heart the Lover - Lily King (Harper Collins Publishers, 2025) I received an Advance Listening Copy of this book thanks to the publisher and Libro.fm. All opinions are my own. This was the 100th book I finished in 2025 and it's a delightful serendipity that it was both a book I was looking forward to… Continue reading (Audio) Book Review: Heart the Lover by Lily King

(Audio) Book Review: The Accidental Favourite by Fran Littlewood

The Accidental Favourite - Fran Littlewood (MacMillan Audio, 2025) (narrated by Fiona Button) I received an Advance Listening Copy of this book thanks to Libro.fm and the publisher. All opinions are my own. My reading of this book suffered slightly by the fact that it took me so long to finish it. This is not… Continue reading (Audio) Book Review: The Accidental Favourite by Fran Littlewood

Book Review: The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell

The Hand That First Held Mine - Maggie O'Farrell (Headline, 2010) My introduction to Maggie O'Farrell's work was through her most recent novels, both of which are historical fiction. (My review of Hamnet and of The Marriage Portrait.) This earlier work from O'Farrell has a twentieth century setting and maybe it was this or the… Continue reading Book Review: The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell

Reading with Pearl & Rose: The Railway Children by E. Nesbit

In these posts I hope to share a little about what I am reading with my two children. Not exactly a review but a look at a book we’ve read together and how it worked for us. For context, my daughters are currently 7- and 10-years old. They are both excellent independent readers but we… Continue reading Reading with Pearl & Rose: The Railway Children by E. Nesbit