Lincoln in the Bardo - George Saunders (Random House, 2017) As you can see, this isn't a strict audio book review in that I read this book in a combination of audio and on the page. I started it on audio but then got a copy out of the library because I was having trouble… Continue reading (Audio) Book Review: Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
This is a book for book lovers and particular those of us who love our local libraries. It is, of sorts, a love letter to libraries and librarians. What You Are Looking for is in the Library consists of 5 unique sections, all linked by a library located in a community house in Tokyo. Each… Continue reading (Audio) Book Review: What You Are Looking For Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama
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
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
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
Girlfriend on Mars - Deborah Willis (Hamish Hamilton, 2023) Amber Kivinen has been accepted as a contestant for the ambitious MarsNow program. One of 24 selected from hundreds of applicants, Amber will participate in a reality TV Program to pick two finalists who will launch into space and be the first man and woman on… Continue reading Book Review: Girlfriend on Mars by Deborah Willis
Bangkok Wakes to Rain - Pitchaya Sudbanthad (Riverhead Books, 2019) Even as I was reading Bangkok Wakes to Rain, I found myself thinking, How am I going to classify this book? It's a novel but not exactly. It's a collection of short stories but that's not quite right either. It has sections that feel like… Continue reading Book Review: Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad
I read an Advance Uncorrected Proof of this book thanks to HarperVia. This book was translated from the original Dutch by Laura Watkinson. The story of how Frankenstein came to be is a famous one. Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and some other guy (John Polidori but I always forget about him) gathered together… Continue reading Book Review: Mary and the Birth of Frankenstein by Anne Eekhout
In the Balkans in the years following the war, Natalia is a young doctor reeling from the recent death of her beloved grandfather. As she travels to a small village across the border to administer childhood vaccines, she is also searching to unravel her grandfather's history. There are two crucial stories that formed him: his… Continue reading Book Review: The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht
Tom Lake - Ann Patchet (Harper Collins, 2023) Ann Patchett is one of my favourite authors so any new book by her is a must-read in my mind. I picked up my copy of Tom Lake the day after it came out and then saved it for a week or two until I could devote… Continue reading Book Review: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
