I Hold a Wolf by the Ears - Laura van den Berg (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020) A short story collection was just the kind of palette cleanser I needed in the midst of my Goliath reads. Reading Laura van den Berg's collection reminded me a lot of the sort of short stories we would… Continue reading Book Review: I Hold A Wolf by the Ears by Laura van den Berg
Beautyland - Marie-Helene Bertino (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2024) I started listening to Beautyland on audio back in, I think, November, via the Libby app. My time lapsed and the wait was so long that I kind of gave up on it. But when I saw that it had no wait at the library in… Continue reading Book Review: Beautyland by Marie-Helen Bertino
Demon Copperhead - Barbara Kingsolver (Harper, 2022) Damon Fields is born to a single mother in the bathroom of a trailer. He is born into poverty in a small, Appalachian community. His childhood is unsteady but not necessarily unhappy. He quickly becomes known as Demon Copperhead instead of his legal name (just as his best… Continue reading Book Review: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
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
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)
I listened to an Advance Listening Copy of this book thanks to Libro.fm and the publisher. All opinions are my own. This robot-focused novella is a little out of my normal book choices but the cover was appealing, it was a short listen, and it was available to me through Libro.fm so I thought I'd… Continue reading Book Review: Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz
Hello and welcome! This is my annual "Best Of", look back at what I've read in 2025. The categories, the shortlist, and the winners are all chosen by, you guessed it, me! The prize is the warm feeling that the author will surely feel when they learn that they have been selected for the Karissa… Continue reading The 2025 Karissa Reads Books Literary Awards (Best Debut)
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
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
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
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