This is a thoroughly West Coast book. All about riding the B.C. Ferries, an experience well known to anyone who lives on our little peninsula here. Pearl rode the Queen of Surrey for the first time when she was just three days old, on her way home from the hospital in Vancouver. Fittingly, we barely… Continue reading Reading with Pearl: The Ferryboat Ride by Robert Perry, illustrated by Greta Guzek
Unhappy suburban families in the 1950s has become something of a cliche, but it's easy to imagine that Richard Yates before the cliches began. He certainly is able to avoid them. Frank and April Wheeler are in their late twenties, have two children, and live in Connecticut. Frank works in New York City and April… Continue reading Book Review: Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
I read this book in the hopes of finding a good read to give to my niece for her 11th birthday. (Don't worry, her birthday is past and I don't think she reads my blog anyway so I'm not ruining a surprise!) I wanted to get her something fun, not overly challenging but just a… Continue reading Book Review: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein
I had put off reading Cutting for Stone for quite some time, mostly, I think, from a fear that it couldn't live up to its hype. The good news is, it definitely can and does The book is set in Addis, Ethiopa in the 1950s and 60s. Knowing very little about that time and place,… Continue reading Book Review: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Pearl's favourite books are the ones with the stock photos of babies. You know the ones, generic babies of various ethnicities doing generic baby things like taking baths and wearing hats. She loves them and coos over those babies like she's looking at herself. (Which I guess is the point.) I, on the other hand,… Continue reading Reading with Pearl: Home by Carson Ellis
I knew before I began Last Child in the Woods that I was likely to find myself agreeing with Richard Louv. Children today play outside less than previous generations. Children today should play outside more. Playing outside - especially unstructured outdoor play - has a myriad of benefits for children and their families. This is… Continue reading Book Review: Last Child in the Woods – Richard Louv
This was a re-read for me but when I began sorting through boxes of my childhood books and came across my Lucy Maud Montgomery collection I felt nostalgic and delved into The Blue Castle once more. L.M. Montgomery is, of course, the author of Anne of Green Gables but she also wrote many other books… Continue reading Book Review: The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
If Modern Lovers was a finer novel, I probably wouldn't have found its premise as annoying. If it were more thoughtful - offered a greater challenge to its readers, say - I wouldn't be frustrated by its worldview. For what it is Modern Lovers is not a bad book. It's a fluff read - easy… Continue reading Book Review: Modern Lovers by Emma Straub
While Monkey Beach takes place in British Columbia, the same province in which I live, it really is worlds away. Set in the tiny Haisla community of Kitamaat, we follow Lisamarie Hill in the aftermath of her brother Jimmy's disappearance. The First Nations community (Edited to add: It was brought to my attention that "First… Continue reading Book Review: Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson
Most people get suicide, I guess; most people, even if it's hidden deep down inside somewhere, can remember a time in their lives when they thought about whether they really wanted to wake up the next day. Wanting to die seems like it might be a part of being alive. I've read a few of… Continue reading Book Review: A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
