In the age old question of cats versus dogs, I definitely fall in the dog category. (This was true even before I developed a cat allergy.) I've spent my fair share of time around dogs in the past thirty years but I'm looking at them a little differently after reading Fifteen Dogs. In the vein… Continue reading Book Review: Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis
This book is ridiculous. And I mean that with great affection - the way a small child might tell you an outrageous story. That kind of ridiculous. Charming and more than a little crazy. Our narrator (unnamed) is an alien. He's arrived on Earth to take over the life and body of Andrew Martin, a… Continue reading Book Review: The Humans by Matt Haig
In the womb, you hear people talking and their voices sound like someone you're in love with talking in their sleep. from "Heaven" Heather O'Neill excels at creating metaphors that are both etirely unique and powerfully, strangely accurate. This skill - seen in her novels (Lullabies for Little Criminals and The Girl Who Was Saturday… Continue reading Book Review: Daydreams of Angels by Heather O’Neill
This book surprised me. I was surprised to find a first time novelist who could balance so many characters and tensions so skillfully. I was surprised that there hasn't been more hype over Lauren Owen's debut. And I was surprised because the blurb on the book jacket is so completely not what this book is… Continue reading Book Review: The Quick by Lauren Owen
Some authors wow you with their debut novels and then disappoint with the follow-ups. With others, it works the opposite way and you're able to see their writing improve. White Teeth (Penguin Books, 2001) is Zadie Smith's first novel but the third one by her that I've read. While I enjoyed White Teeth I don't… Continue reading Book Review: White Teeth by Zadie Smith
I'm Scottish in the way that a lot of Canadians are. Meaning, a couple hundred years ago some people came from Scotland and had children and they had children and on down the line until I was born. And, like most Canadians again, the Scotishness got mixed up with other Europeans and folks from around… Continue reading Book Review: Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson (Reading with Pearl)
Coincidentally, I began reading The Omnivore's Dilemma around the same time that my daughter began eating solid foods. Food was on my mind. I quickly realized I was being more discerning about what Pearl ate than I ever am about my own diet. Thinking and planning what my girl should eat, and how she should… Continue reading Book Review: The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
This book suffered from what I've come to think of as "my 2:30 am problem". That's where I start reading a new book in the middle of the night while up nursing. A good book is typically how I stay awake for these sessions (and if a book is really good I've been known to… Continue reading Book Review: The People’s Act of Love by James Meek
This is a surreal, fantastical tale set in a crumbling prison. It's about life and death, corruption, and a little bit of love. Our narrator is a prisoner on death row - both his name and his crime are kept from us until the end. We learn that he is a selective mute, a voracious… Continue reading Book Review: The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld
I made an attempt on a Henry James novel once before and didn't get far so I didn't have high hopes for this book (not to mention that it's about 800 pages long). Fortunately, I was very pleasantly surprised and was drawn in by the characters and plot almost immediately. (Warning: I always try to… Continue reading Book Review: The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
Karissa Reads Books 