I’m moving soon, which means that, sadly, my books are in the boxes up there. Because of that, and the fact that I’m not particularly fond of stress, I’m taking a wee break from Backlist. But don’t fret – I’ll be back in a month or so! Just as soon as my books are READ MORE
Author: RAIN CITY READS
24 HOURS OF BOOK DEALS!
Dude. You gotta check this out. Book Depository (my fave online book store – cheap new books, free shipping – need I say more?) is hosting an AMAZING book sale. One book deal an hour for 24 HOURS! Now that’s worth missing some sleep for, am I right? The sale is in celebration of solstice READ MORE
EX LIBRIS
While shopping at Chapters a couple of weeks ago, I stopped by their section full of random knick knacks and notions. I’ve always been a sucker for the sort of things you don’t really need, but that you desperately want. These fit that description perfectly. Aren’t they cute? I particluarly like the little READ MORE
BUY 3, GET 1 FREE AT CHAPTERS!
I spent much of the weekend bemoaning the fact that I was unable to partake of the Half Price Books 20% off sale since I live in Canada, and we don’t have Half Price Books here. I watched, half of me happy for the fortune of others, half of me incredibly jealous, as you READ MORE
GOOD NEWS FOR VANCOUVER BOOK LOVERS
If you live in Vancouver and are an avid reader, chances are you’ve spent many a blissful hour perusing the shelves of one of the many Book Warehouse locations scattered throughout the city. With a wide range of new books at bargain prices, it has long been a favourite book shopping destination. A couple READ MORE
WHAT THE @#$% ARE YOU READING?
You may or may not have seen the article in US News last week about whether or not Young Adult books should have some sort of rating system on them. This discussion is largely centred around a study that was done revealing that much fiction intended for a youth audience contains profanity to various READ MORE
BIRTHDAYS AREN’T ALL BAD…
As those of you who read my other blog, Mpirical, will know, it was my birthday a few days ago. Thank you, thank you, yes, I had a wonderful day. But more importantly, what is a birthday without books? J. got me this little gem – very recently released, it is the (sometimes true) READ MORE
TBR | SUMMER READING!
There’s something special about reading in the summer. Maybe it’s the warm breezes and cool beverages, maybe it’s just that the days are longer and slower. But whatever it is, it makes selecting a big ‘ole pile of books to read over the next months even more exciting and satisfying. This is mine (so far): READ MORE
BOOK SERIES REVIEW | THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGY – SUZANNE COLLINS
(Please note: Because this review covers a trilogy of books, it required spoilers. Please read at your own risk!) I came late to the Hunger Games. I am one of those who watched the movie – then figured maybe I’d give the books a go. But once I got started, I proceeded to zip through READ MORE
BOOK REVIEW | MY LAI 4: A REPORT ON THE MASSACRE AND ITS AFTERMATH – SEYMOUR M. HERSH
War is a strange concept. It has rules. Certain populations are off limits, and certain acts are prohibited. And yet, the purpose of a war is to take human life on a mass scale. It seems inevitable, then, that lines become blurred, that war is the cause of (or sometimes a haven for) atrocity. In READ MORE
BOOK REVIEW | THIS IS A CALL: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DAVE GROHL – PAUL BRANNIGAN
It is because of Dave Grohl that I began reading again. At the end of last year I was lucky enough to attend a Foo Fighters’ concert. And I gotta tell ya – if you’re not a fan of the Foos, you’re missing out big time. These guys get up there and give it their READ MORE
BOOK REVIEW | TRAVELS – MICHAEL CRICHTON
You might not think so to see his books gracing the illustrious wire racks of grocery stores and newsagents, but Michael Crichton is an amazingly talented writer. I will argue this point with anyone who dares contradict me. He had me cowering under my blanket as a teenager when I was reading Jurassic Park READ MORE
BOOK REVIEW | EVERY DAY IN TUSCANY: SEASONS OF AN ITALIAN LIFE – FRANCES MAYES
When I was in high school my mother left her copy of Under the Tuscan Sun lying around the house. On a whim one Saturday afternoon, I picked it up and started reading. The next thing I knew, I was immersed in Italian culture, fascinated to discover with Mayes the joys (and many frustrations) READ MORE
BOOK REVIEW | THE WAYFINDERS: WHY ANCIENT WISDOM MATTERS IN THE MODERN WORLD – WADE DAVIS
“…[R]emember the central revelation of anthropology: the idea that the social world in which we live does not exist in some absolute sense, but rather is simply one model of reality, the consequence of one set of intellectual and spiritual choices that our particular cultural lineage made, however successfully, many generations ago.” A friend READ MORE
BOOK REVIEW | PARIS TIMES EIGHT: FINDING MYSELF IN THE CITY OF DREAMS – DEIRDRE KELLY
Paris is probably the only city in the world that is dreamed about by such a wide variety of people – romantics, historians, artists, fashionistas and jet-setters alike. It is a city that is famous not only for notorious home-grown figures like Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Victor Hugo, but also for READ MORE
BOOK REVIEW | TRAUMA FARM: A REBEL HISTORY OF RURAL LIFE – BRIAN BRETT
Trauma Farm is a book about some of the biggest issues facing us in a world of increasing globalization and corporatization. Written by a poet, who also happens to be a rural farmer, it discusses the struggles that are being faced by small-scale, non-corporate farmers throughout North America as they see their livelihoods threatened READ MORE
BOOK REVIEW | INCONTINENT ON THE CONTINENT: MY MOTHER, HER WALKER, AND OUR GRAND TOUR OF ITALY – JANE CHRISTMAS
I love reading travel memoirs. As a student I can’t afford to gallivant, fancy-free about the world experiencing new cultures and gathering exciting and amusing anecdotes. So I like to read the stories of those who do. Some of my favourite books involve travels in France and Italy – for some reason the cultures READ MORE
BOOK REVIEW | CITY OF GLASS – DOUGLAS COUPLAND
Douglas Coupland has an unparalleled knack for seeing the familiar world around him with the eyes of a stranger. He is able to pick out parts of what we, in our common part of the world, see as “normal” and make them fascinating. In 1994 he made an entire book out of his observations READ MORE