Alright, this week is a freebie, so I’m doing the flip side of the freebie I did on September 27, where I listed books I didn’t think I’d like but ended up loving. So this week I’m looking at books I expected to absolutely love, but didn’t end up loving quite as much as READ MORE
Category: Features
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | PROJECT HAIL MARY – ANDY WEIR
Any fans of The Martian out there? Because I’m a big one. I re-read it this summer – I decided to give the audiobook a try – and loved it every bit as much as I did the first time I read it. And I instantly wanted more. The combination of complex scientific problem READ MORE
WEDNESDAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE | WHAT SPARKS MY CREATIVITY
This is an interesting prompt. I’ve never really thought about it before. I think there are a few different things that can spark my creativity. If I’m traveling in a new place. Something about seeing new things, observing a different way of life, tasting new food, doing new things. It always gives me a READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | BOOKISH MEMORIES
I’m not really sure where I’m supposed to go with this prompt. I have so many memories that involve books, but they’re hard to share unless I could somehow project those memories like a film, and somehow also include the feelings I had at the time. But I’ll try! I remember curling up on READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | FURIOUSLY HAPPY – JENNY LAWSON
I first read this after having my kid when I was suffering from a brutal combo of post-partum depression and anxiety, and was understanding, for the first time in my life, just how tenuous and delicate the mind’s hold on reality can truly be. I didn’t really understand what was happening to me at READ MORE
WEDNESDAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE | THANKSGIVING FOODS I LIKE OR DISLIKE
So I’m going to be that party pooper who really just isn’t into this prompt. First off, I’m an import. Sort of. My parents came here the year before I was born, and I grew up in their culture and mindset. I don’t feel particularly connected to Canada or Canadian culture, so things like READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | CHARACTERS I’D LOVE AN UPDATE ON/BOOKS I WANT MORE OF
This week’s prompt turned out to be harder than I expected, but I managed to come up with some good ones! Some are characters I’d like to check in with, some are real people I’d like to catch up with. Some are just books I’d like to crawl back into and stay a while! READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE ARGONAUTS – MAGGIE NELSON
For a short book, this packs one hell of a punch. It’s a memoir, kind of about everything. But if I had to try to distill it down I’d say it’s a critical assessment of society’s need to categorize people based on their gender and sexual orientation. It’s also a deep dive into what READ MORE
WEDNESDAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE | PAPERBACK, EBOOK, AUDIO?
Well this could be the shortest post ever written, because my blunt answer is: all of the above. Reading is reading, yo. That said, I do have preferences. I enjoy most either a nice, crisp floppy-covered paperback or a new hardback that still springs shut when I try to open it. But I enjoy READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | BOOKS TO READ IF YOU WANT TO LEARN ABOUT RACE & RACISM
I’ve been reading a lot of fantastic books about race and racism. Last week I shared some quotes on the topic, and this week I’m sharing some of the books I’ve read that have really stuck with me. One of the best, probably unsurprisingly, is The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin. So if READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | JONNY APPLESEED – JOSHUA WHITEHEAD
I’ve been meaning to read this book for ages, ever since it started making waves in the Canadian literary scene. I heard Joshua Whitehead talk a couple of times in online presentations, and loved his candor, humour and intelligence. But it wasn’t until this book was selected as September’s book for the Storykeepers podcast READ MORE
QUARTERLY WRAP-UP | JULY-SEPTEMBER 2021
This summer was stellar for me reading-wise. I managed to have two of the best reading months I’ve had, and the best reading week. I managed to read at least ten books that are now favourites, and more that are excellent. September wasn’t as good, mostly because my kid started school during the fourth READ MORE
WEDNESDAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE | WORST ADVICE I EVER RECEIVED
This is a hard one. I can’t really think of any terrible advice I’ve been given, much less any I’ve been given and then followed. I’ve made plenty of mistakes, like not fighting for things that were really important to me and subsequently losing them, or not going to university sooner, or not learning READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | MEMORABLE QUOTES FROM BOOKS
I have trouble with posts that call for quotes. I don’t note them down as I’m reading, and I have a terrible memory. So only a few of these come directly from my own reading, the rest I vaguely remembered and had to look up. I’ve included a couple of quotes that stood out READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE WINDOW SEAT – AMINATTA FORNA
I loved this book. I’ll say that right up front, in case you only see the tiny excerpt of this post. I adored it, I enjoyed every minute I spent reading it, and though I just finished it, I already want to read it again. I hadn’t ever read anything by Aminatta Forna before READ MORE
WEDNESDAY BLOGGING CHALLENGE | WORDS TO LIVE BY
I don’t really have a mantra or anything like that. But there are a few things I’ve either read or been told that have stuck with me. The first I don’t remember word for word, but is something along the lines of “perfect is the enemy of good enough.” I’m a perfectionist with anxiety, READ MORE
TOP TEN TUESDAY | BOOKS I’D GIVE SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T READ
Hmmm this is a great prompt! I’ve never tried to convert a non-reader to a reader, as being at least somewhat okay with books is kind of a prerequisite to being part of my life. But there are some books I’ve recommended to people who don’t read all that often or ones I would READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | CONSENT – ANNABEL LYON
The main reason I picked this book up was that it was nominated for the Women’s Prize for Fiction this year, and it was one of the few books on the list available in audiobook format from my local library. I didn’t really know anything about it going in, and there were a few READ MORE