The Miramichi Reader is an excellent site that champions Canadian Literature and small publishers, with a focus on Atlantic Canada. For the second time, James Fisher and I are doing a book review swap for which James has chosen to read and review The Madrigal by Dian Day. Dian Day is the author of The Clock … Continue reading Guest Post: Dian Day’s The Madrigal
After reading In Search of the Perfect Singing Flamingo, Claire Tacon's new book, I discovered that she already had a book out called In the Field, published in 2011, and that this book is almost entirely set in rural Nova Scotia. The Setting It's no surprise that I love that this story takes place in … Continue reading In the Field by Claire Tacon
In March 2015, Sandra Phinney was reading a blog post by Melanie Chambers that explained her summer plans to explore her city of Toronto as a tourist. Sandra contacted her to let her know she was inspired to do the same in her home town of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. And that's how The July Project … Continue reading Waking Up in My Own Backyard by Sandra Phinney
The Atlantic Book Awards took place last night, May 10th, at the Halifax Central Library. Here's the list of all the categories and nominated books and authors. The books I've read have links to my reviews. As well, there are several links that will take you to books read and reviewed at The Miramichi Reader. … Continue reading Atlantic Book Awards 2018
Just in time, I have read the third of the three nominated books for the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award, which will be awarded at the Atlantic Book Awards on the evening of May 10 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. And what an unusual and intriguing book it is. Blood Fable tells a story within a … Continue reading Blood Fable by Oisín Curran
A Certain Grace by Binnie Brennan A couple of years ago I read Binnie Brennan's novella Harbour View and loved it so much I was destined to go on to read her collection of short stories. It's hard to compete with Harbour View, but A Certain Grace is also a joy to read. A nice mix … Continue reading Atlantic Canadian Short Stories: Brennan, Skibsrud, and Crocker
I usually opt for fiction to gain understanding and empathy for topics that are far from my own experience, but sometimes I come across works of nonfiction that are just as moving. I found Homes to be especially powerful, perhaps because the story is told from the perspective of the boy who lived it. In 2010, … Continue reading Refugees: ‘The Boat People’ by Sharon Bala and ‘Homes’ by Abu Bakr al Rabeeah with Winnie Yeung
