Two years ago I decided to challenge myself to read more books from Atlantic Canada. Last year I read 22 books from the region in total. This year I read 30. 30 is a higher number, but it turns out that it still only makes up about 32% of my reading... same as last year. … Continue reading Best of Atlantic Canada 2017
Category: Atlantic Canadian Books
Peninsula Sinking by David Huebert
Look at the cover of this book. It couldn't be more stunning. With stories to match. Peninsula Sinking is David Huebert's first short story collection. He has won the CBC Short Story Prize, the Sheldon Currie Fiction Prize, and the Walrus Poetry Prize, and is the author of one poetry collection We Are No Longer the … Continue reading Peninsula Sinking by David Huebert
A Halifax Christmas Carol by Steven Laffoley
Before you start to think I'm completely obsessed with the Halifax Explosion, let me explain... When I first saw this book I thought it was going to be a twist on Dickens's A Christmas Carol, set in Halifax. Which it is... but it's not as close to A Christmas Carol as I was expecting it … Continue reading A Halifax Christmas Carol by Steven Laffoley
Dazzle Patterns by Alison Watt
As some of you may know, I have been working on a little project the last couple of years; reading novels that have a connection to the Halifax Explosion. On December 6th of this year, 2017, it will be the 100th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion. One of the things I find compelling about reading … Continue reading Dazzle Patterns by Alison Watt
Giller Shortlist: I Am a Truck by Michelle Winters
Trucks play a big part in this story of a rural Acadian couple who have been together for almost 20 years. The only thing Réjean seems to love more than his wife, Agathe, is his black Chevy Silverado. The Silverado was reported sitting next to the highway with the driver-side door open just eight hours … Continue reading Giller Shortlist: I Am a Truck by Michelle Winters
5 Reasons Why I Shouldn’t Like The Blue Castle #ReadingValancy
Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote The Blue Castle in 1924, at the same time as she was attempting to write Emily's Quest. Unlike the last Emily book, LMM enjoyed writing The Blue Castle. In The Selected Journals of L.M. Montgomery Volume III: 1921-1929, she writes "I have enjoyed writing it very much. It seemed a refuge … Continue reading 5 Reasons Why I Shouldn’t Like The Blue Castle #ReadingValancy
The Boat: A Short Story by Alistair MacLeod #1968Club
Joining in on the 1968 Club this week seemed like a long shot for me until I came across this short story by Alistair MacLeod, published in 1968 and the first story in the collection Island. The Boat A Midwestern University professor looks back at his childhood in 1930s Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. He grew … Continue reading The Boat: A Short Story by Alistair MacLeod #1968Club
The Unlikely Redemption of John Alexander MacNeil by Lesley Choyce
Lesley Choyce has written a crazy number of books; over 80 for adults, teens, and children. I only own one that I deliberately bought a few years ago because I was anxious to read it. It is still unread. He also lives in Nova Scotia. All of this to say that I'm wondering what makes … Continue reading The Unlikely Redemption of John Alexander MacNeil by Lesley Choyce
Giller Longlist: We’ll All Be Burnt In Our Beds Some Night by Joel Thomas Hynes
When I started reading this book, I had no idea what to expect. With a title like that, and a cover that looks like the world is on fire, and almost all the praise and reviews using the word "gritty". ("Gritty" means gross, right? Yes. And other things.) But the thing is, once I got … Continue reading Giller Longlist: We’ll All Be Burnt In Our Beds Some Night by Joel Thomas Hynes
Literature on the Black Loyalists of Nova Scotia
This spring and summer I got reading about Black Loyalists in Nova Scotia, inspired mostly by reading Lawrence Hill's Black Berry, Sweet Juice and by the subsequent discussion I had with my sister. Around the same time I also read Steal Away Home by Karolyn Smardz Frost. All of this made me want to know … Continue reading Literature on the Black Loyalists of Nova Scotia
Consumed by Ink 