Back in May, Sarah Emsley extended an invitation to read and discuss The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery in November. May was a while ago, but November is coming up fast, so this is a friendly reminder. Please join us by commenting, talking about the novel on Twitter (hashtag #ReadingValancy), and/or by writing a blog … Continue reading The Blue Castle Readalong: #ReadingValancy
Category: Atlantic Canadian Books
A Bird on Every Tree: A Collection of Short Stories by Carol Bruneau
Carol Bruneau has been getting some standout reviews recently for her new story collection, A Bird on Every Tree. James at The Miramichi Reader says that Ms. Bruneau "writes with a graceful precision and has a deftness with words and their cadences". A reviewer at The Coast calls Ms. Bruneau "a master of imagery". A … Continue reading A Bird on Every Tree: A Collection of Short Stories by Carol Bruneau
Advocate by Darren Greer
Jacob has a fulfilling job in Toronto as a counsellor at a men's outreach centre; men living with HIV. When he is asked to come home to Advocate, the small town in Nova Scotia where he grew up, to say good-bye to his dying grandmother, he has severe misgivings. He remembers the events of 1984 … Continue reading Advocate by Darren Greer
At the Tide’s Turn by Thomas H. Raddall (1959)
Those of you who have been following me for a while, know that I have a thing for Thomas Raddall's books. I love that they tell a good story, while also teaching me something about the history of my home province, Nova Scotia. At the Tide's Turn is the first book of his short stories … Continue reading At the Tide’s Turn by Thomas H. Raddall (1959)
Promises to Keep by Genevieve Graham
Last year I read Genevieve Graham's Tides of Honour, a love story set in Halifax during the time of WWI and the Halifax Explosion. Her new book, Promises to Keep is a love story set in 1755 l'Acadie (in the Grand Pré area of Nova Scotia), during the time of the deportation of the Acadians … Continue reading Promises to Keep by Genevieve Graham
The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes by Bridget Canning
Imagine you performed an unintentional heroic act that was caught on video and shared with the world. What would you do? How would you react? This is the premise of Bridget Canning's debut, The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes. It's fun, smart, thought-provoking, and very relevant to the world we live in right now. Wanda … Continue reading The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes by Bridget Canning
Four-Letter Words by Chad Pelley
I've had a hankering for more Chad Pelley since reading his two novels last year, Away From Everywhere and Every Little Thing. His short story collection, Four-Letter Words has been shortlisted for the Alistair MacLeod Prize for Short Fiction for the 2017 Atlantic Book Awards. It's up against two other collections I've read this year; Bad … Continue reading Four-Letter Words by Chad Pelley
“Everything written by any woman was written by all women…”: Heather O’Neill, Scaachi Koul, and Erin Wunker
Notes From A Feminist Killjoy by Erin Wunker I finished this excellent book a couple of months ago, and I still find myself looking at things differently than I did before reading it. I underlined so many parts that I'm surprised at myself for not writing about it yet. But when I saw that Notes … Continue reading “Everything written by any woman was written by all women…”: Heather O’Neill, Scaachi Koul, and Erin Wunker
Poetry Month 2017: Budge Wilson, Michael Crummey, and Book Spine Poetry #3
Let me start off by saying that I'm not generally a poetry person. But I have been learning to appreciate it more, as well as figuring out what kind of poetry works best for me (which I'm beginning to think is the secret). Last year, I read poetry by Rita Joe and George Elliott Clarke, and what … Continue reading Poetry Month 2017: Budge Wilson, Michael Crummey, and Book Spine Poetry #3
The Wind Seller by Rachael Preston
Rachael Preston got her inspiration for The Wind Seller when, one day, she found a box of Elinor Glyn's writing books in a Prince Edward Island antiques store. The box even had the mailing label still on it - addressed to a Noble Mattinson, Great Village, NS, Canada. Nobel Mattinson becomes Noble Matheson, and one … Continue reading The Wind Seller by Rachael Preston
Consumed by Ink 