After my rocky start to audio books, I am on a roll. I would recommend all of these, except maybe don't listen to the two cancer memoirs and depression memoir back to back to back like I did. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson This book is as good as everyone says it is. Even now, … Continue reading What I’ve Been Listening To: justice, cancer, depression, and octopuses
We can’t stop shopping. And yet we must. This is the consumer dilemma. The Day the World Stopped Shopping is a "thought experiment" taken on by the author. MacKinnon was curious to know what would happen if the world just stopped shopping one day. Would chaos ensue? Would the economy collapse, and along with it, … Continue reading The Day the World Stops Shopping by J.B. MacKinnon
I just realized that I have a trio of books that represent present, past, and future. All three are new books from authors I have read and loved. A Boring Wife Settles the Score by Marie-Renee Lavoie (2021) Not long ago I read Lavoie's Autopsy of a Boring Wife in which Diane's husband leaves her … Continue reading From the Library: return of the boring wife, an apocalyptic love story, and some feminist historical fiction
A wide-ranging trio of books; a fascinating Atlantic Canadian memoir, a heartbreakingly good novel about residential school trauma, and a joy-of-a linked story collection. The Dome Chronicles by Garry Leeson (2019) The Dome Chronicles doesn't look like the type of book I normally gravitate towards - physically, it's tall and wide and floppy, kind of … Continue reading From the Library: Michelle Good, Garry Leeson, and Carol Bruneau
When I learned that author Jane Doucet was from my neck of the woods, I made it my mission to read her books. Happily for me, her books are so much fun that it was a piece of cake! Jane Doucet "never planned to write fiction, but when she looked for a lighthearted novel about … Continue reading Jane Doucet: ‘The Pregnant Pause’ and ‘Fishnets & Fantasies’
For fans of historical fiction and/or Canadian history, Trappings is a book based on real people and events in mid-nineteenth century British Columbia. What's more, it offers a woman's view of politics and life during this time. Winn's passion for her subject shows in the historical details. Trappings tells a personal story of a woman … Continue reading Trappings by Vanessa Winn
I have thrown together a bunch of books I've been meaning to write about for ages but for various reasons haven't done it yet. Not, as you will see, because I didn't like them enough. It hurts me not to write about the books I've liked. But it's tidy-up time at our house and I've … Continue reading Miscellaneous: Waves, Trees, Fires, Missing People, and Multiple Lives
This book is missing a few things: fully-developed characters, a narrative arc, a sense of cohesiveness. What is this book about? I don't really know. Yet I still read it. In fact, I read it with great interest, wondering what the author was going to come up with next. Writing is hard work, often unrewarding, … Continue reading Q&A with Jeff Bursey, Author of Unidentified man at left of photo
Inspired by Eva's post, I decided to finally give audio books a try. I started with non-fiction and have continued with it since I had very bad luck with the one fiction title I tried listening to. And it's a great way to fit more nonfiction into my reading. To my great delight, I have … Continue reading What I’ve Been Listening To: Women’s Stories, Living in the Woods, MS, Missing Youth, and a Self-Help Journey
Trickster Drift by Eden Robinson Trickster Drift is the second in the series about a young man named Jared who is trying to get through life with a hard-core mom and a trickster for a dad. I read the first, Son of A Trickster, a couple of years ago when it was shortlisted for the … Continue reading From the Library: Indigenous Youth, Race Relations, and Adoption
