Congratulations to Souvankham Thammavongsa, winner of BOTH the Shadow Giller and the Scotiabank Giller Prize for her book How to Pronounce Knife! I don't know about the real Giller jury, but for the Shadow jury it was unanimous. You can read more about it at Shadowing the Best of CanLit (here and here), as well … Continue reading Scotiabank Giller Prize Winner 2020
I have to confess, it's been a while now since I read these books. Particularly The Electric Baths. But that doesn't make them any less good - it just makes my job a lot harder. Both of these books are published by QC Fiction. I have had the pleasure of reading several books by this … Continue reading QC Fiction: The Electric Baths & Tatouine
Last week, having read Hag-Seed, I got to mark off one box on the Bingo grid. This week, I mark off two more. But, looking at the grid, they really couldn't be less useful for forming some sort of line or pattern. Some of you might be surprised to hear that I decided to try … Continue reading Margaret Atwood Reading Month 2020: Week 2
After many years, and a conscious effort on Priya's part to cut ties between them, it all came flooding back when she received this message from Prakash on her new Twitter account: Hi. Write me. She doesn't want him to think there might be any reason not to, so she does. And then she goes … Continue reading #ShadowGiller: Polar Vortex by Shani Mootoo
This year, for #MARM, we're playing BINGO. How prepared am I? It depends... I am well prepared for a month of reading Atwood's work, but I'm not sure how that's going to translate to the Bingo grid. The novel I chose to read this year is Hag-Seed, and I am happy to say I have … Continue reading Margaret Atwood Reading Month 2020: Week 1
People Like Frank; and other stories from the edge of normal by Jenn Ashton, Tidewater Press The twenty stories in this collection are all relatively short, but don't feel lacking in any way. 'Gentle' is a word that comes to mind when I think of my experience reading this book. And optimistic. Some of the … Continue reading Short Stories: People Like Frank & Nothing Without Us
With Margaret Atwood Reading Month just a few days away, we thought we’d share our BINGO card. It’s just for fun. And maybe it’s just for our own amusement…because there are a lot of literary events and challenges in November! But if you want to play along, please do. If you grew up playing traditional … Continue reading Margaret Atwood Reading Month: #MARM Bingo
Rita Joe's wonderful and well-known poem, I Lost My Talk, has been made into a children's book. And it's perfect for a children's book - it's written in clear, simple language that children can understand, and it introduces them to Rita Joe long before most of us were lucky enough to encounter her work. I … Continue reading I Lost My Talk by Rita Joe & I’m Finding My Talk by Rebecca Thomas
The first thing I have to say about these books is that each one deserves it's own post. So very good in their own unique ways. Three from Atlantic Canada, one from Quebec. Are You Kidding Me?! by Lesley Crewe, Nimbus Publishing Lesley Crewe is wildly popular here in Nova Scotia. Her books at the … Continue reading From the Library: some laughs, some crime, a coma, and a narrative meditation
All of the stories in Dominoes at the Crossroads are written in first person; some have overlapping characters, many feature music in some way, many include historical descriptions or scenarios, and all feature a character or characters from the African Diaspora. Kaie Kellough, himself, is a character in one of his own stories. One of … Continue reading Giller Longlist: Dominoes at the Crossroads by Kaie Kellough
Consumed by Ink 