Pandexicon, by Wayne Grady. Pub 2023 I don't recall where I first heard of this book, but I know it was in the last month or so, likely on a podcast of some kind. Needing a book to fill the language category, this seemed like a timely fit, and promised (according to the cover) to... Continue Reading →
All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days, by Rebecca Donner. Book report #30 (2023)
All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days, by Rebecca Donner. Pub 2021 I can't remember when or where I first heard of this book, but it would have been last fall sometime, as I bought a copy for myself and sent a copy to a friend. Rebecca Donner is the great-great-niece of Mildred Harnack, an... Continue Reading →
Washington Black, by Edi Edugyan. Book report #27 (2023)
Washington Black, by Edi Edugyan. Pub 2018. I've had this one on my shelves for a while now, and recall starting it at least once but getting distracted from it as it seemed to be going in a very bleak direction. But a few months ago, another reader friend mentioned having finished and enjoyed it,... Continue Reading →
Tauhou, by Kōtuku Titihuia Nuttall. Book report #24 (2023)
Tauhou, by Kōtuku Titihuia Nuttall. Pub 2023 This was an impulse purchase last month when picking up some other books. I've been encountering situations with Indigenous communities and relations more and more in my work, and so this book seemed like perhaps a timely way to engage with those, however obliquely. However, the author herself... Continue Reading →
Hangman, by Julie Burtinshaw. Book report #21 (2023)
Hangman, by Julie Burtinshaw. Pub 2022 I purchased this book because it is written by a friend-of-a-friend, and because I thought it was something my mom might enjoy. This is the story of Canada's first official executioner, one John Radclive (or Ratley or Ratcliffe or Radcliff as he variously calls himself). Drawing heavily on Radclive's... Continue Reading →
The Gargoyle, by Andrew Davidson. Book report #3 (2023)
The Gargoyle, by Andrew Davidson. Pub 2008 I read this book when it first came out in 2008, and was blown away by it then. While it's been one I often think of as being an old favourite, I had never reread it, and actually had little memory of what it was actually about other... Continue Reading →
Dave Cooks the Turkey, by Stuart MacLean. Book report extra #8 (2022)
Dave Cooks the Turkey, by Stuart McLean. Pub 2005 A gift from Christmas 2021 (thanks, Mom!), this seemed like a good holiday read for this year. Although very brief, it was a delight. For more than 20 years, Stuart McLean was the creator, writer, and host of a Canadian treasure called The Vinyl Café. Part... Continue Reading →
The Cellist of Sarajevo, by Steven Galloway. Book report #35 (2022)
The Cellist of Sarajevo, by Steven Galloway. Pub 2008 I had read this only once before, not long after it first came out, but the story has stuck with me and it felt worthy of being read again (that, and "book with a place name in the title"). Using as inspiration the story of a... Continue Reading →
The Missing of the Somme, by Geoff Dyer. Book report #31 (2022)
The Missing of the Somme, by Geoff Dyer. Pub 1994, updated 2016 Last year, one of my favourite reads was But Beautiful by Geoff Dyer. At the time, I looked at his bibliography, but nothing leapt out at me. Then I heard him on a book-chat podcast a few months ago, and enjoyed his discussion, including a... Continue Reading →
Larry’s Party, by Carol Shields. Book report #30 (2022)
Larry’s Party, by Carol Shields. Pub 1997 I first read this book in 1997; I splurged on a hard-cover (first Canadian edition, even), and read and enjoyed it immediately. A few years later, I listened to an audiobook version (on cassette tape, of all things) which is no longer available anywhere. It's a book I... Continue Reading →
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