The Ten (Food) Commandments, by Jay Rayner. Pub 2017 This book was a gift from my book club buddy, who shares my delight in good food and good writing. The author here is a regular contributor of restaurant reviews and food commentary at The Guardian, and I've read and enjoyed his style before, but this... Continue Reading →
Looking on the bright side
I had a chat today with a colleague and friend. We’re about the same age, and have been working for about the same number of years (30+ for me, close to the same for her plus school and family). She said, “When does all this hard work start to pay off?” We talked about it... Continue Reading →
Fierce, by Hannah Holborn. Book report #15 (2019)
Fierce, by Hannah Holborn. Pub 2008 Rereading this book for the first time since 2008 when it came out. I have this book because I know the author: we met in 2007 in Pender Harbour, and she recommended a few other books (Wild Dogs, Raw Shark Texts) as well as her own forthcoming story collection.... Continue Reading →
The Raw Shark Texts, by Steven Hall. Book report #12 (2019)
The Raw Shark Texts, by Steven Hall. Pub 2007 Like Wild Dogs, I’ve at last gotten to this long-ago recommendation. I can’t believe I waited so long. This book was fantastic – literally. Part The Matrix, part Griffin & Sabine, with definite shades of David Mitchell, this adventure paranormal mystery love story is a page... Continue Reading →
French Exit, by Patrick DeWitt. Book report #3 (2019)
French Exit, by Patrick DeWitt. Pub 2018 This was another recommendation from a book-loving friend – he has been right every time, and this was no exception. This novel is fun, funny, shocking, and thoroughly enjoyable. Telling the story of Frances Price and her son, Malcolm, the self-described “tragedy of manners” is a modern homage... Continue Reading →
2019 Reading Challenge
Once more into the breach: we're continuing the challenge in 2019, with more modifications to the list. Still a total of 28 books, but some new categories to keep it interesting. The list is below. We ditched the murder book (that one was too easy) and author-younger-than-you (too difficult), and added genre-you-don't-normally-read and book-previously-unfinished. We also... Continue Reading →
Wild Dogs, by Helen Humphreys. Book report #20 (2018)
Wild Dogs, by Helen Humphreys. Pub 2004 I’ve read almost all of Helen Humphreys’ novels, but strangely not this one. Strange because this one was specifically recommended to me. It was in the early fall of 2008 (I think). I was visiting my friends Joan and Pete on the Sunshine Coast for the Pender Harbour... Continue Reading →
Macbeth, by Jo Nesbø. Book report #9 (2018)
Macbeth, by Jo Nesbø. Pub 2018 The last of the recent recommendations, and this was another winner. I've not read any Jo Nesbø before, and looking at his bibliography I likely never would have, so this was a very pleasant surprise (I had a similar surprise with a longtime favourite book The Children of Men,... Continue Reading →
Slade House, by David Mitchell. Book report #8 (2018)
Slade House, by David Mitchell. Pub 2015 Another author recommendation from a the newly-found kindred literary spirit, I chose this book at random from the several available. I deliberately did NOT choose Cloud Atlas as I've made several failed attempts to start that very long book and wanted something I could finish (hopefully) in a timely... Continue Reading →
Bad Marie, by Marcy Dermansky. Book report #7 (2018)
Bad Marie, by Marcy Dermansky. Pub 2010 This book and author were recommended by a colleague/client and friend. We met for lunch in April, ostensibly to discuss past and future work, but discovered a mutual fondness for reading. We spent nearly 90 minutes talking about books (can you have too many?), reading (the joy of... Continue Reading →
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