Posts Tagged ‘books’
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Today is the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, established to honour survivors of the residential school system, their families and communities. “The residential school system is a national tragedy borne by colonialism and propelled by systematic racism… Today is a day for commemoration and a day for Canadians to hope for a better…
Read MoreOn Growing Old and Facing the End of Life
I’m often struck by unexpected similarities between the books I choose to read. One year I read several novels and a magazine article that were all involved mining. It wasn’t as though I went looking for that theme – it just happened. More recently it happened with a different theme altogether. The Book I Didn’t…
Read MoreThe Librarian
I’ve had a library card for as long as I can remember. A long time ago, I’d browse the shelves and select some books to take home and read over the next few weeks. I still do that occasionally, but I’m far more likely to look for a specific title in the library catalogue, request…
Read MoreFirst Look: Family Trust by Kathy Wang
Although it’s been a pretty rough year for me, a lot of good stuff has happened too, especially in my reading life. After already enjoying tons of wonderful books (which I’ll talk about in a future post), I received a copy of Kathy Wang’s first novel, Family Trust, through HarperCollins Canada’s First Look program. Family…
Read MoreGoodbye 2017, Hello 2018!
I can’t say that I’m sad about seeing 2017 end. Not that it’s been a bad year – I filled about 40 pages of my gratitude journal – but a new year always feels like a fresh start, a chance for something even better. Maybe I’m just tired of the cold weather already, and anxious…
Read MoreThe Mindful Way to a Good Night’s Sleep
Sometimes when I have a few minutes to kill, I enter giveaways on Goodreads. I win just often enough (about once a year) to keep trying. My most recent win was The Mindful Way to a Good Night’s Sleep: Discover How to Use Dreamwork, Meditation, and Journaling to Sleep Deeply and Wake Up Well by…
Read MoreHow I’m spending my dash
Just over a year ago, I blogged about the passage of time and our perception of it. The older I get, the more I fear a day when I’ll look back and wish I’d done things differently. I don’t want to be like the character in one of the novels I read this summer: “He found himself infused…
Read MoreSummer Vacation
When I was growing up, we spent two weeks at Orr Lake every summer. I have lots of great memories, but one of my earliest is of evening walks to the store for the daily newspaper for my Dad and treats for us kids. Here’s a photo of my mother and me from around that…
Read MoreThe Canadian Reading Challenge: Newfoundland
After challenging myself to read one book representing each Canadian province and territory by the end of the year, I’d already covered four by the beginning of March. You might think I was rushing to get through the challenge, but only the books for Alberta and Saskatchewan were specifically chosen for this purpose. I decided…
Read MoreThe Canadian Reading Challenge: Manitoba
You know how you get excited about a particular book, but are disappointed when you actually read it? But sometimes it’s the other way around – a book you’re lukewarm about reading turns out to be amazing! That’s what happened to me with The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields. My book club had read it…
Read MoreThe Canadian Reading Challenge: Alberta
Although my original selection for Alberta didn’t turn out as planned, there was no doubt that my next choice would fit the bill, since the front cover promises “A novel of strange adventure in the Alberta Badlands.” I don’t read many adventures, but the back cover description appealed to me, and I could envision the…
Read MoreThe Canadian Reading Challenge: Saskatchewan
Happy belated New Year! How is 2016 going for you so far? I thought I’d start The Canadian Reading Challenge in Alberta and work my way alphabetically through the provinces and territories. I’ve had Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott on my shelf for about a year, and thought it would do nicely, since the back page stated that…
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