Book reviews
‘Tis The Season To Be Bookish #2
Continuing my annual round-up of some of the books I’ve loved this year. I present them in the order I read them. You can read about the first five by clicking here. Without further ado: MOCKINGBIRD by Walter Tevis. A sci-fi masterpiece: “A moral tale that has elements of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Superman, and Star Wars”…
Read More‘Tis the Season to be Bookish #1
Of course, all seasons are bookish, don’t you think? It’s been a great reading year for me. I’ve read 127 books so far (I expect to finish a couple more before the year is out). For the next little while I want to share with you the books I enjoyed most. I’ll share five at…
Read MoreReading in Dark Times
It can be difficult for me to remain cheery in the midst of world events. It’s hard to remember that all things are born, live and die into transformation, only to repeat the cycle over and over again. This is true, I believe of all sentient things, as well as eras, cultures, nations, planets… The…
Read MoreBooks I loved in 2018
I don’t know how I managed to read over a hundred books this year, especially since it’s been a publishing year. My own novel, THE GRIMOIRE OF KENSINGTON MARKET, was published by Buckrider Books/Wolsak & Wynn in October and has thankfully been well received by critics and readers alike. But, what does a writer do…
Read MoreAlice McDermott's THE NINTH HOUR and her magic mirror
I recently read Alice McDermott’s brilliant book, THE NINTH HOUR, about which NPR said: “The Ninth Hour begins with a suicide. The aftermath is handled with indisputable authority by a nun who works with the sick and poor, Sister St. Saviour, who arranges both a funeral for the dead man and a future for his pregnant…
Read MoreFantastic Book! "I AM NO ONE" by Patrick Flanery
I’ve been absent for a while because, as many of you now know, I’ve been on the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize jury and reading A LOT OF BOOKS. However, that’s mostly done now and I’ve been able to start reading other things. First one up is a book called I AM NOT ONE, by…
Read MoreMy Own Ten Best Reads of 2015
Although I’ve not finished my reading for 2015, ’tis the time of lists. A number of ‘best of’ lists this year have me scratching my head, since I read some of the books and didn’t care care for them very much, and the fact Kim Kardashian’s SELFISH made the Globe & Mail’s list… well… the…
Read MoreMonsters From The Inside Out
I just read a terrific book — thanks to Sandra Katsuri, my publisher at Chizine Press, who recommended it to me — and I wanted to pass the word along. The book is NORTH AMERICAN LAKE MONSTERS by Nathan Ballingrud. This is a superb collection of short stories. Nathan Ballingrud won the inaugural Shirley Jackson Award…
Read MoreYear End Book List — the first 25
Well, ’tis that time of the year. Winter Solstice — the time when you will find me burrowed under blankets by the fire, book in one hand, tea in the other. Also the time when the “Best of” book lists are coming out. (I’m most grateful to find THE EMPTY ROOM on a couple of…
Read MoreThe Solace Of Ousia (And Of Reading)
Every morning I spend a little time reading before I begin the real work of the day, which is writing. I choose the books I read in this time slot for inspirational value, either spiritual or psychological or artistic. This morning I finished The Summer of the Great-Grandmother, by Madeleine L’Engle, which is the second…
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