This is yet another of those books that languished on my shelves for absolutely ages before I finally came across the audiobook from my library and decided to give it a try. I’m really glad that I finally got to it, because it was excellent. This book is part personal memoir, but also largely READ MORE
Category: Book Review
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | CARE OF – IVAN COYOTE
I’ve known of Ivan Coyote for years now. I saw them speak when I was in college, an experience that was deeply impactful and that created in me a lifelong fan. But, much to my shame, this is the first book of theirs that I’ve actually finished reading – and I finished it in READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE BEST, MOST AWFUL JOB – KATHERINE MAY (ED.)
There are as many ways to experience motherhood as there are mothers. Motherhood encompasses everything from pregnancy to miscarriage to abortion to birth to adoption to caring for grandchildren. And yet, there are elements to it that are universal. I’ve yet to meet a mother who doesn’t feel judged for her choices, like she’s READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND – RUMAAN ALAM
This has probably been one of the more divisive books of the past year. It seems that some people love it, others really don’t. It’s an odd story. Amanda and Clay take their two kids for a vacation in a rental home on Long Island. The house they rented is idyllic and offers an READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | SEVEN DAYS IN JUNE – TIA WILLIAMS
Romance is not my jam, as anyone who’s been around here for a while knows. If I’m honest, I didn’t know this was a romance when I went into it. I had seen the cover around and it was available from my library, and I decided to give it a try. So it was READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME – TA-NEHISI COATES
This book is short but will turn your worldview on its head, shake it up and set it decisively to rights. It follows in the tradition of James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, a book so short but with such power that it is still one of the most important books on race in READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE – BENJAMIN ALIRE SÁENZ
Dante and Aristotle are two characters who will leap off the page and act out their story vividly in your mind. And they will be as real to you as the people you share your life with. They’re flawed but beautiful, vulnerable but strong, scared but loyal. When we first meet Ari, he is READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | WHEREABOUTS – JHUMPA LAHIRI
I’ve had Lowland on my shelf for years. I’ve had it recommended to me over and over again, and I’ve seen it in more must-read lists than I can count. And yet, this is the first Jhumpa Lahiri book I’ve gotten around to trying. It’s a quiet book, an internal exploration. It follows one READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY – RACHEL JOYCE
Harold Fry has been languishing on my shelf for years, just waiting for me to get around to meeting him. I was expecting a charming, sweet story of personal challenge and growth. I was expecting something heart warming and deeply emotional. What I got was… not exactly that. This book has a simple story READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | WE ARE NOT FREE – TRACI CHEE
A book that will take you into an often overlooked or hidden part of American history during WWII, and one that desperately needs to be brought to light, shared, talked about, and faced. This is the story of a group of young Japanese-Americans who live in San Francisco, in a community of immigrants (and READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | SEVEN KINDS OF PEOPLE YOU FIND IN BOOKSHOPS – SHAUN BYTHELL
I adore books about books, reading or readers. There are so many things I relate to when I find books about readers. Little details of how the world looks different if you spend a chunk of your life between the pages of books. The inability to walk past (or leave) a bookstore is probably READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA – TJ KLUNE
This book is magical. And I’m not just talking about, you know, the actual magic. I hadn’t really heard anything about either this book or this author before. Then it seemed like, overnight, it was everywhere. And I noticed it because, well, have you seen the cover? It’s stunning. But it turns out that READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | DIARY OF A SOMEBODY – BRIAN BILSTON
I picked this one up because my Dad was reading it and said it was amusing him. I’d been meaning to get to it and just not getting around to it for a while. It’s a comedic journal of a diffident man who likes to write witty poetry. The diary follows him through various READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES – DEESHA PHILYAW
There have been a few books from the past year or so that seem to keep popping up everywhere I look. It’s not a book I normally would have been drawn to – I’m not religious and don’t have much interest in the topic, so the title wouldn’t have appealed. I don’t normally read READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | PROJECT HAIL MARY – ANDY WEIR
Any fans of The Martian out there? Because I’m a big one. I re-read it this summer – I decided to give the audiobook a try – and loved it every bit as much as I did the first time I read it. And I instantly wanted more. The combination of complex scientific problem READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | FURIOUSLY HAPPY – JENNY LAWSON
I first read this after having my kid when I was suffering from a brutal combo of post-partum depression and anxiety, and was understanding, for the first time in my life, just how tenuous and delicate the mind’s hold on reality can truly be. I didn’t really understand what was happening to me at READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | THE ARGONAUTS – MAGGIE NELSON
For a short book, this packs one hell of a punch. It’s a memoir, kind of about everything. But if I had to try to distill it down I’d say it’s a critical assessment of society’s need to categorize people based on their gender and sexual orientation. It’s also a deep dive into what READ MORE
THE SUNDAY REVIEW | JONNY APPLESEED – JOSHUA WHITEHEAD
I’ve been meaning to read this book for ages, ever since it started making waves in the Canadian literary scene. I heard Joshua Whitehead talk a couple of times in online presentations, and loved his candor, humour and intelligence. But it wasn’t until this book was selected as September’s book for the Storykeepers podcast READ MORE