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Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson, Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector, and The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
I’ve had some wonderful cases of book serendipity this year. That is, when books you’re reading simultaneously, or consecutively, have a common thread, a coincidental similarity of theme, or detail, or maybe an uncommon word usage. Bookish Beck keeps track of these in Twitter threads....
Published at Reading in Bed
I’ve had some wonderful cases of book serendipity this year. That is, when books you’re reading simultaneously, or consecutively, have a common thread, a coincidental similarity of theme, or detail, or maybe an uncommon word usage. Bookish Beck keeps track of these in Twitter threads....
Published at Reading in Bed
In the Year 2000…. (Choose the Year Booktag)
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The Oilers made the playoffs, but got eliminated in the first round. The Sopranos was on the air, but I had to watch it with my parents because I still lived at home. I was reading chick lit and dude bro memoirs, but […]
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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The Oilers made the playoffs, but got eliminated in the first round. The Sopranos was on the air, but I had to watch it with my parents because I still lived at home. I was reading chick lit and dude bro memoirs, but […]
Published at Reading in Bed
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Road had a profound effect on me. Not because of McCarthy’s writing style, this being my first encounter with it; or because of the audaciousness of his post-apocalyptic vision, the only one I’ve read without a shred of hope; or the biblical references, of which I am always slow o...
Published at Reading in Bed
The Road had a profound effect on me. Not because of McCarthy’s writing style, this being my first encounter with it; or because of the audaciousness of his post-apocalyptic vision, the only one I’ve read without a shred of hope; or the biblical references, of which I am always slow o...
Published at Reading in Bed
Norma by Sofi Oksanen, The Prison Book Club by Ann Walmsley, and Arlington Park by Rachel Cusk
Yes, it’s the dreaded mini-review round up. Things are not looking great for my #20BooksofSummer challenge. This post will bring me to 10/20 books reviewed, and I just started reading #13. Anyone else plan to just keep going after September 3? Norma by Sofi Oksanen Norma is my second DNF of...
Published at Reading in Bed
Yes, it’s the dreaded mini-review round up. Things are not looking great for my #20BooksofSummer challenge. This post will bring me to 10/20 books reviewed, and I just started reading #13. Anyone else plan to just keep going after September 3? Norma by Sofi Oksanen Norma is my second DNF of...
Published at Reading in Bed
Literary Fiction Book Tag
In a book blog/booktube cross pollination initiative (sounds very official!) headed up by Rachel and Claire, this is a tag that originated on booktube, now making the rounds in blogland. If you have pivoted to video, you may watch me blather on for 17 minutes here: And for reference, the original...
Published at Reading in Bed
In a book blog/booktube cross pollination initiative (sounds very official!) headed up by Rachel and Claire, this is a tag that originated on booktube, now making the rounds in blogland. If you have pivoted to video, you may watch me blather on for 17 minutes here: And for reference, the original...
Published at Reading in Bed
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
Goodreads is generally trash, but it is good for one thing: looking up reviews when you’re stuck on writing your own. Or, more to the point, you need to shore up your opinion about a book that seems to go against the grain. My first impression of The Fishermen was that it’s a good boo...
Published at Reading in Bed
Goodreads is generally trash, but it is good for one thing: looking up reviews when you’re stuck on writing your own. Or, more to the point, you need to shore up your opinion about a book that seems to go against the grain. My first impression of The Fishermen was that it’s a good boo...
Published at Reading in Bed
Refuse: CanLit in Ruins edited by Hannah McGregor, Julie Rak, and Erin Wunker
Writing this review was as difficult and exhausting as trying to follow the numerous CanLit controversies over the past couple of years, with which this book is concerned. Okay, not quite as exhausting. Reviewing any anthology is tough, though. I have a hard enough time with story and essay colle...
Published at Reading in Bed
Writing this review was as difficult and exhausting as trying to follow the numerous CanLit controversies over the past couple of years, with which this book is concerned. Okay, not quite as exhausting. Reviewing any anthology is tough, though. I have a hard enough time with story and essay colle...
Published at Reading in Bed
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo: DNF review
Rules for novels are more for writers than readers. If a novel is successful, I shouldn’t be thinking about whether or not the writer followed or subverted some set of rules. But one of those oft-repeated rules kept coming to mind while I attempted to read The Ghost Bride: show don’t ...
Published at Reading in Bed
Rules for novels are more for writers than readers. If a novel is successful, I shouldn’t be thinking about whether or not the writer followed or subverted some set of rules. But one of those oft-repeated rules kept coming to mind while I attempted to read The Ghost Bride: show don’t ...
Published at Reading in Bed
Little Reunions by Eileen Chang
Eileen Chang’s Love in a Fallen City was one of my favourite books of last year and a new author discovery for me. Chang doesn’t have a huge body of work, but recent English translations like Half a Lifelong Romance (translated in 2016) and this one, Little Reunions (translated in 201...
Published at Reading in Bed
Eileen Chang’s Love in a Fallen City was one of my favourite books of last year and a new author discovery for me. Chang doesn’t have a huge body of work, but recent English translations like Half a Lifelong Romance (translated in 2016) and this one, Little Reunions (translated in 201...
Published at Reading in Bed
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl could have been a great book. This is starting out very much like my review of The Fault in our Stars: The Fault in Our Stars is a great book. The most popular book review I’ve ever written, other than the one that was about sexy Sleeping Beauty If […]
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Me and Earl and the Dying Girl could have been a great book. This is starting out very much like my review of The Fault in our Stars: The Fault in Our Stars is a great book. The most popular book review I’ve ever written, other than the one that was about sexy Sleeping Beauty If […]
Published at Reading in Bed
The Watch That Ends the Night by Hugh MacLennan
I mistakenly noted that I received this book “from the publisher” in my 20 Books of Summer list. Actually, I received it as part of a promotional push for Douglas Gibson’s 2011 memoir, Stories About Storytellers. The memoir is centered on his lengthy career in publishing, during...
Published at Reading in Bed
I mistakenly noted that I received this book “from the publisher” in my 20 Books of Summer list. Actually, I received it as part of a promotional push for Douglas Gibson’s 2011 memoir, Stories About Storytellers. The memoir is centered on his lengthy career in publishing, during...
Published at Reading in Bed
Winter Journal by Paul Auster
Before starting Winter Journal, the first of my 20 Books of Summer, I tried really hard to clear the decks and finish off all the physical and ebooks I was reading prior to June 3. But books are meant to be in conversation with each other, as the saying goes, and so I found myself […]
Published at Reading in Bed
Before starting Winter Journal, the first of my 20 Books of Summer, I tried really hard to clear the decks and finish off all the physical and ebooks I was reading prior to June 3. But books are meant to be in conversation with each other, as the saying goes, and so I found myself […]
Published at Reading in Bed
Clearing the decks and caveats: 20 Books of Summer 2019
Clearing the decks We are less than a week out from the start of 20 Books of Summer, so of course I’m in the middle of a bunch of books. I’m trying to clear the decks so I can start my first book, Paul Auster’s Winter Journal, with a clear schedule (see my full TBR […]
Published at Reading in Bed
Clearing the decks We are less than a week out from the start of 20 Books of Summer, so of course I’m in the middle of a bunch of books. I’m trying to clear the decks so I can start my first book, Paul Auster’s Winter Journal, with a clear schedule (see my full TBR […]
Published at Reading in Bed
20 Books of Summer 2019
Cathy of 746 Books has been running the 20 Books of Summer challenge since 2014, and after watching the first five rounds from afar, I’m jumping in. The idea is to read *and review* 20 books over the summer (June 3 – September 3). Cathy is quite reasonable about swapping out books if ...
Published at Reading in Bed
Cathy of 746 Books has been running the 20 Books of Summer challenge since 2014, and after watching the first five rounds from afar, I’m jumping in. The idea is to read *and review* 20 books over the summer (June 3 – September 3). Cathy is quite reasonable about swapping out books if ...
Published at Reading in Bed
Literary Smut: An appreciation and some recommendations
Inspired by some recent racy reads, I made a video about smutty literary fiction (as opposed to smutty smut). I’ve blogged about sexy times in books a few times here on Reading in Bed, but talking about it with my voice (and my face!) is another prospect, and a little cringey. I’m gla...
Published at Reading in Bed
Inspired by some recent racy reads, I made a video about smutty literary fiction (as opposed to smutty smut). I’ve blogged about sexy times in books a few times here on Reading in Bed, but talking about it with my voice (and my face!) is another prospect, and a little cringey. I’m gla...
Published at Reading in Bed
