As far as this novel goes, the characterization of an inconvenient woman is one who tells the truth about a bad man. Claire learns that her ex-husband is remarrying. Sure that he is the worst sort of criminal, she sets herself the task of stopping it by whatever means necessary.
Read MoreAs you might imagine, books set in the 1920’s and 1930’s provided a pivotal and fruitful period in literature, with these decades being bookended by two World Wars. They encapsulated a time when people allowed themselves to indulge in the allure of glamour and frivolity even as they began to grasp the fleeting nature of good fortune. Tag along as I guide you through a wonderful collection of reads set in these times.
Read MoreThis isn’t going to end well…the words on a never-ending loop in my head within the first few pages of this novel. And spoiler alert, I was not even the tiniest bit wrong. In a matter of weeks the world our characters live in is overrun by an insidious virus. No, this is not a true story…
Read MoreConsider for a moment that you answered a question that no one had asked. This unconventional and ingeniously structured crime novel probes whom we listen to and why, and whose voices and stories are deemed worthy of being heard.
Read MoreThis author employs an unconventional yet charming narrative device, channeling the voice and personality of her now deceased grandmother Bobby to tell their story. Finicky, fiercely nurturing, magnetic and outspoken, it’s a voice impossible to resist.
Read MoreOh, what a tangled web we weave…There’s an old proverb that a single lie compels multitudes more to bear the weight of it. That is certainly the case in this story!
Read MoreOur charming main character, a Grannie who has been left without work after a fire at the diner where she is employed and without funds of any kind after some unwise investments, quickly regrets not going with her instinct to keep her hard-earned retirement savings under her mattress.
Read MoreDaisy Jones & The Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid
Hippie - Paula Coelho
Drop City - T.C. Boyle
The Ice Storm - Rick Moody
Arcadia - Lauren Groff
Invisible Circus - Jennifer Egan
Inherent Vice - Thomas Pynchon
The Girls - Emma Cline
Hideous Kinky - Esther Freud
Looking For Mr. Goodbar - Judith Rossner
Little Miss Strange - Joanna Rose
The Electric Kool-Aid Kid Acid Test - Tom Wolfe
The Drifters - James Michener
Dead Poets Society - N.H. Kleinbaum
I'm With The Band: Confessions Of A Groupie - Pamela Des Barres
Go Ask Alice - Beatice Sparks
The Flamethrowers - Rachel Kushner
Love Story - Erich Segal
Joyland - Stephen King
How We Fight For Our Lives – Saeed Jones
A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius – Dave Eggers
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life – William Finnegan
Girl Decoded – Rana el Kalioulay
Good Morning, Destroyer Of Men’s Souls – Nina Renata Aron
Notes From A Young Black Chef – Kwame Onwuachi
The Yellow House – Sarah M. Brown
In Pursuit Of Disobedient Women – Dianne Searcey
A Good Wife – Samra Zafar
Wild Game – Adrienne Brodeur
Heavy – Kiese Laymon
Empty – Susan Burton
Becoming Dr. Seuss – Brian Jay Jones
The Heart And Other Monsters – Rose Anderson
Once More We Saw Stars – Jayson Greene
Hillbilly Elegy – J.D. Vance
Inheritance – Dani Shapiro
Another Bullshit Night In Suck City – Nick Flynn
Girl Walks Out Of A Bar – Lisa Smith
The Liars Club – Mary Karr
Born A Crime – Trevor Noah
Becoming – Michelle Obama
Wild – Cheryl Strayed
The Professor & The Madman – Simon Winchester
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks – Rebecca Skloot
A House In The Sky – Amanda Lindhout
Hunger – Roxanne Gay
Drinking: A Love Story – Caroline Knapp
Running With Scissors – Augusten Burroughs
Just Kids – Patti Smith
The Year Of Magical Thinking – Joan Didion
The Rules Do Not Apply – Ariel Levy
Sybil – Flora Rheta Schreiber
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal – Jeanette Winterson
Thick – Tressie McMillian – Essays
The Shapeless Unease – Samantha Harvey – Diary…of sorts
I’m Telling The Truth, But I’m Lying – Bassey Ikpi – Essays
This Is One Way To Dance – Sejal Shah - Essays
Between The World & Me – Ta-Nehisi Coates - Letters
Good Talk – Mira Jacolo – Graphic Art
Hold Still – Sally Mann - Photos
So Sad Today – Melissa Broader – Essays
Buffering – Hannah Hart – Essays & Oddities
Be prepared to be ambushed by the twists and turns as this author portions out the truth. Although you may see them coming, you might not be prepared for what happens when they get there!
Read MoreClassified as a suspense thriller, don’t expect this book to besiege you with twists and turns. This reading experience is a slow burn and all the better for it. There is no easy cliché to be found here, no formulaic dispensing of character or plot. An unexpected pleasure!
Read MoreUsing as a focal point the chilling story of offshoot Mormon fundamentalist brothers who commit a brutal murder in the name of God, Krakauer takes us back and forth in history to understand what led to this crime. Exemplary writing!
Read MoreIt should go without saying that Canada has an amazing array of authors residing and creating within our beautiful borders. For this crib notes I focused in on recent fictional releases that you may have missed!
Read MoreSome true-life narratives have the power to restore while others may destroy. The best of them will do both. They will transcend the memoirists own story to resonate with ours. They will tell the truths of the author and the reader; pulling forward something suppressed, giving voice to something unspoken.
Read MoreIn the last pages of this book, a Muslim woman asks the convicted school shooter who killed some of her students and held her captive, “How did we get here?”. Only by reading this powerful novel might you begin to understand what the answer to that may be..
Read MoreAn author who can create entire worlds out of nothing more than words and enthrall the reader such that they never want to leave…that’s talent only held by few. Roth has further cemented her place in this literary echelon with her latest book.
Read MoreIt’s not often you encounter a book where a killer for hire is the prime suspect in a case she’s been asked to help solve. And that killer, she’s a woman. And that woman, she’s a tough talking, hard drinking smartass with a lot of ways to kill people in her repertoire.
Read MoreGirl, Woman, Other - Bernandine Evaristo (Fiction)
If I Was Your Girl - Meredith Russo (Fiction)
On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Voung (Fiction)
Call Me By Your Name - Andre Aciman (Fiction)
We Have Always Been Here - Samra Habib (Memoir)
Prettiest Star - Carson Sickels (Fiction)
High School - Sara Quin & Tegan Quinn (Memoir)
I'm Afraid Of Men - Vivek Shraya (Memoir)
Like A Love Story - Abdi Nazemian (YA Fiction)
Here For It - R. Eric Thomas (Memoir)
This Is How You Lose The Time War - Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone (Fiction)
The Fifth Season - N.K Jemisin (Fiction)
Fierce Femmes & Notorious Liars - Kai Cheng Thom (Memoir)
House Of Impossible Beauties - Joesph Cassara (Fiction)
Long Live The Tribe Of Fatherless Girls - T Kira Madden (Memoir)
Not My Fathers Son - Alan Cumming (Memoir)
Aristotle & Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe - Benjamin Aire Saenz (Fiction)
Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit - Jeanette Winterson (Fiction)
Tranny - Laura Jane Grace (Memoir)
Pasty - Nicole Dennis-Benn (Fiction)
Real Life - Brandon Taylor (Fiction)
Unicorn - Amrou Al-Kadhi (Memoir)
Exciting Times - Naoise Dolan (Fiction)
The Memory Police - Yoko Ogawa (Fiction)
The Three Body Problem - Cixin Liu (Fiction)
A Tale For The Time Being - Ruth Ozeki (Fiction)
How To Pronounce Knife - Souvankham Thammavongsa (Fiction)
The Measure Of My Powers - Jackie Kai Ellis (Memoir)
One Day We'll All Be Dead And None Of This Will Matter - Scaachi Koul (Memoir)
The Reality Bubble - Ziya Tong (Non-Fiction)
Older Sister. Not Necessarily Related - Jenny Hejiun Willis (Memoir)
Inferno - Catherine Cho (Fiction)
Djiin Patrol On The Purple Line - Deepa Annapara (Fiction)
Pachinko - Min Jin Lee (Fiction)
Girls Burn Brighter - Shobha Rao (Fiction)
Marriage Of A Thousand Lies - SJ Sindu (Fiction)
The Book Of M - Penn Sheperd (Fiction)
Permanent Record - Mary HK Choi (Fiction)
If you have yet to brave the works of this author let me give you something to ponder. Kindness, hope and grace can be found in the most harrowing of places. King will lead to into the darkness and then give you the heart to defy it.
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