What's interesting about each of these novels is that none fits a traditional model in the suspense genre. Shari Lapena's The Couple Next Door is the closest to a conventional thriller. But even her novel spends more time on characterization and atmosphere than many loyal genre readers would tolerate. Nonetheless, she
Prizelists make me feel like I do when I watch the Olympics. Because just when I am feeling most thrilled about one person's winning performance, I am reminded of all the other participants' losses. So the prizelists, for me, are as much about what is not listed as what is listed
Only ten this year, so far. Without my Alice Munro project to steer me, I am not reading as many short story collections now. Over the summer, I read Cherie Dimaline's A Gentle Habit (2015) as part of All Lit Up's summer bookclub. Dimaline is a member of the Georgian
Reading Becoming Lin reminded me of discovering Marilyn French's The Women's Room and Marge Piercy's Small Changes. Two unapologetically feminist novels which I felt had poured out of my own heart into some other writer's story. I inhaled these books, and I felt the same sense of intense recognition and
All published in the season which would make them eligible for this year's Giller Prize, the kaleidoscope of covers for 2016 is now available on Pinterest, a text-based collection here. They had me at list-making, but also there are prizes, for lucky list-makers (rules, here). The images link to the
