As if it wasn't enough to obsess about Reading and ReLi-ting, I'm also obsessing about the Toronto Book Award, whose shortlist was announced this week. THE 2011 TORONTO BOOK AWARD (More deets here.) What Disturbs Our Blood, James FitzGerald (Random House) Étienne's Alphabet, James King (Cormorant Books) The Amazing Absorbing
It's been a few years since I obsessed about reading the Giller titles (but that year I discovered Charlotte Gill's Ladykiller and that was terrific). Last year I brushed up against my troubled relationship with the list (Dear Giller Shortlist, Oh, how I used to wait for your five names...) but time
One of my favourite things about summertime as a kid was reading at a feverish pace. Unchecked by homework, school squabbles, or early-morning risings. By August, I was getting into the thick of it. I’d remembered how much fun reading was and the more that I did, the more that
Alongside a handful of shared/group reading challenges (here's my mid-year update on those), I'd chosen some themes to explore and I'd spotted some gaps in my reading. Short Stories 1. Sarah Selecky's This Cake is for the Party (2010) 2. Lynn Coady’s Play the Monster Blind (2000) 3. Mavis Gallant’s
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives Lola Shoneyin The Pleasure Seekers Tishani Doshi The Birth of Love Joanna Kavenna The Tiger's Wife Téa Obreht Room Emma Donoghue Swamplandia! - Karen Russell Great House - Nicole Krauss Whatever You Love - Louise Doughty Grace Williams Says it Loud -
