The Sparrow Read-a-Long Wrap Up

Ok, so it’s been at least two weeks since I finished reading The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (see The Sparrow Midway Check In) and I’m ashamed to say it is growing fuzzy in my mind. I read it along with several others in a Sparrow Read-A-Long organized by Trish at Love, Laughter and a Touch of Insanity, and I just want to thank Trish for getting me off my butt, peeling away my fears and intimidation and making me read this book. It was transformative.

Cover Wars: Golden Boy

When Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin (review) came out I was floored by it. It is simply brilliant. It is now available in paperback in most markets, so it seems like a good time to revisit some of its many covers.

The Future For Curious People by Gregory Sherl

Sometimes the right book comes to you at the right time. That was the case with The Future for Curious People by Gregory Sherl. I was kind of in a reading funk and wanted something light, fun and feel good. Nothing that would tax my synapses too much. That was exactly what The Future for Curious People delivered. It was a quick and quirky love story that kind of restored my faith in love and in fate.

Meeting the English by Kate Clanchy

I received a signed copy of Meeting the English by Kate Clanchy from Willoughby Book Club‘s wonderful book subscription service. As with many of the books I get from them, I had never heard of Meeting the English but it was another example of the types of books I want to be reading to expand my knowledge of contemporary British fiction now that I’m living in these fair Isles. It was nominated for the Costa First Novel Award, an award that truly identifies books I love.

A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride

It has taken me an astonishingly long time to finish this relatively slim volume (228 pages) by Eimear McBride. A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing is not an easy book to read. Described as ‘Joycean’, the language takes a while to get into to. And in terms of subject matter, well, there is nothing easy about the topics dealt with – illness, death, abuse, sexual awakening. All of this meant A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing was not the type of book I could just pick up for a few pages while waiting for the pasta water to boil, or helping my daughter with her homework.

The Sparrow Read-A-Long: Midway Check In

I want to thank Trish at Love, Laughter, and A Touch of Insanity for organizing The Sparrow read-a-long. It gave me the opportunity to read this book that I’ve heard so much about in the past year, but had yet to read. In fair warning to all of you, I finished the book over the weekend – I literally couldn’t put it down – but this post will be entirely spoiler free.

Cover Wars: Barracuda

The Goddess of Small Victories by Yannink Grannec

Like many book bloggers and avid readers I am always on a quest to read more. Whether it is more books, more diversely, in more detail, life long readers want more. In reading more diversely one of my goals was to read more in translation. I think English readers are hesitant to read in translation because we have so much great literature to choose from already, but we may be missing out on something. So of late, I’ve been picking up books that should appeal to me and that are translations. Things have not been going well.

30 Authors in 30 Days: Marissa Stapley on The Bear by Claire Cameron

30 Authors in 30 Days is a first of its kind event aimed at connecting readers, bloggers, and authors. Hosted by The Book Wheel, this month-long event takes place during September and features 30 authors discussing their favorite recent reads on 30 different blogs. There are also some great prizes provided by GoneReading.com and BookJigs. Follow this link to The Book Wheel to enter.

 For the full schedule of participating authors and bloggers, visit The Book Wheel or join the Facebook group. You can also follow along on Twitter with the #30Authors hashtag!

I am so excited to be taking part in this event. It’s all about spreading the literary love. And I’m super excited to be hosting fellow Canadian Marissa Stapley discussing The Bear by Claire Cameron.

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The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters may well be one of the most anticipated new novels of this autumn. I know it was high up on my lists of must reads. Waters is known for her beautifully written and well researched historical novels that highlight sapphic relationships. The Paying Guests follows this trend with a love story that crosses class lines in post World War I London.