Holy shirt, what did I just read? A short, fast read; the writing is sharp and impactful, the story bold and unrelentingly brutal. Purposefully horrifying, I can't say it was a book I liked or would easily recommend, but it has shaken me and will stay with me for a long time.

"In those places where blood mixes with soil and water, it's difficult to make any sort of distinction between man and animal."

Fun, light read about the girls who run a record store, and a vigilante fight club on the side. Issues #1-4.
Heavy 90s vibes, very Josie and the Pussycats meets Empire Records, as run by the Scooby Gang.

I don't know what it was that brought this song back into my mind recently, but DAMN these ladies can sing. It's been on regular play this week!

https://open.spotify.com/track/71EHOyEOhNx1SzTebRRyng?si=RhL0zZ9AQECin4hAf5SdNA

#TuesdayTunes
SWV - Weak
@TieDyeDude

🎯

Heart wrenching and emotional, with moments of beauty, joy, and love. It's a wonderful debut, engaging crafted, filled with genuinely human characters at their best and worst.

Be prepared, there is no real resolution in the ending. Personally, I loved that, but I know that doesn't work for everyone! I found that lack of finality echoed the balance of heartbreak with just the slightest light of hope that Ibeh walks so beautifully.

#ARC

*happy sigh* I love the TBR explosion that is #CampLitsy24 nomination time! So many interesting options. Here are my nominees:

The Alternatives - Caoilinn Hughes (tagged)
There's Always This Year - Haniq Abdurraqib (tagged in comments)
The Cemetery of Untold Stories - Julia Alvarez (tagged in comments)
The Husbands - Holly Gramazio (tagged in comments)

@squirrelbrain @Megabooks @BarbaraBB

As a child of the 80s, there is zero chance of keeping this to a list of three!

Back to the Future
Batman
Beetlejuice
The Big Chill
The Breakfast Club
Can't Buy Me Love
Clue
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
The Goonies
Labyrinth
Lean on Me
The Lost Boys
The Neverending Story
Once Upon a Giant
The Princess Bride
Stand By Me
Steel Magnolias
This is Spinal Tap
When Harry Met Sally

@dabbe #ThreeListThursday #TLT #NineteenListThursday

“I read it carefully, trying to glean clues from what the doctors discovered inside. Trying to understand why a heart “attacks.“ I place my palm over my heart and feel it beat. Will it turn against me too?“

#BookwormProblems

Chidgey masterfully crafts an atmosphere of growing unease. Coming of age, with all its preteen anxieties, is compounded by a glamorous, manipulative teacher. Interwoven into the narrative are issues of groupthink, religious ferver, body image, loneliness, and grief. An unsettling read with an explosive climax that will not soon be forgotten.

Engaging, entertaining, & thoughtful. Small town drug dealer Cillian English has pissed off his suppliers, they retaliate by snatching his teenage brother Doll and hiding him away in a country house. The story is elevated by Barrett's choice to frame the telling through the eyes of Nicky, Doll's girlfriend, and Dev, the owner of the house. Both really just want to get through this & be left alone. They give the story a unique and memorable heart.

#TLT #ThreeListThursday

1. Field of Dreams
2. Killing Eve (TV show, but SO much better than the book)
3. The Notebook

@dabbe

Two VERY different #TuesdayTunes I keep returning to these days:

Rise - The Frames https://open.spotify.com/track/4mHLZO8iKoHQSkxRVavhC1?si=HCGuoB2URoOMvSbCGwQ5CA

Sorry, Not Sorry - Demi Lovato https://open.spotify.com/track/0yvPEnB032fojLfVluFjUv?si=LYWybnkARFWBNJpJtn3nOg

@TieDyeDude

(Tagged is my current read!)

I JUST decided two days ago that I was going to chill out with the pre-orders. Today I found out that Caoilinn Hughes has a new book coming out this year.

So, that didn't last long!

If you haven't read The Wild Laughter yet, I can't recommend it enough. And this one looks like it's going to be just as special.

"Tea is the one medication that has no side effects."

#InternationalBooker

Ultimately a pick, because I didn't want to stop reading. We are presented with the story of an enigmatic, intelligent, resourceful, resilient woman and her life in North and South Korea throughout the 20th century. At turns playful and cruel, beautiful and heart breaking, the narrative jumps through time like the titular Trickster, teasing the reader and questioning truth.

Cont'd in comments

Went to pick up my son's pre-order of The Scarlet Shedder (anyone else have Pilkey obsessed kiddos?), and was drawn to the tagged for myself. Partially because of the fantastic cover, and partially because the review quote on the back says it's for "those who feel Barbara Pym-ish on some days and Stephen King-ish on others." Who could resist that combo?!

An excellent, engaging read.

1990. A young girl is found dead on a council estate in London. Another child is suspected of causing her death. An exploitative journalist hides the family away in a hotel in hopes of wringing a story out of them.

I couldn't turn away, and found myself sneaking time to listen during a busy March Break. Highly recommend! I usually can't do fiction on audio, but Jessica Regan's narration was superb.

#WomensPrize

A solid historical fiction read about a complicated woman in early 20th century Australia, trying to find a way to live within the narrow confines of society. Grenville's author notes and connection to Dolly add extra interest.

It was a good read, but as a #WomensPrize nominee, it wouldn't make my Shortlist. I enjoyed it, but nothing felt new or exceptional to make it Prize worthy.

#TLT #ThreeListThursday @dabbe

1. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
2. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
3. Black Swan Green - David Mitchell

Gotta love some gorgeous end papers! 😍

Honestly, I don't know what I can add to the rave reviews from the #EuropaCollective for this book. If you have been wondering if it really is that good, just know that it is.

I raced through the first part, but the second part got repetitive. I think it could have been edited down for a more focused read.

1. Megan is derived from my Margaret, which was my grandmother's name.

2. One of my current reads (tagged) has a character named Megan, and I'm also reading Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan, so Megan's abound in my reading world at the moment!

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

My #WeekendReads

The Damages - Scott is an alumni of the same university I attended, and this book's Regis University is a VERY thinly veiled stand-in!

Ordinary Human Failings - completely engrossed, fabulous audio narration, my heart is in my throat, and I can't turn away.

River East, River West - So far, so good, but overshadowed by my other reads. I like the choice to contrast Alva's story with her Lu Fang's.

Cont'd in comments

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

My favourite NEVER wins #CanadaReads, and this year I REALLY didn't think it would (especially after the first two days of debates).

But it did!!! And I'm so excited!

The Future by Catherine Leroux, translated by Susan Ouriou is this year's #CanadaReads winner 🏆🎉 I LOVED this book. It is beautifully crafted and demands time, thought, and attention. In return it offers beauty, magic, and hard fought hope. Highly recommended!

"... they got mortgages and girlfriends and spoke about their houses as if houses were worlds."

Who else just placed an absolute flurry of holds!?! There were only 4 I couldn't get from libraries, 2 of which aren't (yet) available in Canada. Always excited for the #WomensPrize 🎉🎉🎉

Day One about to start! #CanadaReads

Tagged was my favourite, but Bad Cree and Denison Avenue area strong contenders!

Intricately plotted and brilliantly crafted, Falling Animals starts with a dead body on a beach and uses that catalyst to spiral outwards into a story of connections made and missed, losses incremental and total, grief, love, loneliness, and beauty. An incredibly effective and affecting read.

"Behind the veil of trees, night's voices shimmered."

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Starting this one from the #WomensPrizeNonFiction long list.

I loved this. Effortlessly funny, thoughtful, and full of so much heart. This glorious, weird, beautifully convoluted family who lead with their hearts with stay with me for a long time.

And kudos to the cover designer. Second book in a row with a simple yet totally perfect cover. 🥰

I used to be able to listen to music with lyrics when I was reading, but my focus is stained lately, so I've been turning to instrumental tracks. I always try to pair the music to what I'm reading in some way, and my current read (tagged) needed indie tunes like some instrumental Feist (she is forever a favourite):

https://open.spotify.com/track/5qsQrSxbclGbUUX6YMrZGN?si=T-VWONvnSFOcpw8ihaUGcA

#TuesdayTunes @TieDyeDude

Selina Peake DeJong is such a singularly wonderful character. While the book is named after her son, Dirk 'So Big' DeJong, this is her story, beautifully told. She is a remarkable woman who longs for a life of beauty and adventure, yet finds herself a truck farmer's wife in Illinois. Instead of fading into the monotony of her world, she chooses to bring her ethos and spirit to everyday life and hopes for a remarkable future for her son. Cont'd

I did get SOME sleep, but the tagged kept me up WAY too late. And occasionally, I would try to go to sleep and found I couldn't stop thinking about the characters, so I'd turn the light back on and read some more!

#SundayFunday @BookmarkTavern

"You'd be surprised, Jan, to know of all the things you're going to hear of some day that you've never heard of before."

I absolutely love Selina Peake DeJong. What a wonderful character. Thank you for this #AuldLangSpine recommendation @Sapphire - it's a gem! @monalyisha

A fascinating look at the world's eight living bear species. Dickie looked at one aspect of the life of each species and used that as a springboard to examine the relationships between bears and human society around the globe. Very effective, engaging, and interesting way to think about our relationship with the natural world.

Cont'd in comments...

@TieDyeDude - love the idea for #TuesdayTunes ❤️🎶

These are my most played songs right now:

Brittany Howard - What Now? https://youtu.be/iV7yWoYlDvg?si=NRDABXk3_vASCVP4

Tracy Chapman - Baby Can I Hold You https://youtu.be/DqoLMGSBGYc?si=hd_OGaDSdFBWVOPY

Yola - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road https://youtu.be/dWePiTJcBEw?si=v8MGky5Hxhdv3A7H

Arctic Monkeys - R U Mine? https://youtu.be/VQH8ZTgna3Q?si=qPwQ63_5VvfgcNT7

(Tagging this week's read!)

Engrossing, engaging, can't put it down fun. With cults and true crime authors. Hallett's books are best to go into knowing as little as possible, and with a healthy suspension of disbelief. Just sit back and enjoy! It was the perfect palate cleaner after a few heavy books about grief.

"But just because someone is a born leader, doesn't mean you should follow them."

Can't stop reading. I love Janice Hallett's style of storytelling. So out there and fun.

“Nothing was different or better and I didn't think I was either, but I didn't mind being alive at the moment.“

On the surface, this is a book about two strangers who come together to free the sea turtles from the London Zoo. But really, that is just a catalyst for a thoughtful story about lonely people discovering their loneliness and perhaps finding a way to be a little less so. A genuine, human, quiet look at connection.

cont'd in comments

“I'll never cease to be amazed by the fact that people uncomfortable in themselves can give comfort to other people.“

This book is so unendingly quotable.

Photo has nothing to do with the book, just the lovely semi-frozen lake out behind my library from today's lunch break

🎵 Look what you just made me do, Look what you made me do 🎶

Total #BlameItOnLitsy stack from the bookstore today!

Maybe our constant fear is that a generation of children will come along and say: "This is not a world, this is nothing, there's no way to live at all."

I've been living the audio books for non fiction lately, but are there not producers or someone checking pronunciations? This narrator was just talking about Polar Bears in Churchill, "Man-toh-bee-ah" and took me right out of it ?‍♀️?‍♀️?‍♀️

Quick and compelling read about the rise and fall of the Astor family. Cooper is an engaging storyteller, presenting a full picture of the storied family - the good, the bad, and the ugly. An intriguing portrait of Gilded Age NYC (and beyond) that looks beyond the glitz and glamour.

What an awesome group of women. This one has been billed as horror, but I found that the horror elements were secondary to an atmospheric story of a family of women dealing with grief, love, trauma, and finding their way back to each other. There is so much love in this book and this family, the relationships are beautiful and heart felt.

Cont'd, and #CanadaReads thoughts in the comments

"I don't know whether I can keep going. A turtle doesn't have to decide every morning whether to keep on bothering, it just carries on. Maybe that's why man kills everything: envy."

"Sometimes I think that the biggest difference between men and women is that more men need to seek out some terrible lurking thing in existence and hurl themselves upon it like Ahab with the White Whale. Women know where it lives but they can let it alone. Even in matriarchal societies, I doubt there were ever female Beowulfs. Women lie with gods and demons but they don't go looking for monsters to fight with."

Art: Nicola Durrant

I read it in a day.

A heartfelt missed connection romance, set in two of my favourite places: Toronto and cottage country. I liked Fern and Will, and I liked that Fortune played with the genre's tropes without falling into its traps. It was an enjoyable read, with depth and heart that keep it from being too fluffy.

Thoughts on #CanadaReads in the comments...