I‘m in Stratford Ontario this week, enjoying the theatre festival. Today‘s our last day, with As You Like It and Danté‘s Inferno on the agenda. Favourite so far is a difficult choice, but I think I will never again see such a remarkable production of Macbeth as Robert Lepage‘s, which is set amidst a biker gang in the 1990s. ?❤️

some unthinking god
threw me cold violets last morning
when rain was a prince in the garden.

Certain Flowers, Gwendolyn MacEwan

I‘m still reading but dealing with health issues, including a concussion, so I haven‘t been posting much here or on booktube. Kind folks have been inquiring, so here‘s a short life update, if you‘re interested: Farm visit and RCMP musical ride (but no books) in this life update
https://youtu.be/Lk3CxJP03bE

This was the point when I realized (after blocking the project so far, and comparing it to an oversized sweater) that my garment was going to be too large. I have since frogged two rows of squares to reduce the width. Now I have a cloth mock-up so the rest of my knitting will be on track. Design is End Times by Amy Gunderson on Ravelry. #LitsyCrafters #ShowAndTellTuesday

#endpaperlove

In the background, the ocean roared like the future, just out of sight.

Please do NOT touch the librarians.

I thought people for whom food had no meaning couldn‘t possibly have a care in the world.

#audioknitting #LitsyCrafters
I‘m using up small amounts of yarn to make a cardigan. The design is End Times by Amy Gunderson.

Shelley: The way the artist painted his head, it looks like her favorite purse and not a human head.
Head of Holofernes: So I guess this makes me an accessory to murder.

In an admirable show of courage, Twig comes to Hilda‘s rescue in the 7th volume of this Scandinavian myth-infused fantasy adventure series. Graphic novel for all ages. #kidlit #comics

In case you‘re wondering, Twig is a deerfox.

Comics journalist Joe Sacco criticizes American complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza powerfully and without compromise. The images are so distressing that I won‘t show examples here on Litsy. The instalments collected in this volume are available on The Comics Journal website, to see for yourself.

https://www.tcj.com/the-war-on-gaza-1-26-24/

Why was Paco Roca‘s mother so deeply attached to a family photo from the 1940s? In this immersive work of personal history, the cartoonist uncovers the explanation. The deprivations of Franco-era Spain are brought to life in this moving graphic novel. Translation by Andrea Rosenberg.

Without a past, we are nothing. We need a past in order to feel like we are part of something larger and more ancient, which we call ancestors, humanity.

My latest Friday Reads video features all comics format, plus my 65th birthday & berry enthusiasm #LGBTQ #GraphicNovels #CanLit #EisnerAwards #booktube

https://youtu.be/YF3MIL3drxg

Three spooky folktales, retold within a frame narrative of siblings amusing each other, are drawn from Argentina—cartoonist Liniers‘ home country—as well as Brazil & Mexico. Lots of back matter by David Bowles adds context in this delightful book aimed at readers in Grades 4-6. #kidlit #comics

#endpaperlove

These two passengers goofing around on the prow of a boat in the Amazon are not actually part of the story, but it‘s a fun visual joke by the author/illustrator.

Coming out as a lesbian in Calgary of the early 1980s, parenting a developmentally delayed child with another woman, and using lies as a coping strategy—Rose Drury has a lot on her plate in this warm, funny novel that had me caring very much for a woman muddling her way through life. #LGBTQ #CanLit

I was right behind, following his teetering gait, acting as security guard: since learning to walk he crashed and bashed his way through the indoor and outdoor world like a firefighter with poor balance.

(Image from Alison McCreesh‘s graphic memoir, Degrees of Separation.)

… and the bedspread smelled as if it had been washed with pineapple jello.

I chugged out of Guelph. I was leaving. I did not feel unfettered or even alive, but later, by around Sudbury, I did.

I kissed her cheek and Roger‘s head which smelled of baby and utter helplessness, and my heart was ransacked by tenderness.

Did some #audiobaking this morning: Raspberry Coconut Slice. Recipe courtesy of the mother of my friend Robyn in Brisbane. Tasty results reminiscent of upscale iced vovos. 😄

#Queer #LGBTQ #trans history, #Indigenous lit, #CanLit & #comics in this 07/11/25 Friday Reads #booktube episode

https://youtu.be/dPPH51rSw-g

Australian queer history, including the start of Sydney‘s Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, is showcased in this compelling dual narrative that begins in 1972 and spans two decades. Two vivid portrayals of young women & their romantic relationships. Being out (or outed) vs staying closeted: these two pathways lead to very different lives. The audiobook has two narrators and I loved it! #LGBTQ

… amidst the impossibility of it all, joy persists.

The author reads her own memoir-in-essays in this #audiobook about growing up in a hyper-masculine environment, working in her dad‘s glass repair shop in Whitehorse Yukon. Music helped her survive and to eventually come out as a #trans woman. A tender tribute to her father and to the ways music can save us. #LGBTQ #CanLit

Describing music as sad is a disservice to the impact emotional devastation has on our lives. […] sadness done & told just right is a world of possibility. This might be the true hidden promise of dad rock. There is sadness in here, there is something dark & somber, where it‘s hardened by distant memories or regret that are coupled together with strings & keys to create something truly beautiful. There is nothing more beautiful than surviving.

I haven‘t been posting links to my booktube videos lately, mostly because the Litsy app no longer works properly on my iPad, making its use inconvenient. Anyway, Madeleine Thien‘s remarkable book is in the latest episode. (Please let me know if you want me to continue posting links.)
Hope & empathy are the hallmarks in this 07/04/25 episode — #LGBTQ #kidlit #CanLit #WomenInTranslation #audiobooks

https://youtu.be/tdG6Vf4k_NE

You are invited to view my rambling May 23rd Friday Reads:

https://youtu.be/KHRLR4_jjVI

#LGBTQ #AsianHeritage #audiobooks #memoir #booktube

Does the quality of a given life depend on what a person chooses to love? This question is raised in Madeleine Thien‘s ruminative new novel.

I talk about 8 great books in my latest video:

https://youtu.be/YQepqdaHrG4

#LGBTQ #poetry #audiobooks #comics #CanLit #AsianHeritage

Manga, memoir, essays, poetry & fiction are featured in my latest Friday Reads video. #RedDressDay #AsianHeritageMonth #comics #CanLit

https://youtu.be/2lmhUZbi6bU

My most recent episode of Friday Reads is available: Asian & African diasporas, books for adults, teens & kids #booktube #CanLit #LGBTQ #comics #poetry #audiobooks

https://youtu.be/m_Ho33ABr5c

You are invited to watch me talk about 10 books in my latest booktube episode. They include picture books, audiobooks, fantasy, essays, historical fiction, contemporary literary fiction & the science of wellbeing

https://youtu.be/PQoEGcUxB3M

You are invited to view my latest video about books, dandelions, poetry & Marg Delahunty, Warrior Princess:

https://youtu.be/2CWyMvXmieA?si=Wstxyl09mFtKdjKn

#LGBTQIA+ #audiobooks #comics #graphicmemoir #kidlit #anarchy

1. Filing deadline is April 30 in Canada. Mine will be done before then.
2. Charming

Picture books, People and Poetry are in my latest episode of Friday Reads… along with seaweed and literary prize shortlists:

https://youtu.be/aDmpBqd1CxI

I have a few suggestions for Alyisha, who is looking for funny contemporary fiction. I like a dark undertone to humour, so these might not be exactly what you want, but I hope at least a few of these will appeal.

In my latest Friday Reads booktube episode: artisan cheese touring on Vancouver Island; Victoria gardens; and 6 books.

https://youtu.be/B4BlfSUOVi0

#trans authors #OzFiction #kidlit #memoir #Gaza

What are you willing to give up to alleviate someone else‘s suffering? […] the prevailing answer echoing from the mouths of so many of one‘s own neighbours is: Nothing at all.

How does one finish the sentence: “It is unfortunate that tens of thousands of children are dead, but…”

The literary critic Northrop Frye once said all art is metaphor & a metaphor is the grammatical definition of insanity. What art does is meet us at the site of our insanity, our derangement, the plainly irrational mechanics of what it means to be human.

This amazing tale about the bond between a British woman and a wild hare is currently shortlisted for the Women‘s Prize for Nonfiction. I loved it.

I talk about the tagged book and 6 others in my latest booktube video, as well as International Trans Day of Visibility and doing touristy stuff in Victoria BC. #LGBTQ+

https://youtu.be/wLpbL6QsA_k?si=2llFEuO2vFFcfT6H

You are invited to view my latest booktube episode, in which I talk about Nobel laureates, art, the Korean diaspora, speculative fiction, trans nonbinary literature, and trees!

https://youtu.be/An3pG6AV28I

For my friends on Litsy who like a reminder when I post a new video about my reading, here‘s a link: Friday Reads 03/14: 10 books from 9 countries

https://youtu.be/M_NYB1phWlQ

#booktube #CanLit #poetry #LGBTQ #InTranslation

What‘s not to love about a species that comes into its own in the rain if you live in a damp place like the UK? With that rain comes mossy magic, softening shapes, muffling harsh sound, painting our world with greenery and poetry.