Loved the setup in this one, but the execution was convoluted and, unfortunately, boring. At least it was a quick read.

I loved the start of this one so much. I was completely engaged and enraptured by Rain's story for about 75% of the book. Then it started getting a little shaky, but still good. But the last 10% pissed me right off. I won't give it anything less than a pick because the first half was just that good, but sitting here at the end of it, it is a low pick.

"Arguably, men made me hate men. Stripping just let me see them at their most men-ish"

I recently finished the tagged book, where she briefly mentions Indigenous cultivation of nut trees in North America, and today this article appeared on cbc.com.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-hazelnut-research-1.7392860

It's a quick, interesting read!

"Give the earth your rage, young man, she'll give you flowers."

From the moment I started this one, I wanted to do very little other than read it.

In 1920s Vancouver, Isla McKenzie seeks out an illegal abortion. Her sisters find her near death in a hospital ward. The consequences ripple through the lives of all four McKenzie sisters and those around them, as they each try to find a life that is true to their own selves in a society that places little value on a woman's ideas, love, and choices. Cont'd 👇

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Sign ups are open for #AuldLangSpine with @monalyisha - head to her page for details and sign up link.

If you've never taken part, I highly recommend it! I have met some fabulous Littens, and some fabulous books, through this reading event. Alyisha always does such a thoughtful, wonderful job matchmaking the readers.

Holy shirtballs 😱 😱 😱

I read this in one sitting. The growing tension and pacing are so well crafted. Frustration at the treatment of women by the medical establishment turns into creeping unease as you learn more and more (but never everything) about what is happening. So so good.

Gotta get through this one so I can prep for book club next week. It's okay, but not amazing, and I really would rather be reading my other book, which IS amazing. So I'm rewarding myself with chocolate for doing the reading i should be doing instead of the reading i want to be doing. Toblerone season is here!

#TLT @dabbe

I LOVE Thanksgiving sides, especially:
1. Brussels Sprouts
2. Green Bean Casserole
AND
3. All the pie! (Except cherry 🤮)

DO NOT make me eat:
1. Cranberry Sauce
2. Sweet Potato Casserole (sweet potatoes are delicious, they DO NOT need marshmallows!!!)
3. I love turkey, but turkey DOES NOT love me 😭🤢

I needed something light and sweet, and this delivered. Bonus - the book takes place from October to January, so there were some joyful holiday vibes thrown in.

"But of course men, particularly the godly ones, have little common sense."

#UnpopularOpinion time!

Chris Whitaker is just not for me. I think there's a really good story buried here, but he overwrites and gets in his own way. Sometimes beautiful writing is the point, but sometimes it is an obstacle. I find this to be the latter. He uses 100 words for what could be said in 10.

Glad it works for others, but it's not for me!

"You know what I like to imagine? I like to imagine the streets lined with all earth's fallen women. Everyone else having to pick their way through the streets, stepping over them. That would be some kind of justice, wouldn't it? All those women blocking the path of the sanctimonious bastards who knocked them down. And there would be a lot of us."

Another #CanLit read for #FoodandLit ??

Reading some light #CanLit Rom Com fun while a tourtière cooks in the oven. #FoodandLit #Canada 🇨🇦

Phoebe, a trans woman living in Copenhagen, is surprised to find her ex, Grace, on her doorstep. She hasn't seen Grace since their breakup, before her transition, and must come to terms with where her new life fits within the story of her past.

It is a book of thought and ideas, and of place and belonging (Copenhagen really comes alive). Not much happens, but that's okay. Cont'd in comments...

Celebrating #FoodandLit #Canada month with a chip truck poutine. I mean, really, any excuse for a chip truck poutine is a good one. #iykyk

Tagging my last excellent #CanLit read if anyone is looking for recommendations!

#WhereAreYouMonday I'm in Copenhagen with Phoebe and a surprise visit from her ex, Grace. So far, so wonderful.

@Cupcake12

"Culture doesn't have to make sense, Grace. It's invented by people. You know what they're like."

Rarely do I pick up a book amidst this much hype and love it this much, but this one is just that special.

A year after the death of their sister Nicky, the remaining Blue sisters try and find their way back to each other, and to themselves, amid the fog of grief, anger, and addiction. Their journeys, alone and together, are difficult and heart wrenching. But even in the darkest moments, it never feels exploitative.

cont'd in comments

All signed up!

@bookish_wookish I said my country only on my sign up, but I can also ship to the states if necessary, I just can't ship overseas 😄 Thanks for hosting!

Who else loves it when their car needs an oil change, because it means you have no choice but to sit and read for a while? 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️ I'm being productive AND reading! Yay!

P.S: so far, this book truly lives up to the hype.

Loved the first half. Second half got a bit messy, and I'm not entirely sure I get what was going on, but was still creepy Halloween fun. A good read to finish off October.

I think this was Kliewer's debut? I'd definitely be interested to see what he does next.

Started this yesterday. Absolutely loving it so far. Was going to read more last night, but it was dark and everyone was upstairs asleep. Unsettling and eerie in the daytime, downright scary in the dark!

I read this one for the IRL Book Club I host at a local Cafe (our meeting was tonight). My favourite part was the wonderful discussion we had 🤷‍♀️ There were the makings of a really good book here, but it was severely underdeveloped. I loved Jake's storyline, but everything else felt emotionally lacking and frustratingly off the mark.

What a phenomenal, raw, moving memoir. Broome writes about his experiences growing up black and gay in Ohio, in a society rife with homophobia and racism, where everyone holds very specific, narrow ideas of what a Black male can and should be. It is heart breaking, moving, enraging, and sometimes vitally, purposefully uncomfortable.

Cont'd in comments

"Ted was a broken soul, Charlie a nature lover and Tom had seen everything a man is allowed to see."

Three men retreated from society to live and die on their own terms in the remote Northern Ontario wilderness.

Cont'd in comments

A clever thriller, with a snarky as all get out MC, a twist I genuinely didn't see coming (but made total sense looking back at it), and some thoughtful social commentary on violence against women, who people are willing to believe, and societal expectations of a "good victim". It took me about 1/3 to really get into this one, but then I couldn't put it down.

"In which people go missing, a death pact adds spice to life, and the lure of the forest and of love makes life worth living. The story seems far-fetched, but there are witnesses, so its truth cannot be doubted. To doubt it would be to deprive us of an improbable other world that offers refuge to special beings."

Been on my TBR for a while, but @monalyisha recent review made me grab it at the library. With an opening line that I couldn't resist!

"My life vastly improved once both those men were gone. Men don't protect us, not really. They only protect themselves, or each other. The only thing men ever protected me from was happiness."

I'm between a pick and a so-so, but I'll give it the higher rating because it may not be the book's fault.

Upon the sudden death of her husband, Waite discovers his affair(s), porn addiction, and time spent with escorts. This leads her on a complicated journey through her grief, which she recounts here with opened and candor.

I appreciated the raw nature of her story, and the ups and downs of her healing journey, but.... cont'd

Reason 872 to love my kobo:

I came out to read and totally forgot my glasses! Thankfully I can just bump up the text size and muddle through 🤓🤦‍♀️😊

Dear Audiobook Narrators,

Thank you for all you do, love your work. HOWEVER, if you are going to be narrating a book written by a Canadian, please please PLEASE learn how to pronounce common Canadian words, like TOQUE. It is not "toke" (as used in the tagged), nor is it "toe-kway" (as used in Eight Bears).

Signed,
A frustrated Canadian listener

Full house tonight for Jane Urquhart at the Book Drunkard festival!

Over the top, ridiculous, and so, so much fun. Took a bit to find its groove, but overall I loved meeting Steve, Amy, and especially Rosie. I will definitely read on to their next adventure when it comes.

But first, a new Thursday Murder Club book coming in 2025 🎉

Quill, training for the Boston Marathon, is out running when she hears a woman scream. This is the catalyst to lead her on an investigation into the violence and kidnapping of women and girls in her community, touching on the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women in North America. Quill and her friends Punk and Gaylyn are well realized, empathetic characters - fully fleshed women with all their vulnerabilities, love, and rage.

cont'd

This was really good!
In 1950s London, Cypriot grandmother Zina Pavlou is accused of brutally murdering her daughter-in-law. As she speaks no English, interpreter Eva Georgiou is brought in to translate.
The result is a gripping courtroom drama combined with a thoughtful character driven portrait of these two women. It also confronts zenophobic and class issues within the justice system in a nuanced way that never feels too heavy-handed.

My next listen. How can you not want to pick it up with a title like that?

A thoroughly engaging look into the dualities in modern life and society, prompted by online confusion between Naomi Klein and Naomi Wolf. I was particularly struck by the empathy with which Klein investigates how someone like Wolf, feminist darling of the 1990s, would fall into the far right conspiracy crowd.

I recommend the audio, Klein does a great job at the narration!

When the National Book Awards shortlist was announced, this was one of two on the fiction list I had not yet read, and the only one I hadn't heard of. It also happened to be available right away on Libby. I was hooked from the first.
Short stories of the eerie, unsettling, and sometimes horrific, set in Lagos, Nigeria. Aguda knows how to ensnare with just a few short sentences, how to skew the everyday just enough to shift reality... cont'd

The ideas and the bones of a great novel are here, but the execution felt somehow soulless.

This is a story about women's lives in the brink of the divorce referendum in Ireland, and about the men who deeply fear the loss of control that women's freedom of choices signifies. It should rage and burn, but it fails to ignite. Most of the characters feel like blanks, and I just could not bring myself to care.

Audio party prepping!

Throwing kids birthday parties is not my favourite thing, but sometimes you just gotta suck it up, eh? Thankfully the tagged keeps me engaged through the drudgery of prep work.

“A long time ago, there was a woman who lived elsewhere in the city. What is a house - this woman wondered, as her husband dragged her body, like a mop, over faded linoleum floors - but a pressure cooker, a vent pipe screaming steam?“

I'm really into this collection so far - full of arresting, unsettling imagery. And I just love this cover!

Finally saw one of the L.M. Montgomery loonies the other day, it's so beautiful!

So excited to volunteer at this event tonight!

I suspect this may be a case of blame the reader, not the book. I enjoyed some of the stories, but others didn't work as well. Each new story I had to force myself to start reading. I may try again if my library gets a physical copy, which would be easier for me to dip in and out of around other reads!

Some of the stories were really strong, so if the premise interests you don't let my bail put you off (but I'd recommend a borrow, not buy)

In the 1800s, parts of England were temporarily enraptured by the story of Mary Toft, the woman who gave birth to rabbits, until the story was finally proved to be a hoax. In Mary and the Rabbit Dream, debut author Noémi Kiss-Deáki takes Mary from being a dehumanized footnote of history, an anecdote that invites incredulous chuckles, and returns her humanity in rich, often playful, and regularly unsettling prose.

Cont'd in comments

@Jess861 Sprocket says thank you, too! He loves his squeaky monster 👻

Happy October! It's #FallingforFallSwap opening day!

I LOVE everything! I've almost bought the David Nicholls so many times, I'm really looking forward to it (I love hiking stories, and Nicholls' particular brand of love story). And I'm fascinated by Sylvia Beach, so this historical fiction is a must read for me! Throw in some lovely fall socks, yummy sounding tea, and Twizzlers which I will now go hide from my kids, AND a toy for Sprocket! 👇

Gilbert has crafted a collection of stories that feels alive with the deep, genuine humanity of the residents of Mile End, Montreal. The working class, artistic, and intellectual residents face a changing neighborhood and a changing world as the highs and lows of everyday life clash with gentrification and the pandemic.

I loved dipping in and out of this collection over the last couple of weeks. Gilbert has a gift for realism.