Pulled this off my pile of partially finished books and so happy I did. This story was an absolute delight. The many trials and small victories of the residents of Middlemarch, it is a perfect window into early 19th century England with all its contradictions.

I recently saw the ballet Emma Bovary (divine!) and decided to re-read this as I last read it some 30 odd years ago.

There are many books about the repercussions of trying to shake off the unfair strict social strictures of a woman‘s lot in the 18th and 19th centuries. This book is not that. Emma Bovary is a selfish, nonsensical brat and I spent most of the book wanting to shake her.

I‘ve read many books by Emma Donoghue and for some reason this just didn‘t land with me. While I enjoyed the descriptions of life within an early 19th century girls boarding school (rules rules rules!) I just found I didn‘t fully engage with the characters. That said, Donoghue is a master of writing a story in which the characters are constrained to a very small physical location.

A quiet and gentle story that asks a lot of big questions. Agatha is a sister in a holy order who starts to question her future. It looks at faith and meaning, what is sisterhood and what is loneliness. How do we help other people and what that looks like from a religious order. It also touches on the issues of faith when the men in your church have done such wrong, and the continued suppression of women. Highly recommended!

Absolutely stunning and thought provoking. Set in the town near the Nazi camp of Buchenwald, it is the intersecting stories of an SS officer, his ill wife and a physician who is a prisoner of the camp. It is a story of the lies we tell others and that we tell ourselves and offers no easy answers.

Was very excited to read this and it didn‘t disappoint. A fictional examination of the impact on children living a life under the microscope of their “influencer” parents. While some parts may have been exaggerated for effect, I think it raised a lot of questions about these children‘s lives and the complicity of the public that consumers family influencer content. Highly recommended.

Really enjoyed this quiet book about a young woman‘s unexpected adventure working on one of Billy Wilder‘s last films and her personal growth during that period, offset by Wilder‘s realization that his star is fading. Lovely and meditative.

Really enjoyed this one! Felt like a modernized Dickens. Lots to think about here but filled with humour.

I‘m normally a big fan of Henry‘s book‘s as they strike that perfect balance between romance/fun summer read with a bit extra, but this one, unfortunately, felt remarkably contrived. Everything felt like it was just trying too hard here with no real depth, and stretching the limits of believability of how people actually relate to each other. Definitely seems like this was the result of Henry now being on an annual summer pub schedule.

A comfort re-read from years ago. Some of George‘s older books will feel a bit dated because although they seem to be set in the late 80s/early 90s, they often can feel much more dated than that based on the language and mannerisms she gives her main characters. That said I still enjoy the journey of these longer reads (even if I do want to tell Deborah to stop being such an insufferable sulky pants.)

This was a lovely little book I read on a flight. An examination of an older couple‘s long and, at times, imperfect relationship and the effect of years of repressed feelings. Makes you think about what love is over a long time when you may not be the best at showing it.

Set in multiple time periods, this looks at the way we ravage the earth and the after effects. It hit a bit close to home as the environmental crisis that hits (a series of wild, hurricanes, mass flooding, tornadoes all striking rapidly and unexpectedly) with the collapse of society following comes on the heels of several weeks of similar storylines. That said, parts of this book were weaker and I think Emily St John Mandel did it better.

Picked up this quick read after seeing fellow Litten discussing it. Two university acquaintances meet unexpectedly in an airport after 20 years where on divulges a story about their life to the other. I don‘t want to give a lot away but there are interesting things to ponder here about what is owed when saving a life, who is “good” and who isn‘t and it‘s got one of those ahhhh endings.

This one is interesting because it looks, on the surface, to be an exploration of pop culture but it really isn‘t and the title feels like a misrepresentation. The book is a memoir of growing up Chinese-Canadian, the author‘s difficult relationship with her mother and being one of five daughters in her family seen through a lens of pop culture (which works in some places and feels more forced in others).

This would be right on the edge of a low pick for me. The story of an elderly writer with dementia, the chapters are stories based on what she imagines for characters from her life and only towards the end do we find out their actual realities. Unfortunately I found myself far more intrigued by the “fictional” stories and less engaged with the main character, so I‘m not sure the conceit worked.

This was a quick read in that Rich People Up To No Good genre that populates the bookstores every summer. Told in from multiple viewpoints you get a little bit of what makes each character tick. I think there are other books out there that have done this genre far better but if you are looking for something fast and unchallenging for a beach day, this would fit the bill.

It‘s always a delight to end up on a tear of really good books. This one looks at the many changes in India from the 1920s through the late 1970s as shown through a small village. The story centres primarily on one family with a side storyline about an Irish doctor that dovetails towards the end. The criticism I would have is that most characters are a little *too* good, but overall an interesting family saga. A chunky book but nips along.

What a ride! One of the most creative books I‘ve read in a long time where you don‘t have any idea what is happening until half way through the book then it propels forward to a wild ending. Funny, smart, genre bending, thoughtful and thought provoking. Highly recommended.

This was my favourite type of book - a book that explores a small town and the various lives that are lived there. This book is set in the 80s and looks at the challenges of a small, poor town and the hidden lives and desires and compromises. There is tragedy in this book, but there is also hope. An absolute gem.

I know this one had some mixed reviews, but I found it thought provoking. Religious extremism, the effects of solitude, “othering” of people were all themes that resonate today. Perhaps the part I found most interesting is leaning on the idea of god‘s gifts as an excuse to pillage the environment. Parts of this book have very much stuck with me.

Another thoroughly delightful read. It‘s the kind of story I really enjoy - a story about family and community and imperfect people trying to do their best. Gentle and heartwarming in the best of ways. A definite pick.

I am one of those creatures who enjoys puzzles - perhaps not as much as A. J. Jacobs - but I definitely get a lot of satisfaction out of a good logic puzzle. I love his gentle, and easy to read, exploration of the varieties of puzzles and games out there and how he indulges his own nerdiness. This is definitely not a deep dive, but rather a fun exploration of the many types of puzzle activities out there and the people who enjoy them.

Finally decided to catch up on logging some reading here. This book was, as so many have found, an absolute delight. The conceit of the octopus‘s viewpoint could have been terrible, and yet it works. A lovely novel about people just trying to do their best.

Interesting coincidence that I finished this book on the same day it won the Pulitzer. I really enjoyed the structure of this and the peeling away of the layers to get towards the truth, who gets a voice and who doesn‘t, and the use of wealth in the shaping of truth. Also, I have a backyard to read in again!

Trying to get this finished for a book club but finding it difficult as it is making me so angry. I really struggle with books these days where the driving force seems to be how much one character can endure in unfairness and harshness. While I don‘t need my books to be all rainbows and butterflies, I find I have a limit these days to what *I* can endure.

Quiet time hanging with my puppy and enjoying some easy reading. Really love these very quiet, meditative mysteries.

Was lucky enough to snag an early copy of this through Harper Collins Canada and am ripping through it.

Started late last night. Think it‘s gonna be a good one!

Still here, still reading, although sometimes life gets in the way of posting. This is a fun bit of fluff to read in front of a terrific view.

A book where I loved the themes more than the execution. While it explored three generations of women and their tension with motherhood and abortion, many times it felt like the story never quite got there and came across at points more like an overwrought chick-lit style book.

My bad habit is starting books and then setting them aside to languish for weeks, months, uh… years. I have an entire shelf devoted to these endeavours. This was started in 2019 and finished today. The story, set during Prohibition and the building of the Ambassador bridge, was fascinating but went on a little long for my liking. Still, an intriguing story of a different time.

Apologies for the cursing, but this is a profoundly fucked up, nearly nonsensical story. CW for basically everything from abuse, incest, violence and cannibalism. While the themes of loneliness and social conformity, particularly in Japanese culture, may be relevant it felt like too much of this book was written purely for shock value. If you are looking for another Convenience Store Woman, go elsewhere.

Set in 1960s Britain, this book was a bit of Anna Karenina, a bit of Madame Bovary but with a modern twist in a very British style similar to Ian McEwan or Alan Hollingsworth. Some interesting twists. My first Tessa Hadley, but won‘t be my last.

On to this book which has a very retro, classic feel to it, as though it could have been written 100 years ago.

After all the hype, thought I would start this this morning. Love that the cover matches my bedding. First chapters pulled me right in, but I‘m hoping the case of deliberately quirky, whimsical characters doesn‘t become a bit much too quickly.

Sometimes you start a book in 2018 and you finish it in 2022. An unusual story about a married woman who starts an affair with a woman she meets at the local pool. Rather charged and more erotic than the cover would suggest.

This was a fun bit of summer fluff. It is your friends-to-lovers story, done with a bit more panache than your average teenager romance. It skips back and forth in time and is set in Canadian cottage country and Toronto, which made it highly entertaining as someone who has lived in Ontario her whole life. A very solid beachside book.

A quick read as I nearly forgot I had book club tomorrow. Some stories were better than others, but I couldn‘t help but feel like many of these wouldn‘t stay with me long. The last story, in particular, irritated me in the same way that The Giving Tree did when I read it years ago.

Was excited to read this follow up to Evan‘s A Visit From the Goon Squad. While not necessary to read the prior book, I think it is definitely more enjoyable if you do. I particularly enjoyed finding out a bit more of the lives of each of the characters from the first book. Told as a series of interlinked short stories, this is an examination of social media and the “outsourcing of conscientiousness”. Thought provoking.

Today‘s finish. Some moments I really enjoyed here although the parts that should have meant the most - the interaction between mother and daughter - were the ones that oddly, felt most forced and fell flat.

The cover belies what is inside. This is a story of a woman with an unnamed mental illness and mis-diagnosis, the impact it has on the protagonist‘s life and those around her. While it doesn‘t shy away from the darker moments, it also doesn‘t indulge in prurience and there are also genuine moments of humour. Thoughtful.

A story of the fraught relationship between mother and daughter. Appropriate for Mother‘s Day.

I read this 10 years ago and cannot remember a lot about it, so decided a refresh was in order before jumping into Candy House.

An interesting pairing of the books I‘m reading for two different book clubs right now.

Some fun Sunday morning reading in bed.

Devouring this while waiting for my copy of her newest to arrive.

Loved this book. Looks light and fluffy but there is a depth and sadness here. Ties up a little neatly at the end, but overall a gem of a book.

One of the stranger things about this pandemic has been turning my car into a home office. Since my kiddo, as an elite athlete, was allowed to return to training, but the waiting room/gallery where I usually sit is closed up, I‘ve had to resort to working and spending a lot of time in my car. The good thing is the large amount of reading time I have. Today, it will be finishing this book, which is riveting.

It‘s been a long time since I posted here. Like many I‘ve been tucked away at home, reading like crazy. This is a small sample of what I currently have on the go (as I am not a book monogamist at all) although I can feel I will be giving Hidden Valley Road a lot of attention as it is so compelling. Hope everyone is keeping well!

After school pickup reading. Really looking forward to this one.