The Overstory By Richard Powers “The most wondrous products of four billion years of life need help.” (p.165) In Richard Powers’ novel The Overstory, trees, the powerhouses of the Earth, draw in a cast of characters from vastly different backgrounds. There’s Nicholas Hoel, whose family has spent generations documenting the growth of the Hoel Chestnut […]
by: David Casarett Ladarat Patalung, nurse ethicist, widow, amateur sleuth? At the Sriphat Hospital in Chang Mai, Thailand, Ladarat is approached by a local detective to help solve a potential case of murder. A woman brought her husband to the emergency room where he then passed away. This is nothing strange in a hospital; however, […]
Uprooted by Naomi Novik had me from the first line: “Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, not matter what stories they tell outside our valley.” There is something about fairy tales that always grabs the imagination regardless of the reader’s age, especially if there is a dragon involved. Novik takes everything I ever […]
By Jamie Ford Love and Other Consolation Prizes is another lovely historical tale from Jamie Ford, author of The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. It is based on the true story of a Chinese boy who was raffled off at the 1909 Seattle’s World’s Fair, when the owner of the charity house […]
The Lost Diaries of Susanna Moodie Cecily Ross’ The Lost Diaries of Susanna Moodie is a fictional and very readable account of the life of Susanna Moodie, a Canadian pioneer and one of Canada’s earliest writers. Lost Diaries begins during Susanna’s youth in 1815 England. In a home of eight children, including six girls, there […]
by Anne Helen Petersen Written by Anne Helen Petersen, a columnist for Buzzfeed, Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud looks at current women in our society who break the mold of what people consider socially acceptable womanly behaviour. Using ten women as examples of controversial people who are too much, Petersen analyzes some key characteristics […]
Circe by Madeline Miller is a marvellous read. When I saw this book about Circe from the Odyssey, I couldn’t resist. I was one of those kids that grew up reading mythology. Greek mythology was a particular favourite, in part because my name appears in one of those myths and in part because I just […]
By Matthew Desmond Although Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond introduces us to a number of families living on the edge of poverty in Milwaukee, the stories he tells us can be true of any city. Whether we are reading about Arleen, the single mother, Scott, the caring nurse with […]
The Lost Girls of Camp ForevermoreBy Kim Fu Located on the wild coast of British Columbia, Camp Forevermore is a place that girls dream of going. A week away from parents while hiking, swimming, doing archery and kayaking is a thrilling experience for most. No one imagines what can go wrong. Nita, Andee, Dina, Siobhan […]
The Geography of Bliss:One grump’s search for the happiest place on earth. The title says it all really. Using data from the Happiness Research Institute, Eric Weiner travels the globe to explore the world’s happiest and least happy places. His mission? To find out conclusively what makes people happy! He explores a variety of different […]