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Station Eleven by Emily St. John
So, I’ve taken a bit of a break from both my #ReadHarder challenge and Canada Reads 2015 if you hadn’t noticed. I got the flu a little while ago and while I’ve been playing catch up in my life I decided to treat myself by falling headlong into the haunting Station Eleven by Emily St.…
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Intolerable A Memoir of Extremes by Kamal Al-Solaylee
When I began reading Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes at the beginning of the week I did not expect to be pulled into a mesmerizing story of life in the Middle East for a young gay man. I also did not expect to learn about an Arabic world that was largely secular. Al-Solaylee paints a…
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Canada Reads: The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King
Thomas King writes history the way I wish it was taught in all schools: passionately, subjectively, and damn truthfully. I decided to get ready for Canada Reads 2015 by reading all the books in advance for once and also fulfill a Read Harder requirement–a book by someone from an indigenous culture–in one fell swoop. It…
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Read Harder #3 & #4: Funny Women
It’s been a long, long week and it’s not even half over… But here I am with two whole new books under my belt! I love to laugh. I love women. I love funny women. Which is why in this dreary, grey month I decided to read not just one, but two books by female comedians…
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Canada Reads 2015, baby! Let’s go!
I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it! Canada Reads is officially back with a new host, new panelists, and new challenging books! Ah, diversity. I am going to be busy until March 19th. This year I’ve decided to immerse myself into the experience entirely and actually read all of the books before the show.…
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Read Harder #2: A Fairy Tale Retold
Onwards and upwards to the second Read Harder challenge: the retelling of a classic story! For this challenge I chose Helen Oyeyemi’s Boy, Snow, Bird. I’m a sucker for anything myth or legend. The Monomyth is probably my favourite literary tool/device/tidbit of all time. As a kid, I devoured a lot of Donna Jo Napoli’s…
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The Art of Shelving (A Cure to Tsundoku)
I’ve recently learned the Japanese word tsundoku which translates to “book pile” and has been drifting around the bookish realms of the internet lately. It also has its origins in a pun (which I I can appreciate!) but tsundoku finally gives me a way to express a condition which I’ve been suffering from: I have more…
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Read Harder #1: Romance
Merry Christmas everyone! I’ve finally decided which category to kick off #ReadHarder 2015 with Romance. Holidays are a fun, laid back time to spend with family and friends so I thought something light and uplifting would be a good fit for the season. I had originally been aiming to complete the ‘Prior to 1850’ category to…
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I’m Back, Canada Reads 2015 & #ReadHarder
And we’re back! I am once again working in Toronto after returning to school for another term, which means yet another foray into the world of blogging ha ha ha… This also happens to be the day the Canada Reads 2015 longlist was released and it is delightful. So many diverse writers and the perfect…
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The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
A friend of mine lent me Yangsze Choo’s The Ghost Bride, a few months ago after I mentioned my interest in novels about Chinese culture. Choo’s novel takes place in Malaysia during the late 1800’s (then called Malaya) and is beautiful interwoven story of the cultural effects resulting from British Imperialism and Chinese immigration to Malaya.…
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All That Matters by Wayson Choy
This week I read All That Matters by Wayson Choy. A lyrical piece of fiction, by way of the Asian tradition–rich in natural imagery, superstition, and family matters. Choy’s novel is a look inside the complex social dynamics of Chinese culture in light of the changing face of tradition as the Chen family adopts to…
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Arthur & George by Julian Barnes
This is a really good book. That might sound like an underwhelming review, but it really simply is a great piece of literature through and through. Barnes’ novel is spellbinding. I know that because it has impacted my everyday life. I can’t sleep because I want to read it, I missed my stop on the…
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