Tag: humour
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Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Like many, I heard about Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree through hype online. The name alone made it an obvious choice for me, but it helped that I was in the mood for reading something light and fluffy to combat these cold, dreary days. The book is exactly that—a real cinnamon roll of read—heart…
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Lattes with Ladies: Elizabeth Scott!
This is a long and lovely interview I did with the hilarious and indomitable Elizabeth Scott back in January when meeting up in a cafe was no big deal at all. All of the references to what she had been reading and how many books she read thus far were from when the year had…
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Lattes with Ladies: Erin Taylor!
After much ado, (a year’s worth of it at least) I finally have another Lattes with Ladies interview featuring my good friend, writer, and globetrotter Erin Taylor. You can follow Erin on her Instagram and wait with bated breath like the rest of us for her first book. HPL: First off, what are you reading…
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The Back of the Turtle by Thomas King
The Back of the Turtle by Thomas King was recommended to me by the same friend (and fan of King) who suggested I read Truth and Bright Water. It should come as no surprise to anyone that I loved both of them! The Back of the Turtle follows a few different characters, each chapter alternating…
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Tales from The Moth
The Moth is releasing its second book, All These Wonders on March 21st! What better time to review their first collection? From the outset, I wasn’t sure how I was going to write about The Moth book, or even if I should. As a collection of stories from the incredibly popular podcast and touring show, which features…
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Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood
The funny thing with reading a lot and only writing in my odd spare moment on weekends means that I often have to remind myself what I read and if I had written a blog about it yet. I was surprised this morning when I realized that I hadn’t actually written my review of Hag-Seed…
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The Pain Tree by Olive Senior
I picked up The Pain Tree at the Word on the Street festival in Toronto this past fall. It was recommended to me at the Cormorant Books tent, and always happy to pick up more Canlit and Caribbean lit, I couldn’t say no! Olive Senior is a prolific writer, having published many volumes of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and…
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The Witches of New York by Ami McKay
I got Ami McKay’s latest book, The Witches of New York, in a swag bag from a special sale at Joe Fresh on Queen St. This is a rare book for this blog – one that I didn’t choose for myself nor was it recommended to me by a close friend. By coincidence, it also turned…
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A Brief History of Seven Killings by James Marlon
Marlon James’ A Brief History of Seven Killings opens with a Jamaican proverb: “If it no go so, it go near so.” As a fictional account of very real events, it’s hard to think of a more fitting phrase. I’d been meaning to read A Brief History for many months. A year, in fact, as a…
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Lattes with Ladies: Victoria Stacey!
Victoria Stacey is a graphic designer, photographer, blogger, event planner, and A+ volunteer. She founded and ran Passion8 magazine for three years, is an executive for Young Women in Business – Toronto, and an avid crafter. HPL: What are you reading right now? VS: The Magicians. I’ve read three chapters of it because I don’t get…
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Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
Roxane Gay’s essay collection, Bad Feminist, is essential reading. The professor cum Twitter personality works through the question: “How do we reconcile the imperfections of feminism with all the good it can do?” Beginning with herself, Gay presents the body of a black woman as a platform for analysis, examining the politics of that state…
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Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill
A tale of innocence and adolescence will crack your heart right open. Lullabies for Little Criminals is the coming-of-age story of Baby, who lives mostly on the streets of Montreal with her father Jules, a drug addict. O’Neill’s bildungsroman looks at the myriad of issues surrounding street kid culture. Readers are forced to question why…