When I love a book, then I am compelling to force encourage others to read it. And so it went with Tim Winton’s The Turning. I convinced my husband to read this collection of short stories, and then my father, and then my brother … and so on, and so forth. If you’ve never lived in Australia, you can be [...]
Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
June 4th, 2010
What makes a novelist, a novelist?
Here I am with Joanne Harris, author of one of my favourite books Five Quarters of the Orange but most famously known for her novel Chocolat, which was made into the Oscar-nominated film with Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche. I recently had the chance to hear her read from her latest offering blueeyedboy when she came to Ottawa as a guest for Writers [...]
June 3rd, 2010
One year of blogging
This month marks my first-year bloggy-versary. When I first started blogging one year ago, I didn’t — and couldn’t — have known what to expect. But BOLO left me feeling very optimistic about it all. It seems that blogging is one of those things that, like becoming a parent, you just have to do it order to really understand it. And although [...]
May 24th, 2010
The Joy of Reading: The Lion, the Witch and the Bathrobe
For as long as I can remember, it’s been common for people to observe that Stella is “Daddy’s little girl.” They don’t mean that he spoils her, but rather that she just loves to do whatever he is doing. And as a result, they have now cultivated a mutual passion for the outdoors that is really beautiful. But something else [...]
December 22nd, 2009
I’m in love with a gay man
I’ve tried to get him out of my head. But I just can’t. It’s been months now that I have gone to bed, and then allowed myself the luxury of letting my thoughts drift off towards him and his life. Sure, my husband thinks I am going to bed earlier than usual, but hey, winter’s here and it makes a [...]
November 1st, 2009
And now, a little comedic interlude
If you’re still feeling a little charbroiled, how about a little comedic interlude courtesy of David Sedaris? And yes, I am like a dog with a bone when I find an author I like (witness those Eric Bogosian posts I put you through a while back). I already swept through Chapters the other day between dispensing Tylenol to sick people [...]
October 29th, 2009
When you are engulfed in flames
“Engulfed in flames” — don’t you love it? I think it sums up life pretty well these days. Between pulling very long hours at work and doing night shifts comforting sick children, I have the luxury of worrying about H1N1; the vaccine conundrum; having to carry my 40lb baby down our steep back steps and through my neighbours’ yards just to get out [...]
October 14th, 2009
A passive aggressive package arrives
The mail doesn’t actually come to our house. We need to go to our local post office and look in our box for mail. It’s a quaint-little-village kind of thing to do, isn’t it? I like going to check my mail, but for some reason I don’t get around to doing it much. Kind of like my exercise regime, I [...]
October 6th, 2009
Looking for a good children’s book?
I like it when friends or family take the time to pick out a special book for one of my kids as a gift (and inscribe it with a personal note). And I like to do the same for my friends. Recently, I’ve come across three great resources that make finding good books a lot easier. (So no, I’m not going [...]
September 19th, 2009
4 Ingredients — episode 3
Ah, wondering why I’ve tried another recipe so soon after the last one? I know, it’s out of character but hubby’s away. And while hubby’s away, this wife must cook. Well, okay, not really — he did leave two meals for me in the freezer. And I admit to ordering in pizza last night. But tonight, those chicken breasts sitting [...]
September 14th, 2009
4 Ingredients — episode 2
It’s okay, you’re forgiven for thinking that I’d given up (again!) on the idea of teaching myself how to not suck at cooking. My first post on this topic sparked comments from readers that reassured me that I am not the only female lacking in such talent. Instead of mocking me, these lovely folks were sympathetic and encouraging. This propped [...]
August 26th, 2009
4 Ingredients
The only thing that Julie from the movie Julie and Julia and I share is a name. I have never lived in New York City (although I certainly would if opportunity afforded it), I am not a newly wed (we’re clocking 13 years over in this corner), and perhaps most critically, I do not enjoy cooking. I just don’t understand how [...]
August 26th, 2009
This Audition may be a flop
I can’t say I would have normally picked this off the shelf, but a friend offered me a nice fresh hardcopy version of Barbara Walters’ memoir. Surely, I thought, it would have some tasty bits. How could it not, with such a career? Walters initially thought of titling her book Sister, since her only sister Jacqueline “was unwittingly the strongest influence in [...]
August 14th, 2009
A movie about blogging
I’ll be the first to admit, I haven’t been out to the movies much in, say, oh … the last seven years. Yes, coincidentally, since I’ve become a parent. So, I might be wrong here, but the movie Julie & Julia was the first movie that I know of with blogging as a central focus. Even though I couldn’t care [...]
August 11th, 2009
Wasted Beauty
Like a dog with a bone, I’ve been racing through Eric Bogosian’s three novels and raving about them on this blog. The first one I came across was his most recent, Perforated Heart, while the second one I read was Mall. Sandwiched in between these two, he wrote Wasted Beauty (2005). All three novels focus on American culture, and I think [...]
