Can you be trusted to finish a series? My track record with them is spotty, at best. But I'm working hard to improve my reputation. This year, I started and finished reading Amitav Ghosh's trilogy, each volume over 500 pages (but the page-turning sort of pages). Hopefully the other
This bundle of books, with the Canadian Reading Challenge in mind (this, the eleventh year, hosted by The Indextrious Reader, with sign-ups for the twelfth year now posted), was particularly delectable. I love the idea of telling the story of a life in a way that feels true, whether
Nominated for the Writers' Trust Prize for Non-Fiction in Canada, Tanya Talaga's book explores the situation which led to the deaths of seven Indigenous high school students in the Thunder Bay area, five of them in the rivers surrounding Lake Superior. The sense of northern community which might be
Each of these books is penned by an indigenous writer, each considers a great loss, each is powerful on its own terms. Together their stories resonate and amplify readers' understanding of a vitally important issue. Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau's novel Winter Child appears to be the simpler tale. One woman's
Shirin Ebadi's Until We Are Free: My Fight for Human Rights in Iran landed on my stack thanks to Ali's description of hearing her speak and reading the book. Ebadi's tone is resolved and declarative. This, her third book, chronicles her experiences in the years surrounding Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's leadership
