Once again, my idea of reading more non-fiction this year didn't materialize. During Non-Fiction November, so many people were actually reading books that I have been meaning to read but I picked up a novel or collection instead. Nonetheless, I've squeezed in a few. Julia Shaw's The Memory Illusion (2016) Memory
Rockstar or not, Nicola Harwood's Flight Instructions for the Commitment Impaired is a bold and absorbing memoir. At times her style is plain and functional, at other times it is poetic and intricate - even captivating, her voice consistently displayed centre-stage. Caitlin Press, 2016 "No such thing as one true love,
Mary Mann Hamilton's Trials of the Earth: The True Story of a Pioneer Woman was originally writen in the 1930s, recounting her experiences pioneering. The chronicle begins in the 1880s in Missouri, moving into Arkansas, with her being crowded into a marriage, as a wife but not an equal. Little Brown
Three of these books were inspired by the conjunction between my own shelves and this year's Random House Bingo, which has a CanLit theme. The Tiger Claw filled my Nominated-for-the-Giller square, Evan Munday's second October Schwartz for the Mystery-or-Thriller square, and Elaine Lui's book about her relationship with her mother
Jon Chan Simpson invites readers into a world of "abductions, gunshots, commando dads, street-poet moms", a world populated by gangs and kidnapping conspiracies. "‘This thing - chinksta.’ She stumbled over the word, at first but pulled herself through it. ‘You’re worried this is all you got,’ she said. 'This is
