On the longlist, I’d read just four of the books when the nominees were announced, two last year and two this year. For those who can forgive short stories for not being novels, Lisa Alward's Cocktail will satisfy on many levels. She’s got the sharp observations of writers like
Last year I read 11 of the longlisted titles for The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction and with the recent announcement of the 2024 longlist I was prompted to reflect on 2023’s selections. Three of the short story collections I’ve already written about—Talia Laksmni Kolluri’s What We Fed to
This morning, the 23rd edition of Canada Reads program launches. I’ve missed the voice of a career writer in the program in recent years and now, with Heather O’Neill’s inclusion (whose Lullaby for Little Criminals was a previous Canada Reads winner) as a champion, my affection for the program’s
In a short story by Carol Shields, the narrator receives too many social invitations for the same weekend evening and decides to stay home and read Jane Austen instead. I make decisions like this, too, which is why I read 201 books (54,498 pages) in 2023. In terms of
Atwood, Chiew, Clair, Herrera, Omar and Reva Short Stories in October, November and December 2023 Whether recommended by a prizelist or a friend or an author, these stories capture a variety of reading moods. This quarter, I returned to two favourite writers and also explored four
