Rants and reflections on baby boomer lifestyle, fashion, current events, and more . . . .
When I heard that one of my favourite Canadian authors, Heather O’Neill was releasing a new book in April, my name was among the first on the waitlist at the library. Like her other books, When We Lost Our Heads is set in Montreal; this time it’s in the 1870s but her characters are just as fascinating as in her earlier books. The two main protagonists,…
When my friend Margaret recommended The Paris Bookseller by Kerri Maher it went right to the top of my To Read list. Anything with Paris in the title usually gets my attention but this book, in particular, pulls together the threads of so many books of historical fiction I’ve read over the years. Maher’s story about real-life Paris bookstore owner Sylvia Beach is a pleasure to read…
Oh, William! is the fourth novel I’ve read now by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout and she does not disappoint. This book is slightly more complicated than the others in that it’s a psychological study of Lucy Barton (the main character from her earlier book, My Name is Lucy Barton, and her relationship with her first husband. William Gerhardt was her first husband and father…
Coincidently, as I was writing today’s book review and the movie review, it occurred to me that the movie and the book have much in common. Both are about high-achieving professional women who harbour lingering doubts about their capability and effectiveness as mothers. It comes down to the old question of life balance. Is it possible to be a good mother, a good wife, a…
We’re forever grateful that Newfoundland joined the Canadian Confederation in 1949 because that allows us to claim all those talented Newfoundlanders as our own. For some reason, Newfoundland has produced an abundant and prolific crop of writers, comedians, performers, and other artists: Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer, Donna Morrissey, Lisa Moore, Shaun Majumder, to name just a few. I’ve just finished reading three excellent…
If you’re a fan of quirky British mysteries and you haven’t read anything by Richard Osman, then what’s holding you up? Last year I read his hilarious best-seller, The Thursday Murder Club. His latest novel The Man Who Died Twice is a continuation of this story. The plot unfolds in Cooper’s Chase, a retirement community in southern England. Each week a group of retired professional…