Month: March 2015

A Monthly Feature

Posted 29 March 2015 in family reads, meme /11 Comments

The other day I had a flash of inspiration for something unique I could do on my blog (this is what I alluded to at the end of my Brain on Fire review). I’ve been trying to think of something I could do for a monthly feature for ages. A few factors led to this idea:

  • Being away from my family
  • Mom reading books of mine while I’m away
  • Chatting with Mom about a book I read that she thought sounded interesting
  • Books being such a large part of my life and wanting to share that with my family
 
(Thanks to Anna Moore Designs for the great button!)

Introducing! Family Reads. Once a month, myself and an immediate family member (my mother, father or younger sister) will read and discuss a book together. My family will select the books. While everyone in my family reads, we rarely read the same books or discuss with each other what we’re reading. My family isn’t involved in book blogging, but they’re already excited to be a part of something they know is important to me. My sister recently got her first job at a bookstore (employee discount *-*) and has become more interested in my ramblings on what’s new in the book world. My mom is aware that she usually reads lighter novels and she’s looking forward to trying new things. My dad, who doesn’t have a lot of time to read, has been making a list of books that interest him that we could read together. Everyone is excited to give this a go! Through these monthly readings, I hope the four of us will read books we might not have read otherwise and strengthen our relationships by transforming an isolating activity into one we can share together.

The posts will go up around the last Sunday of the month. Look for the first one on 26 April. I hadn’t conceived of this idea as a meme, but hey – if you think this sounds like fun, I’ll include a link up in my posts so please join in! I’d just ask you to include the button and a link back here. I encourage you to share a story with a loved one, especially with someone you don’t usually connect with over books.


Review: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

25 March 2015 / review / 4 Comments
Review: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Author: Gabrielle ZevinTitle: The Storied Life of A.J. FikryFormat/Source: ebook/LibraryPublished: April 2014Publisher: Algonquin BooksLength: 260 pagesGenre: General fictionWhy I Read: Popular in the blogosphere, easily accessibleRead If You’re: A book loverQuote: “Sometimes books don’t find us until the right time”.Rating:  […]

Review: Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King

22 March 2015 / review / 0 Comments
Review: Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King

Author: Thomas KingTitle: Green Grass, Running WaterFormat/Source: ebook/LibraryPublished: March 1993Publisher: Houghton MifflinLength: 469 pagesGenre: Humour + magical realismWhy I Read: CBC Books’ pick for March; want to read more Indigenous literatureRead If You’re: Appreciative of a different sort of humour; […]

Reread Review: White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

19 March 2015 / review / 1 Comment
Reread Review: White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

Author: Helen OyeyemiTitle: White is for WitchingFormat/Source: Hardcover/my copyPublished: June 2009Publisher: PicadorLength: 230 pagesGenre: Contemporary + magical realismWhy I Read: Ready for my annual rereadRating:  ★★★★★ [ratings guide]Second book for the Reread Challenge Links: GoodReads | IndieBound | Chapters | Amazon I […]

Blogging Discussion: How I Write a Review

15 March 2015 / discussion, thoughts / 16 Comments

Last month, I wrote about the difference between writing positive and negatives review. This month I’d like to talk about how I write a review. I think this might be an informal feature going forward – these discussion posts about […]