Category: family reads

Lalani of the Distant Sea: A Filipino Fairy Tale [Family Reads]

18 April 2020 / family reads / 4 Comments
Lalani of the Distant Sea: A Filipino Fairy Tale [Family Reads]

Why we chose Erin Entrada Kelly’s Lalani of the Distant Sea We originally considered reading Jeff Vandermeer’s Dead Astronauts. In the time of COVID-19, though, we were not up to the task. Ash suggested Lalani of the Distant Sea after her book club read it. I’m always happy to read middle grade. I had this title in particular on my TBR because I was curious to see how Kelly writes […]

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Answering Kids’ Questions about Death [Family Reads]

26 December 2019 / family reads / 2 Comments
Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Answering Kids’ Questions about Death [Family Reads]

Ash began our conversation with “I have nothing to say about this book”. I felt the same way. I responded with “It’s short, it’s boring, it’s underwhelming” but we immediately agreed ‘boring’ wasn’t the correct adjective. The content of Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?…

Valour Road: How Three Men from the Same Street Earned the Victoria Cross in WWI [Family Reads]

10 November 2019 / family reads / 2 Comments
Valour Road: How Three Men from the Same Street Earned the Victoria Cross in WWI [Family Reads]

Why we chose John Nadler’s Valour Road Mom and I didn’t have any particular ideas for this month. So, I asked Mom to pick fiction or non-fiction and then we browsed my to-read-fiction shelf on Goodreads. We landed on Valour Road because it’s about local history. Mom remembered hearing about the Pine Street boys from a Heritage Minute (embedded below) that aired shortly before I was born. It surprised me […]

Starlight: A Stunning Final Novel from Richard Wagamese [Family Reads]

30 September 2019 / family reads / 5 Comments
Starlight: A Stunning Final Novel from Richard Wagamese [Family Reads]

Why we chose Richard Wagamese’s Starlight My dad and I previously read Wagamese’s novel Medicine Walk for a Family Reads discussion back in 2016. One day, Starlight came up while we were chatting (I think he had just placed it on hold). I pointed out that Starlight is a follow up to Medicine Walk. I still hadn’t read Starlight, so we decided to read it together. Frank Starlight has long […]

Fighting for Space: How a Group of Drug Users Transformed One City’s Struggle with Addiction [Family Reads]

23 July 2019 / family reads / 0 Comments
Fighting for Space: How a Group of Drug Users Transformed One City’s Struggle with Addiction [Family Reads]

Why we chose Travis Lupick’s Fighting for Space I spotted this book in a library display of local topics. I thought Ash might find the topic relevant to her interests. I was also curious to learn more about the area which I worked adjacent to for the past year. Fighting for Space tells the story of a grassroots group of drug users in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside who waged a political […]