"Big fit girl" by Louise Green

Synopsis:

In this kick-ass call to arms, Louise Green describes how the fitness industry fails to meet the needs of plus-size women and thus prevents them from improving their health. By sharing her own story of how she stopped dieting, got off the couch, and got fit, Green inspires other plus-size women to do the same. She provides concrete advice about how to get started, how to establish a support team, how to choose an activity, how to set goals, what kind of clothing and gear work best for the plus-size athlete, and how to improve one’s relationship with food.

She also showcases similar stories from other women.

Review:

...health and fitness do not always include weight loss; you can kick ass in the body you have today.

I'll be blunt: I loved this book!  As a plus-size woman, I've been struggling with finding my place when it comes to exercise and physical activity.  I was reading this book when I discovered the beautiful invention that MEC calls a combo scarf.  This has revolutionized my ability to be outside in the winter.  As a result of this combination of events, I got so much out of this book.  It inspired me to rethink the boring, mundane physical activity I've been forcing myself to do in an unwelcoming environment.

[Dr. Brenda Major] confirms what I've noted from teaching fitness to plus-size women: the fear of judgment is real and often warranted. [...] Major's findings explain a lot about why many people find fitness unapproachable.  When we feel judged by others, our fear and anxiety grows. For this reason, many of us find fitness endeavors intimidating and out of reach.

There is so much awesome information in this book!  I did a lot of highlighting of powerful and impactful parts.  I'm taking her advice about recording my fitness progress, creating a personal workout playlist, and finding fitness friends.  One of the best parts is the stretching routine (Appendix B) because I often suffer from Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) from not stretching properly after a workout.  Green's comprehensive routine includes photographs, instructions, and tips on stretches that target various muscles.

To weather the peaks, valleys, and plateaus of your athletic journey, you must base your success on more than just the numbers on the scale.  You are in this for the long-term, and exercise has many benefits that have nothing to do with what you weigh.

This is totally an empowering book that I would highly recommend!  Even though I'm already on my "athletic journey", this book helped me change my physical fitness viewpoint from in-the-now to thinking about what I want to be capable of as I age.

Exercise allows you to say yes; you will have the confidence and strength to show up and live your athletic dreams in the body you have now.  It really can be a limitless life. 

I look forward to delving into more of Louise Green's work.  Her TEDx talk is so powerful and so very much worth watching.  I believe in her any-body activism and unleashing your inner athlete!  And she's a fellow Canadian and redhead!

I recommend "Big fit girl" and Hanne Blank's "The unapologetic fat girl's guide to exercise and other incendiary acts" as a one-two punch for plus-size fitness.

I am so very grateful that I got to read this book!

Read on,

Paula

P.S. I received this book for free from the publisher for review consideration. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

"Primal fat burner" by Nora Gedgaudas

Synopsis:

Popular nutritionist Nora Gedguadas returns with advice that may sound counterintuitive: Eat fat to burn fat. In her new book, Primal Fat Burner, she explains the benefits and science behind a ketogenic (or fat-burning) diet, which switches your metabolism from a dependence on sugar to running on healthy fats. As Gedgaudas reveals, numerous studies in recent years refute the long-promoted anti-saturated fat and anti-cholesterol agenda. Now, Gedgaudas explains the science that fat isn't a “no-no” but rather a “yes-yes”—if you know the right kinds of fats to eat. In her accessible, enjoyable style, she also lays out a practical meal plan with recipes. When you follow a ketogenic diet, you consume fewer calories overall!

Review:

I was captivated by the history of the human species as told through the evolution of food!  That was a particularly unique lesson that I very much loved.

Similar to "The grain brain whole life plan" by David Perlmutter (who wrote the foreword for this book), I learned more about the science behind how the current human body works in regards to food and its environment, and how best to maximize your own potential.  I will have been paleo for 2 years this coming March and I've witnessed my own benefits, many of them described in this book.  Therefore, I'm already biased toward this book.  I did a lot of highlighting and bookmarking in my eARC.

For many it is a complete paradigm shift, opening the door onto a totally new way of prioritizing themselves and a healthy lifestyle.

 One of the topics discussed in this book is various methods for beating sugar or starch cravings, perhaps one of the most uncomfortable aspects to deal with when switching to a paleo lifestyle.  I'd never heard of Gymnema sylvestre before reading this book but I'm intrigued by it.

I look forward to trying out the recipes for Chicken Thigh Skillet Supper, Slow Cooker Vegetable Stew, Lithuanian Red Cabbage, Cumin Pork Stir-Fry, Liver and Bacon, and Primal Greek Spinach.  But the recipe for Coconut-Lemon Yogurt Soup is at the top of my list and I will be making it this weekend!

My only complaint about this and other paleo books is that there is a certain level of elitism involved in the paleo lifestyle.  Nora Gedgaudas, David Perlmutter, and most of the paleo authors I've read are American.  A lot of the brands and products mentioned in the books are not available outside of the U.S.  If they are, they quite often require online shopping with high shipping costs.  Perhaps I overestimate the current appeal of this lifestyle since I don't know the actual statistics of how many people follow it.  But living in rural Ontario, Canada frustrates me when I can't find products that should be more widely available.  I think items like coconut cream, coconut butter, cacao butter, and other unique food items should be available in all major grocery stores.

Which could be why this book ends with a rallying cry for a quiet revolution.  Asking for animal products that are more environmentally-friendly, sustainable, humane, and considerate of the animals' health.  

The health of the meat on our plates directly correlates to the health of the animal that meat came from.

Read on,

Paula

P.S. I received this book for free from the publisher for review consideration. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

"A robot in the garden" by Deborah Install

Synopsis:
Funny, touching, charming, wise and a bit magical, this is a novel that explores what it is to be a man, a sentient being and even a parent. A Robot in the Garden is a gem of a first novel, perfect for anyone who has ever found it difficult to connect with the world. 

     What would you do if you found a robot in your back garden? For 34-year-old Ben Chambers the answer is obvious: find out where it came from and return it home, even if it means losing his wife in the process. Determined to achieve something for once in his life, Ben embarks on a journey that takes him and the endearing robot, Tang, to the far side of the globe...and back again. Along the way Ben begins to change, subtly at first, and then in ways that only become clear on his return to the house he's always lived in.

Review:
Right up front, I will admit that it is a bit twee on the surface.  The want-for-nothing, rich main character with emotional baggage, Ben, goes on a journey around the world to save his new robot friend.  Nothing too dramatic or negative happens.  Although set in a world where robots and androids are a common thing, it's still a very unrealistic plot.  But the writing and characters are so fun that, if you're in the right mood, you won't care about the lack of realism.

I didn't like the character of Ben's wife, Amy.  She's an overly-ambitious, manipulative complainer who doesn't have the guts to clearly tell Ben she's changed her mind about having kids.  But getting pregnant and being away from Ben for two months is enough to "soften" her?  As if!  Although it doesn't say so in the book, I believe she married him for his money, because they don't seem to have much in common at all.  Granted, all we know is how they met and how their marriage ends.

Tang is a child-substitute robot.  Petulant, prone to tantrums when he doesn't get his own way, but also curious, sweet, and caring.

There is, however, an underlying theme of prejudice.  The robot could stand in for other minorities; there are examples of segregation and discrimination.  Separate lines at the airport for humans, androids, and robots.  Not being served because you have a robot with you.  And those are just two representations.

Although none of the characters are fully developed, there is some depth to this novel.  Aside from having a moral about bias, my dislike for some of the characters, and a predictable happy ending, I really liked this lighthearted and fun book.

I also appreciate the coincidence that a book about AI and robots is written by an author with the last name of 'install'.

Read on,
Paula

"Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman

Synopsis:

A stunning debut about a girl who has learned how to survive – but not how to live.

Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend.

Eleanor Oliphant is fine. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except sometimes, everything.

No one’s ever told Eleanor life should be better than fine. But with a simple act of kindness she’s about to realize exactly how much better than fine life can be.

Review:

I was really excited to read this book when I heard about it on BookTube.  It's very different from anything I've read.  I found the first-person narrative startling because of the jarring, blunt way Eleanor revealed shocking tidbits as part of a general statement.  You never knew when she would surprise you with some piece of her dark past.  You never knew what she would say next and it takes the course of the novel for her to slowly reveal who she is.  And despite thinking you know what's coming at the end, there is a final twist I didn't see coming at all.

I enjoyed the cast of characters, with the exception of her mother.  I very much dislike reading books with horribly vile characters because I find it uncomfortable and upsetting.  However, this one was worth it.  It made me more grateful for the people I have in my own life.

It's a somewhat-slow paced novel that kept me wanting to know what was going to happen.  Some of the situations Eleanor recounts struck a little too close to home for me but it made me feel like I wasn't the only person to experience them.  

In the beginning, Eleanor speaks very much like an outsider, almost like an alien, but she does grow in her language while growing as a person.  I loved her personality and her turns of phrase.

Here are some of my favourite quotes:

Regarding "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte:

Pilot is there too, the handsome, soulful-eyed hound.  If the book has one failing, it's that there is insufficient mention of Pilot.  You can't have too much dog in a book.

Regarding the horrible use of improper grammar in texting:

I steeled myself as best I could, and, with teeth gritted, using only one finger I typed: C U there E.

 Regarding Spongebob Squarepants:

A semi-human bath sponge with protruding front teeth!  On sale as if it were something completely unremarkable!  For my entire life, people have said that I'm strange, but really, when I see things like this, I realize that I'm actually relatively normal.

Regarding having pets:

But love is love; animals, people.  It's unconditional, and it's both the easiest and the hardest thing in the world.

I am glad I read this book and will most likely reread it in the future just so I can absorb more of it.

Read on,
Paula

P.S. I received this book for free from the publisher for review consideration. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

"The Cuckoo's Calling" by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)

Synopsis:
The Cuckoo's Calling is a 2013 crime fiction novel by J. K. Rowling, published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

A brilliant mystery in a classic vein: Detective Cormoran Strike investigates a supermodel's suicide.

After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.


You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.

Review:
After reading the first page, I realized that I like J.K. Rowling's writing style.  Despite being out of my comfort zone (I'm not a fan of murder mysteries), I found this book to be well-written and engaging.  I rated it 5 stars on Goodreads because I couldn't think of anything at all I would have changed about the book (which doesn't happen very often).  I was a little concerned at first at the length of the book (455 pages) but I read it in just a few days because I found it so captivating and enjoyable.  Even though I am not one for remembering minute details, I liked that I was not able to guess whodunnit, but that could just be me.

I intend to read the rest of the books in the series, including the new book coming out in 2017, unless the others in the series aren't as enjoyable and well-written.  However, I have decided, based on how much I enjoyed this book, that I might actually try reading J.K. Rowling's "The Casual Vacancy" as well.  We'll see what 2017 brings.

Read on,
Paula

Year-end recap 2016

1.  Best book(s) I read in 2016: "Circus" by Claire Battershill, "The cuckoo's calling" by Robert Galbraith, "Jane Steele" by Lyndsay Faye, and "Poles apart" by Terry Fallis

2.  Most disappointing book of 2016: "The view from the cheap seats" by Neil Gaiman

3.  Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2016: "The cuckoo's calling" by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)

4.  Books I recommended most to people in 2016: "Jane Steele" by Lyndsay Faye

5.  Best series I discovered in 2016: The Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)

6.  Favourite new author(s) of 2016: Claire Battershill

7.  Most thrilling, unputdownable book of 2016: "The cuckoo's calling" by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)

8.  Book I most anticipated in 2016: "The Grain Brain whole life plan" by David Perlmutter

9.  Favourite cover of a book I read in 2016: 

10. Most memorable character in 2016: Cormoran Strike

11. Most beautifully written book of 2016: It's a tie between "Circus" by Claire Battershill and "What is not yours is not yours" by Helen Oyeyemi

12. Best book that was out of my comfort zone or was a new genre for me in 2016: "The cuckoo's calling" by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)

13. Book that had the greatest impact on me in 2016: "Spark joy" by Marie Kondo

14. Book I can't believe I waited until 2016 to FINALLY read: "The song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller

15. Book I read in 2016 that would most likely be reread in 2017: "Circus" by Claire Battershill

16. Book that had a scene in it that had me reeling and dying to talk to someone about it? (A WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc.  No spoilers!): "The slow fix" by Ivan Coyote

Some fun stats:
Books completed: 46
Goodreads Reading Challenge goal: 40
Books by male authors: 17
Books by female authors: 28
Fiction: 21
Non-fiction: 25
Children's books: 9
YA books: 0
E-books: 3
Did not finish (DNF): 3
Re-reads: 0
Translated books: 0
Big fat books (more than 500 pages): 0

Read on,
Paula

"What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours" by Helen Oyeyemi

Synopsis:
The key to a house, the key to a heart, the key to a secret—Oyeyemi’s keys not only unlock elements of her characters’ lives, they promise further labyrinths on the other side. In “Books and Roses” one special key opens a library, a garden, and clues to at least two lovers’ fates. In “Is Your Blood as Red as This?” an unlikely key opens the heart of a student at a puppeteering school. “‘Sorry’ Doesn’t Sweeten Her Tea” involves a “house of locks,” where doors can be closed only with a key—with surprising, unobservable developments. And in “If a Book Is Locked There’s Probably a Good Reason for That Don't You Think,” a key keeps a mystical diary locked (for good reason). 

Oyeyemi’s tales span multiple times and landscapes as they tease boundaries between coexisting realities. Is a key a gate, a gift, or an invitation?

Review:
I read this book because Simon from The Readers podcast mentioned it on his Booktube (aka YouTube) review.  It's mid-December and I haven't quite completed my Goodreads 2016 Reading Challenge so I've been seeking out titles to help me accomplish that.  I'm glad I decided to actually read it because I enjoyed it very much.

The book is a collection of short stories.  Although they are all meant to have the theme of keys, there were a few where the key wasn't as obvious to me as in the others.  The stories are lightly interconnected; characters from other stories are mentioned but play no part in the story you're reading.  Simon mentions that they are fairy tale-like and there are some where this is more obvious, especially the one with the red cape and the "wolf".  However, none of them seem to me to be retellings of the "famous" (Western world) fairy tales.  They just require a certain amount of suspension of disbelief because of the tangled realities.

Because it is a book of short stories, I found it hard to follow the plot/story sometimes because of short, interrupted reading (a short lunch break, for example).  But I found the writing compelling, even in the weird stories that I didn't "get", enough to continue reading.

As a single (aromantic asexual) white female, I wholeheartedly enjoyed the fluidity of gender relationships in this book.  This book talks indirectly about romantic relationships as if the ideal world already existed where the gender of who you love is irrelevant.  In a book where labels were not affixed, it made me realize that the labels for same-sex relationships are too harsh for what they represent.  Especially in this book where relationships are not always the focus of the story/plot.

The first story in the collection, "Books and Roses", was my absolute favourite.  I LOVED it.  I took a break after reading it just so I could contemplate the various threads and how they interwove.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fairy tales that aren't exactly fairy tales, light fantasy, and/or short stories in general.

Read on,
Paula

"The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan" by David Perlmutter

Synopsis:

With more than a million copies sold worldwide, Dr. Perlmutter's books have changed many lives.  Now, he's created a practical, comprehensive program that lowers the risk for brain ailments while yielding other benefits, such as weight loss, relief from chronic conditions, and total body rejuvenation.  Science-based and highly accessible, THE GRAIN BRAIN WHOLE LIFE PLAN expands upon the core advice from Dr. Perlmutter's previous works, and introduces new information about the advantages of eating more fat, fewer carbs, and nurturing the microbiome.  Including original recipes, tips and tricks for common challenges, meal plans, and advice on everything from sleep hygiene to stress management, exercise, supplements, and more, THE GRAIN BRAIN WHOLE LIFE PLAN shows how to live happily and healthily ever after.

Review:

I am rather biased because I first read Perlmutter's book, "Grain Brain" last year.  I own it and "The Grain Brain Cookbook".  I am very grateful to Hachette and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of his upcoming book, "The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan".

I am one of those generalized people that Dr. Perlmutter mentions in his introduction.  Going Primal/paleo/following the Grain Brain principles relieved my depression, almost-daily headaches, and frequent heartburn.  My brain is everything to me and the threat of Alzheimer's disease is the scariest possible future; I changed what I eat to thwart that likelihood.

The "Grain Brain Whole Life Plan" is a perfect balance for people who have never read his other books (giving an overview of his thesis) and people familiar with his work (adding new information).  I particularly enjoyed it because it motivated me to switch back to the Grain Brain lifestyle from paleo.

Aside from an abundance of references to his website, I liked the book a lot because (like his previous books) he discusses science-based research studies and what they mean in relation to how our bodies function on the small scale.

As a hobby chef, I found some of the provided recipes to be a little bit fancy for everyday people.  I live in a small town where some of the ingredients used would require a special trip to the city.  But then, I live in Canada so maybe things like jicama and juniper berries are more common in the U.S.  On the other hand, I'm excited to try roasted onion with balsamic vinegar in a salad!

Overall, I'm glad I read this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to be healthier.

Read on,

Paula

P.S. I received this book for free from the publisher for review consideration. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Year-end book recap 2015

1.  Best book(s) I read in 2015: "Ratscalibur" by Josh Lieb, "The readers of Broken Wheel recommend" by Katarina Bivald, "Stone mattress" by Margaret Atwood, and "Spinster" by Kate Bolick

2.  Most disappointing book of 2015: "Go set a watchman" by Harper Lee

3.  Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2015: "The time of your life" by Margaret Trudeau

4.  Books I recommended most to people in 2015: "Rising strong" by Brene Brown and "Big magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert

5.  Best series I discovered in 2015: Although it's not listed as such, "Ratscalibur" by Josh Lieb ends on a cliffhanger which could mean the beginning of a series.  I so hope this is the first in a series!!

6.  Favourite new author(s) of 2015: I look forward to seeing what else Erika Swyler and Katarina Bivald write in the future

7.  Most thrilling, unputdownable book of 2015: None this year but "The Martian" by Andy Weir was close

8.  Book I most anticipated in 2015: "Go set a watchman" by Harper Lee

9.  Favourite cover of a book I read in 2015: "Ratscalibur" by Josh Lieb

10. Most memorable character in 2015: Owen Wedgwood from "Cinnamon and gunpowder" by Eli Brown

11. Most beautifully written book of 2015: "The book of speculation" by Erika Swyler

12. Best book that was out of my comfort zone or was a new genre for me in 2015: "The Yard" by Alex Grecian; the series have such interesting covers but I found this book more gory than I thought it would be and I'm disappointed that I don't think I can read the rest.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on me in 2015: It's a tie between "Big magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert and "Rising strong" by Brene Brown

14. Book I can't believe I waited until 2015 to FINALLY read: "The Penguin complete Sherlock Holmes" by Arthur Conan Doyle

15. Book I read in 2015 that would most likely be reread in 2016: "Ratscalibur" by Josh Lieb

16. Book that had a scene in it that had me reeling and dying to talk to someone about it? (A WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc.  No spoilers!): "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Some fun stats:
Books completed: 50
Books by male authors: 28
Books by female authors: 22
Fiction: 21
Non-fiction: 19
Children's books: 10
YA books: 0
E-books: 2
Did not finish (DNF): 4
Re-reads: 0
Translated books: 1 (Swedish)
Big fat books (more than 500 pages): 0

Read on,
Paula

Why I don't read as diversely as I could

Yesterday I started reading "Don't Let Anything Dull Your Sparkle: How To Break Free of Negativity & Drama" by Doreen Virtue.  Although Doreen Virtue is known for her spiritual/new age books, this one (so far?) appears to be a non-spiritual book.  At least, that's what I'm hoping for.  One of the things I enjoy about human life is how events, thoughts, ideas, etc. all mix together in the mind and then sometimes combine to make a better idea or to create an epiphany.  This happened to me yesterday.  I was reading the Doreen Virtue book after spending hours listening to book-related podcasts (The Readers, Book Riot, and Books on the Nightstand to be precise).  And that's when I read this:

Studies show that we can become traumatized by hearing about another person's trauma." (p.4)

 I realized that this is why I do not read as diversely as I could.  I didn't know the exact reasoning behind why until now.  Although I am sure that the books I pass up for this reason have their own merits and value in the world, I find I just cannot read books about abuse, violence, manipulative psychopaths, war, etc.  Everyone has been raving about "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn.  I listened to the Overdue podcast episode about it just so someone who had read it would tell me what the big deal/secret was: manipulative psychopaths.  Frequently, books by diverse authors and authors of colour are books about overcoming hardship.  Typically, that hardship takes the form of abuse, violence, and/or war.  "Beloved" by Toni Morrison deals with the topic of slavery, and according to the synopsis on Goodreads '[Sethe] has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened'.  Who wants to read about hideous things?  Despite reading the Book Riot article in defense of reading offensive books, I will continue to read whatever I want to read even if it's not as diverse as someone else thinks it should be.  However, I am not saying I will never read a book that has diverse settings, topics, authors, etc.  I voluntarily read "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee last year because it was not in my assigned reading in school.  I enjoyed it very much.  I'm guessing because it was pretty tame as far as racism goes and didn't have gory details.  I do not like being scared; this is the reason why I don't read murder mysteries or crime novels either.  Sure, I could read diversely and feel so much better about my somewhat-privileged white North American life.  But as a person who reads for plot more than anything else, I highly doubt many diverse books would appeal to me.  I recently read "The Book of Speculation" by Erika Swyler.  If the main characters had been of a different ethnic background, I would still have enjoyed the book.  I read and enjoyed "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel.  I enjoy a fair amount of LGBT writing, especially that of Ivan Coyote and Caethes Faron.

So I guess I could say that I read diversely in the same way that I read in general: by whim.  If a book plot sounds attractive enough for me to read the book, I don't care about the gender and/or ethnicity of the author and/or characters.  To me, reading is all about the content and plot.

Read on,
Paula

"The Book of Speculation" by Erika Swyler

Synopsis:
Simon Watson, a young librarian, lives alone on the Long Island Sound in his family home, a house perched on the edge of a cliff that is slowly crumbling into the sea. His parents are long dead, his mother having drowned in the water his house overlooks.


One day, Simon receives a mysterious book from an antiquarian bookseller; it has been sent to him because it is inscribed with the name Verona Bonn, Simon's grandmother. Simon must unlock the mysteries of the book, and decode his family history, before fate deals its next deadly hand.

Review:
Fascinating, captivating, enchanting.  I read the edition with the above image; my only complaint about the book is that this image bears no resemblance to the contents of the book.  And without reading the synopsis before reading the book, you don't find out until the second page that the story is from a male main character's perspective.  Given that I am a female and there is a female on the cover, I figured it would be a female narrator...I was wrong.

Okay, so based on the synopsis, you know that there is a mysterious book involved.  So I can say that I love how the mysterious book moves forward and the main plot moves backward through time until they meet up.  As I was nearing the end of the book, I suspected what would happen.  I came home with 10 pages left to read but didn't read them at work, fearing that I would cry at the end.  As always, I love a happy ending so I'm glad I was only mostly right.  I loved this book.  I think I would have loved it more if I had been able to read it in fewer chunks (work/life gets in the way of reading time).  Because the two stories are interwoven in the novel, it can be disjointing to read, especially if you don't have enough time to get caught up in both stories.  That happened later in the book for me.  That's why I would like to reread it so that I can absorb more of the details that probably got lost on me because of the choppiness of my reading time.  I did love this book though.  I loved the imagery and the details in the writing.  And this is only Erika Swyler's first novel.  I will keep an eye out for her future work!

Read on,
Paula

Warning: a proliferation of exclamation points ensues (my review of "Ratscalibur" by Josh Lieb)

Can't I please give it 10 stars instead of 5?  Pretty please?

Oh man, it's like a rat King Arthur meets Lord of the Rings!  It's an adventure fantasy story with all the tropes associated with those genres.  It's got humour, sadness, a tiny bit of romance, and lots of ragic (rat magic).  Gondorff the Grey, Ravalon, and the Spork in the Scone!  Come on, who wouldn't want to read that?

I listened to the unabridged audiobook version and loved it so much that I'm buying myself a hardcover copy so I can read it to my pet rats.  And best of all?  There's a cliffhanger!!!  That means there will be more!!!  (And maybe the series could be turned into a movie?!?!)  Finally, a rat-positive book...and it's awesome!

Oh, and the mom is a redhead.  Two thumbs up for that.

Read on,
Paula

"Go set a watchman" controversy

I loved "To Kill A Mockingbird".  Despite all the rumours and conspiracy theories floating around regarding "Go Set A Watchman", I do intend to read it.  I wasn't going to at first.  The thing that changed my mind?  Jeff O'Neill of the BookRiot Podcast made a very important point: regardless of all that's going on now, Harper Lee wrote the book with the intention of publishing it.  Even though her publisher convinced her instead to write what became "To Kill A Mockingbird", Harper Lee meant for this book to be published and read.  Unless it has been edited prior to publication, it probably won't be quite as honed and polished as TKAM.  But I am still willing to read it based on how much I enjoyed reading TKAM.

Read on,
Paula

The complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

First off, I have to say that I did myself a disservice by reading "Dust and Shadow" by Lyndsay Faye before reading the original source material because Doyle's writing style is MUCH simpler.  I loved Faye's Sherlock Holmes pastiche novel about Jack the Ripper and am aware of the global fascination/adoration for Sherlock Holmes.  I read "The Hound of the Baskervilles" in high school but could only vaguely remember it.

I liked "A Study in Scarlet" because not only was it a mystery solved by Sherlock but it was also a story told by the culprit about the history of Mormons in Utah and the civil war in India.  The writing style and historical detail made it a fascinating story that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I liked "The Five Orange Pips" for the historical lessons about the Ku Klux Klan that sent me to Google about their disbandment in 1869.

Perhaps when the short stories were published in a magazine for the general masses they may have been more suspenseful and exciting.  The more of them I read, the more formulaic they seemed to me.  They weren't thrilling mysteries to solve but threads to follow to the end where everything was neatly tied up.

One of the most annoying things about the Sherlock Holmes stories was the sprinkling of untranslated foreign phrases where context couldn't help with deciphering.  I was thoroughly happy to discover that someone had compiled them all in one spot and explained them.

The way people talk about Moriarty, I figured he would be in at least more than one story but he's NOT.  I was completely disappointed because the whole mythology behind Moriarty as Holmes' arch nemesis has no basis other than Holmes' own word in the one story.  So much has been made of Moriarty that you just expect to see him show up in more than just one story.  And then the actual writing of Moriarty was a let-down because other people's interpretations are far more detailed than the original story where Moriarty himself is more of a shadow figure than a real character.

Much has been made (and implied) about Holmes and Watson's relationship, considering that they lived together as roommates.  So I was utterly surprised when Watson meets his future wife in "The Sign of the Four" and is already married in "A Scandal in Bohemia".  Holmes and Watson don't actually live together for very long until after Holmes' faked death.

Mike from the Book Fight podcast wants to know: "Is Sherlock Holmes supposed to be a giant dick? Why does Watson keep working for him?"  I wondered this often myself.  "The Hound of the Baskervilles" triggered this question when Holmes sends Watson off to work on the mystery without him and then later in the story reveals that he's been working the case anyway.  In "The Final Problem", we meet Moriarty (for the only time) and the story ends with Moriarty and Holmes falling into the gorge at Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland.  In the next story, "The Adventure of the Empty House", Holmes has been 'dead' for three years when he suddenly reappears and can't understand why Watson faints at the sight of him.  When Watson recovers and asks how Holmes survived and where he's been the last three years, Holmes basically says, "We'll talk about it later.  Right now we have work to do."  The deeper I got into the Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes, the less I liked him.

I decided not to finish reading all of the Sherlock Holmes stories.  I gave up at the beginning of "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" when Holmes mentions vampires in Transylvania.  I was severely disappointed in the source material.  For me, the widespread popularity and legend of the Sherlock Holmes character is blown way out of proportion from the original source material.  Although I like his logical skills of deduction, the man himself is not a very nice person.  Dr. Gregory House of the TV show "House, M.D." is supposed to be a Sherlockian character with similar logical skills of deduction.  In the beginning of the series, I very much liked the show but, over time, House, like Sherlock, shows that he's not a very nice person and I lose interest.

I wouldn't mind reading more Sherlock Holmes pastiche such as "The House of Silk" by Anthony Horowitz but I doubt any of them will be as fascinating and gripping as Lyndsay Faye's novel.

Read on,

Paula

Forgetting books; and book blogging

The Readers podcast had a great episode recently.  One of the main topics they discussed was forgetting books: forgetting almost everything about a book shortly after you've read it and/or forgetting you've read a book.  I am afflicted with this.  Like Thomas, I don't think it's because I read too fast (especially now when I am lucky if I make it to 50 books a year) but that I probably don't read closely enough.  Looking through the list of books I've read, I know I've read them because I can remember something about the time in my life when I read it or I can remember something about the book...but not always.  I plan to institute something similar to Simon where I take notes while reading. 

Thomas from The Readers says that forgetting books is the reason he started book blogging and I am using that as inspiration.  I love books and I love reading but my blog has been a bit of an unfocused venture.  Going forward, I intend to be more detailed in my reviews so that I can remember my favourite parts, quotes, and it may be heavy in spoiler alerts.  This is something I have struggled with and never gotten any advice on: how much of the plot should you give away in your review?  Granted, I am not a reviewer for a major magazine or newspaper but (theoretically) someone out there will read what I've written.  I wouldn't want to spoil the plot of a book that prevents someone from reading the book itself.  So maybe I won't go into ALL of the details but I will be more descriptive in what I liked about the book.  Consider yourself forewarned!

Read on,
Paula

Age-Appropriate ; Goodreads Reading Challenge 2015

Age-Appropriate (from Booking Through Thursday)

Do you read books “meant” for other age groups? Adult books when you were a child; Young-Adult books now that you’re grown; Picture books just for kicks … You know … books not “meant” for you. Or do you pretty much stick to what’s written for people your age?

As an adult, I read whatever interests me, regardless of target audience.  If a picture book has an interesting title, appealing illustration, or a great story, I will read it.  I have read juvenile fiction and Young Adult titles.  Basically, I will read anything that appeals to me for whatever reason it does so.


In other news,  I have set my goal for the 2015 Goodreads Reading Challenge.  I decided to keep it at the same goal as last year (50) with the great hope that I will fly past it now that my reader's block has passed.

Read on,
Paula

Year-end book review 2014

1.  Best book(s) I read in 2014: "The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry" by Gabrielle Zevin

2.  Most disappointing book of 2014: "The Art of Sleeping Alone" by Sophie Fontanel

3.  Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2014: "Redshirts" by John Scalzi

4.  Books I recommended most to people in 2014: "No Relation" by Terry Fallis

5.  Best series I discovered in 2014: The 'Measure of Devotion' series by Caethes Faron

6.  Favourite new author(s) of 2014: None this year

7.  Most thrilling, unputdownable book of 2014: All three books in the 'Measure of Devotion' series by Caethes Faron

8.  Book I most anticipated in 2014: "No Relation" by Terry Fallis

9.  Favourite cover of a book I read in 2014: "The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry" by Gabrielle Zevin

10. Most memorable character in 2014: Earnest Hemmingway from "No Relation" by Terry Fallis

11. Most beautifully written book of 2014: None this year

12. Best book that was out of my comfort zone or was a new genre for me in 2014: "Invisible Chains: Canada's Underground World of Human Trafficking" by Benjamin Perrin

13. Book that had the greatest impact on me in 2014: "Do Less: A Minimalist Guide to a Simplified, Organized, and Happy Life" by Rachel Jonat

14. Book I can't believe I waited until 2014 to FINALLY read: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving

15. Book I read in 2014 that would most likely be reread in 2015: "The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality" by Julie Sondra Decker

16. Book that had a scene in it that had me reeling and dying to talk to someone about it? (A WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc.  No spoilers!): "Flee, Fly, Flown" by Janet Hepburn

Some fun stats:
Books completed: 54
Books by male authors: 19
Books by female authors: 35
Fiction: 29
Non-fiction: 25
Children's books: 3
YA books: 0
E-books: 24
Did not finish (DNF): 3
Re-reads: 1
Translated books: 2 (one Swedish, one French)
Big fat books (more than 500 pages): 0

Doing this year-end recap made it completely clear how much my reader's block affected my reading.  There are questions I just can't answer.  That hurts, actually.  It makes me wish for a 2015 with much more reading that I did in 2014.  I still haven't decided whether or not to participate in the 2015 Goodreads Reading Challenge.  I want to because it keeps track of my books for the year for me and their data makes it easier to fill in my recap.  Unfortunately, they don't provide as much data (book length, overall page total, etc.) as they used to.  And although I want to read more than 50 books in 2015, I do not like failing at a challenge and don't want to have to edit my goal down from my original (something I had to do this year).  I can always join it at a later date so I will continue to mull it over for now.

Here's to a merry book-filled year!

Read on,
Paula

"101 Letters To A Prime Minister" by Yann Martel

Synopsis: 
From the author of "Life of Pi" comes a literary correspondence — recommendations to Canada’s Prime Minister of great short books that will inspire and delight book lovers and book club readers across our nation.

Every two weeks from April 16th, 2007 to February 28, 2011, Yann Martel mailed Stephen Harper a book along with a letter. These insightful, provocative letters detailed what he hoped the Prime Minister may take from the books — by such writers as Jane Austen, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Stephen Galloway — are collected here together. The one-sided correspondence (Mr. Harper’s office only replied seven times) becomes a meditation on reading and writing and the necessity to allow ourselves to expand stillness in our lives, even if we’re not head of government.

Review:
-I found these letters to be presumptive literary snobbery.  I believe these letters were not written FOR Stephen Harper even though they were addressed TO Stephen Harper; I believe they were written specifically to be published as a book.  This becomes more apparent when Martel sends Harper a copy of the book in which the first 55 letters were published.  Martel also published the letters on a now-defunct website (formerly www.whatisstephenharperreading.ca).  And Martel wonders why Stephen Harper never replied in person to any of these letters?!

-Almost every letter, I feel, has some sort of slight or subtle insult at the Canadian government.  This is more overt in the letters that mention $45 million in cuts to arts funding in 2008.  To me, these letters are political whining disguised as literary criticism.

-I enjoyed Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" when I studied it in high school.  Of all of the reviews and criticisms I've heard or read about it, Martel's is the first to call it a Christian allegory.

-Sometimes a photograph of a group of people is just a photograph of a group of people and not some intentional representation of a book's title (get over yourself, Martel!)

-Of the 1o7 actual books that were sent to Harper, I have read only 11.  Perhaps my reading tastes not aligning with Martel's is also a reason that I did not like the book as much as I was hoping.

-I read this book because I liked Martel's "Life of Pi" and am always looking for interesting reading material.  I wanted to finish it because it's a book about books that I may or may not have read.  I got 294 pages in (of 426) before I just couldn't take any more of (my perception of?) Martel's tone and I had already been mentally cheering myself on just to keep going.  However, I have far too many other books I want to read to bother forcing myself to finish this one.

Read on,
Paula

Goodreads Reading Challenge

I completed my Goodreads reading challenge today!  Luckily the year is not over yet and I plan to read more during my holidays.  Because of my reader's block earlier this year, my Goodreads reading challenge was set at a measly 50 books, compared to the 130 I read last year.  I haven't decided yet whether or not I will participate in the challenge again next year.  There are two articles from BookRiot: one for participating and one against participating in the challenge.  Both have very valid points.  I, too, feel pressure when I'm behind or when I fail to reach my goal (only 130 of 150 last year).  My original goal for this year was again 150 but the longer my reader's block lingered the less achievable that goal seemed to be.  So I lowered it to a more manageable 50 and even then I've only just managed to complete it.  Also, I made a point of reading less Amazon ebooks.  Since most of the ones I read last year were more like short stories than actual novels, it didn't seem right to count them towards my reading challenge even if I was actually reading.  I guess it's all about our own self-imposed rules or lack thereof.  As Jessica Pryde wrote in her article about NOT participating: "The challenge was exacerbated by the guilt that I had so many books in the house, both paper and electronic, and felt that I needed to push through them".  I have this problem, too.  I recently culled my library of titles I knew I would never read.  And yet I still have hundreds of books I do want to read.  I have even more ebooks stored away to work my way through.  I have plenty of reading material and not enough time.  Between my reader's block and becoming a pet owner for the first time, I feel like my reading time is even rarer than it was before.  I lament how little reading I have done this year.  Even though I have read some great books.

Read on,
Paula

On being a book lover

I love books.  I love reading books; I love reading books about books.  I love talking about books.  I love pictures of books; I love quotes about books and reading.  I am a book lover.

Later today (probably) I will finish reading "Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader" by Anne Fadiman.  I started it yesterday.  It is a short (162 pages) collection of essays about being a reader and writer.  The best part so far was finding the term 'persistent intellectual curiosity'.  Finally, I have found the words to describe my constant mental state.  I also love the essay on proofreading; I am happy to know that I am not the only one who has no way to shut that part of my brain off.  It's not that I consciously seek out errors but that my brain seems hardwired to find them anyway.

Yesterday, I travelled to Toronto for the Mythbusters Behind The Myths Tour.  I had dinner across the street from the Sony Centre at the Oliver & Bonacini Cafe Grill.  I ate my dinner while reading "Ex Libris" at a booth with a book-themed wallpaper.  I just HAD to take a picture of it.

Finding new-to-me titles to add to my TBR is one of my favourite activities (even if I will never read them all).  For me, books I want to read take on a certain aura or personality based on my expectations of the content.  I build up anticipation of reading a book based on these expectations.  Inevitably I will be wrong about how the content and I will mesh but not always for the worse.  Most of the time I will very much enjoy a book even though my interpretation of the blurb (aka the publisher's interpretation of the content) will be vastly different from the actual content of the book.  There are times when this results in a book and I parting ways before I have completed reading it.  But I think that is the nature of a reader.

Read on,
Paula