My 16-year-old niece mentioned to me the other day that she is thinking about taking a summer job. She’s been offered a nanny position and is contemplating whether or not the long hours and lack of freedom will be worth the money. We discussed the pros and cons and when she mentioned that the job … [Read more...]
Book Review: “The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah
Image via My husband asked me the other day if I had changed the password on his phone. My negative reply caused us to pause for a moment before turning to our daughter. Let’s just say that she needs to practise her poker face. His new password? Her thumbprint. She’s ten. It frightens me that … [Read more...]
CLOSED: Fall Fiction Preview and CONTEST!
As summer winds down, we're looking forward to those chilly fall days when we can cozy up with a good book. Here is a sneak peek at five hot novels you can warm up with.Which books have buzz this Fall? Visit BooksBuzz.ca for your sneak peek!Tell us why you love to curl up on a fall day with a great … [Read more...]
Friday Nights
I had never read a Joanna Trollope novel when I first picked up Friday Nights, but something about the cover art and the jacket description captured my imagination. Well, one week later and I'm now on my third Joanna Trollope book - firmly hooked on her, I am!I've always loved books that so strongly … [Read more...]
Your Child’s Strengths
The lovely (and generous) folks at Penguin have really good timing. They've just sent me a pair of parenting books at a time when I'm struggling intensely with parenting. I don't like to talk about it a lot in the public sphere, but I'm having some serious challenges with parenting -- in particular … [Read more...]
The Element
As the economic crisis deepens and the unemployment rate climbs, thousands of Canadians are deeply concerned about their professional futures.Their instinct may be to take the easiest paycheque they can find, but what they should realize is that this transitional time offers them teh chance to take … [Read more...]
Jane in Bloom
In the shadow of loss, a wallflower blossoms.Jane's big sister, Lizzie, has always been the center of attention. No one ever pays attention to boring, plain Jane. But when Jane's twelfth birthday marks the beginning of Lizzie's final descent into a fatal eating disorder, Jane discovers that the … [Read more...]
The Help – and a Giveaway!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.From the publisher of The Help: Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step. Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter … [Read more...]
“A Book is a Present You Can Open Again and Again”
My Aunt Barb once gave me a gift of a book and a package of adhesive book plates inscribed with this phrase:A book is a present you can open again and again.I cherished both the book (the complete and uncut hardcover version of Stephen King's The Stand: an extraordinary read) and the book plates. … [Read more...]