And Now We Have Everything: On Motherhood Before I Was Ready by Meaghan O'Connell

Scott and I are expecting our first babe at the end of next month and despite how this review may come across, we're so fucking excited. Unlike some people I know, I was never someone who spent my whole life fantasizing about being a mom. It was an idea I needed to get used to and to really process, and there aren't a ton of books for that. Cheryl Strayed recommended this on Twitter years ago and I knew when/if we got pregnant I'd need to read it.

CONTINUE READING

The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr

I had heard many different authors reference Mary Karr's work (David Foster Wallace, Lena Dunham, Stephen King, Chuck Klosterman) and they all made me so excited to read one of the great modern memoirists. A few Christmases ago I got The Liar's Club (reviewed in full here) and I couldn't believe how talented she is. I've been really into reading author's work on the craft of writing and after finishing Stephen King's go at it I knew I had to read Karr's.

CONTINUE READING

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

Every year I look forward to end-of-the-year lists and checking out as many as I possibly can. I usually always go through the New York Times's list fairly slowly, making notes of what I think I will and will not like. Meg and I both have a ton of books on our shelves that we haven't gotten to yet - which is evident from our "What We Got For Christmas" list every year... so when I  talk about The Great Believers being on the NYT's best-of list, I am actually referring to their list from January 2018 - which I'm just getting to now in 2020. Regardless, I'm glad I wrote this one down years ago!

CONTINUE READING

Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis

I have really been enjoying Michael Lewis' nonfiction writing (Moneyball, The Blind Side) and decided to give this a try since my husband and I started buying stocks this past year. When I was working for Ivey Business School I had the chance to go to the RBC trading floor and was entranced by it. I have since started trying to understand the market better but it is SO confusing. Anyways, I thought this would be a fun combination of my love of Lewis' writing and my new obsession with the stock market.

CONTINUE READING

X: A Highly Specific, Defiantly Incomplete History of the Early 21st Century by Chuck Klosterman

I got this book as a gift a few years ago and finally decided to pick it up when I realized it included an interview with Jonathan Franzen. X: A Highly Specific, Defiantly Incomplete History of the Early 21st Century felt like the perfect quarantine read because of how broken up it is. I usually don't run towards anthologies, and I was pretty open in my dislike for Klosterman's latest book, but he continues to be my favourite essay writer and this one definitely didn't disappoint.

CONTINUE READING

2020 BB Summer Reading List

Who doesn't love a good summer reading list??? Especially this summer when most of us are still left with nothing to do - unless you like golf or tennis, you'll be cracking a book poolside. Here are 40 recommendations that are sure to please...

CONTINUE READING

When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro

I haven't read Ishiguro since a lit course in second year university where I fell in love with his novel The Remains of the Day. I found this book I hadn't even heard of randomly at Value Village (thrift stores are such great places to find books) and was really excited to finally read more of his fiction.

CONTINUE READING

Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel

I feel like since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic people have been dividing themselves into two categories: those who want to spend their time focused on anything but, and those who want to lean into it hard. This can be determined by whether you rewatched Steven Soderbergh's 2011 film Contagion. I would group myself in another category... I am someone who wants to lean into it hard even though I absolutely should not. My boyfriend won't let me rewatch Contagion but I can sneakily read pandemic / apocalyptic literature.

CONTINUE READING

Jaws by Peter Benchley

I only just found out THIS PAST YEAR that Jaws, one of my favourite movies, was adapted from a book while listening to "The Rewatchables" podcast. It was Peter Benchley's first novel and my husband was kind enough to buy me a copy for Christmas. I promised myself I'd read something challenging during this quarantine before allowing myself the treat of this book, but I was practically drooling over it the entire time I read East of Eden.

CONTINUE READING

The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant

I love trying to decide on what book I should read next ... I always overbuy and still have books sitting on my shelf from three Christmases ago. It doesn't mean I don't want to read them, I just never know what I'm going to feel like reading after finishing one book. I've spent the last year alternating between fiction and nonfiction and that's my only real guiding rule. But I had to break it and read two nonfictions back-to-back because Ben shamed me into reading The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed which he bought me for Christmas two years ago.

CONTINUE READING

10 MORE Things STILL Keeping Us Busy in Isolation

We miss restaurants. I think we're all getting antsy, and we had a trip planned for May 24 to see each other that will sadly not happen. If there was ever a time to not feel guilty about sitting on the couch 24/7, it's now. We all deserve it. Here are 10 things we've been doing since our last post to work through this terrible time.

CONTINUE READING

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Man, I have thought about reading this book for a long time. I read Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men in grade 12 AP English and fell in love with his writing. Years later I dated a guy whose brother had a "Thou Mayest" tattoo, and I've been thinking about reading this ever since. Meg then read it during our MA and loved it, so when I saw a copy at a garage sale last summer it felt like a sign. I've been staring at it on my shelf intimidated by its girth ever since, but when we all got thrown into quarantine I finally had no more excuses.

CONTINUE READING