It Wasn’t Enough by Peg Tittle
What if one day, all of the women suddenly disappeared, leaving the men to take their places, fill their roles, do what they did. What would happen? How would the men react?
Social Issues
Bill Arnott’s Beat: Dementia, Depression, and Other Feel-Good Stories
I have a friend (acquaintance, really) – Gunnar Thor Gunnarsson. Best name EVER, I thought. Until I met Lorenz von Fersen. Now THAT’S a name. The kind of name I’d choose for myself, assuming Max Power’s already been taken. Turns … Continue reading
Bill Arnott’s Beat – National Poetry Month
April is National Poetry Month. This year’s theme, A World of Poetry. A world of poetry. This, I understand. Being witness to stomped-verse haka in Waitangi, the lyrical thrum of Outback didgeridoo, breathy sax in a wet London underpass, red slashed characters on a mud wall in Hebei, tanka blurred through joss smoke in Kyoto, rantings of a street poet in Times Square, the guttural slur of a Greenlandic hymn, and a master’s spoken-word reverberating on old timber, sibilant sea hissing through cracked glass
NOlympians: Inside the Fight Against Capitalist Mega-Sports in Los Angeles, Tokyo and Beyond by Jules Boykoff
NOlympians: Inside the Fight Against Capitalist Mega-Sports in Los Angeles, Tokyo and Beyond investigates the intersection of the global rise of anti-Olympics activism and the declining popularity of hosting of the Games.
Bill Arnott’s Beat: Independents’ Day
Independent bookstores shouldn’t exist. Brick-and-mortar bibliophile havens are retail models waiting to be business school case studies, “Why These Can’t Work.” TV narcissi could bleat indefinitely as to why they’d never invest in such ventures. But they do exist. And despite every reason why they shouldn’t, they thrive.
Silver Linings: Stories of Gratitude, Resiliency, and Growth Through Adversity by Janice Landry
Silver Linings author Janice Landry asks the very tough question, "What are you the most grateful for?" to fifteen inspiring Canadians from five provinces and two esteemed guests from the United States. One of seventeen is Dr. Bob Emmons, considered to be the world's pre-eminent expert in the study of gratitude.
Exile Blues by Douglas Gary Freeman
Exile Blues could be one of the most important Black History novels to appear in recent years, and Douglas Gary Freeman is a writer worthy of consideration.
Black Cop: My 36 years in police work, and my career ending experiences with official racism by Calvin Lawrence, With Miles Howe
The title and subtitle pretty much sum up what this book is about: being black and facing systemic racism in two police organizations in a 36-year career. Calvin Lawrence was born in 1949 in Yarmouth and raised in Halifax. His … Continue reading
About Face: Essays on Recovery, Therapies, and Controversies of Addictions in Canada Edited by Douglas Gosse
About Face: Essays on Addictions, Recovery, Therapies, and Controversies seeks to broaden the conversation around addiction in Canada.
Land for Fatimah by Veena Gokhale
Land for Fatimah is an excellent example of the type of book that exists to broaden the horizons of those with an interest in novels with multi-cultural roots, showing a way of life that is unknown to many of us.
Under the Bridge by Anne Bishop
When stress causes an old trauma to surface, Lucy, a longtime community organizer, teacher and anti-poverty activist, loses control of her life. On probation and living on the streets of Halifax's North End, all she has left are friends.
Walmart: Diary of an Associate by Hugo Meunier, Translated by Mary Foster
Hugo Meunier is a veteran journalist who went undercover as an associate for three months in 2012 to discover for himself just what makes the retail giant tick. The result is his book, Walmart: Diary of an Associate, published by Fernwood Publishing.
The Daughters’ Story by Murielle Cyr
Nadine is banished to a home for unwed mothers in 1950. She’s 15. Her baby daughter, whose father is shrouded in secrecy, is put up for adoption without her permission. Vowing to reunite one day with her daughter, she cuts all ties with her dysfunctional Irish and French-Canadian Catholic family whose past is cluttered with secrets, betrayals, incest and violence.
Motherhood: The Mother of All Sexism by Marilyse Hamelin
When I first received this review copy in the mail, I wasn’t sure what to expect, or even if I would be interested in it, since neither my wife nor I am a parent. Nevertheless, I started reading it, and … Continue reading
A Wholesome Horror: Poorhouses in Nova Scotia by Brenda Thompson
Update 03/09/19: A Wholesome Horror has won the 2019 “The Very Best!” Book Award for Non-Fiction!
When I first saw the cover of this book, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing: poor houses existed in Canada? While I grew … Continue reading