What I’m Reading for the 2018 Modern Mrs Darcy Reading Challenge

Three years ago, I was determined to get out of my reading rut. Enter: The Modern Mrs Darcy Reading Challenge.

What I love most about the challenge is how simple it is–just read twelve books from twelve different categories in twelve months.

I credit the MMD challenge with helping me to rediscover my love of reading. I am a huge fan of memoirs and for years, that’s all I read. But this challenge expanded my reading horizons and inspired me to give books I wouldn’t normally read a chance. Side note: I will forever be grateful to Anne for introducing me to the wonderful world of translated books! Who knew I would end up loving them as much as I do?

In 2016, my goal was to read 100 books. I sat down with a notebook and jotted down a list of 100 books I wanted to read by the end of the year. I went a step further and shared the list on the blog to keep myself organized and accountable. It worked like a charm! I found the simple act of checking titles off my list deeply satisfying and by December 31st, I had read 82 books!

This year, life is wayyyyy busier than its been in a long time. I am juggling school and work and its been tricky finding time to rest much less read. So for 2018, I am focusing on quality over quantity. I want to devote the precious few hours I have to reading books that are worth my time.

If you’re looking to read more books this year alongside an incredibly supportive community of book lovers, I recommend jumping on board. After all, good books are meant to be shared!

You can sign up for the reading challenge here. You can also connect with fellow challenge participants and share (and get) book recommendations via the 2018 Modern Mrs Darcy Reading Challenge Pinterest board.

After much deliberation, here are the books I’ll be reading for this year’s challenge…

A classic you’ve been meaning to read 

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

This one has been on my reading list for the past two years and I am soooo excited to finally cross it off my list.

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.

Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare”) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.

A book recommended by someone with great taste

168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam

Recommended by Anne Bogel. Thanks Anne!

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: It’s an unquestioned truth of modern life: we are starved for time. We tell ourselves we’d like to read more, get to the gym regularly, try new hobbies, and accomplish all kinds of goals. But then we give up because there just aren’t enough hours to do it all. Or if we don’t make excuses, we make sacrifices- taking time out from other things in order to fit it all in. There has to be a better way…and Laura Vanderkam has found one.

After interviewing dozens of successful, happy people, she realized that they allocate their time differently than most of us. Instead of letting the daily grind crowd out the important stuff, they start by making sure there’s time for the important stuff. When plans go wrong and they run out of time, only their lesser priorities suffer. Vanderkam shows that with a little examination and prioritizing, you’ll find it is possible to sleep eight hours a night, exercise five days a week, take piano lessons, and write a novel without giving up quality time for work, family, and other things that really matter.

A book in translation

In Every Moment We Are Still Alive by Tom Malmquist, translated from the Swedish by Henning Koch

My love for translated books runs deep and I try and read at least one every year.

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: In Every Moment We Are Still Alive tells the story of a man whose world has come crashing down overnight: His long-time partner has developed an fatal illness, just as she is about to give birth to their first child … even as his father is diagnosed with cancer.

Reeling in grief, Tom finds himself wrestling with endless paperwork and indecipherable diagnoses, familial misunderstandings and utter exhaustion while trying simply to comfort his loved ones as they begin to recede from him.

But slowly, amidst the pain and fury, arises a story of resilience and hope, particularly when Tom finds himself having to take responsibility for the greatest gift of them all, his newborn daughter.

Written in an unforgettable style that dives deep into the chaos of grief and pain, yet also achieves a poetry that is inspiring, In Every Moment We Are Still Alive is slated to become one of the most stirring novels of the year.

A book nominated for an award in 2018

To be determined

A book of poetry, a play, or an essay collection

Guidebook to Relative Strangers by Camille T. Dungy

This category gave me the most trouble to fill. After asking for recommendations and engaging in some heavy-duty browsing, I finally decided on this essay collection I spotted on Book Riot. It sounds like a good one!

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: As a working mother whose livelihood as a poet-lecturer depended on travel, Camille Dungy crisscrossed America with her infant, then toddler, intensely aware of how they are seen, not just as mother and child, but as black women. With a poet’s eye, she celebrates her daughter’s acquisition of language and discoveries of the natural and human world around her. At the same time history shadows her steps everywhere she goes: from the San Francisco of settlers’ and investors’ dreams to the slave-trading ports of Ghana; from snow-white Maine to a festive, yet threatening, bonfire in the Virginia pinewoods.

With exceptional candor and grace, Dungy explores our inner and outer worlds—the intimate and vulnerable experiences of raising a child, living with illness, conversing with strangers, and counting on others’ goodwill. Across the nation, she finds fear and trauma, and also mercy, kindness, and community. Penetrating and generous, Guidebook to Relative Strangers is an essential guide for a troubled land.

A book you can read in a day

The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida, translated from the Japanese by KA Yoshida & David Mitchell

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: Naoki Higashida was only a middle-schooler when he began to write The Reason I Jump. Autistic and with very low verbal fluency, Naoki used an alphabet grid to painstakingly spell out his answers to the questions he imagines others most often wonder about him: why do you talk so loud? Is it true you hate being touched? Would you like to be normal? The result is an inspiring, attitude-transforming book that will be embraced by anyone interested in understanding their fellow human beings, and by parents, caregivers, teachers, and friends of autistic children.

Naoki examines issues as diverse and complex as self-harm, perceptions of time and beauty, and the challenges of communication, and in doing so, discredits the popular belief that autistic people are anti-social loners who lack empathy.

This book is mesmerizing proof that inside an autistic body is a mind as subtle, curious, and caring as anyone else’s.

A book that’s more than 500 pages

New York by Edward Rutherfurd

This sweeping historical novel from the British author was on my 2017 reading list, but I never got around to it. I recently bought a copy and I can’t wait to dive in this winter.

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: A blockbuster masterpiece that combines breath-taking scope with narrative immediacy, this grand historical epic traces the history of New York through the lenses of several families: The Van Dycks, a wealthy Dutch trading family; the Masters, scions of an English merchant clan torn apart during the Revolution; the Hudsons, slaves who fight for their freedom over several generations; the Murphys, who escape the Famine in Ireland and land in the chaotic slum of Five Points; the Rewards, robber barons of the Gilded Age; the Florinos, an immigrant Italian clan who work building the great skyscrapers in the 1920s; and the Rabinowitzs, who flee anti-semitism in Europe and build a new life in Brooklyn.

Over time, the lives of these families become intertwined through the most momentous events in the fabric of America: The founding of the colonies; the Revolution; the growth of New York as a major port and trading centre; the Civil War; the Gilded Age; the explosion of immigration and the corruption of Tammany Hall; the rise of New York as a great world city in the early 20th-century; the trials of World War II, the tumult of the 1960s; the near-demise of the city in the 1970s; its roaring rebirth in the 1990s; culminating in the World Trade Center attacks at the beginning of the new century.

A book by a favourite author

Plainsong by Kent Haruf

Two years ago I read and loved Haruf’s novel Benediction and fell in love with his beautiful writing. Last January, I picked up Our Souls at Night and read it in an afternoon. I can’t wait to read his debut novel.

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: In the small town of Holt, Colorado, a high school teacher is confronted with raising his two boys alone after their mother retreats first to the bedroom, then altogether. A teenage girl—her father long since disappeared, her mother unwilling to have her in the house—is pregnant, alone herself, with nowhere to go. And out in the country, two brothers, elderly bachelors, work the family homestead, the only world they’ve ever known.

From these unsettled lives emerges a vision of life, and of the town and landscape that bind them together—their fates somehow overcoming the powerful circumstances of place and station, their confusion, curiosity, dignity and humor intact and resonant. As the milieu widens to embrace fully four generations, Kent Haruf displays an emotional and aesthetic authority to rival the past masters of a classic American tradition.

A book recommended by a librarian or indie bookseller

The Boat People by Sharon Bala

This award-winning new release comes highly recommended by one of my favourite bookstore employees. I trust his taste and I’ve discovered books I would never have picked up on my own thanks to him. (I LOVED his past recommendations like The Door by Magda Szabo and The Belly of Paris by Emile Zola.)

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: When the rusty cargo ship carrying Mahindan and five hundred fellow refugees reaches the shores of British Columbia, the young father is overcome with relief: he and his six-year-old son can finally put Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war behind them and begin new lives. Instead, the group is thrown into prison, with government officials and news headlines speculating that hidden among the “boat people” are members of a terrorist militia. As suspicion swirls and interrogation mounts, Mahindan fears the desperate actions he took to survive and escape Sri Lanka now jeopardize his and his son’s chances for asylum.

Told through the alternating perspectives of Mahindan; his lawyer Priya, who reluctantly represents the migrants; and Grace, a third-generation Japanese-Canadian adjudicator who must decide Mahindan’s fate, The Boat People is a high-stakes novel that offers a deeply compassionate lens through which to view the current refugee crisis. Inspired by real events, with vivid scenes that move between the eerie beauty of northern Sri Lanka and combative refugee hearings in Vancouver, where life and death decisions are made, Sharon Bala’s stunning debut is an unforgettable and necessary story for our times.

A banned book

Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson

I didn’t want to read any of the popular banned books for this category so I asked a bookstore employee for a recommendation. He didn’t hesitate and raved about the Native Canadian’s first novel. He explained that it was banned in certain communities. This a book I probably would never have discovered on my own.

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: Monkey Beach combines both joy and tragedy in a harrowing yet restrained story of grief and survival, and of a family on the edge of heartbreak. In the first English-language novel to be published by a Haisla writer, Eden Robinson offers a rich celebration of life in the Native settlement of Kitamaat, on the coast of British Columbia.

The story grips the reader from the beginning. It is the morning after the narrator’s brother has gone missing at sea; the mood is tense in the family house, as speculations remain unspoken. Jimmy is a prospective Olympic swimmer, seventeen years old and on the edge of proposing to his beautiful girlfriend Karaoke. As his elder sister, Lisa, faces possible disaster, she chain-smokes and drifts into thoughts of their lives so far. She recalls the time when she and Jimmy saw the sasquatch, or b’gwus – and this sighting introduces the novel’s fascinating undercurrent of characters from the spirit world. These ghostly presences may strike the reader as mysterious or frightening, but they provide Lisa with guidance through a difficult coming of age.

In and out of the emergency room as a child, Lisa is a fighter. Her smart mouth and temper constantly threaten to land her in serious trouble. Those who have the most influence on her are her stubbornly traditional, machete-wielding grandmother, and her wild, passionate, political Uncle Mick, who teaches her to make moose calls. When they empty fishing nets together, she pretends she doesn’t feel the jellyfish stinging her young hands – she’s Uncle Mick’s “little warrior.”

We watch Lisa leave her teenage years behind as she waits for news of her younger brother. She reflects on the many rich episodes of their lives – so many of which take place around the water, reminding us of the news she fears, and revealing the menacing power of nature. But Lisa has a special recourse – a “gift” that enables her to see and hear spirits, and ask for their help.

A memoir, biography, or book of creative nonfiction

A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold

Columbine was one of my favourite reads last year. It was a difficult read, but such an eye-opening and important one. My friend Sarah from Glowing Local said I need to add A Mother’s Reckoning to my list and I always, always enjoy the books she recommends.  I am really looking forward to this one!

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Over the course of minutes, they would kill twelve students and a teacher and wound twenty-four others before taking their own lives.

For the last sixteen years, Sue Klebold, Dylan’s mother, has lived with the indescribable grief and shame of that day. How could her child, the promising young man she had loved and raised, be responsible for such horror? And how, as his mother, had she not known something was wrong? Were there subtle signs she had missed? What, if anything, could she have done differently?

These are questions that Klebold has grappled with every day since the Columbine tragedy. In A Mother’s Reckoning, she chronicles with unflinching honesty her journey as a mother trying to come to terms with the incomprehensible. In the hope that the insights and understanding she has gained may help other families recognize when a child is in distress, she tells her story in full, drawing upon her personal journals, the videos and writings that Dylan left behind, and on countless interviews with mental health experts.

A book by an author of a different race, ethnicity, or religion than your own

The Break by Katherena Vermette

This award-winning first novel from Métis author, Katherena Vermette has been recommended to me more times than I can count. I am starting with this one tonight!

Synopsis from House of Anansi Press: When Stella, a young Métis mother, looks out her window one evening and spots someone in trouble on the Break — a barren field on an isolated strip of land outside her house — she calls the police to alert them to a possible crime.

In a series of shifting narratives, people who are connected, both directly and indirectly, with the victim — police, family, and friends — tell their personal stories leading up to that fateful night. Lou, a social worker, grapples with the departure of her live-in boyfriend. Cheryl, an artist, mourns the premature death of her sister Rain. Paulina, a single mother, struggles to trust her new partner. Phoenix, a homeless teenager, is released from a youth detention centre. Officer Scott, a Métis policeman, feels caught between two worlds as he patrols the city. Through their various perspectives a larger, more comprehensive story about lives of the residents in Winnipeg’s North End is exposed.

Have you ever done a reading challenge? What are your reading goals for 2018? I’d love to hear in the comments!

Spring 2017 Reads

It’s a wet spring day here in Toronto and I’m counting down the days until it’s nice and sunny enough to read outdoors. This season’s list includes a handful of debut novels, big spring releases I’ve been dying to get my hands on, and a couple of juicy memoirs.

Here are the 15 books I can’t wait to dive into this season…

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Last weekend, I picked up Angie Thomas’s debut novel; I read it in 24 hours. This is a story that desperately needed to be told and Thomas tells it with such honesty, intelligence, courage, clarity, passion, and wit. If I had to pick one word to describe this book, that word would be “alive”. While reading, all I could think was: “this feels so real.”

Starr’s voice couldn’t be more authentic and the dialogue leaps right off the page. I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking while reading certain parts. I cried, I laughed, I felt sick to my stomach, but I mostly, I felt angry.

Fiction does what news media can’t. It takes us inside the hearts and minds of characters and invites us to walk in their shoes for a couple hundred pages or so. This book goes a step further: breaking our hearts for what matters, teaching empathy and tolerance, and inspiring us to fight with our most valuable weapon—our voice.

This should be required reading for everyone. I won’t soon forget it.

Synopsis from HarperCollins Canada: Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan

Synopsis from HarperCollins Canada: Rachel Jenner is walking in a Bristol park with her eight-year-old son, Ben, when he asks if he can run ahead. It’s an ordinary request on an ordinary Sunday afternoon, and Rachel has no reason to worry—until Ben vanishes.

Police are called, search parties go out, and Rachel, already insecure after her recent divorce, feels herself coming undone. As hours and then days pass without a sign of Ben, everyone who knew him is called into question, from Rachel’s newly married ex-husband to her mother-of-the-year sister. Inevitably, media attention focuses on Rachel too, and the public’s attitude toward her begins to shift from sympathy to suspicion.

As she desperately pieces together the threadbare clues, Rachel realizes that nothing is quite as she imagined it to be, not even her own judgment. And the greatest dangers may lie not in the anonymous strangers of every parent’s nightmares, but behind the familiar smiles of those she trusts the most.

Where is Ben? The clock is ticking. . . .

So Much Love by Rebecca Rosenblum

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: When Catherine Reindeer vanishes from the parking lot outside the restaurant where she works, an entire community is shattered. Moving back and forth from her outer circle of acquaintances to her closest intimates, So Much Love reveals how an unexpected disappearance can overturn the lives of those left behind: Catherine’s fellow waitress now sees danger all around her. Her mother seeks comfort in saying her name over and over again. Her professor finds himself thinking of her constantly. Her husband refuses to give up hope that she will one day return. But at the heart of the novel is Catherine’s own surprising story of resilience and recovery. When, after months of captivity, a final devastating loss forces her to make a bold decision, she is unprepared for everything that follows.

A riveting novel that deftly examines the complexity of love and the power of stories to shape our lives, So Much Love confirms Rebecca Rosenblum’s reputation as one of the most gifted and distinctive writers of her generation.

Juliet’s Answer by Glenn Dixon

Synopsis from Simon & Schuster Canada: When Glenn Dixon is spurned by love, he does something unusual. He travels to Verona, Italy, to become a scribe of Juliet, Shakespeare’s fictional character, all in an attempt to understand his heartbreak. Once there, he volunteers to answer the thousands of letters that arrive addressed to Juliet, letters sent from lovelorn people all over the world who long to understand the mysteries of the human heart.

Glenn’s journey takes him deep into the charming community of Verona, where he learns the traditions of the townspeople and becomes involved in unravelling the truth behind Romeo and Juliet—Did these star-crossed lovers actually exist? Did they live in Verona? Why have they remained at the forefront of hearts and minds for centuries? And what can they teach us about love? At the same time, we learn about Claire, Glenn’s unrequited love, the source of his heartbreak. Was she truly his soul’s match, or was she, like Rosalind in Shakespeare’s classic play, a mere infatuation who pales in comparison the moment his real Juliet enters his life?

When Glenn returns home to Canada and resumes his duties as a Grade 10 English teacher, he undertakes a lively reading of Romeo and Juliet with his students, engaging them in passions past and present. But in an intriguing reversal of fate and fortune, his students—along with an old friend—instruct the teacher on the true meaning of love, loss, and moving on.

Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son, and to start at a new school where she knows no one.

Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?

In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

Synopsis from Amazon.ca: Once in a great while a book comes along that changes the way we see the world and helps to fuel a nationwide social movement. The New Jim Crow is such a book. Praised by Harvard Law professor Lani Guinier as “brave and bold,” this book directly challenges the notion that the election of Barack Obama signals a new era of colorblindness. With dazzling candor, legal scholar Michelle Alexander argues that “we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it.” By targeting black men through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control—relegating millions to a permanent second-class status—even as it formally adheres to the principle of colorblindness. In the words of Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, this book is a “call to action.”

Called “stunning” by Pulitzer Prize–winning historian David Levering Lewis, “invaluable” by the Daily Kos, “explosive” by Kirkus, and “profoundly necessary” by the Miami Herald, this updated and revised paperback edition of The New Jim Crow, now with a foreword by Cornel West, is a must-read for all people of conscience.

After the Bloom by Leslie Shimotakahara

Synopsis from Dundurn Press: A daughter’s search for her mother reveals her family’s past in a Japanese internment camp during the Second World War.

Lily Takemitsu goes missing from her home in Toronto one luminous summer morning in the mid-1980s. Her daughter, Rita, knows her mother has a history of dissociation and memory problems, which have led her to wander off before. But never has she stayed away so long. Unconvinced the police are taking the case seriously, Rita begins to carry out her own investigation. In the course of searching for her mom, she is forced to confront a labyrinth of secrets surrounding the family’s internment at a camp in the California desert during the Second World War, their postwar immigration to Toronto, and the father she has never known.

Epic in scope, intimate in style, After the Bloom blurs between the present and the ever-present past, beautifully depicting one family’s struggle to face the darker side of its history and find some form of redemption.

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

Synopsis from Macmillan Publishers: Louise is a single mom, a secretary, stuck in a modern-day rut. On a rare night out, she meets a man in a bar and sparks fly. Though he leaves after they kiss, she’s thrilled she finally connected with someone.

When Louise arrives at work on Monday, she meets her new boss, David. The man from the bar. The very married man from the bar…who says the kiss was a terrible mistake, but who still can’t keep his eyes off Louise.

And then Louise bumps into Adele, who’s new to town and in need of a friend. But she also just happens to be married to David. And if you think you know where this story is going, think again, because Behind Her Eyes is like no other book you’ve read before.

David and Adele look like the picture-perfect husband and wife. But then why is David so controlling? And why is Adele so scared of him?

As Louise is drawn into David and Adele’s orbit, she uncovers more puzzling questions than answers. The only thing that is crystal clear is that something in this marriage is very, very wrong. But Louise can’t guess how wrong—and how far a person might go to protect their marriage’s secrets.

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline’s world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its sights on France.

An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she is drawn deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspecting neighbors, one false move can have dire consequences.

For the ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, an ad for a government medical position seems her ticket out of a desolate life. Once hired, though, she finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power.

The lives of these three women are set on a collision course when the unthinkable happens and Kasia is sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious Nazi concentration camp for women. Their stories cross continents—from New York to Paris, Germany, and Poland—as Caroline and Kasia strive to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: “Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.” So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos. A profoundly moving story of family, secrets, and longing, Everything I Never Told You is both a gripping page-turner and a sensitive family portrait, uncovering the ways in which mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and husbands and wives struggle, all their lives, to understand one another.

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.

August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. WONDER, now a #1 New York Times bestseller and included on the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list, begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance.

Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: Many of us take dictionaries for granted, and few may realize that the process of writing dictionaries is, in fact, as lively and dynamic as language itself. With sharp wit and irreverence, Kory Stamper cracks open the complex, obsessive world of lexicography, from the agonizing decisions about what to define and how to do it, to the knotty questions of usage in an ever-changing language. She explains why small words are the most difficult to define, how it can take nine months to define a single word, and how our biases about language and pronunciation can have tremendous social influence. And along the way, she reveals little-known surprises—for example, the fact that “OMG” was first used in a letter to Winston Churchill in 1917.

Word by Word brings to life the hallowed halls (and highly idiosyncratic cubicles) of Merriam-Webster, a startlingly rich world inhabited by quirky and erudite individuals who quietly shape the way we communicate. Certain to be a delight for all lovers of words, Stamper’s debut will make you laugh as much as it makes you appreciate the wonderful complexities and eccentricities of the English language.

The Door by Magda Szabó, translated from the Hungarian by Len Rix

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: The Door is an unsettling exploration of the relationship between two very different women. Magda is a writer, educated, married to an academic, public-spirited, with an on-again-off-again relationship to Hungary’s Communist authorities. Emerence is a peasant, illiterate, impassive, abrupt, seemingly ageless. She lives alone in a house that no one else may enter, not even her closest relatives. She is Magda’s housekeeper and she has taken control over Magda’s household, becoming indispensable to her. And Emerence, in her way, has come to depend on Magda. They share a kind of love—at least until Magda’s long-sought success as a writer leads to a devastating revelation.

The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country by Helen Russell

Synopsis from Amazon.ca: Denmark is officially the happiest nation on Earth. When Helen Russell is forced to move to rural Jutland, can she discover the secrets of their happiness? Or will the long, dark winters and pickled herring take their toll?

A Year of Living Danishly looks at where the Danes get it right, where they get it wrong, and how we might just benefit from living a little more Danishly ourselves.

A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston

Synopsis from Simon & Schuster Canada: Bryan Cranston landed his first role at seven, when his father cast him in a United Way commercial. Acting was clearly the boy’s destiny, until one day his father disappeared. Destiny suddenly took a backseat to survival.

Now, in his riveting memoir, Cranston maps his zigzag journey from abandoned son to beloved star by recalling the many odd parts he’s played in real life—paperboy, farmhand, security guard, dating consultant, murder suspect, dock loader, lover, husband, father. Cranston also chronicles his evolution on camera, from soap opera player trying to master the rules of show business to legendary character actor turning in classic performances as Seinfeld dentist Tim Whatley, “a sadist with newer magazines,” and Malcolm in the Middle dad Hal Wilkerson, a lovable bumbler in tighty-whities. He also gives an inspiring account of how he prepared, physically and mentally, for the challenging role of President Lyndon Johnson, a tour de force that won him a Tony to go along with his four Emmys.

Of course, Cranston dives deep into the grittiest details of his greatest role, explaining how he searched inward for the personal darkness that would help him create one of the most memorable performances ever captured on screen: Walter White, chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin.

Discussing his life as few men do, describing his art as few actors can, Cranston has much to say about creativity, devotion, and craft, as well as innate talent and its challenges and benefits and proper maintenance. But ultimately A Life in Parts is a story about the joy, the necessity, and the transformative power of simple hard work.

What are you most looking forward to reading this spring? I’d love to hear!

What I Read in January

January was a pretty good reading month for me. Here are the 6 books I read and loved this month…

You Will Not Have My Hate by Antoine Leiris, translated by Sam Taylor

This short memoir is one of my favourite January reads. I’ve never read anything more beautiful and it had me in tears.

On November 13 2015, Antoine Leiris’s wife, Hélène was killed by terrorists while attending a rock concert at the Bataclan theater in Paris. Leiris was left to care for his seventeen-month-old son. Days after the attacks, he shared an open letter to his wife’s killers on Facebook. Here’s a snippet from his post: “You want me to be scared, to see my fellow citizens through suspicious eyes, to sacrifice my freedom for security. You have failed. I will not change.”

With grace, honesty, and vulnerability, he shares the story of his grief and struggle in the days and weeks after his wife’s murder. A gorgeously written, incredibly moving memoir about love, loss, and our power to choose love over hate.

Fractured by Catherine McKenzie

Catherine McKenzie is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. Her latest novel is psychological suspense at its finest. Bestselling murder mystery author Julie Prentice and her family move from Tacoma, Washington to a picture-perfect Cincinnati neighbourhood to escape a stalker. Told from the perspectives of Julie and her new neighbour John, the story is brilliantly structured and packed with twist after twist. You know something horrible has happened in the neighbourhood, but you don’t know exactly what or to whom. I read it from cover to cover in one weekend.

Fig by Sarah Elizabeth Schantz

Schantz’s debut novel was my pick for the “book with an unreliable narrator” category for the 2017 MMD Reading Challenge. I don’t usually read young adult novels, but this one came highly recommended by the teen librarian at my local library. Narrated by Fig, from ages six to nineteen, it’s a painfully accurate portrayal of life with mental illness and a mother-daughter relationship. Fig’s voice is so authentic and I can’t stop sharing it with everyone. Highly recommended for both teens and adults.

Love, Loss, and What We Ate by Padma Lakshmi

I love memoirs and I’ve added quite a few to this year’s reading list. I kicked off the year with Lakshmi’s bestselling memoir. In it, Lakshmi opens up about her childhood in India, moving to the U.S. at the age of four, her immigrant experience, and her journey to self-acceptance and feeling comfortable in her own skin. She talks candidly about her family life, marriage, divorce, and of course, her love of cooking and hosting Bravo’s Emmy award-winning Top Chef. Bonus: Lakshmi shares some of her favourite recipes throughout the book. Vivid, beautifully written, bold, and brave.

Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf

In his final novel, Haruf transports us to the fictional small town of Holt, Colorado. Addie Moore and Louis Waters have lived in Holt for decades. Both their spouses died years ago and they have been living alone in empty houses. One day, Addie unexpectedly shows up on Louis’s doorstep with an invitation to spend the night at her house. After some thought, Louis accepts. As Addie and Louis get to know each other through their nightly conversations, a beautiful and honest relationship blooms.

Told in plain English, it’s a story about love, companionship, grief, and second chances.

Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake

Sam and Hadley meet at high school. Sam falls for Hadley, but then he finds out her last name. I read this in an afternoon. Blake does an excellent job of exploring the impact one choice has on two different families. Written in stunning language, this is an achingly beautiful and realistic love story for our times.

What did you read in January?

The 100 Books I’m Reading in 2017

Last January I shared a list of 100 books I wanted to read by the end of 2016; by December 31st I’d read 82 books. While my list changed as the year progressed, I found the list to be a great starting point. By the end of the year, I knew the exact number and titles of books I’d read.

I enjoyed tracking my reading progress so much that I am doing it again this year. I am sure this list will change as I discover new books along the way. After much editing, here’s my 2017 reading list…

Books for Living by Will Schwalbe
A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
The Door by Magda Szabo, translated by Len Rix
New York by Edward Rutherfurd
Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays by Zadie Smith
Swing Time by Zadie Smith
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri, translated by Ann Goldstein
Small Island by Andrea Levy
The Belly of Paris by Emile Zola, translated by Mark Kurlansky
Fig by Sarah Elizabeth Schantz
The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida, translated by KA Yoshida & David Mitchell
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid [February 27, 2017]
City of Saints & Thieves by Natalie C. Anderson [January 24, 2017]

Ordinary Light by Tracy K. Smith
Smoke by Catherine McKenzie
Fractured by Catherine McKenzie
Hidden by Catherine McKenzie
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
You Will Not Have My Hate by Antoine Leiris, translated by Sam Taylor
The Reason You Walk by Wab Kinew
By Gaslight by Steven Price
Love, Loss, and What We Ate by Padma Lakshmi
The Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittall
What She Knew by Gilly Macmillan
The Perfect Girl by Gilly Macmillan

Better Now: Six Big Ideas to Improve Health Care for All Canadians by Dr. Danielle Martin
Transit by Rachel Cusk [January 17, 2017]
Steal Away Home by Karolyn Smardz Frost [January 24, 2017]
Unbound: Finding Myself on Top of the World by Steph Jagger [January 24, 2017]
The Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O’Neill [February 7, 2017]
The Way of Letting Go: One Woman’s Walk Toward Forgiveness by Wilma Derksen [February 21, 2017]
Men Walking on Water by Emily Schultz [March 7, 2017]
So Much Love by Rebecca Rosenblum [March 14, 2017]
The Nightingale Won’t Let You Sleep by Steven Heighton [March 14, 2017]
Mitzi Bytes by Kerry Clare [March 14, 2017]
Solitude: A Singular Life in a Crowded World by Michael Harris [April 4, 2017]
Where I Live Now: A Journey through Love and Loss to Healing and Hope by Sharon Butala [April 4, 2017]

Life on the Ground Floor by Dr. James Maskalyk  [April 11, 2017]
The Weekend Effect by Katrina Onstad [April 11, 2017]
After the Bloom by Leslie Shimotakahara [April 15, 2017]
The Slip by Mark Sampson [May 20, 2017]
The Substitute by Nicole Lundrigan [June 24, 2017]
Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America by Helen Thorpe
The Things We Wish Were True by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller [January 28, 2017]
The Shark Club by Ann Kidd Taylor
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Outline by Rachel Cusk

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas [February 28, 2017]
Fitness Junkie by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza [July 11, 2017]
The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand [June 13, 2017]
Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston
Waiting for First Light: My Ongoing Battle with PTSD by Romeo Dallaire
Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist
The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country by Helen Russell
With Malice by Eileen Cook
Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake
If Our Bodies Could Talk: A Guide to Operating and Maintaining a Human Body by James Hamblin
A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston
In the Woods by Tana French

Columbine by Dave Cullen
A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold
Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum
What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum
Juliet’s Answer: One Man’s Search for Love and the Elusive Cure for Heartbreak by Glenn Dixon
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
Spaceman by Mike Massimino
Around the Way Girl by Taraji P. Henson
Not a Sound by Heather Gudenkauf
How to Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell [January 31, 2017]
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

Nothing to Prove: Why We Can Stop Trying So Hard by Jennie Allen [January 31, 2017]
The Broken Way by Ann Voskamp
Uninvited by Lysa TerKeurst
You Are Free: Be Who You Already Are by Rebekah Lyons [February 21, 2017]
Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran
Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? by Alyssa Mastromonaco
Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
Night by Elie Wiesel
The Break by Katherena Vermette
How Can I Help?: A Week in My Life as a Psychiatrist by David Goldbloom and Pier Bryden
On the Noodle Road: From Beijing to Rome, with Love and Pasta by Jen Lin-Liu

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng [September 7, 2017]
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
Reading with Patrick by Michelle Kuo
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Word by Word by Kory Stamper [March 14, 2017]
The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs
Endurance: My Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly [November 7, 2017]
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
The Vanishing Year by Kate Moretti
The Dry by Jane Harper
Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough [January 26, 2017]
So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson

What’s on your reading list for 2017? Have you read any of my picks?

What I’m Reading for the 2017 MMD Reading Challenge

Two years ago, I rediscovered my love of reading thanks in part to the Modern Mrs Darcy Reading Challenge. Two weeks ago, I signed up for the 2017 challenge and I couldn’t be more excited. This year, readers have the opportunity to choose their own reading adventure: Reading for Fun or Reading for Growth.

In 2015, I was determined to make the time to read more. In 2016, my reading goal was to read 100 books; I read 82 (the most I’ve ever read in a year). This year, I want to stretch myself and read those books I usually avoid (like a book that’s over 600 pages or an essay collection), so I’m taking the Reading for Growth route.

After two weeks of careful planning (browsing book lists on the Internet and asking the librarian at my local branch for recommendations), I’ve finally settled on the books I’m reading for each challenge category. Today I’m sharing my list with you.

A Newbery Award winner  – A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

The teen librarian at my local branch recommended this historical fiction which won the Newbery Medal in 2002.

Synopsis from Amazon.ca: In this Newbery Medal-winning book set in 12th century Korea, Tree-ear, a 13-year-old orphan, lives under a bridge in Ch’ulp’o, a potters’ village famed for delicate celadon ware. He has become fascinated with the potter’s craft; he wants nothing more than to watch master potter Min at work, and he dreams of making a pot of his own someday. When Min takes Tree-ear on as his helper, Tree-ear is elated – until he finds obstacles in his path: the backbreaking labor of digging and hauling clay, Min’s irascible temper, and his own ignorance. But Tree-ear is determined to prove himself – even if it means taking a long, solitary journey on foot to present Min’s work in the hope of a royal commission . . . even if it means arriving at the royal court with nothing to show but a single celadon shard.

A book in translation – The Door by Magda Szabó, translated from the Hungarian by Len Rix

When I asked one of my favourite booksellers for an incredible translated book, he didn’t even pause to think. I’ve enjoyed every single book he’s recommended to me in the past and I can’t wait to dive into this one from the late Hungarian author.

Synopsis from Amazon.ca: The Door is an unsettling exploration of the relationship between two very different women. Magda is a writer, educated, married to an academic, public-spirited, with an on-again-off-again relationship to Hungary’s Communist authorities. Emerence is a peasant, illiterate, impassive, abrupt, seemingly ageless. She lives alone in a house that no one else may enter, not even her closest relatives. She is Magda’s housekeeper and she has taken control over Magda’s household, becoming indispensable to her. And Emerence, in her way, has come to depend on Magda. They share a kind of love—at least until Magda’s long-sought success as a writer leads to a devastating revelation.

A book that’s more than 600 pages  – New York by Edward Rutherfurd

This category gave me the most trouble to fill, but I finally decided on British author Edward Rutherfurd’s historical novel, New York.

Synopsis from Penguin Random House Canada: A blockbuster masterpiece that combines breath-taking scope with narrative immediacy, this grand historical epic traces the history of New York through the lenses of several families: The Van Dycks, a wealthy Dutch trading family; the Masters, scions of an English merchant clan torn apart during the Revolution; the Hudsons, slaves who fight for their freedom over several generations; the Murphys, who escape the Famine in Ireland and land in the chaotic slum of Five Points; the Rewards, robber barons of the Gilded Age; the Florinos, an immigrant Italian clan who work building the great skyscrapers in the 1920s; and the Rabinowitzs, who flee anti-semitism in Europe and build a new life in Brooklyn.

Over time, the lives of these families become intertwined through the most momentous events in the fabric of America: The founding of the colonies; the Revolution; the growth of New York as a major port and trading centre; the Civil War; the Gilded Age; the explosion of immigration and the corruption of Tammany Hall; the rise of New York as a great world city in the early 20th-century; the trials of World War II, the tumult of the 1960s; the near-demise of the city in the 1970s; its roaring rebirth in the 1990s; culminating in the World Trade Center attacks at the beginning of the new century.

A book of poetry, a play, or an essay collection  – Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays by Zadie Smith

I plan on reading all of Zadie Smith’s books this year, so I’m kicking things off with her essay collection.

Synopsis from Penguin Random House: Split into five sections–Reading, Being, Seeing, Feeling, and Remembering–Changing My Mind finds Zadie Smith casting an acute eye over material both personal and cultural. This engaging collection of essays, some published here for the first time, reveals Smith as a passionate and precise essayist, equally at home in the world of great books and bad movies, family and philosophy, British comedians and Italian divas. Whether writing on Katherine Hepburn, Kafka, Anna Magnani, or Zora Neale Hurston, she brings deft care to the art of criticism with a style both sympathetic and insightful. Changing My Mind is journalism at its most expansive, intelligent, and funny–a gift to readers and writers both.

A book of any genre that addresses current events – The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

Civil Rights Litigator Michelle Alexander’s book has been on my To Be Read list for three years.

Synopsis from Amazon.ca: Once in a great while a book comes along that changes the way we see the world and helps to fuel a nationwide social movement. The New Jim Crow is such a book. Praised by Harvard Law professor Lani Guinier as “brave and bold,” this book directly challenges the notion that the election of Barack Obama signals a new era of colorblindness. With dazzling candor, legal scholar Michelle Alexander argues that “we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it.” By targeting black men through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control—relegating millions to a permanent second-class status—even as it formally adheres to the principle of colorblindness. In the words of Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, this book is a “call to action.”

An immigrant story – Small Island by Andrea Levy

One of my favourite booksellers raved about the British author’s 2004 Prize-winning novel calling it “the perfect immigrant novel”.

Synopsis from Amazon.ca: Hortense Joseph arrives in London from Jamaica in 1948 with her life in her suitcase, her heart broken, her resolve intact. Her husband, Gilbert Joseph, returns from the war expecting to be received as a hero, but finds his status as a black man in Britain to be second class. His white landlady, Queenie, raised as a farmer’s daughter, befriends Gilbert, and later Hortense, with innocence and courage, until the unexpected arrival of her husband, Bernard, who returns from combat with issues of his own to resolve.

Told in these four voices, “Small Island “is a courageous novel of tender emotion and sparkling wit, of crossings taken and passages lost, of shattering compassion and of reckless optimism in the face of insurmountable barriers—in short, an encapsulation of that most American of experiences: the immigrant’s life.

A book published before you were born  – The Belly of Paris by Émile Zola, translated from the French by Mark Kurlansky (Originally published in 1873)

I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this book. When I asked my trustworthy bookseller to recommend a book for this category, he picked this one. He assured me I would LOVE it.

Synopsis from Amazon.ca: Part of Emile Zola’s multigenerational Rougon-Macquart saga, The Belly of Paris is the story of Florent Quenu, a wrongly accused man who escapes imprisonment on Devil’s Island. Returning to his native Paris, Florent finds a city he barely recognizes, with its working classes displaced to make way for broad boulevards and bourgeois flats. Living with his brother’s family in the newly rebuilt Les Halles market, Florent is soon caught up in a dangerous maelstrom of food and politics. Amid intrigue among the market’s sellers–the fishmonger, the charcutière, the fruit girl, and the cheese vendor–and the glorious culinary bounty of their labors, we see the dramatic difference between “fat and thin” (the rich and the poor) and how the widening gulf between them strains a city to the breaking point.

Translated and with an Introduction by the celebrated historian and food writer Mark Kurlansky, The Belly of Paris offers fascinating perspectives on the French capital during the Second Empire–and, of course, tantalizing descriptions of its sumptuous repasts.

Three books by the same author  – Catherine McKenzie: Fractured, Smoke, Hidden.

I’ve been a huge fan of Canadian author Catherine McKenzie since I devoured her addictive debut novel, Spin one afternoon in 2009. I also re-read it back in November for the ‘a book you’ve already read’ category of the 2016 Reading Challenge.

A book by an #ownvoices or #diversebooks author  – The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida, translated from the Japanese by KA Yoshida & David Mitchell

This little book has been on my radar for years. I bought a copy yesterday and I can’t wait to get started.

Synopsis from Penguin Random House: You’ve never read a book like The Reason I Jump. Written by Naoki Higashida, a very smart, very self-aware, and very charming thirteen-year-old boy with autism, it is a one-of-a-kind memoir that demonstrates how an autistic mind thinks, feels, perceives, and responds in ways few of us can imagine. Parents and family members who never thought they could get inside the head of their autistic loved one at last have a way to break through to the curious, subtle, and complex life within.

Using an alphabet grid to painstakingly construct words, sentences, and thoughts that he is unable to speak out loud, Naoki answers even the most delicate questions that people want to know. Questions such as: “Why do people with autism talk so loudly and weirdly?” “Why do you line up your toy cars and blocks?” “Why don’t you make eye contact when you’re talking?” and “What’s the reason you jump?” (Naoki’s answer: “When I’m jumping, it’s as if my feelings are going upward to the sky.”) With disarming honesty and a generous heart, Naoki shares his unique point of view on not only autism but life itself. His insights—into the mystery of words, the wonders of laughter, and the elusiveness of memory—are so startling, so strange, and so powerful that you will never look at the world the same way again.

A book with an unreliable narrator – Fig by Sarah Elizabeth Schantz

Initially, I planned on reading an adult novel for this category. But when I turned to one of the librarians at my local branch for help, she said she could think of several YA novels that would work. She promptly jotted down her favourites, gave a little synopsis of each, and shared why she loved them. I don’t read much YA, but she sold me on Schantz’s debut novel. I also plan on adding all her other recommendations to my 2017 reading list.

Synopsis from Simon & Schuster Canada: Love and sacrifice intertwine in this brilliant debut of rare beauty about a girl dealing with her mother’s schizophrenia and her own mental illness.

Fig’s world lies somewhere between reality and fantasy.

But as she watches Mama slowly come undone, it becomes hard to tell what is real and what is not, what is fun and what is frightening. To save Mama, Fig begins a fierce battle to bring her back. She knows that her daily sacrifices, like not touching metal one day or avoiding water the next, are the only way to cure Mama.

The problem is that in the process of a daily sacrifice, Fig begins to lose herself as well, increasingly isolating herself from her classmates and engaging in self-destructive behavior that only further sets her apart.

Spanning the course of Fig’s childhood from age six to nineteen, this deeply provocative novel is more than a portrait of a mother, a daughter, and the struggle that comes with all-consuming love. It is an acutely honest and often painful portrayal of life with mental illness and the lengths to which a young woman must go to handle the ordeals—real or imaginary—thrown her way.

A book nominated for an award in 2017  – TBD

A Pulitzer Prize winner  – Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

I’ve never read any of Lahiri’s books and that’s about to change. Her short story collection won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000 and it’s been recommended to me more times than I can count, but I never got around to reading it until now.

Synopsis from Amazon.ca: Navigating between the Indian traditions they’ve inherited and the baffling new world, the characters in Jhumpa Lahiri’s elegant, touching stories seek love beyond the barriers of culture and generations. In A Temporary Matter,” published in The New Yorker, a young Indian-American couple faces the heartbreak of a stillborn birth while their Boston neighborhood copes with a nightly blackout. In the title story, an interpreter guides an American family through the India of their ancestors and hears an astonishing confession.

Have you ever done a reading challenge? What are your reading goals for 2017?

Favourite Fiction Reads in 2016

Last week, I shared my favourite nonfiction reads. I read more fiction than nonfiction titles this year—out of the 82 books I read this year, 58 of them were fiction. It took a whole lot of effort to narrow down my favourites, but I managed.

Today I’m sharing the fiction I absolutely loved, can’t stop thinking about, and know I’ll keep coming back to…

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Diffenbaugh’s debut novel has been on my reading list for years. Abandoned at birth, Victoria Jones has spent her childhood bouncing through countless foster and group homes. At eighteen, she is emancipated from the foster-care system and has nowhere to go. She immerses herself in flowers and their meanings; her only connection to the world.

Diffenbaugh skillfully blends her firsthand knowledge of the foster-care system (she’s a foster mother to many children) with her fascination with the language of flowers to create this beautiful and hopeful story. I really connected with Victoria’s journey and couldn’t help but root for her from start to finish. A book about survival, mother-daughter relationships, human connection, love, forgiveness, redemption, and of course, the Victorian language of flowers. While reading, I enjoyed consulting the Dictionary of Flowers included at the back of the book. I read it back in the spring and I know I’ll be returning to it again and again.

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh

Mackintosh’s debut is so good, I read it twice. One woman’s world comes crashing down when her son is killed in a hit-and-run; another woman, Jenna Gray, tries to escape the memory of the accident by leaving her life behind. The story shuffles between Jenna trying to make a new life for herself on the Welsh coast and a pair of Bristol police investigators trying to get to the bottom of the hit-and-run. Every time I thought I had the story figured out, Mackintosh threw in another twist. Mackintosh’s British police training makes this one shockingly real. Tightly-woven, gorgeously written, brilliant, tense, pulse-quickening, and addictive.

Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova

New York Times bestselling author and neuroscientist Genova has written four novels; Inside the O’Briens was the first one I read straight through. At first I thought it would be too scary and too real, but the story of the O’Brien family hooked me from the first page and immediately captured my heart. This beautiful family novel teaches us to keep living in the face of tragedy, never take our health for granted, show compassion, and be present for those around us. A believable, compassionate portrayal of what it’s like to be diagnosed with and live with Huntington’s disease and how it affects our loved ones. I came away from this book with a clear understanding of a disease I previously knew very little about. I read it in three days.

2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino

This is the classic case of picking up a book based on its cover. I’d never heard of Bertino’s debut novel until the beautiful cover caught my eye at the bookstore. The entire story takes place on the eve of Christmas Eve in snowy Philadelphia. Bertino introduces us to Madeleine Altimari, a sassy nine-year-old who also happens to be an aspiring jazz singer, her fifth grade teacher Sarina Greene, who’s just moved back to Philly after a divorce, and Lorca, the owner of a jazz club called The Cat’s Pajamas who discovers that he might have to close its doors for good.

I fell hopelessly in love with each character, especially spunky nine-year-old Madeleine. I found myself slowing down as the end drew near; I just didn’t want this story to end. Beautifully written, utterly charming, witty, moving, delightful, and packed with surprises. A great one to curl up with this winter.

Faithful by Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman has written more than thirty books; this was my first and it won’t be my last. I devoured this captivating story in one night. Growing up on Long Island, Shelby Richmond is your typical high school senior, until one night a terrible accident changes everything. Her best friend, Helene’s future is destroyed in the accident, while Shelby walks away with the burden of guilt. This moving story follows one young woman as she struggles with survivor’s guilt, grief, depression, self-harm, and loneliness, and eventually moves to New York City where she finds herself. In Shelby, Hoffman has given us an astonishingly believable, relatable, lovable character; I couldn’t help but cheer her on. I don’t want to give too much away. But if you’re looking for the perfect read to curl up with, look no further than this beautifully told, vivid, poignant, unforgettable, hopeful story.

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova

Sarah Nickerson is a working mom with a high-powered job and three young children. One morning on her drive to work, she is distracted by her cell phone and ends up in a horrible accident that leaves her with Left Neglect, a brain injury that steals her awareness of everything on her left side. While struggling to recover and yearning for her pre-accident life, Sarah has no choice but to slow down. A compelling story about how life can change in an instant, what we neglect in our lives, and how tragedy forces us to pay attention to what truly matters. Beautifully written, humorous, and unforgettable. I’ve been recommending it to friends, co-workers, and strangers.

I Shall Be Near to You by Erin Lindsay McCabe

This debut historical novel is inspired by the more than 200 women who disguised themselves as men to fight in the Civil War. Newly married Rosetta Wakefield doesn’t want her husband, Jeremiah to enlist, but he joins up anyway, hoping to make enough money that they’ll be able to afford their own farm someday. Strong-willed Rosetta decides that her place is by her husband’s side so she cuts off her hair, dresses in shirt and pants, and volunteers as a Union soldier. Told in Rosetta’s powerful voice, this story captured my heart from page one. I laughed, cried, and rooted for Rosetta. McCabe’s prose is absolutely stunning and I hung onto each and every word. Beautiful, lyrical, heart-wrenching, unforgettable, and thoroughly researched; it’s one of the best historical novels I’ve ever read. Highly recommended.

I See You by Clare Mackintosh

Mackintosh’s new thriller was released here in Canada on November 29 and I wasted no time in grabbing a copy. I read it in 24 hours. Mackintosh transports us to the London Underground. While riding the train home one night, Zoe Walker spots her photo in the classifieds section of the London Gazette. When other women begin appearing in the same ad every day, Zoe realizes they’ve become victims of increasingly violent crimes. With the help of a determined young cop, she uncovers the ad’s twisted purpose. I loved the police procedure details and the rapport between the investigators. A twist-filled plot that kept me guessing right up until the final page (literally). Creepy, thought-provoking, clever, heart-stopping, and scarily believable; I can’t stop thinking about it. This timely thriller has made me more vigilant while riding the subway and walking home alone.

The Mothers by Brit Bennett

I’ve been dying to read Bennett’s much-talked-about debut novel since it hit shelves in the fall. My sweet blogger friend, Sarah from over at Glowing Local offered to send me a copy and I was overjoyed when it arrived in the mail last Tuesday. It’s an important and timely book about community, secrets, friendship, love, loss, and betrayal. Written in the most breathtakingly beautiful prose, Bennett explores how the choices we make in our youth follow us into adulthood. I read this one in two days. I really hope Bennett has another novel in the works.

You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

Megan Abbott has written eight novels; this was the first one I’ve picked up. In her latest thriller, Abbott propels us into the fascinating and dangerous world of competitive gymnastics. Gymnastics is my favourite Olympic sport so the story immediately drew me in. While I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, I found myself slowing down and re-reading Abbott’s breathtaking sentences. Pulse-pounding, twist-filled, witty, creepy, skillfully plotted, and compulsively readable. It kept me up till 4 a.m.

Notable: Big Little Lies, Descent, The Shell Seekers, Stay Up With Me: Stories, These Things Hidden, My Sunshine Away.

Favourite Non-Fiction Reads in 2016

2016 was an amazing year of reading! I managed to read a whopping 82 books from the list of 100 books I shared back in January. While I strayed from the list (people kept recommending books I just had to read), I found having this list to refer to helped keep me organized and motivated.

I read some great non-fiction books this year and today I’m sharing the ones that left a lasting impression…

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

Schwalbe’s beloved memoir has been on my reading list for years and I was determined to read it before the end of 2016. This one is a must-read for all you true book lovers! When Mary Anne Schwalbe is diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, she and her son Will spend many hours sitting in the waiting room of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre. One day, over a cup of mocha, Will posed the question: “What are you reading?” and their two-person book club was born. I loved hearing about Mary Anne’s fascinating, full life and her determination to keep on living fully right up until the very end. A beautifully written, inspiring tribute to books and the way they connect us and an important reminder to live well. Bonus: Schwalbe included a list of all books, plays, poems, and stories discussed or mentioned in the memoir.

Food and the City by Ina Yalof

I’m pretty sure this is the book I’ve recommended the most this year. I’m a huge fan of food memoirs and Food and the City is in a class all its own. Yalof interviewed professional chefs, restaurant owners, line cooks, waiters, food vendors, and purveyors who call the city home. I loved getting a tour of New York’s vibrant food scene through the eyes of those who are the very heartbeat of the Big Apple. I loved hearing about how people came to New York, how they ended up in the food industry, and the trials they faced along the way. Packed with moving and inspiring stories and fascinating tidbits, it’s a true learning experience. By the end, I had a long list of New York City restaurants and bakeries to check out on my next visit!

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

Susannah Cahalan’s memoir was my pick for ‘a book I previously abandoned’ for this year’s MMD Reading Challenge. I read this book back in 2010, but I only made it halfway through. The story of a 24-year-old New York Post reporter’s horrifying descent into madness frightened me. But this time around, Cahalan’s story hooked me; I could not stop reading and it didn’t scare me as much. With no recollection of what happened to her, Cahalan depends on video footage from the hospital, the journals her father kept, and interviews with her doctors to piece together that missing month of her life. Incredibly brave and brilliantly-executed, I am happy I gave it a second chance. I can’t wait to watch the film adaptation starring Chloë Grace Moretz.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Back in March, I read this beautifully-written, moving memoir in under 24 hours. Written after Kalanithi was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer and while he completed his neurosurgery training, it’s an honest examination of his transition from doctor to patient. I was so moved by Kalanithi’s courage, vulnerability, and compassion for his patients, respect for his colleagues, and love for his family. The epilogue written by his wife Lucy moved me to tears. I am still thinking about it after all these months and I will be rereading it in the future.

Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ by Giulia Enders

I’ve been telling everyone about this book. Enders does an incredible job of breaking down the science and I have a new-found respect for my gut. Smart, funny, and easy-to-digest. The accompanying illustrations are amazing. I learned so much and jotted down a ton of notes. Who knew the gut could be so fascinating? Everyone needs to read this book at some point.

Through the Glass by Shannon Moroney

This memoir has been on my reading list for two years and it felt good to finally read it. Moroney, a high school teacher and guidance counsellor married her boyfriend of three years in October 2005. One month into their marriage, her new husband is arrested and charged in the assault and kidnapping of two women. Shannon shares how she dealt with the grief of losing her husband, the stress of the criminal investigation, the rejection and judgment from people in her community, a diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder, all while trying to understand what drove her husband to violence. She takes us inside the walls of prisons and courtrooms and I was shocked by the lack of support services available to the loved ones of offenders. It’s an incredibly heart wrenching yet hopeful story of acceptance, compassion, forgiveness, letting go, healing, and moving forward. It would make an excellent book club pick.

Michelle Obama: A Life by Peter Slevin

In the wake of the U.S. election, I needed an uplifting read so I picked up Michelle Obama’s biography. A former Washington Post national staffer, Slevin has a decade worth of experience writing about Barack and Michelle Obama and political campaigns. With top-notch reporting and an eye for detail, Slevin tracks Michelle Obama from her humble beginnings on Chicago’s segregated South Side to the halls of Princeton University and Harvard Law School to the corporate law firm where she met Barack to mentoring youth in her South Side neighbourhood to the White House. This beautifully written, engaging, thoughtful, revealing, and hopeful book deserves a spot on your reading list.

Notable: Hard Choices, Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town, The Glass Castle.

Jason Priestley: A Memoir

Jason Priestley: A Memoir by Jason Priestley

Three years ago, I had the honour of observing actor-director Jason Priestley when he did the post production for Cas & Dylan here in Toronto. I remember being impressed by his focus and dedication to his craft.

Two years ago, I attended his book signing at Chapters Indigo.

This past weekend I came across his memoir sitting on my bookshelf. I read it in a day. He talks candidly about his childhood in Vancouver, his nine years on FOX’s hit TV series Beverly Hills 90210, and shares anecdotes from working actors he’s met along the way (Brad Pitt! Ashley Judd! Johnny Depp! Bradley Cooper!)

He doesn’t shy away from the tough stuff like his brush with the law and brief stint in a halfway house or his devastating accident at the Kentucky Speedway (He crashed his race car into a wall at 187 miles an hour.)

Honest, witty, humorous, and wise.

What I Read in November

I read a lot in November; the most I’ve ever read in a month. Short stories, memoir, political biography, suspense, and beautifully written fiction. I am still thinking about these books and I am certain each story will stay with me for a long, long time.

Left Neglected by Lisa Genova

Sarah Nickerson is a working mom with a high-powered job and three young children. One morning on her drive to work, she is distracted by her cell phone and ends up in a horrible accident that leaves her with Left Neglect, a brain injury that steals her awareness of everything on her left side. While struggling to recover and yearning for her pre-accident life, Sarah has no choice but to slow down. A compelling story about how life can change in an instant, what we neglect in our lives, and how tragedy forces us to pay attention to what truly matters. Beautifully written, humorous, and unforgettable. I’ve been recommending it to friends, co-workers, and strangers.

Paris for One and Other Stories by Jojo Moyes

When I found out Jojo Moyes was coming out with a short story collection this fall, I was overjoyed. The title story can be summed up in one word: charming. I also enjoyed the other 8 stories. Highly recommended.

Through the Glass by Shannon Moroney

This memoir has been on my reading list for two years and I’m glad I finally read it. Moroney, a high school teacher and guidance counsellor married her boyfriend of three years in October 2005. One month into their marriage, her new husband is arrested and charged in the assault and kidnapping of two women. Shannon shares how she dealt with the grief of losing her husband, the stress of the criminal investigation, the rejection and judgment from people in her community, a diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder, all while trying to understand what drove her husband to commit such violent acts. She takes us inside the walls of prisons and courtrooms and I was shocked by the lack of support services available to the loved ones of offenders. It’s an incredibly heart wrenching yet hopeful story of acceptance, compassion, forgiveness, letting go, healing, and moving forward. An excellent book club pick.

Michelle Obama: A Life by Peter Slevin

Following the election, I needed an uplifting read so I picked up Michelle Obama’s biography. If you’re looking for a great post-election read, I highly recommend it. I shared my thoughts in this post.

You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

Megan Abbott has written eight novels; this was the first one I’ve picked up. In her latest thriller, Abbott propels us into the fascinating and dangerous world of competitive gymnastics. Gymnastics is my favourite Olympic sport so the story immediately drew me in. While I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, I found myself slowing down and re-reading Abbott’s breathtaking sentences. Pulse-pounding, twist-filled, witty, creepy, skillfully plotted, and compulsively readable. It kept me up till 4 a.m.

Spin by Catherine McKenzie

I read McKenzie’s debut novel from cover to cover in one afternoon when it first came out in 2009. I loved it so much I picked it as my ‘book you’ve already read at least once’ for the MMD reading challenge. When Katie Sanford lands an interview for her dream job at her favourite music magazine, The Line, she is ecstatic. After celebrating her thirtieth birthday with one too many drinks, she shows up at her interview late and drunk. Needless to say, she doesn’t get the job. Katie is given the chance to redeem herself by checking into rehab, befriending It Girl Amber Sheppard, and writing an expose for The Line‘s sister gossip mag. Funny, relatable, and un-put-down-able.

Faithful by Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman has written more than thirty books; this was my first and it won’t be my last. I devoured this captivating story in one night. Growing up on Long Island, Shelby Richmond is your typical high school senior, until one night a terrible accident changes everything. Her best friend, Helene’s future is destroyed in the accident, while Shelby walks away with the burden of guilt. This moving story follows one young woman as she struggles with survivor’s guilt, grief, depression, self-harm, and loneliness, and eventually moves to New York City where she finds herself. In Shelby, Hoffman has given us an astonishingly believable, relatable, lovable character; I couldn’t help but cheer her on. I don’t want to give too much away. But if you’re looking for the perfect read to curl up with, look no further than this beautifully told, vivid, poignant, unforgettable, hopeful story.

What did you read in November?

Michelle Obama: A Life

In the wake of Tuesday’s election, I needed to read something to lift my spirits so I picked up Michelle Obama: A Life by Peter Slevin. A former Washington Post national staffer, Slevin has a decade worth of experience writing about Barack and Michelle Obama and political campaigns. I stayed up late on Wednesday night to finish it and I’ve been thinking about it on my walks to work.

With top-notch reporting and an eye for detail, Slevin tracks Michelle Obama from her humble beginnings on Chicago’s segregated South Side to the halls of Princeton University and Harvard Law School to the corporate law firm where she met Barack to mentoring youth in her South Side neighbourhood to the White House.

I was surprised to discover that Michelle declined to be interviewed for the biography. Slevin instead interviewed family members, friends, neighbours, former classmates, and colleagues. He pieced together what he learned from these interviews and filled in the holes with reports and published interviews. It’s so skillfully done, you would never know.

I enjoyed learning about Michelle’s childhood, her relationship with her parents and brother, the racial discrimination she faced while at Princeton and Harvard, her time on the campaign trail making one-on-one connections with voters, her role as First Lady, and the ins and outs of White House life.

I admire her for her authenticity, confidence, poise, no-nonsense attitude, compassion, courage to speak out against racism, discrimination, and injustice, and her decision to ignore negative comments left on her social media. She knows exactly who she is and doesn’t apologize for it.

She devoted hours to her work on education. In a speech to high school students in Washington, she explained why as first lady she feels so strongly about sharing her story and stressing the importance of getting an education, “Because this is all I can be for you right now, is just this model of an alternative.”

She has inspired me to think deeply about ways I can spread hope and give back to my community.

As emotions are running high this week, this important and necessary read offers the hope we so desperately seek. We’ve made progress, but it’s clear from the racial profiling, police brutality, hate crimes, and protests across the U.S. that we’ve got a long, long way to go. Change begins with us, the people. It begins in our homes, our communities, our schools, our workplaces.

Beautifully written, engaging, thoughtful, revealing, and hopeful, it deserves a spot on your reading list.