It's true that I'm sharing this list because Bone & Bread is on it (hurrah!), but I really do think it is a wonderful bunch of books that won't steer you wrong:
CBC Books' Summer Reading List for 2013
They call Bone and Bread a "dazzling debut" (!!!).
In terms of the rest of the list, I read Where'd You Go, Bernadette? in a couple of days last week and really loved it. It's hilarious and memorable and unique. Born Weird by Andrew Kaufman is also funny and brilliant and big-hearted.
I already have had Life After Life and The Hungry Ghosts and Caught in my to-read pile...though these are now all waiting to get de-smokified (along with at least two dozen other books I am anxious to read). I'm also really looking forward to fellow Anansi-writer Iain Reid's The Truth About Luck, and earlier this week I had to talk myself down at the bookstore from buying The Interestings in hardcover, even though I'm dying to read it, especially after reading Kerry's review of it on Pickle Me This.
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The days are passing in a blur of laundry and lightning-fast research and decisions about our new place... looking around for furniture and (maybe this is just me...?) wondering why everything is ugly and overpriced. (Or why everything I like somehow turns out to be $7,000?!) Even IKEA is looking expensive after all the costs associated with the fire and the renovations. Now we're trying to decide what can wait and what needs to be right now. Beds are a must, but tables and chairs can wait...? Couches? Patio furniture seems like a luxury that should go to the bottom of the list, but given the time of year, we'd also like to get it right away. I'd love to take my time and find the perfect things for our new home, but I know that when it comes down to it, it might be nice to have somewhere to sit, eat, sleep.
So I promised to catch up on all the lovely Bone and Bread coverage I've fallen behind on....
Kerry Clare has written a wonderful review of Bone and Bread on Pickle Me This:
"It seems fitting to say that this is a novel absolutely packed/plotted with ingredients: family drama, tragedy, humour, intrigue, politics. Truly, there is something here to appeal to every reader (spectacular writing not the least of it)..."
These are just a few of the very nice things Kerry has to say about the book. I also love how perfectly she describes the messiness of the relationship between Beena and Sadhana, as well as Beena's lack of self-knowledge.
(By the way, if you don't already read Kerry's blog, you really should. Besides having what is one of my favourite all-time blog names ever, she writes about books and life and motherhood with so much wisdom and frankness and humour. There is more than one book I've learned about via Kerry's blog, and her recommendations have never steered me wrong.)
I also found this kind and thoughtful review by Robert Nathan on his blog Epic Word Quest.
Some highlights:
"Nawaz’s debut novel asks what it means to come of age in Canada, to be different, and to be a woman in all its meanings: a daughter, a friend, a sister, a lover, a mother, and a working professional..."
"Nawaz is a talented prose stylist with a fluid voice."
There are lots of nice things about this review, but I think what I appreciate most are the criticisms Nathan includes (and there are a few) -- all of which I find carefully considered, fair, and useful.
Other fun coverage of Bone and Bread on the 'net:
A Q & A with writer Will Johnson on his great Literary Goon site. (Follow this blog! Will updates a lot and it's always a great read.)
Plus a couple of quick of questions over on Rover Arts. Thanks, Rover Arts!
I've spent most of the day trying to get my thoughts in order for some talks I'll be giving soon. (In the next eight days, I'll be giving two talks AND two readings...and posing for that charity calendar. Please, please send me some de-stress vibes if you have any to spare.)
Tomorrow, stress notwithstanding, I am thrilled to be participating in Paragraphe Bookstore's Books & Brunch event at the Sheraton, where I'll be appearing alongside Tyler Trafford, Michel Cormier, and (very!) celebrated sci-fi writer Robert J. Sawyer ... and eating breakfast!
