Fall has arrived in all it’s magnificent glory! I had mentioned this in an earlier post, but I really do believe, fall is my favourite season of the year. The air is crisp and clean with no trace of oppressive heat or bitter cold. Maybe it is just me, but I think the sun shines more often in the autumn too. The hustle, bustle and constant activity of the summer are just a fun memory. Fall brings with it not only beautiful days but home gardens and Farmer’s Markets bursting with fresh … [Read more...]
Book Club ~ Annabel by Kathleen Winter
I belong to a Reading Group/Book Club. The book that we just finished reading is, Annabel by Kathleen Winter. {Image attribution: Goodreads} I did a little research and found that Kathleen Winter was born in the UK, but raised in Newfoundland and Labrador; this is where Annabel is set. It was published in 2010, and won the Thomas Head Raddall Award. It was also a shortlisted nominee for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and the 2010 Governor General's … [Read more...]
Have you Read, A House In the Sky, by Amanda Lindhout?
I just finished reading the riveting memoir, A House In the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett. To say I found it difficult to put down would be a bit of an understatement. The book tells a story of, Amanda Lindhout, who is from Alberta, Canada. As a young child, living in an unstable and turbulent household, she collected and cashed in bottles. With the money she earned, she purchased old National Geographic magazines. She escaped into the descriptions and photos of the exotic places … [Read more...]
Wordless Wednesday ~ Groaning Cake?? {w/LINKY}
Today's WW is not very wordless, but I want to explain a bit of the history behind a "Groaning Cake" ! I recently read The Birth House by Ami McKay and in the book there are several references to Groaning Cake. “The tradition of the groaning cake, or kimbly at (or following) a birth is an ancient one. Wives’ tales say that the scent of a groaning cake being baked in the birth house helps to ease the mother’s pain. Some say if a mother breaks the eggs while she’s aching, her labour won’t last … [Read more...]
Have You Read The Birth House by Ami McKay?
The reading group I belong to chose, The Birth House by Ami McKay, as our book choice for October. Synopsis: The Birth House is the story of Dora Rare, the first daughter to be born in five generations of Rares. As a child in an isolated village in Nova Scotia, she is drawn to Miss Babineau, an outspoken Acadian midwife with a gift for healing. Dora becomes Miss B.’s apprentice, and together they help the women of Scots Bay through infertility, difficult labours, breech births, unwanted … [Read more...]
Fall Re-Start of Book Club ~ See Our Choices for 2013-2014
Fall has arrived in all it's magnificent glory! I had mentioned this in an earlier post, but I really do believe, fall is one of, if not my favourite season of the year. The air is crisp and clean with no trace of oppressive heat or bitter cold. Maybe it is just me, but I think the sun shines more often in the autumn too. The hustle, bustle and constant activity of the summer is just a fun memory. Fall brings with it not only beautiful days but home gardens and Farmer's Markets bursting … [Read more...]
“Proof of Heaven” ~ Does Proof Exist?
Late one night a couple of weeks ago, I was surfing the Internet {no surprise to anyone...lol} and noticed a friend on Facebook asking for suggestions of a good book to read. Another friend of mine responded with, "...you have to read, Proof of Heaven, it's amazing". … [Read more...]
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom {Book Club Selection}
I have recently started reading The Kitchen House by fellow Canadian, Kathleen Grissom; it is our book club selection for the month of June. I have not yet finished reading it, but I can tell you this; I have it on my Kobo Arc and the first time I picked it up I read 40% of the book! I can barely wait to finish it, so far I have found it to be a fast-paced, heart stopping, thought-provoking look at life on a tobacco plantation in the 1700's. … [Read more...]
One Thousand White Women ~ Our Book Clubs Choice for February
Our Book Club’s Choice for November – Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
"Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother’s death and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Moving from Addis Ababa to New York City and back again, Cutting for Stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, medicine and ordinary … [Read more...]
“Ten Thousand Truths” by Susan White {Book Club}
The long warm summer days are now behind us and the crisp autumn mornings have arrived. For children, it's time for back to school and for me it's time for back to book club! Our book club members recently met to set up this years itinerary and as someone in the group pointed out, we seem to have a bit of a numbers theme happening. Our book for October was written by Susan White and is titled, Ten Thousand Truths. I fell completely in love with this story; a heartbroken and troubled young … [Read more...]
Our Book Club’s choice for June – Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
I had a bit of a difficult time getting my hands on a copy of this book. I wasn't going to shell out the cash for a hardcover, the trade paperback was sold out in my area and the paperback version wasn't due out until June 22nd. … [Read more...]
Our Book Club’s choice for May – “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot
This is the book we are reading for May in the book club I belong to. I must be living under some type of rock because, until it was picked at book club, I had never before heard of this book. … [Read more...]