Recent Reads

March has been so busy, and full, and fun, and I am surprised we are still in it. Typically, the months fly by so quickly I hardly realize that we experienced a month, but for some reason I feel astonishment that it’s still March. Two weeks ago I was packing for Vegas, and that feels like two months ago; our houseguests left on Sunday and that feels like it happened three weeks ago.

Part of my cognitive dissonance is that March in Kelowna feels a lot like May in Calgary, but with less daylight and snow. We got back from Vegas and I excitedly thought It’s almost my birthday!, forgetting that a) my birthday was at that point five weeks away, and b) we hadn’t yet celebrated my son’s March birthday.

I’m not complaining; time goes so quickly that it’s okay for once that March has felt like it’s several months long. I realized, though, that it’s been a while since I talked about books. In the past couple of weeks, I have read five really great books! And one real dud. One of these books was a reread, two were translations, and all of them were novels.

The Friend. I first read this beautiful book about a woman who, while grieving the loss of a friend due to suicide, finds herself in possession of that friend’s Great Dane back in April 2019, on the strong recommendation of my dear friend Suzanne (HI SUZANNE). And back then, in April 2019, I liked it a lot. I saw this on the shelf at the library and thought, hey, why not a reread? After all, this is about a woman in sudden possession of a big dog, and I myself also have been in sudden possession of a big dog. It is also about grief; the loss of this woman’s friend and literary mentor becomes very conflated with the care of the big dog. This book is very literary and has a lot of detail about the writing process and the general attitude that all writers seem to have, which is a lot of doubt about the worth and usefulness of their own writing, as well as numerous wonderful references to literature. But let me tell you how differently this book hit me, this read around. In April 2019 my life was considerably different than it is now, big dog notwithstanding. I was a very busy yoga teacher who was training for a road race, I had kids in junior high, it was a year pre-pandemic, life was ticking along nicely, and, importantly, my dear Barkley was still alive and very healthy. None of those things are true now. I was so incredibly moved by this book on so many levels this time around; not only did I like it a lot, I absolutely loved it, and it resonated so much with me. Anyone who has lost a friend, particularly to suicide, will find this incredibly poignant and moving. And anyone who has had an elderly dog, well, let’s just say I found myself devastated in a way that no book has devastated me before. If you know, you know. I considered not telling you that part, but as my son (who made me this bookmark, among others, for Christmas) said, It’s a book about a dog. Those never end well. Truth. That said, this book is absolutely beautiful and completely unforgettable, even if I kind of forgot what happened the last time I read it.

Whereabouts. This book is a novel, but it almost reads like a series of very interconnected short stories: each short chapter is a vignette into itself. It is a story of a woman living a solitary life amidst the bustle of an unnamed city, and it’s exactly the kind of thing I love: such an ordinary life, with all these extraordinary details. This is very much an internal development book, so if you’re looking for a thick plot or page turning action, then no, this is not the book for that. But it’s a gorgeous book of prose about an internal journey of a woman on her own. Fun fact: this was the first book Lahiri wrote in Italian and then translated to English. This language facility fascinates me!

Commonwealth. True confession: for the longest time, I had this book conflated with another from a different author, with a similar but different title, similar but different cover, and I did NOT like that book at all. So for the longest time, I thought “I love Ann Patchett…except for Commonwealth.” Then I read an essay by her that talked about Commonwealth as the most autobiographical of all her novels, describing the plot, and I realized that I HAD NEVER READ IT AT ALL. So I had to rectify that, obviously. This is SO good. It’s the story of a blended family and all the changes and gains and losses in life. It was breathtakingly good, and I was captivated by the Big Plot Twist in the story. I think anyone who wants to write or does write is VERY aware of how the people in their lives will take the fictional-but-based-on-people-you-know characters, and the Big Plot Twist was pretty amazing. I loved this so much.

An Available Man. When Edward’s wife is dying, she tells him that they will ALL come out of the woodwork now, and by ALL she means women. This is a book about a widower who is navigating the world without his wife, and whose stepchildren put out a personal ad just for him. It’s a really good read, with a delightful look into relationships and life. 

Breasts and Eggs. Have you ever wondered how a book gets on your library hold list? I know I put it there, but why? Did someone recommend this? If so, I am giving that person the side eye. Translations can be so tricky and I really feel like something was lost in the translation. Actually, I am going to be generous and say that something was definitely lost in the translation. This novel about two sisters, one who gets breast implants and one who considers donor-conceived pregnancy, two things that are viewed with a different lens in Japan, really fell flat for me. It read as clunky, repetitive, and way too long. I did not enjoy this and I kept reading to see how it would tie together. It…didn’t? Listen, I get that there are massive cultural differences between North America and Japan, particularly around donor conception, but wow, every chapter seemed to just reiterate the debate around it, in a terribly clunky way. Honestly I should have DNFed.

Mrs. Quinn’s Rise To Fame. This was such a sweet (literally! It’s about baking) and heartwarming book about a 77-year-old lady who enters into a televised baking competition (think The Great British Bakeoff). Listen, there are no surprises. There are no big twists. There is a reveal about a secret but I guessed it within the first third of this book, and you probably will too. Everything in this book is just lovely and cozy, every character is delightful, and if you need a pick-me-up escape from the fiery hellscape that is the world sometimes, I cannot recommend it enough.

I just picked up a giant STACK from the library yesterday; three holds came in and I was enticed by the lure of the “library recommends” shelf, and so I have four interesting books just waiting patiently for me to finish the one I have on the go right now. Is there anything more exciting than a good stack of books? Well, yes, probably, but there is nothing quite as cozy and joyful. Have you read anything good lately? Any duds? Tell me everything. xo

Various Views on Vegas

Fly High Free Bird The soul-crushing airline industry has completely ruined my idea of what is normal and what is not. To me, flight departure and arrival times are completely nebulous, an approximation at best. I just assume that no flight will … [Continue reading]

Nicole’s Favourite Things: The Viva Las Vegas Edition

One of my very Favourite Things about air travel is the insane cultural whiplash you can experience in only a few hours. It's pretty incredible, when you think about it. One moment one is involved in their sleepy little life, and the next moment one … [Continue reading]

Gardeners and Flowers

Before she was part of the Real Housewives franchise, Carole Radziwill wrote a really excellent memoir entitled What Remains, which I have read many times. There is a part in the book where she and her husband's cousin, who is none other than JFK Jr … [Continue reading]

Five For Friday: The Ask Me Anything Edition

Thank you to everyone who submitted questions for my Ask Me Anything! Today I have quite a variety to answer; I love how different these all are. From Bijoux (HI BIJOUX): As I like to travel, what would be your Canadian not-to-be-missed sights? I … [Continue reading]

Mind Over Matter

I was so nostalgic the other day when I saw a woman with two young children in the produce section. It brought me back to grocery shopping with the boys, something I genuinely enjoyed: counting out the apples, picking out strawberries, pretending to … [Continue reading]

Nicole’s Favourite Things: The Leap Year Edition

Happy Leap Year, everyone! Our last Leap Year was in 2020, and thinking about it now, how strange that time was, having an extra day just ahead of being locked down and going through a global pandemic. When I look at my blog from February … [Continue reading]