Author Archives: Susan

Book Festival Days and 3 Mini-Reviews

This past week I’ve been busy attending Wordfest, the annual weeklong book festival here. I went to eight events and heard more than 20 writers give readings and interviews. See authors: Peter Behrens, C.C. Humphreys, Steven Price, and Peter Robinson … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Movies | 22 Comments

Snowflakes and Shrill

We had our first snow day on Friday, which is always a bit of a shock to a Californian living in Canada. On Thursday I had been out raking leaves for hours, which aren’t all down yet. Then Friday it … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Movies | 26 Comments

I Let You Go and October Preview

Happy October. Hard to believe — there’s only three months left of the year. It’s time to make haste with one’s reading goals. I’ve been enjoying the fall colors and got out last week for a bike ride, see photo … Continue reading →

Posted in Top Picks | 27 Comments

Everyone Brave Is Forgiven and Underground Airlines

Hi, I’m back now after a lovely trip to the Basque Country of northern Spain and southwestern France. Wow, what a great region. I will leave you with some photos of our visit, in which we met up with relatives … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 18 Comments

The BFG and September Preview

Ahhh September. My favorite month of the year despite having to say goodbye to summer. It’s true it’s my birthday month, but I just like it because it’s usually a beautiful time of year (see photo at left). On Friday, … Continue reading →

Posted in Top Picks | 23 Comments

The Sympathizer and When Breath Becomes Air

On Saturday, somewhere across the middle of Canada at 38,000 feet up I victoriously finished Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Sympathizer.” I was on the plane returning from the Senior Tennis Nationals in Ottawa, which was competitive but … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 24 Comments

Late Summer and Us

I have been MIA lately on the blog, but that’s not too unusual in the late stages of a busy summer. I’m still riveted to watching the Olympics, too. Tomorrow I’m flying to Ottawa to participate in the Senior Tennis … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 24 Comments

The Olympics and Shelter

It was a busy weekend. I was away competing at a provincial tennis tournament, which I won at the 5.0 level — my second tournament win of the summer. It’s quite a wonderful surprise in middle age as I can’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 22 Comments

August Preview

I didn’t get much reading done this past week as life was busy, but I did finish the audiobook of Michael Koryta’s 2014 crime thriller “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” which is about a boy who witnessed a murder and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Top Picks | 22 Comments

Lily and the Octopus and Eligible

This coming week is the last week of July — yikes summer is going by quickly. If you live in a northern country there always seems to be a rush to get everything in before summer ends — as it … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 22 Comments