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andrumedus · 1 year

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Let me bite you a little, just tender enough to leave a small bruise, easily hidden, that goes away in time.

Sam Cheuk, Postscripts from a City Burning; “11/06/19”

#literature #poetry #sam cheuk #postscripts from a city burning #voracious cravings #tender‚ delicate #canadian lit #m #x

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bookaddict24-7 · 1 year

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RECO OF THE WEEK!

Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta

Synopsis:

“Kara Davis is a girl caught in the middle — of her Canadian nationality and her desire to be a “true” Jamaican, of her mother and grandmother’s rages and life lessons, of having to avoid being thought of as too “faas” or too “quiet” or too “bold” or too “soft.” Set in “Little Jamaica,” Toronto’s Eglinton West neighbourhood, Kara moves from girlhood to the threshold of adulthood, from elementary school to high school graduation, in these twelve interconnected stories. We see her on a visit to Jamaica, startled by the sight of a severed pig’s head in her great aunt’s freezer; in junior high, the victim of a devastating prank by her closest friends; and as a teenager in and out of her grandmother’s house, trying to cope with the ongoing battles between her unyielding grandparents. A rich and unforgettable portrait of growing up between worlds, Frying Plantain shows how, in one charged moment, friendship and love can turn to enmity and hate, well-meaning protection can become control, and teasing play can turn to something much darker. In her brilliantly incisive debut, Zalika Reid-Benta artfully depicts the tensions between mothers and daughters, second-generation Canadians and first-generation cultural expectations, and Black identity and predominately white society.”

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Check out my review here.

Add this book to your TBR on Goodreads here.

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Have you read this book? Would you recommend it?

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Happy reading!

#books #bookish #booklr #bookworm #bookaholic #bibliophile #book blog #book blogger #Features #on books #on reading #read #reader #reading #reco of the week #fiction #Zalika Reid-Benta #frying plantain #canadian lit

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myclutteredbookshelf · 4 months

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As a bonus, mention in the tags whether you live in or outside of Canada. I'm curious if any non-Canadians are familiar with this story (though probably not).

#the hockey sweater #roch carrier #short stories #picture books #children's books #canada #quebecois #canadian lit #quebecois lit #polls

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poslednystroj · 1 year

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One simple word dwelt for ever in my heart, and swelled it to bursting—“Home!” I repeated it waking a thousand times a day, and my last prayer before I sank to sleep was still “Home! Oh, that I could return, if only to die at home!” And nightly I did return; my feet again trod the daisied meadows of England; the song of her birds was in my ears; I wept with delight to find myself once more wandering beneath the fragrant shade of her green hedge-rows; and I awoke to weep in earnest when I found it but a dream.

Roughing It in the Bush, Susanna Moodie

#i think of this every single day #and i'll never go home again #remember me i sing #canadian lit

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theoptia · 2 years

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Marian Engel, from Notebooks: “Ah, Mon Cahier, čoute”

Text ID: I fade into dreams.

#marian engel #notebooks: ah mon cahier čoute #quote #journal #diary #canadian literature #lit #miscellanea

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feral-ballad · 2 years

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When I looked at her I wanted both to touch her and watch her from a distance, to hold her and hide from her, to kiss her and ask her to forgive me—

Amal El-Mohtar, from The Honey Month; “Day 1: Fireweed Honey”

#amal el mohtar #excerpts #writings #literature #poetry #prose #fragments #selections #words #quotes #lit #canadian literature

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philosophors · 10 months

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“The only way you can write the truth is to assume that what you set down will never be read. Not by any other person, and not even by yourself at some later date. Otherwise you begin excusing yourself. You must see the writing as emerging like a long scroll of ink from the index finger of your right hand; you must see your left hand erasing it.”

— Margaret Atwood, “The Blind Assassin”

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carriagelamp · 7 months

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I think I accidentally hit my reading quota in July because in August I ended up doing every else except reading! And then September just got too busy. But I managed to scrape up a handful of books for the pat few months a few quite good and some rather overwhelmingly lacklustre...

The Alchemy of Moonlight

Well, we’re off to an auspicious start because this book was genuinely awful. It was a complete impulse purchase and gave me a very sharp reminder about judging books by their covers. After reading A Marvellous Light last month I was in the mood for more queer period romance and this one had ALL that plus a werewolf to boot! Sounds fun! I could use a fun summer impulse read! But sadly it committed what is, in my opinion, the single greatest sin a historical fiction novel can do, which is that it read completely and entirely like a modern novel.

There was almost zero effort to make the vocabulary or cadence fit that of novels from that time period (and like, I’m not expecting perfect, I'm hardly an expert, but I regularly read fanfiction written in better pastiche than this. Les Mis and Sherlock Holmes fandoms, you guys have spoiled me). The characters also don’t act in historically appropriate ways, they were allowed to get way too familiar with each other way too quickly with zero regard to social class. And I can’t believe I’m saying this but I could have actually used a touch more homophobia -- guys, just a bit of internalised homophobia, even just the acknowledgement that societal pressures affect people.

(also this getting described as a gothic horror? fuck off gothic horror is more than a spoopy house, where is the absolute overwhelming terror of the vast Sublime?? i was not forced to read frankenstein three fucking times for school to accept something this lame trying to describe itself as "gothic".)

I tossed this one in my local little free library and I hope it goes to someone who is less of a picky bastard when it comes to historical narration.

American Girl: Kaya and Lone Dog // A Spy on the Homefront: A Molly Mystery

Two more American Girl novels that I’ve read, one about Kaya, an indigenous girl form the Nimíipuu tribe in 1764 and the story about her missing her sister and befriending a lone dog who gives birth to puppies. Like the other books I’ve read from this series, I thought it was quite well done. It didn’t shy away from challenging topics (her sister being enslaved and how that loss has affected Kaya) and drew me along for the entire plot of the book. It was charming.

The other one I read was another from the Mystery series of books. Sadly I’m thinking that the entire Mystery series of American Girl books may just be lacklustre. Like the Kit Mystery I read a while back, this one had a decent concept, explored the time period (WWII) in an interesting way, but had abysmal pacing for a mystery novel. It was not very good at creating or maintaining tension, and minimal effort to actually give a reader any clues to track. It wasn’t a bad story, especially for a kid, but it was nothing special.

Annie: An Old-Fashioned Story

After rewatching the musical Annie I decided I needed to read the novel, because I love a novelization! Me and my girlfriend have been slowly reading this together over the past few months and it’s been really enjoyable. Annie is a spunky orphan girl during the Depression is eventually taken in by billionaire industrialist Oliver Warbucks. This book gives a lot more backstory to Annie, and really stretches out the time between her running away from the orphanage and her meeting Warbucks. It was a pretty interesting and unflinching look at the hardships suffered by a parentless child like Annie during the Depression. It added a lot that the film didn’t have, and was well worth the read.

Camp Damascus

Possibly my favourite book from this review. I’d never read a Chuck Tingle book before, since I don’t tend to veer overmuch into erotica, but since this was his first “traditionally published” novel I thought now was the time to give it a go. And I have to say, I was genuinely amazed! Chuck Tingle is an incredibly compelling writer, his narration is just beautiful, I wanted to sink into it and get lost. I’m going to have to read more of his books now.

For those who haven’t heard of Camp Damascus, it’s a queer horror novel that’s based around religious horror. Normally religious horror doesn’t do it for me (I have zero interest in or fear of possession) but this one had a very different twist on that narrative. Though demons still featured in the story, the entire premise was built around the concept of religious trauma as horror, and the metaphors created by the demons as it explored themes of leaving religion, self-identity, indoctrination, queer identity and conversion therapy was honestly just breath-taking. My biggest recommendation this time around, I could hardly put it down.

Doctor Who: The Clockwise Man

Another fun Doctor Who novel with an enjoyable mystery about a mysterious political prisoner from space. It wasn’t a world changing novel, but it was a very solidly written 9 and Rose adventure, I enjoyed having the audiobook on while I drove.

Delicious Monsters

Another severe disappointment, unfortunately. I went in really wanting to like this book! I was in the mood for another horror novel after Camp Damascus, it was touted as being like The Haunting of Hill House (superb novel) with a House As Metaphor For Our Trauma And Horror which is a bend to horror I really enjoy. Sadly, despite a fairly interesting premise, the pacing and narrative voice was… rough. It was told from two different points of view, one in the future and one in the past that was slowly piecing together the mystery of what happened at this house, but the narrative voices were so similar it didn’t feel like two distinct entities. Neither made me excited for POV changes. The narration was also very heavy handed in the messages it was trying to send — all good messages, but with no faith that the reader would be able to interpret them on their own without it being repeated explicitly over and over. It all felt very bogged down and repetitive and frankly a little insulting to the reader's intelligence. I gave up on it about halfway through despite really liking the first quarter of the book.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation comic v2

More Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation! Because I’m hooked! Very much enjoying the comic version that’s been coming out, the art is very nice and it's fun to re-experience the beginning of the novel now that I know the characters and all the background information that was so mysterious the first time around.

Heaven Official’s Blessing v1

I have finished the main series of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation so I’ve decided to move on to another series by the same author since I’ve been enjoying the style. This series starts off with a “Laughingstock” of the gods, someone who has ascended to godhood twice already and been cast out of Heaven twice as well. The story starts with his third ascension and everyone in Heaven is pretty over it, especially when his third ascension ends up causing chaos in Heaven. He’s chronically unlucky but has an attitude that’s largely willing to go with the flow so when he's given a job to help repay the debt his ascension acrued him he agrees to descend to the Mortal Realm and investigate the disappearance of brides.

Along the way he picks up a couple junior officials who are reluctantly sent along to help and lend him spiritual power, since his own is sealed, as well as a strange youth in red who seems to know more than he should and is perhaps the only person who doesn't treat him scornfully.

The pacing of book one was interesting… it drew me along and had me chuckling frequently, especially with some of the interesting characters that are introduced, but I definitely didn’t feel fully “connected” with the characters or plot just yet. Still, I’m intrigued for book two and trust the author enough to go along for the ride until things start clicking!

James and the Giant Peach

Roald Dahl’s classic story about James Henry Trotter who, after the death of his parents, is forced to live with his two horrid aunts. Isolated from any potential friends, all alone at the top of the hill with his aunts and forced to slave away for them, James eventually meets a mysterious old man who offers him a glowing bag of crocodile tongues… something he claims has the power to grant happiness to whoever possesses them. Unfortunately before James can use them he trips and spills them at the roots of the old, dead peach tree… and awakens the magic regardless.

Just a fun September reread, I haven’t read James and the Giant Peach in years. It's definitely one of my favourite Dahl stories. I’m going to have to rewatch the movie now…

Monster and the Beast v4

The last volume of a yaoi series I’ve been reading for a while. This is a story that follows a rather callous, mysterious man known as Liam and the soft-hearted monster, Cavo, who he meets and befriends. This final volume wraps up Liam’s strange and somewhat sinister origin story and reveals what exactly the powers he wields are, and it lets Cavo come into his own. Honestly an excellent book for all the monsterfuckers out there. Overall it was a sweet ending and I enjoyed the series — honestly I wouldn’t mind one more volume of short stories that just explore the relationship dynamic they achieved by the end of this volume.

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich is a graphic novel about a young noblewoman who has to disguise herself as a man if she is to inherit her late father’s estate. So she dismisses the old servants save for a single trusted one, changes her appearance, and moves to a city far away from where she grew up. From there, “he” begins making waves in a way that draws the attention of the princess…

It was a… fine graphic novel. I’m not sure I have a lot to say besides that. It was a comedy, but it’s not the sort of comedy that I find particularly interesting… it definitely felt like a youth graphic novel. It was also very anachronistic (part of the humour) which I’m not always in the mood for and didn’t really land for me. Over all I don’t regret reading it, and the art was enjoyable enough, but I’m glad I got it from the library. When I had first heard of it I had been expecting something a bit… more.

Red, White, and Royal Blue

I was very skeptical about Red, White, and Royal Blue. I thought it looked tacky when it first came out and I resolutely ignored it. However as the Netflix film was due to come out I decided I had better bite the bullet and figure out what the hype was about. And I can admit, I was wrong! It was honestly a delightful read!

The politics are a bit Rough, as I expected, but the relationship was genuinely delightful and I really liked all the side characters they introduced. You really have to go into it like you would a Hallmark romcom because that’s exactly what it is — and you know what, the queers really do deserve some simple, cheesy (and occasionally surprisingly touching) romantic comedies. Contemporary romcom is normally REALLY not my genre but I highly enjoyed this book and am willing to eat my words.

#book review #book reviews #red white and royal blue #monster and the beast #manga #canlit #canadian literature #queer lit #roald dahl #james and the giant peach #heaven official's blessing #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #rose tyler #doctor who #camp damascus #chuck tingle #american girl #annie

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andrumedus · 1 year

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Truth is, I want you to be safe, want you to sleep so I can sleep.

Sam Cheuk, Postscripts from a City Burning; “11/06/19 (2)”

#literature #poetry #sam cheuk #postscripts from a city burning #lovers at the edge of eros #tender‚ delicate #our human wants #canadian lit #m #x

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sassafrasmoonshine · 3 months

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Barnabus lived in a secret lab. He was half mouse and half elephant, and he had lived in the lab as long as he could remember.

The Fan Brothers – Eric (author), Terry (illustrator), and Devin (author) • Canadian • The Barnabas Project • 2020 • Tundra Books, a division of Penguin Random House Young Readers, Canada

#illustration #art #illustrator #artwork #book illustration #picture book illustration #contemporary book illustration #contemporary children's fiction #children's literature #kid lit #canadian author/illustrator #sassafras and moonshine #illustration blog #fan brothers #the barnabas project #kids' books

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landwriter · 9 months

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Re: fanfic assumptions, I know I was right about most of mine but I'll tell you one I know I was wrong about—I simply assumed you were a lit major, and possibly that you'd done lit for post-grad as well.

Cecil!! That is v flattering and of course you are not entirely wrong as I did allow myself to minor in lit, in uh, my second language. Which is totally the same thing. (The comments on a third year analysis of a certain poem that I definitely didn't shoehorn into Saint Morpheus say it all haha: A very clever and detailed analysis. Shame about the language errors, but it was splendid in every way.)

But alas!! I studied political science. I would've been so much happier in lit. I definitely could have gotten by in life happily having read half the political philosophy I did, and absolutely none of the Kant. Mysteriously, by my final year every single thing I worked on was through the lens of narratives - whether in migration policy analysis or the settler national dream - and the consequences of the stories we tell about our countries, ourselves, and others.

Even in politics I ended up (unexpectedly, to me, and nobody else in my life then or now) talking mostly about storytelling. Maybe one day, when I am a kept woman, or marry a foreigner with free national universities, I'll go back and do it properly, the way I felt too poor to do then.

(send me weirdly specific assumptions you've made about me based on my fanfic)

#ask game #i can't think of anything funnier re compromising on doing what i would really love than doing it not only as a minor but in a diff languag #anyways french moots if you EVER want to talk about 19th-20th c. french playwrights and poets or post-war french-canadian lit hmu #as this is actually the only literature i've ever studied lol #about me

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theoptia · 2 years

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