Kate Reed Petty’s True Story is one of the most impressive debut novels you’ll ever read. It is both a riveting page-turner and a narrative puzzle, twisting and turning in on itself, leaving the reader reeling and uncertain. This book is very smart and very compelling. It is also very difficult to
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wmtc: what i’m reading: the skin we’re in by desmond cole
Alternative title: It Happens in Canada, Too. Desmond Cole’s book, The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power may be a difficult book for white Canadians to read. That’s exactly why they should read it. Cole documents events most Canadians would call “US-style” racism — except they all take
Continue readingwmtc: rtod: kids are jumping out of windows of burning buildings, so we board up the windows instead of putting out the fire
Revolutionary thought of the day: What I’m here to talk about is how our whole approach since day one has been like this: Kids are jumping out the windows of burning buildings, falling to their deaths. And we think the problem is that they’re jumping. This is what we’ve done:
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: sometimes you have to lie: the life and times of louise fitzhugh, renegade author of harriet the spy
Until very recently, I didn’t know anything about Louise Fitzhugh and had not thought about her at all. Of course, as a child I read and loved Harriet the Spy, Fitzhugh’s iconic and groundbreaking children’s book. For a good portion of my life, I dreamed of writing a similar book.
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the sword and the shield: the revolutionary lives of malcolm x and martin luther king jr.
When I read a review of The Sword and The Shield: the Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., I knew it was a book I’d been waiting for someone to write. I despise the way Martin Luther King, Jr. has been sanitized and diluted for public
Continue readingwmtc: beverly cleary, rest in peace, and thank you
Beverly Cleary, who died last week at the astounding age of 104, was a pivotal figure in the world of children’s literature. Her books are treasures; her influence can scarcely be measured. Cleary was one of the first authors to feature young characters who were realistically imperfect. If she was
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: janis, her life and music
As a teenager and in my early 20s, I was somewhat obsessed with Janis Joplin. I read all the available biographies of her, and took any opportunity to see footage of her legendary performances. I never lost my fascination; I’ve continued to love Janis’ music throughout my life. Reading Janis:
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the bridge by bill konigsberg — important, powerful, essential teen fiction
The Bridge, by Bill Konigsberg, is the best YA novel I’ve read since Eleanor & Park in 2012. Unfortunately, I know that many readers won’t go near this book, because of its subject matter: teen suicide. This would be a terrible missed opportunity. It’s a great book that both teens
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: ghosts of gold mountain, the epic story of the chinese who built the transcontinental railroad
Ever since reading, in 2006, The National Dream and The Golden Spike, Pierre Berton’s books about the building of the Canadian railroad, I’ve been interested in the Chinese railroad workers. Two details stuck in my memory: Chinese workers retaining their food traditions (and the racism and abuse they encountered over
Continue readingwmtc: a reading plan for 2021: big stacks of nonfiction, plus some fiction, and series for mind breaks
2018: Titles and reading projects that were languishing on my List. 2019: The year of the biography. The first time I created a reading plan for the year. 2020: I liked having the 2019 plan, and created a new plan for 2020. In each case, I read many titles from
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: never cry wolf by farley mowat
I have read many essays and op-eds by Farley Mowat, the legendary Canadian naturalist, but until now, had never read any of his many books. (He was incredibly prolific.) When visiting Russell Books in September, I noticed a copy of Never Cry Wolf and picked it up. I’m so glad I
Continue readingwmtc: how do you read? in which my reading habits unexpectedly change
Librarians like to ask readers about their reading habits. How do you read? What format do you most prefer? Do you have a secondary format? These days, most avid readers have found a use for e-books — travel being the number one reason — but generally prefer print. But some
Continue readingwmtc: the post of orphaned notes
Like many writers, especially those of us who grew up before the digital age, I keep a notebook. I use it to capture ideas, capture thoughts about I’m reading, take notes on experiences, and take notes on various activist or community meetings I attend. I’ve learned that I have to
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: beaten down, worked up: the past, present, and future of american labor
Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present, and Future of American Labor by Steven Greenhouse is exactly what the subtitle says: a history and analysis of the rise, decline, and re-emergence of the labour movement in the United States. Although the context is American, the lessons in the stories easily
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: our inner ape: a leading primatologist explains why we are who we are
When I scroll through my ridiculously long book list, the name Frans de Waal appears again and again. I read reviews of his books, they sound appealing, they go on the list — and there it ends. This has been going on since the 1990s, and now in 2020, I
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: all my puny sorrows by miriam toews
I’ve just finished reading All My Puny Sorrows, the haunting, heartbreaking, hilarious, and life-affirming 2014 novel by Miriam Toews. It’s difficult for me to write about fiction. I don’t like to describe plots, because for my own reading, I hate knowing plots in advance. I really enjoy letting the story
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: love: possibly roddy doyle’s best book
Love, the latest novel by Irish writer Roddy Doyle, is a miniature tour de force. It’s a story where seemingly nothing happens, nothing that you could really call a plot. Two men who have known each other a very long time, but haven’t seen each other in many years, are
Continue readingwmtc: it’s national read a book day: let’s play the page 56 game
In honour of National Read A Book Day, grab the book you are currently reading or the last book you read. Open to page 56, and find the sixth sentence on the page. Type the line in comments, plus the title and author of the book. I’ll start: —
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: a new plan
As I’ve mentioned many times, I keep a running List of books. The List dates back to the mid-1980s. It’s not a complete list of books I’ve read. I wish I kept track of every book I read, but because I didn’t start this at the Beginning of Time, I
Continue readingwmtc: wmtc "what i’m reading" posts to celebrate black august 2020
I thought Black August was something newly created by Black Lives Matter, but it turns out it has existed since the 1970s. I’m sorry I haven’t heard about it sooner, and I thank the Movement for Black Lives for bringing it to my attention. Black August commemorates the rich history
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