A look back at summer and this reader's confessions of reading for escape and how reading fits into my life plus more reading aspirations and hopefully some new titles for you! Here are the books and authors I mention: The Five Invitations: Discovering what death can teach us about living fully by Frank Ostaseski Quicksilver, by Callie Hart  Dreadfulwater by Thomas King Under One Roof, Loathe to Love You, Below Zero and Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center Roomies by Christina Lauren It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young Two Rogues Make a Right and We Could be So Good by Cat Sebastian The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match and The Hating Game by Sally Thorne The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro Permanent Astonishment by Tomson Highway Weyward by Emilia Hart  Death of the Author by Nnedi Okarofor The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai The Hearts Invisible Furies by John Boyne  A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver Steering the Craft by Ursula le Guin  

I apologize for the delay in getting this summer episode recorded. Hopefully you can find some good lazy-day reading inspiration with this short update.   Here are books and authors I mention:   Rose in Chains by Julie Soto Manacled and Alchemised by SenLinYu Eve: How the female body drove 200 million years of human evolution  by Cat Bohannon Nobody wants your shit: the art of decluttering before you die by Messi Condo Swept Away by Beth O’Leary Sarah Adams Rome, Kentucky trilogy Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren Nine Rules to Break when Romancing a Rake and These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata A Five Letter Word for Love by Amy James Hair for Men by Michelle Winters Other sports romance authors: Elle Kennedy Sarina Bowen Damon Suede    

I am so pleased to be able to share my first-ever interview with a published author here on Bookmarkable. I was delighted to sit down with local North Vancouver writer Frances Peck to discuss her debut novel, The Broken Places — a Globe and Mail best book of 2022, and finalist for the 2023 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize.  We had a lot to talk about and time flew by! We learned a bit about her second novel, Uncontrolled Flight and she gave some insight into the novel she’s working on now and her writing process. We also dove into all the ways reading has been a key influence, inspiration, object of focused study and pleasure throughout her life. Plus we explored areas of common interest. Books and authors mentioned on this episode: The Broken Places and Uncontrolled Flight by Frances Peck Thomas Hardy (Far from the Madding Crowd, Tess of the D’Ubervilles, Jude the Obscure, The Mayor of Casterbridge).Monty Python sketch: Novel Writing: Thomas Hardy writes Return of the NativeGeorge ElliotCharles DickensFebruary by Lisa MooreSylvanus Now by Donna MorriseyThe Handmaids Tale, Cat’s Eye by Margaret AtwoodThe Fireman and The Heart-shaped Box by Joe HillStephen King (anything by)Raymond ChandlerDashiell HammettThe Princess Bride and others by William GoldmanWhen We Cease to Understand the World and The Maniac by Benjamin LabututMandy by Julie Edwards (aka Julie Andrews)Ken FollettSidney SheldonScruples, by Judith KrantzClarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady and Pamela; or Virtue Rewarded, by Samuel RichardsonCharles DickensJane AustenBarbara Vine (aka Ruth Rendell)The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John FowlesElizabeth GeorgeRobert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling)A Time to Write in Earnest by PD JamesThe Pilot’s Wife by Anita ShreveAnne TylerLouise ErdrichRomantic Comedy, Eligible, American Wife and Prep by Curtis SittenfeldJodi PicoultAmericanah and Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieThe Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer and The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha MukherjeeA Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry Anosh Irani Crash Landing by Li Charmaine AnneThe Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn BarnesOn Freedom by Timothy Snyder

Happy One-Year Anniversary to Bookmarkable! On April 26, I went to the Canadian Independent Bookstore Day at Cross & Crows Books on Commercial Drive in Vancouver, BC. There were tables of people selling jewellery, authors promoting their books and a pop-up bookstore for the currently online Perfect Match romance bookstore, with owner Amy Pelletier displaying lots of physical copies of popular books. She is searching for a good spot in the city for a physical bookstore, coming soon. You can follow her on IG @perfectmatchbookshop. I also spoke with the book crawl organizer, (there was a book crawl of all independent bookstore on Commercial Drive "the Drive"), who goes by the handle Lady Jane who has a website romancingthedata.com/ and you can find her on IG @romancingthedata. I know on the podcast she also mentions Focus on Romance, but I'm not sure that IG account is hers... I spoke with author Wren Handman and purchased her set-in-Vancouver book, A Midnight So Deadly. I also spoke with a bookstore browser Ben Hill who has a legacy podcast called History of the Mongols (you can still find it and it is fascinating). I also met Ruby Smith Diaz and purchased her book Searching for Seraphim about the late great Vancouver legend, "Joe" Fortes. I met the author Li Charmaine Anne. Other authors and books mentioned on this podcast include: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray BradburyThe Rising Tide by Anne CleevesThe Rachel Incident by Caroline O’DonoghueThe Broken Places by Frances PeckBe Useful: Seven Rules for Life by Arnold SchwarzeneggerBusiness or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn SolomonGreat Big Beautiful Life by Emily HenryPractice Makes Perfect by Sarah AdamsOn Freedom by Timothy SnyderThe Lady’s Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness by Sarah RameyThe Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Hello Bookmarkable listeners: Before I forget, here’s where you can signup for April 26th’s Vancouver Book Crawl - or just drop by Cross & Crows bookstore at 1 pm: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/vancouver-book-crawl-tickets-1322842340049. I hear there will be contests and prizes too, plus a popup of a new local romance bookstore, Perfect Match. Reflections on comfort genre (bliss) reading - my conversation with Cathy Needham. In this episode we talked about or I mentioned a few writers and books including: Elizabeth GeorgeThomas King’s Thumps DreadfulWater seriesTommy OrangeRichard WagameseTana French - Faithful PlacePeter Robinson’s Alan Banks’ seriesLouise PennyRobert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling)Agatha ChristieColin Dexter (Inspector Morse series)Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van PeltGregory Ashe, (Hazard & Somerset series)Ruth Ware, One Perfect CoupleAnn Cleeves - The Rising TideElizabeth StroutAlone by Megan E. FreemanHatchet by Gary PaulsenA Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly JacksonKate Atkinson, Jackson Brodie mysteries, as well as Life After Life and A God in RuinsThe Love Wager by Lynn PainterStay by Elle Kennedy and Sarina BowenThe Rule Book and Beg, Borrow or Steal by Sarah AdamsSay You’ll Remember Me by Abby JimenezPromise Me Sunshine by Cara BastoneFaith, Hope and Carnage by Nick Cave and Sean O’HaganElizabeth Finch by Julian BarnesAmerican War by Omar El AkkadCareless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams Love sharing the book love with you!

Here are the books I mentioned in this episode: Stolen Focus by Johann HariPiranesi and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna ClarkOne Day Everyone Will Have been Against This and American War by Omar Al El AkkadNothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter PS: I Hate You by Lauren Connolly First Time Caller by BK Borison Under Your Spell by Laura Wood Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell Deep End by Ali Hazelwood Promise me Forever by Debbie Macomber Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young I also mentioned the podcasts: Reading GlassesFated MatesThe One You Feed If you enjoy listening, please let me know, give me a rating. If you have ideas for shows or books, send me an email at readfionaread@gmail.com. Thank you for listening and many happy blessings for reading journey!

Wherein I seek to patch together meaning with the insights, gleaned from my latest reads, that point the way with many signs that might mean something. To sum up: reading might not always give you answers but it helps. Here are books mentioned in this episode: Kill for Me, Kill for You by Steve CavanaghI am Pilgrim by Terry HayesBurn Out: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia NagoskiAll My Rage and Ember in Ashes by Sabaa Tahir Is She Really Going Out With Him by Sophie CousensWildfire by Hannah GraceGood Boy by Elle Kennedy and Sarina BowenEvie Drake Starts Over by Linda HolmesButcher & Blackbird, part of the Ruinous Love Trilogy by Brynne WeaverStolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention — and How to Think Deeply Again, by Johann HariBreakfast of Champions and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.Catch 22 by Joseph HellerName of the Wind by Patrick RothfussThe Life Impossible, by Matt HaigHow to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen PerrinSmall Mercies by Dennis Lehane, An Academy for Liars by Alexis HendersonOn Freedom by Timothy SnyderFaith Hope and Carnage by Nick Cave and Sean O’Hagan Reach the show by emailing: readfionaread@gmail.com

It's a new year and I'm here and making it through January. Books are always there for comfort, guidance and reflection, showing the way. But you still need to read them (or listen to them). What circumstances help you feel like you can read more challenging titles and in hardcover? It's not just about having enough time. Waiting for tips: I need role models...   Here's books I mention on this show: The Message and Between the World and Me by Ta Neishi Coates Martyr by Kaveh Akbar The Land of Lost Things by John Connolly Whiskey Tender by Deborah Jackson Taffa Faith, Hope and Carnage by Nick Cave and Sean O’Hagan Beautiful, Beautiful by Brandon Reid I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes (audio by Christopher Ragland) Roar and Next Level by Stacy T. Sims  

I look back on my year of reading with more gusto, and starting this podcast in May...and share my latest reading adventures from the month of November. Books or authors mentioned or discussed include: Read Dangerously: the Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Time by Azar Nafisi Beneath the Surface of Things by Wade Davis Sarah J. Maas Mansfield Park by Jane Austen Grief is for People, by Sloane Crossley A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall How we Named the Stars by Andres N. Ordorica Somewhere Beyond the Sea and House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes (read by Christopher Ragland) The Martyr by Kaveh Akbar There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak Knife by Salman Rushdie If you have ideas for future shows, books you recommend or want to share anything else, you can email the show at readfionaread@gmail.com.

Claudia is a local (Vancouver) business owner, entrepreneur, community leader, and all round wonderful, fun and caring friend to many. She is also a big reader and shared with me the long impressive list of books she's read with her book club -- but we also delved into some of the many more books she reads and enjoys beyond that list. We followed a list of questions to uncover what she likes and doesn't like and heard what she's come to know is important for her in reading, and the power of the story for all of us. We looked for a couple of books we'd both enjoyed reading and settled on these two Canadian reads, the novel Indian Horse by Richard Wagameseand the memoir in essays, Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory by Sarah Polley. Other books that came up in our discussion were: Women Talking by Miriam ToewsThe Paying Guest by Sarah WattsThe Alchemist by Paolo CoehloThe Celestine Prophecy by James RedfieldThe Secret by Rhonda ByrneBooks by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) -- the Cormoran Strike detective seriesIona Whishaw Lane Winslow mystery seriesCloud Atlas by David MitchellOlive Kitteridge, Olive Again, My name is Lucy Barton and Oh William! by Elizabeth StroutInfinite Jest by David Foster WallaceMiss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien CharlesDoppelgänger by Naomi Klein Children’s books:Jumanji and The Polar Express by Chris Van AllsburgOne Halloween Night by Mark TeagueNorman the Doorman by Don Freeman

Host of Vancouver Co-op Radio show Why a Duck? (that features classical and jazz music and lighthearted conversation), Kerry Regier, joined me for a book conversation on October 13. My apologies for some uneven audio levels on this recording. Here's what and who we mentioned: Poems of Miroslav Holub, Czech poet and immunologist. Kerry read his poem: “Half a Hedgehog” Solaris and His Master’s Voice by Stanisław Herman Lem  The Game by Ken DrydenIndian Horse by Richard WagameseThe Hockey Sweater by Roch CarrierThe Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel BarberyMoby Dick, Pierre and The Confidence Man by Herman MelvilleBlindsight by Peter WattsBomber by Len DeightonDiaspora by Greg EganIQ84 by Haruki MarukamiErasure by Percival EverettThe Three Cornered World by Natsume Sōseki Authors mentioned: Theodore Sturgeon (originator of “Sturgeon’s Law: 95% of everything is crap”)Yasunari Kawabata, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, O. Henry, Anton Chekhov, Franz Kafka, Ernest Hemingway, Jeremy Bernstein Films mentioned: Europa Report directed by Sebastián Cordero and written by Philip Gelatt, American FictionSurrealist filmmaker mentioned Luis Buñuel

Do you struggle to read? Is it hard to be a reader these days? Join me for a short check-in about my thoughts of the struggle to do quality reading with a busy life, in a time of many distractions. But fear not: reading can still help you out. Books I mention are: The Wedding People by Alison EspachThe Husbands by Holly GramazioMargo's got Money Troubles by Rufi ThorpeThe Serpent King by Jeff ZentnerWhat Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty Beyond by Stephen WalkerUnbroken by Angela Sterritt James by Percival Everett

I had a fun but brief conversation with my good friend and book lover John Vekar on a warm summer evening, focused on the book Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey. This is definitely a part-one of our conversation. Other books mentioned: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Ordinary Monsters by JM Miro This Summer Will be Different andMeet me at the Lake by Carley Fortune The Goblin Emperor by Sarah Monette A Cure so Dark and Lonely, Heart so Fierce and Broken and A Vow so Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kimmerer The Last Love Note by Emma Grey One Day by David Nichols Mr. Wrong Number by Lynn Painter Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemptionby Laura Hillenbrand  The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan Go as a River by Shelley Read 21 Things you may not know about the Indian Act by Bob Joseph The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth. 

(Title reference to short story writer Raymond Carver and his story collection, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love and Haruki Murakami’s play on that in his memoir What I Talk About When I Talk About Running).   Books mentioned: Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlaneHolly, Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers and The Outsider by Stephen KingThe Interestings by Meg WolitzerNettle and Bone by T. KingfisherDark Matter by Blake CrouchThe Age of Magical Overthinking by Amanda MontellThe Year of Magical Thinking by Joan DidionBetween Two Kingdoms by Suleika JouadThe Ministry of Time by Kaliane BradleyOrdinary Monsters by J.M. Miro (Steven Price)(Also mentioned Esi Edugyan)The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas KingThe Darkest White: The mountain legend and the avalanche that took him by Eric BlehmJames and Erasure by Percival EverrettThe Goblin Emperor by Katherine AddisonThe Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBrideA Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ni GhriofaA Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid KemmererThe Caretaker by Ron Rash I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue Beautyland by Marie-Helen BertiniThe Body in Question by Jill Cement If You Only Knew by Kristin HigginsThe Book of Doors by Gareth BrownA Thousand Doors of January and Starling House by Alix E. HarrowSpellbound by Allie TherinThe Last Bookshop in London by Madeline MartinSlippery Creatures by K.J. CharlesAlphabetical Diaries by Sheila HetiFunny Story by Emily HenryOnce and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

This was such a fun conversation on a hot summer day with a deep dive into the lure of Irish writing, the need to prune what we read to find what's next (with Karen’s own special formula for choosing what to keep reading), and a bit of an examination of the joy of the reading experience. Here are the books and authors we mention: A Prayer for Owen Meany, John IrvingThe Diviners, Margaret LaurenceA Fine Balance, Rohinton MistryBecky Chambers (Sci Fi author)A Study for Obedience, by Sarah BernsteinFayne, by Anne-Marie MacDonald (loved in audio read by author)The God of Small Things, by Arundhati RoyThe Fraud by Zadie Smith Irish writers and books: Sally RooneyAnn EnrightTana French (mystery writer)Donal Ryan The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabeBrooklyn and Nora Webster, by Colm ToibinBina, by Ankara SchofieldA Ghost in the Throat, by Doireann Ní GhríofaApeirogon, by Colum McCannSmall things like these, by Claire KeeganSnow, by John BanvilleSoldier, Sailor, by Claire KilroyCheckout 19 and Pond, by Claire Louise Bennett Scottish writers and books:Robert Louis StevensonIan RankinMungo by Douglas Stuart

Fiona Jackson shares her conversation with Nena Rawdah of East Vancouver's Cross & Crows bookstore and a few updates on her latest reads and whats on her next up TBR list.   Books mentioned on the show include: All the works of Jane AustenShakespeare's play: Much Ado About Nothing, Othello and The Taming of the Shrew Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem, "Pied Beauty" Authors: E.M. Forster, George Eliot (pen name of Maryann Evans), David Chariandy, KJ Charles, Freja Marsk and Danny RamadanBroughtupsy by Christina CookeGlyph, Erasure and James by Percival EverettWorld of the Five Gods by Lois McMaster BujoldUnder the Whispering Door, House on the Cerulean Sea, Green Creek Trilogy (with Wolf Song) and In the Lives of PuppetsThe Captive Prince by C.S. PacatHither Page and The Missing Page, and We Could Be So GoodAuthor Gregory Ashe and his Hazard and Somerset seriesOld Babes in the Wood, short story collection by Margaret AtwoodThe Maniac by Benjamin LabatutIndian Horse by Richard WagameseFive Little Indians by Michelle GoodThe Inconvenient Indian by Thomas KingThere There by Tommy Orange

It's me again with a book report (I did my homework and read Prophet Song!), an update on all my other reads, reflections on reading podcasts I love, and a promise for my conversations! Here are the books I mention: Prophet Song, by Paul LynchThe Maniac, by Benjamin Labatut Who also wrote the amazing When we cease to understand the world — recommend!Old Babes in the Wood - a short story collection by Margaret Atwood (great title!)The Deal, The Mistake and The Score, by Elle Kennedy (college hockey spicy romances)Hither Page and The Missing Page by Cat Sebastian (MM romance set in post-second-world-war EnglandAny Old Diamonds, by KJ Charles (MM romance set in 1890s England)Fourth Wing and Iron Flame by Rebecca YarrosLove at First by Kate ClaybornBefore I let go by Kennedy Ryan A few books on my TBR and holds list include: Broughtupsy by Catherine Cooke - a coming of age of a Jamaican-Canadian.The Crown of Gilded Bones — third in the series by Jennifer L. Armentrout.Dandelion by Jamie Chai Run Liew — a coming of age of a Malaysian girl growing up in a small town in BC near the Rockies.Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross — next book in this YA fantasy series The Darkest White by Eric Biehm — non-fiction about a legendary snowboarder, Craig Kelly, who died in an avalanche in 2003.When Grumpy met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein — was recommended to me by a friend, a romance.King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild — history of Belgium's horrible history in the Congo in Africa.The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks — apparently another awesome romantasy series.

Welcome back to this solo session where I chat with you about a few highlights from my 60+ books read since January (plus a few from before). Books mentioned:  A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros Yours Truly and Life's Too Short by Abby Jimenez Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake The Hazard and Somerset mysteries by Gregory Ashe We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian Happy All the Time by Laurie Colwin Starling House by Alix E. Harrow Scythe by Neal Shusterman Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot Prophet Song by Paul Lynch The Maniac and When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut  

Inaugural episode of Bookmarkable: A conversation with Lorraine Smith