This book is one of my favorite reads of 2007. I feel that it is going to have an effect on my life(something I don't say lightly) although, how I'm not quite sure yet. It made me think of religion, faith, love and having a sense of being. In short it was an amazing read.
The narrator tells the story of the week the Virgin Mary stayed with her. Interspersed with the telling of her time with Mary, the author gives us a brief background on the Virgin, concentrating on the various sightings and miracles attributed to Mary. I am not a religious person, but these chapters were fascinating and I know that I will be doing more reading about Mary in teh near future. Towards the end of the book, we get the narrator's life story which is an awakening for her and is, at times, familiar and heartbreaking to read.
I would definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading more from this author.
Friday, December 21, 2007
"The Rick Mercer Report: The Book" by Rick Mercer
Okay, I love Rick Mercer. Love him. I think he is the best political commentator out there. Period. So of course I had high expectations when I picked up Rick Mercer Report The Book. Would his rants be as funny in print? Would it just seem like a rehashing of comments I had already heard? From the first page this book had me captivated and laughing my behind off. I’m not a big fan of politics and I don’t always pay close attention to what is going on in the political world. Part of the appeal of Rick Mercer, and this book, is that he states plainly what’s what and helps those of us who aren’t that politically savvy feel like we have a bit more of an understanding of our Canadian politicians.
The rants and thoughts that found there way into the book weren’t all laugh out loud funny. Some, such as a rant about the Harper government not wanting to lower the flag on Peace Tower at half mast for the death of soldiers overseas were poignant and quite a few times I found myself shaking my head at some of the decisions that our government has made.
This book was an easy read and once I started it, I couldn’t put it down (I actually stayed up until 4 in the morning reading it). And I know that I will from time to time pick it up and read it again. I think the book could have been 1,000 pages and I still would have finished it wanting more.
If you are looking for a funny, honest and sometimes maddening look into Canada and Canadian politics, Rick Mercer Report The Book is definitely the right choice and I highly recommend it.
The rants and thoughts that found there way into the book weren’t all laugh out loud funny. Some, such as a rant about the Harper government not wanting to lower the flag on Peace Tower at half mast for the death of soldiers overseas were poignant and quite a few times I found myself shaking my head at some of the decisions that our government has made.
This book was an easy read and once I started it, I couldn’t put it down (I actually stayed up until 4 in the morning reading it). And I know that I will from time to time pick it up and read it again. I think the book could have been 1,000 pages and I still would have finished it wanting more.
If you are looking for a funny, honest and sometimes maddening look into Canada and Canadian politics, Rick Mercer Report The Book is definitely the right choice and I highly recommend it.
"By the Time You Read This" by Giles Blunt
Algonquin police detective John Cardinal has dealt with death before, but when the victim of a high rise fall turns out to be his wife, Catherine, he is devastated. The coroner rules the death a suicide. Case closed. Or is it? Consumed with grief, Cardinal has a hard time accepting that his wife has taken her own life, despite her many visits to the hospital for psychiatric treatment and her history of depression and bi polar disorder. When he starts receiving twisted sympathy cards in the mail, he decides to investigate the death as a homicide, despite being the only one who thinks so. Meanwhile Lise Deslarme, another detective on the force has joined with the Toronto police to try to catch a child pornographer believed to be working in Algonquin. Both investigation end up being related in ways both surprising and upsetting.
I really enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down. The author did an excellent job of portraying a man who had lost his wife to a suicide, but despite all the evidence, could not come to terms with it. With any storyline where the main character is overcome with grief, there is the risk of over doing it. Blunt shows us Cardinals grief and his resolve to find out what he perceives to be the truth about Catherine’s death without dipping into the realm of the unbelievable.
I also enjoyed how there was what appeared at first to be two separate cases that end up intertwining with each other. While at first you would think there would be no way for an apparent suicide and a child pornography ring to have commonality, the author connects them in surprising and believable ways. Once the connection was revealed, I didn’t feel cheated or that there was a huge leap in logic.
Now I usually don't like mysteries where the reader knows more than the characters (for example, who the killer/kidnapper/bad guy is). I find that the knowledge usually takes away some of the suspense. This was not the case in By the Time You read This. Even though we know more than the main characters do, it was still a very suspenseful book and there was some twists and turns I wasn't expecting. I have never read any of the Cardinal books by Giles Blunt before, but after reading By The Time You Read This, I will definitely be checking out his other novels.
I really enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down. The author did an excellent job of portraying a man who had lost his wife to a suicide, but despite all the evidence, could not come to terms with it. With any storyline where the main character is overcome with grief, there is the risk of over doing it. Blunt shows us Cardinals grief and his resolve to find out what he perceives to be the truth about Catherine’s death without dipping into the realm of the unbelievable.
I also enjoyed how there was what appeared at first to be two separate cases that end up intertwining with each other. While at first you would think there would be no way for an apparent suicide and a child pornography ring to have commonality, the author connects them in surprising and believable ways. Once the connection was revealed, I didn’t feel cheated or that there was a huge leap in logic.
Now I usually don't like mysteries where the reader knows more than the characters (for example, who the killer/kidnapper/bad guy is). I find that the knowledge usually takes away some of the suspense. This was not the case in By the Time You read This. Even though we know more than the main characters do, it was still a very suspenseful book and there was some twists and turns I wasn't expecting. I have never read any of the Cardinal books by Giles Blunt before, but after reading By The Time You Read This, I will definitely be checking out his other novels.
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