Hilary Mantel’s Man Booker-winning novels
As a child, I was completely and utterly obsessed with the British monarchy and more specifically, Tudor England. I had a bookshelf filled with English history books, my favourite movie was Elizabeth,...
View ArticleAdaptations – Accomplished and Atrocious
It’s that magical time of year when I (almost) wish I had cable. Awards season! Although the Golden Globes happened last week, and with it the dynamic hosting duo of Poehler and Fey at that, I have my...
View ArticleOur favourite books in 2012
I get asked a lot of questions about book club. Since it’s an uncommon thing for a group of 20-somethings to do for fun, people are generally curious. Some of the most-asked questions are: What if you...
View ArticleFavourite childhood author: Kit Pearson and The Whole Truth
I have something to confess: I was a really weird, nerdy kid. I know this may come as a shock to many of you, especially since the Julia you have come to know and love is regal, cosmopolitan,...
View ArticleBook club discussion questions for Will Ferguson’s 419
Due to popular demand, we are reigniting our discussion of Will Ferguson’s Giller Prize-winning novel, 419, first reviewed by yours truly in October last year. “Should it have won?” was the question...
View ArticleMeeting the author – Our outing with Nancy Richler
As our regular readers may be aware, The Unputdownable Book Club has started getting into the habit of contacting our authors. In January, we got in touch with Lauren B. Davis over Twitter and she very...
View ArticleReading, Shopping and Camels – My Moroccan Odyssey
Last week I returned from a fantastic honeymoon to the beautiful county of Morocco. We were there for two weeks and thoroughly enjoyed wandering the narrow ancient medina streets, shopping for spices...
View ArticleThe Unputdownable Book Club’s Summer Reading List
It’s been summer for almost three weeks now… at least according to the solstice. Ottawa and many other cities are not experiencing much traditional summer weather, however. Note the unconscionable...
View ArticleBook of the month – Blindness by José Saramago
I use Grammarly’s free plagiarism checker because “The robb’d that smiles, steals something from the thief; He robs himself that spends a bootless grief.” ― William Shakespeare, Othello When I got up...
View ArticleOctober Book Review – The God of Small Things
As regular readers will know, I have had some ups and downs in the book picking sphere. Although I have advised you on how to pick a good book, you may also have read my post on the first ever pick of...
View ArticleAn exploration of the human condition – 2013 Giller Prize-winning Hellgoing...
Image credit: CBC Books Many of us innately know when we’ve veered from the path we’re meant to take in life. Sometimes the sway is so minute we don’t notice until we’re faced with something...
View ArticleBook of the month – Dear Life by Alice Munro
Happy new year!!! I’ve spent the work week writing “2013” on everything, so clearly the new year hasn’t fully sunk in yet. But it is 2014 and that reminds me of one of my favourite book quotes:...
View ArticleOur favourite books in 2013
The very best part about our book club is all the different opinions. It’s very rare that we unanimously love or hate a book, a character or an author. More often than not, we completely disagree, and...
View ArticleBook of the month – Annabel by Kathleen Winter
It’s February – the month of LOVE! I only say that because of Valentine’s Day, really. I am loving seeing all the pink and red displays in stores, particularly the UBC’s favourite spot – Chapters...
View ArticleJanuary book review – Dear Life by Alice Munro
One of the world’s most beloved writers, Alice Munro, assisted in igniting an interesting debate at our January meeting through her most recent work, Dear Life. I chose Dear Life for a couple of...
View ArticleBook of the month – Where’d You Go, Bernadette By Maria Semple
MARCH! We are unfortunately still in the thick of winter here in Ottawa. If you are somewhere warm, please don’t talk to us. We don’t like you right now. It’s been an exciting month in the Canadian...
View ArticleFebruary book review – Annabel by Kathleen Winter
Before I start my review of Annabel, I want to congratulate Erin on the birth of her sweet baby boy, James! Erin chose this book, and normally she’d be the one writing the review, but she went into...
View ArticleBook of the month – The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
This week, as I was perusing Goodreads (as a good UBC member regularly does) I came across the following quote and thought it was a lovely way to begin this month’s post: “Autumn is a second spring...
View ArticleSeptember book review – The Ocean at the End of the Lane
If I had to describe The Ocean at the End of the Lane in one word, it would be unexpected. When picking our book for last month, what pulled us in to this one was the length (only 178 pages), the movie...
View ArticleBook of the month – The Plum Tree by Ellen Marie Wiseman
Winter has arrived in Ottawa! First things first – the Giller Prize winner! Sean Michaels won for his novel Us Conductors. It’s based on the life of Lev Thermen, the Russian-born inventor of the...
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