Category Archives: Reviews

44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith (book review)

By monnibo | Published: March 15, 2013

Many great authors got their start writing serialized fiction for the newspaper, notably Charles Dickens for The Pickwick Papers. The difficulty with serial fiction is that the author has to keep the attention of readers so they will return for further installments without alienating readers who pick up the newspaper or magazine without having read the portions that came before. Following this tradition and inspired by Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City, author Alexander McCall Smith wrote 110 episodic bites of fiction for The Scotsman newspaper. These were the beginning of The Scotland Street series, which is about to wrap Continue Reading »

Also posted in Books | Tagged 44 scotland street, alexander mccall smith, book, book review, book series, fiction, novel, scotland street series, serial fiction, uk fiction | Leave a comment

Divergent by Veronica Roth (book review)

By monnibo | Published: March 6, 2013

Divergent by Veronica Roth is the first book in a new dystopian series. You’re probably thinking that this concept has already been done to death, but Roth’s approach and premise is really entertaining. The second title, Insurgent, is already out and the movie (no surprise there) is already in pre-production. In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). Teenagers in each faction take personality and aptitude tests to attempt to predict which faction Continue Reading »

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Bedtime Story by Robert J. Wiersema (book review)

By monnibo | Published: February 20, 2013

I’ve been meaning to read Bedtime Story since hearing the author, Robert J. Wiersema, at The Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival in 2010 with Kathleen Winter and Emma Donoghue. Bedtime Story, tells two tales concurrently: the first of a recluse-writer and father, the second of the book his son becomes (literally) absorbed in. It was interesting to have a male’s perspective, as it is rare to have fatherhood on display in a novel. I loved the parallel between the characters in the book and Wiersema himself, who also has a son of a similar age and (of course) is Continue Reading »

Also posted in Books | Tagged bc author, bedtime story, canadian author, canadian book, canadian novel, fiction, magic realism, robert wiersema | Leave a comment

Category Archives: Reviews

44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith (book review)

Divergent by Veronica Roth (book review)

Bedtime Story by Robert J. Wiersema (book review)

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