The Reader – haligonia.ca https://haligonia.ca Halifax's most followed info source Fri, 29 Jul 2016 12:59:00 +0000 en-CA hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.5 https://haligonia.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cropped-favicon-1-32x32.jpg The Reader – haligonia.ca https://haligonia.ca 32 32 We’re Taking a Break! https://haligonia.ca/were-taking-a-break-155904/ Fri, 29 Jul 2016 12:00:00 +0000 https://haligonia.ca/?guid=e541a0c7fc7c11e439edc35ae5dde5ee



You may have noticed it's been a while since our last post—we're taking a little break from writing to get some of our own summer reading done!

If you're looking for reading ideas, there are plenty of great posts in the archives. You can search by month or use the tag cloud to view posts by subject or by your favourite poster. Oh, better yet, ask the staff at any Halifax Public Libraries branch to help you find your next great read. You can do so in person at a branch or via our Ask-A-Librarian service.

Do you have thoughts about The Reader? We'd love to hear your feedback! Leave a comment below to let us know what you've loved about the Reader or about what you think we could do better. You can also tell us what you've been reading! More]]> We’re Bringing Sexy Back https://haligonia.ca/were-bringing-sexy-back-151650/ Thu, 30 Jun 2016 09:00:00 +0000 https://haligonia.ca/?guid=7397dc49a778dabee7c422cd03f54708
With a rough tongue : femmes write porn edited by Amber Dawn and Trish Kelly.

There is a certain ick factor to borrowing erotica from a public library I know, but I’ve seen the stats on copies of 50 Shades so I gather it isn’t a complete deal-breaker for everyone. And if it is a deal-breaker for you, you may just want to buy this one; it’s that good. First, I’d like to confess my undying love for Amber Dawn. She is an amazing queer, feminist, Canadian author. Her book, How poetry saved my life : a hustler's memoir, rocked my world when it was published a few years ago. Dawn didn’t just co-compile this great collection but lent her stellar writing skills to the project as well. Yes, “femmes write porn,” but they don’t leave out a butch perspective. And as someone who doesn’t identify as either butch or femme, I found the challenging of traditional gender roles throughout the collection, to be quite inclusive overall.

Containing outstanding authors, Nalo Hopkinson, Anna Camilleri, and Zoe Whittall, to name just a few, this book of erotica comes with serious literary merit. I was shocked at how many stories were sexy, smart, engaging, and subversive. I’m a non-linear person in general so when I get a book of short stories I love to skip around. After the first three stories I read were fantastic I thought I must have just serendipitously selected the best/only good stories in the book as I’ve come to be skeptical that there isn’t much queer erotica out there worth reading. I continued my pessimistic search and with each new story assumed this was the one that would let me down, but instead, each story stood up to my scrutiny. Cover to cover this book is worth the read, regardless of your gender identity or sexual preference.

There is another queer erotica collection in our catalogue, Fist of the spider woman : tales of fear &; queer desire which is less good in my opinion, and yes my girl is also the editor. However, if you enjoy being creeped out and/or confronting, reappropriating, and reclaiming past sexual trauma this one might work for ya. In some ways it reminded me of watching old Hammer Films, with an unsettling mix of confusion, amusement, and sexuality, you’re left not quite knowing how to feel.

Trash by Dorothy Allison (another great feminist author) has some erotic gems in it as well, and like Rough Tongue it comes with proven literary excellence. “Her thighs,” and “Demon lover” are some of my personal faves from this collection. And for the love of old school lesbianism, portrayed as forbidden love, please check out the classic lesbian pulp novel , if you haven’t yet.
Odd Girl Out by Ann Bannon More]]> We’re Bringing Sexy Back https://haligonia.ca/were-bringing-sexy-back-2-178210/ Thu, 30 Jun 2016 09:00:00 +0000 https://haligonia.ca/?guid=7397dc49a778dabee7c422cd03f54708 With a rough tongue : femmes write porn edited by Amber Dawn and Trish Kelly.

There is a certain ick factor to borrowing erotica from a public library I know, but I’ve seen the stats on copies of 50 Shades so I gather it isn’t a complete deal-breaker for everyone. And if it is a deal-breaker for you, you may just want to buy this one; it’s that good. First, I’d like to confess my undying love for Amber Dawn. She is an amazing queer, feminist, Canadian author. Her book, How poetry saved my life : a hustler's memoir, rocked my world when it was published a few years ago. Dawn didn’t just co-compile this great collection but lent her stellar writing skills to the project as well. Yes, “femmes write porn,” but they don’t leave out a butch perspective. And as someone who doesn’t identify as either butch or femme, I found the challenging of traditional gender roles throughout the collection, to be quite inclusive overall.

Containing outstanding authors, Nalo Hopkinson, Anna Camilleri, and Zoe Whittall, to name just a few, this book of erotica comes with serious literary merit. I was shocked at how many stories were sexy, smart, engaging, and subversive. I’m a non-linear person in general so when I get a book of short stories I love to skip around. After the first three stories I read were fantastic I thought I must have just serendipitously selected the best/only good stories in the book as I’ve come to be skeptical that there isn’t much queer erotica out there worth reading. I continued my pessimistic search and with each new story assumed this was the one that would let me down, but instead, each story stood up to my scrutiny. Cover to cover this book is worth the read, regardless of your gender identity or sexual preference.

There is another queer erotica collection in our catalogue, Fist of the spider woman : tales of fear &; queer desire which is less good in my opinion, and yes my girl is also the editor. However, if you enjoy being creeped out and/or confronting, reappropriating, and reclaiming past sexual trauma this one might work for ya. In some ways it reminded me of watching old Hammer Films, with an unsettling mix of confusion, amusement, and sexuality, you’re left not quite knowing how to feel.

Trash by Dorothy Allison (another great feminist author) has some erotic gems in it as well, and like Rough Tongue it comes with proven literary excellence. “Her thighs,” and “Demon lover” are some of my personal faves from this collection. And for the love of old school lesbianism, portrayed as forbidden love, please check out the classic lesbian pulp novel , if you haven’t yet.
Odd Girl Out by Ann Bannon More]]> Staff Pick: The Food Lab by J. Kenji López-Alt https://haligonia.ca/staff-pick-the-food-lab-by-j-kenji-lopez-alt-151129/ Mon, 27 Jun 2016 09:00:00 +0000 https://haligonia.ca/?guid=995d66c929a8e2fba4ab1b2576d5e5b8

When I got the hold notification that The Food Lab: better home cooking through science finally came in for me, I did a little dance. And then I did a big dance. I could not contain my excitement. I have been waiting for months for this hold to come in, and for what seems like years for this book to be published. SeriousEats.com is one of my all-time favorite websites and J. Kenji López-Alt, the managing culinary director and author of this book, is easily my favorite food blogger. To say I was excited would be a massive understatement.



J. Kenji López-Alt, known across the world wide web as “Kenji” is a household name at my home. Whenever we cook something new, we check how Kenji did it first. Kenji changed the way we sear steak, braise asparagus and fry bacon. If you want crispier chicken skin, he’s your go-to guy. You want a better recipe for Bolognese sauce? He’s got it. Want to know what to do with the weird cut of meat that was on sale? Kenji will have your answer. 

So, you can see why I was elated to finally get my hands on The Food Lab, Kenji’s cookbook/culinary reference guide/food bible. Just as he does online at SeriousEats, in The Food Lab Kenji offers recipes that are simple and delicious every time. The thing I like even better than the recipes, though, is the endless supply of 'how-to’s'. Kenji offers advice on how to pick the best eggplant, how to poach the perfect egg and how to properly sharpen your knives. It’s all there. He builds better cooks by teaching technique before providing the recipes. He uses ingredients that an ordinary person would have in their kitchen and just about anyone can improve their culinary skills by referencing this book. The Food Lab is also filled with nerdy food puns, anecdotes about his culinary career and (bonus!) photographs of Kenji’s official taste testers: his dogs Hambone, Dumpling and Yuba. It is 958 pages of everything I wanted and more.

Books similar to The Food Lab: 

 




 

 

More]]> The Memento by Christy Ann Conlin https://haligonia.ca/the-memento-by-christy-ann-conlin-151027/ Sun, 26 Jun 2016 09:00:00 +0000 https://haligonia.ca/?guid=720aceeb917d701656e4d20dd8cd79a6
While described as a ghost story, readers of The Memento may be disappointed if they’re looking to be scared out of their wits. But if you’re looking for a story of the things that can haunt us – grief, substance abuse, difficult family relationships – this might fit the bill.

With gothic elements reminiscent of Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, The Memento picks up the story of Fancy Mosher, a minor character in Conlin’s first novel Heave. As she turns twelve, she learns the secret her family has been hiding about her and what she might be capable of. Fancy is living apart from her alcoholic mother after the death of her grandfather. She works with her caregiver as a servant at Petal's End, the crumbling Parker family estate. As with any wealthy family, mystery shrouds Petal’s End and Conlin slowly spins a lyrical web while revealing their history.

Marigold, the aging Parker matriarch has survived a stroke, and decides to return to Petal’s End for the summer. She wants to organize a huge garden party that one can only imagine is doomed for disaster as tensions rise within the family. As the servants rush around getting things in order for their arrival and the party itself, I fully expected them to discover a forgotten Parker relative locked in the attic.

Beautifully written with a wide cast of characters, The Memento keeps you guessing until the very last pages as secret after secret come tumbling out.

The Memento is popular as Conlin is a local author, so while you wait you may enjoy:

The Ghost Writer by John Harwood

"Haunted by his mother's mysterious death, timid, solitary Gerard Freeman lives for two things: his elusive pen pal and the secret manuscript that his mother gave her life to protect. Suspecting that something within that manuscript holds the key to his mother's terrified refusal to return to her childhood home, Gerard sets out to unveil the mystery shrouding his family. What he discovers is a sinister ghost story written by his great-grandmother that implicates his mother in a devastating family tragedy. The more he reads, the more he understands his mother's cryptic warning: "One of them came true . . . " Combining the intricate literary playfulness of Possession with the heart-racing suspense of The Others, Harwood's astonishingly assured debut simmers with spellbinding horror and dark intrigue.".

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

“Vida Winter, a bestselling yet reclusive novelist, has created many outlandish life histories for herself, all of them invention. Now old and ailing, at last she wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. Her letter to biographer Margaret Lea - a woman with secrets of her own - is a summons. Vida's tale is one of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family: the beautiful and wilful Isabelle and the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline. Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida's storytelling, but as a biographer she deals in fact not fiction and she doesn't trust Vida's account. As she begins her researches, two parallel stories unfold. Join Margaret as she begins her journey to the truth - hers, as well as Vida's”

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

“A woman marries an English nobleman and returns with him to Manderley, his country estate. There, she finds herself haunted by reminders of his first wife, Rebecca, who died in a boating accident less than a year earlier. In this case, the haunting is psychological, not physical: Rebecca does not appear as a ghost, but her spirit affects nearly everything that takes place at Manderley. The narrator, whose name is never divulged, is left with a growing sense of distrust toward those who loved Rebecca, wondering just how much they resent her for taking Rebecca's place. In the final chapters, the book turns into a detective story, as the principal characters try to reveal or conceal what really happened on the night Rebecca died.” More]]>