BOOKmarkable

Episode 7: My conversation with John and summer recap

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. 

Episode 6: What we talk about when we talk about summer reading

(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

Episode 5: My conversation with Karen Spears

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

Episode 4: Conversation with Nena Rawdah of Cross & Crows bookstore

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

Episode 3: More on my reading list, podcasts and conversations coming soon!

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.

Episode 2: Rambling through my reading

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
 

Episode 1: Welcome to Bookmarkable: a conversation with Lorraine Smith

Welcome to Bookmarkable: adventures in reading. Thank you for joining this podcast journey of discovery into the expanding universe of books.
This episode - a conversation with Lorraine Smith - was recorded September 8, 2023. Here are the books we discussed or mentioned:
 
A Fine Balance Rohinton Mistry
At Home: A Short History of Private Life, Bill Bryson
Babel, Yellowface, and The Poppy War  RF Kuang 
Candide, Voltaire
Choosing to Run: A Memoir, Des Linden
Fugitive Pieces, Anne Michaels
Outsider: An old man, a mountain and a search for a hidden past, Brent Popplewell
Star Wars – many authors; 1970s series by Alan Dean Foster
Sweetland and Galore Michael Crummey
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis
Three against the wilderness Eric Collier