top5s online

Book club is awesome - the girls are hilarious - and it's got me reading again. The other day I walked into the public library to pick up The Wire season 4 that I had on hold, and a book caught my eye. My boyfriend and I decided, in lieu of ridiculous Christmas spending, we would start following the Icelandic tradition of buying and giving books for Christmas . We picked four book lists (Governor General fiction and nonfiction, New Your Times and the US National Book Awards) and each bought each other one to put under the tree. While scanning the lists for him, I put together a list for myself. While picking up my DVDs, I spotted one I had my eye on, but big problem...it was on the Hits to Go shelf - and that means they can only be borrowed for seven days. When's the last time I read a book in seven days? Especially when two days were out because of Christmas festivities? I shouldn't've taken it out at all - what if there was a copy under the tree for me?* But I thought...

My new book club (which is awesome and working very well: who knew mixing friends would turn out so fantastically!) decided they weren't into the open genre thing. Disappointing, but I figure that's motivation for me to read the chosen book plus one of my own in a month. This month there was a long process of recommendations and voting but we eventually decided to go with a new book by the author of Room, a book that I read years ago before I blogged book reviews, a book I only half liked... The Wonder By Emma Donoghue 2016 304 pages Anna hasn't eaten in four months, insisting she's been existing on manna from heaven. Lib, a Nightingale trained nurse, is hired to watch over the young child to ensure it's not an elaborate hoax. Set in Ireland in the late 1800s, we follow Lib, Anna, her family, and various characters from the small Irish town as Lib tries to debunk the proposed sainthood. This book was...stiff? Stern? Flat? Perhaps it's the historical period as it...

I quit my book club and stopped reading. I started to feel stupid. Like I'd lost my words. And as a librarian, whenever I don't read recreationally I feel guilty. Like it's my job or something. So I started a book club with some super local nearby northsider friends. It was scary at first, mixing different groups of friends but they're all awesome and everyone seems to get along great! The thing about my old book club I really liked was that it was open genre - we picked a different genre/topic each month and each read different books then talked about them. This really appealed to me because I don't like being told what to read and I don't like wasting time reading what I don't want to read. However, this doesn't appeal to everyone so for this new book club we're going to alternate reading the same book with an open genre/topic. I think. We'll see how month two goes. Choosing a book was actually not painful. Some people brought recommendations, ...

I saw this book at the information centre/gift shop in Elk Island National Park, and it looked interesting so I got it out of the library. Clever title. Cute cover. Very local. Interesting topic. Couldn't be that bad, right? Road Tripping: On the Move with the Buffalo Gals By Conni Massing 2010 264 pages The Buffalo Gals are a group of friends who take a yearly road trip around Alberta - but not to the big tourist attractions - to the quirky, off the beaten path, usually a bit weird attractions. Massing writes about where they go, but also how they got there )and especially what they ate). The first chapter was interesting as it was about the Torrington Gopher Museum , and since I've been there a couple times it was quite nostalgic. [The Torrington Gopher Museum is quite epic and awesome and you need to go because you've never seen anything like it. Best $2 you'll ever spend. Stop at Peter's Drive In in Red Deer on the way and check out Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provi...

Batuk merupakan kondisi yang serius dan bisa membuat penderitanya akan mengalami sakit yang luar biasa jika tidak segera diatasi. Apabila batuk tersebut berlarut-larut, maka bisa membuat dada dan perut sakit bahkan bisa menyebabkan dampak yang lebih bahaya lagi. Untuk mengurangi dan menyembuhkan batuk secara alami tanpa harus ke dokter, maka anda dapat mengikuti 5 Langkah Mudah Atasi Batuk secara

When they announced this year's lineup, I was super disappointed. No big names. No Quebecois band. No one I loved. Heck, very few I even sort of liked! In fact, I almost didn't go. It's such hard work and quite stressful, but one of my music people really wanted us to be there for her, so go I did. And I don't regret it. Because while the music was meh, the people were awesome. I love my tarp family, and cherish the moments I get to spend with them. So much so, that despite the lineup, I'll be there for 2017 too. But here's a Top 3 nonetheless: 1. The Year of the African Bands I always try to see an African Band at the folk fest, but this year was their year and I had all the time for them. Friday's second session with Daby Toure, Black Umfolosi, Joel Fafard and Samantha Martin and Delta Sugar was probably the best jamming session I saw. Joel Fafard, Black Umfolosi, Daby Toure and Samantha Martin et al. I took in Black Umfolosi's concert and it was as jo...

Interstellar Rodeo handily won over the crown of my most favourite music festival. Civilized. Relaxed. It was a fantastic venue for spending time with my favourite music family. Here's my top 3 of 2016: 1. Marty Stuart I knew I'd enjoy him, because my dad used to play his 'Tempted' cassette tape all the time, but I was surprised he was the top highlight of the festival. The music. The showmanship. The voice. The outfits. And he capped it all off by shaking fans hands as he walked off the stage. A set can't get much better than that! 2. The Strumbellas You gotta love singing along, knowing all the words, dancing in your chair. They are a great live band. 3. Kathleen Edwards Since she's technically retired, it's always a privilege to see her in concert. She was high-larious, with her own brand of self deprecating humour, and the songs are as always fantastic. She brought out Luke Doucet to play a few songs with her too. Honourable Mention: Henry Wagons only di...