Skip to content
Snowbird of Paradise

Snowbird of Paradise

Living and Learning

  • Home
  • Welcome!

Tag: Reading

September 18, 2022September 18, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

Two Very Good Books About Two Bad People Who Think They Are Good

A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne Maurice Swift is very handsome. So handsome that both men and women fall in love with him. He is also very ambitious. His two goals in life are to become a renowned writer and to become a parent, and he has no qualms about achieving both by […]

Continue Reading "Two Very Good Books About Two Bad People Who Think They Are Good"
May 11, 2022May 12, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

Midnight Drive

Midnight Drive by Kenneth Price is available for pre-order at Amazon, Kobo, and Barnes and Noble, and will be released on June 1st. It is a gripping crime story that I would recommend even if I were not Ken’s mom.

Continue Reading "Midnight Drive"
April 26, 2022April 26, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

Life’s Mysteries, Real and Fictional

Fair Warning by Michael Connelly If you have ever had doubts about what happens to your DNA after you submit it to a genetic analytics company, this book will add to your concerns. It raises the fictional (I hope) possibility that DNA information might be sold on to multiple other companies to do with as […]

Continue Reading "Life’s Mysteries, Real and Fictional"
April 13, 2022April 14, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

The Joy of Not Reading

Don’t get me wrong. I am still reading, but lately I’ve been abandoning some books. It all started when I thought I should work my way through some of the un-heard books in my audiobook files and unread books in my e-reader. Most of them have been there for many years, silently waiting for me […]

Continue Reading "The Joy of Not Reading"
March 22, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow was published in 2008 and, although it discusses computer technology that is now dated, it still has relevance today. It is a book intended for young adults and has teenaged characters who find ways to challenge and disrupt their dystopian world. Marcus is a tech-savvy seventeen-year-old who has figured out […]

Continue Reading "Little Brother by Cory Doctorow"
March 17, 2022March 16, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

History, Hardship, and a Hoopoe

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo This intriguing story is written in an unconventional manner, which I found bewildering at first. I’m glad I stuck with it, though, because it eventually becomes clear that the underlying message is about women who endure hardship and triumph over adversity. It is set in a […]

Continue Reading "History, Hardship, and a Hoopoe"
March 11, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

The Significance of Voice

When you hear a story read aloud, you can enjoy the emphasis and drama in the voice of the storyteller. Their expression of the people and events become yours, too. When you read a story, on the other hand, your imagination brings images to mind and so your own perceptions inform your understanding. That distinction […]

Continue Reading "The Significance of Voice"
February 22, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

After I had reviewed The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, her book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents was recommended to me. It is another brilliant and very readable analysis of the social and racial issues facing the United States. Those same issues are facing other countries, too, but the circumstances Wilkerson describes […]

Continue Reading "Caste by Isabel Wilkerson"
December 18, 2021December 18, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Staying Home and Moving About

These two books were both recommended to me, and I am happy to recommend them to you. They are both enjoyable and engaging, although they are very different in style and tone. One is about staying in a home town and the other is about travelling all over the country. Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout […]

Continue Reading "Staying Home and Moving About"
November 25, 2021November 24, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Murder Clubs U.S. & U.K.

The 19th Christmas by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro This is one in a series of the Women’s Murder Club thrillers. I had not read any of the other books in this series, but it didn’t matter because the story stands alone. It mostly revolves around only one member of the club, although she draws […]

Continue Reading "Murder Clubs U.S. & U.K."
November 18, 2021February 6, 2022Snowbird of Paradise

When Good Guys Go Bad (And Vice Versa)

Here are two books that I have recently finished. They are both well-written and engaging, but I am left wondering why I want to like the protagonists in the novels I read. The Last Trial by Scott Turow This is one in a series of books about defense lawyer Alejandro “Sandy” Stern. He is eighty-five […]

Continue Reading "When Good Guys Go Bad (And Vice Versa)"
October 29, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Cheap, Cheaper, Free

The three books I have for you to consider today came to me via my Kindle, a sale at the Indigo online bookstore, and my local library. It is fair to say that the cost of each is no indication of their worth. Out Of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper. This is a heart-rending […]

Continue Reading "Cheap, Cheaper, Free"
October 3, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Three Books About Love and Loss

These three books are all very different and each is set in a different country, but all three have an understanding of women’s lives and women’s sorrows. Sweetness In The Belly by Camilla Gibb This story begins in Morocco, travels to Ethiopia during Emperor Heile Selassie’s reign, and continues to the London of Margaret Thatcher’s […]

Continue Reading "Three Books About Love and Loss"
August 23, 2021August 23, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

I May Be A Bit Nutty

My eldest son recently met an older woman who shocked him by saying “Our Prime Minister should be hit by a car and run over.” She was deadly serious. Her information sources had led her to believe that Justin Trudeau was such a threat that he needed to be eliminated. My response was first shock, […]

Continue Reading "I May Be A Bit Nutty"
May 16, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Three Types of Mind Control

Here are three more books that I have recently read and my thoughts about each of them. They all involve some sort of mind control but in very different ways. End of Watch by Stephen King This is the third in a trilogy about police inspector Bill Hodges (retired), but it is a standalone story. […]

Continue Reading "Three Types of Mind Control"
April 14, 2021April 13, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Three Books About Belonging

Here are three more books that I recommend. They all explore the complications around belonging in a variety of circumstances: in a new country; in a small community; as descendants of immigrants; as refugees; in unanticipated roles. Each of these books presents with sensitivity, concern, and brutal honesty the challenges experienced by people we might […]

Continue Reading "Three Books About Belonging"
March 17, 2021April 14, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Three Books Filled With Dread

If you like books that keep your stomach tied up in knots, then you will enjoy all of these. The Woman Outside My Door by Rachel Ryan. A young mother is repeatedly told she is overwrought when she worries about her son’s new granny. The problem is, both his grandmothers have died, and one of […]

Continue Reading "Three Books Filled With Dread"
February 8, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Three Books About Family

Here are three more books you might like and my thoughts about them. Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent. Sometimes children fight for their parents’ affection and/or attention. This story is about what happens when that competition continues into adulthood. It involves three brothers, each of whom is not very likeable but each for different reasons. […]

Continue Reading "Three Books About Family"
January 22, 2021April 14, 2021Snowbird of Paradise

Reading Thrillers During A Pandemic

Today I have three books ready to give away and before I do that I thought I would write a short review of each of them. Where I live, the libraries are currently closed as are most retail stores, but thankfully Indigo (aka Coles, aka Chapters) bookstore is available online. I sometimes also get books […]

Continue Reading "Reading Thrillers During A Pandemic"
February 27, 2020Snowbird of Paradise

Read And Return

While on a long layover in Toronto recently I discovered that the airport’s Paradies Lagardère stores have a Read and Return policy. You can buy a book and return it later at any of their airport stores (sometimes named Relay or Today) for a 50% refund. What a great deal! The only proviso is that […]

Continue Reading "Read And Return"

Posts navigation

Older posts

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Follow Snowbird of Paradise on WordPress.com

Recent Posts

  • The Man, The Bear, and The Eagle
  • Moorecroft Regional Park at Nanoose Bay
  • An Unexpected Guest
  • What Matters
  • Wordless Wednesday 15 March 2023
  • Forest, Ferns, and Fungi
  • Totems at Vancouver Island University
  • Wordless Wednesday 8 March 2023
  • Englishman River Falls Provincial Park
  • Northern Lights

Categories

  • Dating
  • Exploring
  • Family
  • Friends
  • Humour/Humor
  • LGBTQ
  • Living and Learning
  • nature
  • Photography
  • Reading
  • Relationships
  • Retirement
  • Society
  • Street Art, Public Art, Murals
  • Technology
  • Writing

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com
© SnowbirdofParadise.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to SnowbirdofParadise.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.
A WordPress.com Website.
  • Follow Following
    • Snowbird of Paradise
    • Join 1,086 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Snowbird of Paradise
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...