Book Club: Slade House

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Book: Slade House

Author: David Mitchell

Indigo Summary: 
An ordinary road in a town like yours: bus routes and red-brick houses. A dank narrow alley, easy to miss, even when you're looking for it. A small black metal door set into the wall: no handle, no keyhole, but at your touch it opens onto a sunlit garden, sloping up to a house that doesn't quite make sense. . . . Go through, and the door closes discreetly behind you. In David Mitchell's exhilarating new novel, five "guests" separated by nine years enter Slade House for a brief visit--only to vanish without trace from the outside world. Who draws them to the heart of Slade House, and why is the house missing from maps? Beginning in 1979 and ending in 2015, these five interlacing narratives will enchant Mitchell's readers, old and new, with a signature blend of mystery, realism, and the supernatural.

 

What I have to say: 
This book was the October pick for my book club. This is genre isn't for me- I scare easily. It was too creepy and suspenseful- I will admit that I could only read it during the day. As scared as I was, I loved this book!! Each chapter focus is on a specific guest and are spaced 9 years apart, and each chapter has some common elements- for example, the bar the Fox and Hounds is part of each chapter/story. The guest from the previous chapter also makes an appearance in the current chapter, and each chapter builds on the previous one...taking us a bit further into the mysterious Slade House.

 

Final verdict: 
Highly recommended! As creepy as the book was, I didn't want to stop reading...I needed to know what would happen next. Even if you aren't into creepy/suspenseful books, this book is worth reading.
 

Message From Canada: You're Great America

With the American election weeks away, the world is watching to see who will become the next President of the United States. We are well aware of the circus that has been this campaign and the high entertainment the debates have been. 

Now, if this was happening in Canada, we know the US would be making fun of us...kind of like you did with Rob Ford (RIP). And while Canadians are questioning if this election is a joke, and we are questioning how America has let it come to this...we are also, well, Canada.

So, of course, we do what Canada does and instead of making fun of America and belittling you, we give you, America, a pep talk. 

So Canadian. 

No matter what happens on November 8, no matter who the next President of the United States is, we still think you're great America. 

Hey, It's Ok!

With Amber from Airing My Dirty Laundry  

That I am not really into Halloween. I don't get the hype...I'm not into dressing up, watching scary movies, visiting haunted houses...it's just not for me.

To have walked out of a meeting yesterday. I was so annoyed and ready to snap, so I excused myself for a few minutes.

That I have FINALLY finished watching Gilmore Girls! I started watching in February and finished last week. Some seasons were better than others...I'm looking forward to the revival...I hope Rory and Logan end up together.

To be sad that Flare magazine, one of my favourites, will no longer be doing print editions.

That I love being in a book club! I've been introduced to authors and books I would never have read. Plus, it's nice to see and spend time with some old friends from high school every month.

Book Club: How To Party With An Infant

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Book: How To Party With An Infant

Author: Kaui Hart Hemmings

Indigo Summary: 
When Mele Bart told her boyfriend Bobby she was pregnant with his child, he stunned her with an announcement of his own: he was engaged to someone else.

Fast forward two years, Mele’s daughter is a toddler, and Bobby and his fiancée want Ellie to be the flower girl at their wedding. Mele, who also has agreed to attend the nuptials, knows she can’t continue obsessing about Bobby and his cheese making, Napa-residing, fiancée. She needs something to do. So she answers a questionnaire provided by the San Francisco Mommy Club in elaborate and shocking detail and decides to enter their cookbook writing contest. Even though she joined the group out of desperation, Mele has found her people: Annie, Barrett, Georgia, and Henry (a stay-at-home dad). As the wedding date approaches, Mele uses her friends’ stories to inspire recipes and find comfort, both.

 

What I have to say: 
I am part of a book club and this was our pick for September. I found this book REALLY hard to get into and I had to force myself to finish it so that I would be prepared for book club. The title of the book is...misleading...there is no 'partying', it's parents sitting at a playground telling stories. There were a lot of characters, each with their own story- which inspires a recipe- and characters within stories, so it was hard to follow at times and to remember who was who and who was dealing with what. When Mele attends her ex's wedding, it gets kinda good and I wanted to know what would happen next...but the book ended, which was disappointing.

 

Final verdict: 
Give this book a pass...I'll leave it at that.  

Forever Country

This video, Forever Country, has been floating around social media for a few weeks now...and as a country music fan, I had to share it!

Hey, It's Ok!

With Amber from Airing My Dirty Laundry  

To have a had a great Thanksgiving...it was great to celebrate with family.

 

That, after watching the first two debates, I beyond thankful that I live in Canada. 

 

To, after watching the first two debates, not understand how Donald Trump is candidate. It's a joke, right?

 

That I am crossing all of my fingers and toes in hopes that everything goes according to plan. 

 

To not be loving this season of How to Get Way With Murder. It seems kind of...anti-climatic after the first two seasons. And I have no idea who they are killing off...I don't really want to see anyone go.