It is the end of one month and the start of another. Welcome to April. I have a list of books I would like to read. Will I get to them all in one month? Most likely not because I will find more things interesting to be part of. The list is a mixture of different genres – sci-fi & fantasy, literary fiction, etc. Along with reading, I will be watching movies, go to a ComicCon, and selecting music tracks for my radio show. There is so much to do, and it is only spring, or is it winter still as we just had a weekend snowfall. Hope you are having a good day and night, and Happy Reading!!!
A rom-com starring Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff, A Nice Indian Boy will be released in the United States on April 4, 2025. The production was filmed on location in Vancouver, British Columbia.
It is a heart-warming story about family and acceptance with Naveen bringing home to his East Indian family his boyfriend Jay.
Here are some Red Carpet photos from the Alberta Premiere presented by the Calgary International Film Festival and the Calgary Queer Arts Society
A young woman has been hiding in the real world. She has not told her friends that she is half encanto, and she must return to the king’s court as she stands in line for the throne. The magical court is objecting to her being half-human and not full encanto.
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
Olive Smith is a three-year Ph.D. student and she doesn’t believe in love until she agrees on a dare to go out with the first man she kisses. The man happens to be a hot young professor.
Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper
Otto finds a note from eighty-three year old Etta. Etta has left the Saskatchewan farmhouse to walk across the country to the ocean. Etta wants the adventure she did not have before.
Continuing This Week
The Navigator of New York by Wayne Johnston
A young boy is growing up. He does not know his parents, but he is determined find out more about his father. He sets off gathering clues left behind, but also finding a place for himself in late 1800s.
Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner
After his divorce, Toby Fleishman is looking for a new start in the online-dating, but when his ex-wife disappears, he begins to piece together what actually happened to his marriage.
Mystery of the Week
A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The book that introduces the characters Sherlock Holmes and Watson, the crime solving duo who will go on to many investigations, leading to stage, film and television adaptations more than 100 years later.
Posted: Thursday, March 27, 2025
Thursday Update
Starting This Week
The Odyssey by Homer
The Classical Greek story that follows the battles in The Iliad. King Odysseus returns home after 10 years in the Trojan war to find the Queen has suitors at her door. This is the return journey where he visits many lands and encounters magical and mythical beings. There are many beautiful editions with new translations. I just have the slim Dover Thrift Edition.
The Navigator of New York by Wayne Johnston
The story of an adventurer of a man who left his family in Newfoundland to obtain funding and support for his voyage to the Arctic. It is told from the point of view of his son as he grows up and begins to ask questions about his parents. It is set in the late 19th century.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
The first prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy that is told from the point of view of 18-year-old Snow. How did the villain become who he is later in life when he presides over the tournament when Katniss Everdeen joins the fight?
Continuing This Week
The Theory of Crows by David Robertson
A father dealing with mental health challenges that affects his work and family life. He struggles to have a relationship with his daughter during her teen years. There is also the role of Indigenous traditions on their family.
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
The first book of an epic fantasy adventure series that I have read I was younger and would like to revisit now that I have an genre that I read extensively as a teenager but took a break while in college.
Completed This Week
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
This is the story about how the hobbits and dwarves gather together and prepare to set out on their journey to Mordor. It takes numerous chapters to set the stage and introduce the cast of characters. Then the adventure begins at the end of the volume.
Posted: Thursday, March 20, 2025
Thursday Update
Posted Thursday, March 13, 2025
Starting This Week
Fire Season by Leyna Krow
It is 1889 at Spokane Falls. A fire has damaged a town and there are opportunists ready to take advantage of the situation for their own benefit. Barton Heydale is the manager of the only bank in town who somehow survives and Quake Auchenbaucher is a con man hired to investigate the fire. Roslyn Beck has the ability to see into the future which leads her to drink.
dandilion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew
Lily was 11 years old when her mother walked away. Fast forward a number of years and Lily is now a mother herself. She is determined to find out what happened to her mother Swee Hua. Lily grew up in a small town in British Columbia with only a handful of Asian families. Her family remains silent on the past, but an old family friend provides a clue to her mother’s disapperance.
Continuing This Week
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
Bree is mourning the death of her mother. She finds solace being part of a boarding school program for high schoolers that has a secret club that has the task of hunting magical creatures. The story was inspired by King Arthur and the Roundtable, written from the perspective of an American Black teenager.
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Time has passed since the adventures in the Hobbit, and it is time to travel again to the land of Mordor. It is a journey that Frodo takes in the company of hobbits and dwarves to confront the danger with the assistance from the power of the ring that demands a price from those who choose to wield it. This is a journey through the forests and fields to reach their destination.
Completed This Week
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Blue is a young woman living in a small town outside Baltimore. She lives with her mother and aunts who are psychics. In a ritual, Blue is warned away from the boys in town who attend a prestigious school. The book explores the social dynamic among the group of boys as wealth and status figures into their friendships. The magic is derived from astrology, Welsh mythology, and American imagery.
Monday Update
Posted Monday, March 10, 2025
Book Series I Have Started and Volumes Read
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin
The Game of Thrones
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Machineries of Empire by Yoon Ha Lee
Ninefox Gambit
Red Rising Saga by Pierce Brown
Red Rising
Shadow and Bone Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
Shadow and Bone
The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare
Clockwork Angel
The October Day Series by Seanan McGuire
Rosemary and Rue A Local Habitation
Shadows of Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Empire in Black and Gold
Chronicles of Elantra by Michelle Sagara
Cast in Shadow Cast in Courtight Cast in Secret
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas Throne of Glass
Posted Thursday, March 6, 2025
Starting This Week
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
Alessandra Cecci is 14 years old living in Medici Florence. Her father is a cloth merchant. One day he brings a young painter to paint the walls of the family chapel. At a time when the monk Savonarola holds sway, there is something about the work of the painter that awakens desire.
The Future by Catherine Leroux
In an alternate history of the city of Detroit, a grandmother looks for clues for her missing granddaughters. Her search takes her to the Parc Rouge where the abandoned children have made their own society.
The Wars by Timothy Findley
At 19 years old, Robert Ross joins the army after the death of his older sister. He is pulled into the war that was supposed to end all wars – World War I. A beloved Canadian novel, the author received the Governor General’s Award for this book.
Completed This Week
Klee Wyck by Emily Carr
Better known for her work as a painter, Emily Carr was also an award-winning author. Klee Wyck was her first book in a series of memoirs. This one is about the time Carr spent with Indigenous communities on the West Coast, and how she was given the name Klee Wyck.
Continuing This Week
Ash and Blood by Jennifer Armentrout
The first book in a series that follows Poppy chosen as the Maiden to hold a sacred duty in a society where there is politics at play. Her goal is to find the ones responsible for the demise of her family. Raised for a certain destiny, the world she lives in might not be what it seems.
With the new month ahead, there is more reading to do. Some of these books are from previous TBRs that I did not get around to reading. Many of these are older titles. I keep hearing about new releases, but I have to read what I already have. I look forward to the challenge of reading as many books as possible in March. So far my reading has had some ups and downs. There are classic books I am having trouble keeping awake for, other books are more interesting. I can’t always tell how I will feel about a book until I read them. Sometimes it is as expected, other times I am surprised. I always look forward to a book with great expectations, so when I am disappointed, it feels especially harsh when I had invested a great deal of emotional energy in certain books or areas of interest. These are feelings I can better identify the more I read, and understand myself as a reader. The act of reading is to take in the words, ideas, emotions and imagery, and see how they have impact or difference on myself as an individual and member of the bigger community around me. This is a process I am fascinated by how new ideas and old ideas impact the inner self, and how I perceive the world I live in.
Happy reading!
Fiction
Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi
The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
Non-fiction
6. Klee Wyck by Emily Carr
7. The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark
8. The Origins of Political Order by Francis Fukuyama
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Vol. 2 by Naoko Takeuchi
A Selection from the Currently Reading List (My actual list is longer)
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer
The Incarnations by Susan Barker
March Mystery Madness Read
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Thursday, February 20, 2025
Literary Fiction of the Week
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The story follows a couple who leave Nigeria behind during a time of military-rule. They arrive at London first. Years later, they find themselves in America, trying to live and thrive as immigrants, and their new identities as Black Americans.
Real Life by Brandon Taylor
Wallace is attending a university in the Mid-West. He is Black and Queer, as well as from Alabama. The book shows a young person navigating post-secondary life in Contemporary United States.
A Shout in the Ruins by Kevin Power
A multi-generational saga that begins with Virginia during the American Civil War tracing the lives on the inhabitants of a plantation. A hundred years pass by into the 20th century.
Paranormal Fantasy of the Week
Angel’s Blood by Nalini Singh
The story follows vampire hunter Elena Deveraux from the first in an urban fantasy series the author first released in 2010. She is hired by the beautiful Archangel Raphael on a task she cannot fail.
Mass Market Paperback of the Week
Mallworld by Somtow Sucharitkul
In this world, a shopping mall is the size of the planet. There is a bit of the humor and wit from classic sci-fi imagining the world consumed with buying and selling, and all the goods that miraculously appear in the shops and stalls of the marketplace. The book was published in 1981.
Posted on Thursday, February 13, 2025
Starting this Week
Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer
Tycho arrives at a small village. He has left the demands of life at the castle for something quieter. He meets a handsome blacksmith whom he doesn’t expect to fall in love. This a return to the world of the Cursebreakers series.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
Loose and wayward girls are sent to a home for unwed mothers. In this place, they endure hardship, but they also find a form of magic. This is the latest of books by the author in the horror genre.
Backlist Books of the Week
Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
A tale about vampires in Mexico City following along through a journey as a young woman who is more than she appears who navigates through the dark streets, and finds a normal guy.
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
The start of the Raven Cycle that follows four boys in a private boarding school. Blue Sergeant lives in the town. Her mother is a clairvoyant. Blue is determined to stay away from the boys, but she is drawn to one in particular.
Non-Fiction Book of the Week
Finding Me by Viola Davis
The movie star recounts her days on Rhode Island and how she made her way to the stage and screen. An acclaimed actor, she looks back at the life she left behind in the old apartment building she grew up in.
Posted Friday, February 7, 2025
Starting This Week
The Paris Agent by Kelly Rimmer
It is 1970. Charlotte’s mother has passed away. Her father has decided to at last tell his story in the war. He begins to look back at his past, which leads Charlotte on the trail of two women spies.
The Incarnations by Susan Barker
Someone gets into the taxi in Beijing. The driver is a man with a wife and a child. This begins a haunting tale from a narrator who seems to know the driver far longer than anyone else would know, but the driver is unaware.
Continuing This Week
The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino
A man has died mysteriously. There is a duel between the police and the suspect to anticipate each others’ moves to reach the tense conclusion that has many shades of grey.
The Theory of Crows by David A. Robertson
A father and teenage daughter find themselves in a difficult point in their lives. While the father is distracted, the daughter is growing up and finding her place in the world. They take a trip to find the family trapline out on the land as a way to understand each other.
Non-fiction Book of the Week
Joni Mitchell: In Her Own Worlds by Malka Marom
A carefully put together book of text, images, and song lyrics with interviews the author conducted with Joni Mitchell over three sessions are transcribed to the page. Released in 2014.
The first month of the year has gone by quickly and has shown to be eventful. There is so much uncertainty about the year ahead, so I go to where I normally go: my stack of books to read that seem never-ending. Happy Lunar New Year!!!
Fiction
The Other Americans by Laila Lalami
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Flood of Fire by Amitav Ghosh
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Non-Fiction
The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 by Christopher Clark
Trudeau: The Education of a Prime Minister by John Ivison
Joni Mitchell: In Her Own Words by Malka Marom
Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism by Thomas Brothers
Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City by Tanya Talaga
The latest book from sci-fi and fantasy writer Nnedi Okorafor who spends time in Nigeria, as well as in the U.S.A. The story follows a Nigerian American woman. She writes a novel that brings her fame, but she no longer has control of the narrative. Her fate is now tied to the whims of the reading public. The way she lives her life is no longer the same as before.
Library Books On Loan
Happy Place by Emily Henry
A couple has broken up but they pretend to their friends that they are still together. They go on vacation and try to figure out if they still want to be together.
The Paris Agent by Kelly Rimmer
Charlotte has heard her father’s stories about being in the war. She has also heard about two women spies and she begins to follow their trail to find out what happened to them. The answers she finds might be more shocking than she realizes.
Books Started in 2024
The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman
Young Ruth lives in a brothel and does not expect more from her life until she meets a man who sees her potential. He encourages her to fight bare-knuckled in a ring, which changes the course of her life.
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
The first book in His Dark Materials trilogy, the story follows two children Lyra and Will who begin a journey through the magical otherworlds and encounter witches and armoured bears along with other creatures.
Friday Reads
January 24, 2025
Books Started This Week
The Theory of Crows by David A. Robertson
Mainly a children’s author, David A Robertson wrote The Theory of Crows a few years ago for older readers. It follows one Indigenous family in Manitoba, Canada. There is a father, mother and two teenage children. Holly is a high school student on her school swim team. The father seems preoccupied with another romantic interest. In a time of change for the family, how can the family stay together even when the children are growing up and the adults in their lives seem restless.
Robertson released a nonfiction title this week, All the Little Monsters: How I Learned to Live With Anxiety.
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
Persephone Fraser returns to Prince Edward Island after 10 years away. She is there to revisit her family’s past, taking time from her current life in a stylish apartment in Toronto. It appears to be a fun summer vacation, but there is more than meets the eye.
Books to Start this Week
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
The death of a woman leaves behind an unusual inheritance for her two children. It is a black cake a food from the Caribbean along with a voice message with her life story as well as a family recipe.
The author will have a new book released next week on January 28 called Good Dirt about an affluent Black family.
Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang
The narrator is a piano player whose parents left China during the Cultural Revolution. She takes a job at a high-end beauty and wellness shop in New York City.
The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 by Christopher Clark
A history book on WWI, the revolutions taking place in the Old World, and how small acts of violence brought many nations into war.
Books to Complete
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J Maas
The second book in the Throne of Glass series following a young woman assassin. Many critics forget this series was intended for young adult or teenagers, but the series have been re-released for older readers.
The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino
A mainstream and popular author in Japan with the first in his mystery thriller novels to be translated to English. It is a difficult story to tell about the lives of women and sexual politics in Japan.
It is already New Years Day. I have set my Goodreads goal at 100 books. This seems like a large number to me. I have only reached 100 books once. Now that I am busy with other projects, I might not get a chance to read that much. I have the books, but maybe not the time. I just like the number 100 as a solid number to aim for in my reading for the year 2025.
5 Authors to Read More of in 2025 Thursday, December 26, 2024
There are 5 authors I have read before that I would like to spend time reading more from in 2025. I will be spreading the books out throughout the year, in order to read other books as well. I don’t like to read too many books that are too similar at once, so this will help keep my interest, as well as to better appreciate the words and stories on a page. These are authors I have collected a number of books from over the years, and I am making an effort to read in the new year.
In no particular order, the authors and their books are as follows:
This is the blog for the CANTOSTARS music program on CJSW 90.9 FM in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Saturday, December 21, 2024
Sailor Moon will be celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the animation in 2025. Bands DALI and Manish performed the original song Moonlight Densetsu in 1992 that became the opening theme song for the original Sailor Moon animated series in 1995. The song CantoStars will be playing Sunday morning is from the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos the Movie Theme Song Collection EP. This is a 5-song EP released in 2023 for an animated movie that is one of the latest in the franchise.
Eric Chou is a Taiwanese singer and actor. His most recent single is The little things, released in 2024. He has released 6 albums since starting in music and entertainment in 2014. He has appeared in film, television, and talent shows. In the Starlight BnB reality show, he sings and plays the keyboard. He is also a chef. The program showcases the beautiful outdoors and recreational activities, as well as bring celebrities to live at a bed and breakfast together. There are 30 episodes all together with 1-hour episodes available on Netflix.
Kelly Yu is a Chinese-Canadian singer. She released a new album this year, Scorpio in November. She also started her career in 2014 in China, and is credited in film, television, variety and talent shows. Her most recent film credit was in 2023 for the Far East Films production, The Ex-File 4. She returned to the lead role Lin Jia that she played in The Ex-File 3. It is a romantic comedy that also stars Han Geng formerly of the South Korean boy band Super Junior. Scorpio is a 10-song album with pop and rock music sounds.
