Reviews

Making and Selling Herbal Crafts: Tips, Techniques, Projects

Whether pretty posies or practical aromatics, book publishers are offering a stack of craft books on creating items for home, body, or gift giving from the garden’s bounty. From the glossy front cover of Living ... Read More »

October 1, 2013 | Filed under: Art, Music & Pop Culture

Flowercrafts: Practical Inspirations for Natural Gifts, Country Crafts and Decorative Displays

By Deena Beverley

October 1, 2013 | Filed under: Art, Music & Pop Culture

Canfake

By Donald Webster

Thirty years ago my wife and I bought an ancient pine sideboard from an antique dealer we privately referred to as “The Pirate.” “Early Upper Canada,” he said as we tied it onto the roof ... Read More »

October 1, 2013 | Filed under: Art, Music & Pop Culture, Children and YA Non-fiction

Emergent Voices: Cbc Canadian Literary Awards Stories, 1979-1999

By Robert Weaver, ed.

It must have been quite a task for Robert Weaver, even after decades of experience selecting stories for CBC Radio, to choose the 11 stories for the audio tape version of Emergent Voices. He had ... Read More »

October 1, 2013 | Filed under: Fiction: Short

Carnivocal: A Celebration of Sound Poetry

By Stephen Scobie and Doug Barbour, eds.

Sound poetry has more in common with experimental music than verse upon a page: it rewards an open ear and mind, and a playful spirit. Sentences, phrases, and meaning exist, but they are soluble, and ... Read More »

October 1, 2013 | Filed under: Poetry

Kicking the Sky

By Anthony De Sa

Anthony De Sa’s story collection, 2008’s Barnacle Love, was shortlisted for both the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Toronto Book Award. The author’s long-awaited first novel is a powerful follow-up to this impressive debut. Kicking ... Read More »

September 30, 2013 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

What Lies Across the Water: The Real Story of the Cuban Five

By Stephen Kimber

The history of U.S. efforts to undermine and overthrow Fidel Castro is chock full of bizarre assassination plots, economic sanctions, and enough bush-league spycraft to make for dozens of satirical TV series. While there have ... Read More »

September 27, 2013 | Filed under: History

Little Ship of Fools: 16 Rowers, 1 Improbable Boat, and 7 Tumultuous Weeks on the Atlantic

By Charles Wilkins

In his new book, Charles Wilkins, author of nine previous works of non-fiction, chronicles his successful attempt to row across the Atlantic Ocean from Morocco to Barbados. The crew for this 2011 journey consisted of ... Read More »

September 27, 2013 | Filed under: Sports, Health & Self-help

Shopping for Votes: How Politicians Choose Us and We Choose Them

By Susan Delacourt

The problem with political advertising – from television commercials to micro-targeted get-out-the-vote efforts – is that, when properly applied, it works. As Toronto Star senior political writer Susan Delacourt’s new book makes clear, the success ... Read More »

September 27, 2013 | Filed under: Politics & Current Affairs

The Massey Murder: A Maid, Her Master and the Trial that Shocked a Country

By Charlotte Gray

The year 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War, so we can expect a flood of flag-waving, chest-thumping museum exhibitions, television documentaries, and books devoted to the subject. Chances ... Read More »