Book Review: Sharing the Light by Monique Gray Smith

Sharing the Light by Monique Gray Smith can be used as a journal writing prompt or as a guide for a discussion group.

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Sharing the Light: Stories and Reflections
by Monique Gray Smith

Published by Ambrosia

an imprint of House of Anansi

2026

Book Jacket by Alysis Shewschuck

Jacke Artwork by Dragonfly by Betty Albert

Buy this book

Collected under the themes of gratitude, love, joy, happiness, and hope, Sharing the Light inspires a positive life. It teaches the reader how to create positive energy for themselves and those who share their life. I especially enjoyed reading "Letter from Love." Simply reading it filled my heart with light. I hope it does the same for you. What will be your favourite part of this book?

What will you read third?

I'm all for 

reading Canadian authors first

and second,

for that matter.

But after that?

What are you going to read then?

What are you going to read third, eh?

Well, in my humble opinion...

Read Douglas Adams.

Why?

Well, because Douglas Adams is funny.

And who couldn't do with a little more laughter?

No one.

That's who.

He's so funny,

in fact,

that he could have been Canadian.

He wasn't.

But he could have been.

What am I planning to read third?

This...

(Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams)

photo by ldyck

On this blog in June

Sunday, June 28

"My Aunt's Kitchen" (short memoir)

New content is published

each Sunday

at approximately 4:40 PM PT.

Book Review: Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins

 If you asked most people what Skinny Legs and All is about they'd probably say something like...

Skinny Legs and All is about newlyweds--artist Ellen Cherry Charles and welder Randolph "Boomer" Petway--and their pilgrimage from Colonial Pines east-central Virginia to New York in early spring.

If you ask most people that's what they would tell you.

But ask me, ask me...

Skinny Legs and All is about five inanimate objects--Conch Shell, Painted Stick, Can of Beans, Dirty Sock, and Spoon--and their pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

"Is it not time that inanimate objects--and plants and animals--resume their rightful place in the affairs of the world? How long can humankind continue to slight these integral pieces of the whole reality?"' (p. 88)

 

Few authors can tell stories like Tom Robbins. He twists, turns, and inverts knowledge to serve story. What he creates....? Oh, what he creates...

In his skillful hands, he creates a story of opposites...

empowering women                                                objectifying women

human                                                                      inanimate

United States                                                            Middle East

maternal religion                                                    patriarchal religion

general fiction                                                        magical realism

He explores questions such as...

what is art?

who decides?

are artists born or made?

what is the purpose of art? 

'a bright, defrosted, pussy-willow day' (p. 5)

 

Buy this book

Skinny Legs and All

Tom Robbins

Bantam Books

1991

479 pages

 

I was in my twenties when I turned a page in Skinny Legs and All, for the first time. I'd never encountered anything like it before and I fell in love with each page--especially the pages about the inanimates. In my heart, they were and remain the stars of this book.

Revisiting this book many years later, magical realism still captivates me. However, other parts... Other parts... The book has aged. In fact, I am tempted to release Skinny Legs and All so that it may find a new reader, a younger reader. A reader whose hair it can set on fire. I'm almost ready... Almost...

 

photo by ldyck

September's Blog Offerings...

Wednesday, September 1

Author Reading Podcast

The Ones Who Hold Her (short story) 

Written and read by Leanne Dyck

It's been two months since I offered an author reading. So I'm crossing my fingers that this will work. Your positive thoughts are appreciated.

Sunday, September 5

Short Story

My Special Teacher

by Leanne Dyck

I'm dyslexic. Writing this short story was my way of acknowledging and thanking the remedial teachers who aided in my education.

Wednesday, September 8

Author Reading Podcast

My Special Teacher (short story)

Written and read by Leanne Dyck

Sunday, September 12

Book Review

Brief Answers to the Big Questions (non-fiction)

by Stephen Hawking

reviewed by Benni Chisholm

Wednesday, September 15

Author Reading Podcast

Five Dollars (short story)

Written and read by Leanne Dyck

Sunday, September 19

Short Story

He Saved Me 

by Leanne Dyck

A woman struggles with self-image.

Wednesday, September 22

Author Reading Podcast

He Saved Me (short story)

Written and read by Leanne Dyck

Sunday, September 26

Book Review

My Daugther Rehtaeh Parsons (non-fiction)

by Glen Canning

I'm very impressed by the courage and strength it took to write this book. I know whatever I write in my review will fall short of what this book deserves. Still, I have to try...

Wednesday, September 29

Author Reading Podcast

He Makes Me Feel (poem)

          

 

Book Review: The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane (MG) by Julia Nobel

 Emmeline "Emmy" Willick is happy kicking balls and scoring goals on the soccer field in Connecticut until her mother sends her away to Wellsworth--a boarding school in England. 

'making friends had never been [Emmy's] strength. That would involve talking to people.' (p. 4)

How will a timid introvert like Emmy survive living with her peers?

Emmy's life is one big question mark. Why did her mother choose to send her to Wellsworth? Does it have anything to do with her father? Emmy's father left when she was three-years-old. One of the only things she knows about him is that he meet Emmy's mom in England. She doesn't know if he's alive or dead. So if he's alive, she wonders where he is? If he's dead, how did he die? 

The mystery is like a frayed thread the more she pulls on it the longer it gets. 

Buy this book

Published by Sourcebooks Young Readers

Published in 2020

Won the Silver Birch Fiction Award

I choose to read The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane because I'm currently writing a novel for readers of middle grade fiction and wanted to learn more about the genre. I was rewarded with not only an intriguing mystery but also with an enduring, relatable character--Emmy--who grew through the course of the novel.

Next Sunday...

December 20

at approximately 5...um...er...4:30ish PM PT

Ice Angel

Leanne Dyck

...Something floated over the ice. She sparkled. Was she an angel?...

 

photo by Terrill Welch

Wednesday, December 9

Virtual Author Reading

Christmas with Family

by Leanne Dyck

This short story was inspired by the Christmas--several years ago--when I forced to throw all my seasonal traditions out the window--much like this year. Ah, but, I learned... Well, to say more would spoil it. I'll just read it, shall I...?

photo by bdyck

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Sharing my author journey...

word count:  19,221 words

goal:  40,000+ words

Sometimes when the words lie lifeless on the page and the story has 

Book Review: My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (darkly comic thriller)

Everyone in this book is using someone, but no one does it more frequently or to such a degree as narrator Korede's sister Ayoola.
Ayoola is self-absorbed but is she capable of murder? Is Ayoola a serial killer? It's a mystery Korede doesn't want to solve.

From the time Ayoola was born, Korede has been made to feel responsible for her sister. So she will clean up her sister's "murder" and help hide the body but she won't bring her sister to justice.

What stops her?

Sisterly love or...?

In fact, Korede attempts to convince herself of Ayoola's innocence. She blames the "victims" and even the "murder weapon".

'For some reason, I cannot imagine her restoring to the stabbing if that particular knife were not in her hand; almost as if it were the knife and not her that was doing the killing. But then, is that so hard to believe? Who is to say that an object does not come with its own agenda? Or that collective agenda of its previous owner does not direct its purpose still?' (p. 36)

Buy this Book

Published by Anchor Books

A Division of Penguin Random House Inc.

Published in 2018

This gripping darkly comic thriller is perfect for a "challenged" reader with its easily digestible short--one to four pages--chapters. The chapters are so short, in fact, that some readers may be tempted to speed read. But doing so is unwise because transitions are subtle and information is provided sparsely. And you don't want to miss any of the twists and turns.

Braithwaite utilizes a clever means to convey backstory--Korede confides in Muhtar (a man in a coma).

Set in the city of Lagos, My Sister, the Serial Killer is a culturally rich book and I enjoyed visiting Africa from the comfort of my reading chair.

'In the Western world you can walk or dance in the rain, but here, the rain will drown you.' (p. 144)

I'm still here.

photo by ldyck

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On this blog in August... 

Really? August already? Wow...

August 2

Short Story:  Maybe Me

This is like kinda a romantic story--kinda.

You'll need to read it to understand. 

(Or it may just leave you more confused)

August 9

Book Review:  The Old Curiosity Shop

Charles Dickens

Adventure story through Victorian England

August 16

Short Story:  Visiting Iceland

We've been stuck at home to long. It's time we traveled--and what better country than Iceland.

August 23

Guest Post:  

Book Review:  Year One

Nora Roberts

Guest Reviewer:  Benni Chisholm

August  30

Short Story:  Jaron Cardew, author

What is an artists' role in society?

photo by ldyck

Leaving July with...

A Smile

I offer this smile to you

Book Review: Crow Winter by Karen McBride

Recent university graduate Hazel Ellis is grieving the loss of her father. To cope, she moves from Ottawa back to Spirit Bear Point First Nation reserve and rediscovers Algonquin spirituality.

'The reserve exists outside the boundaries of regular time.' (p. 80)

Published by HarperAvenue

an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Published in 2019

Buy this book

What attracted me to this book? 

A devoted listener of The Next Chapter on CBC radio, I heard Shelagh Rogers interview Karen McBride and I thought, I've got to learn more about that book. I typed Crow Winter into a search engine, read an excerpt and was hooked. I bought the book at an independent bookstore--Tanner's Books on Vancouver Island.

My Review

Reviewing Crow Winter is a heavy weight because it is so rich with many layers

-how to heal from grief

and

-the importance of culture--ethnic and familial

and

-an introduction to Algonquin culture--including a glossary of Algonquin words

and

-comments on settlers' exploitation of reserve land

and 

-an introduction to life on a reserve

and 

-the importance of nature and why we must do our part to protect and heal it

and...

All of these layers are piled up in an unputdownable read. I walked into the world Karen McBride created and didn't want to leave. The imaginary was just so beautiful. I felt this story.

And on top of all of that there's an intriguing mystery. In fact, there are two. One is solved. And the other... How involved is Hazel's mother Nora in Hazel's relationship with Nanabush? 

Oh and also...

Well, I could go on and on and still not feel like I did justice to this book. You'll just have to read Crow Winter. 

'Gifts of sunshine from my neighbour's garden' photo by ldyck

Sharing my author journey...

A few days ago--Wednesday, June 17--I re-wrote this short story (originally written in December 2005) and because it's about you I wanted to share it with you...

Book Review: Reproduction by Ian Williams (2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner)

I found your latest book club read. Believe me, Reproduction is sure to generate lots of discussions.

Most notably for me, questions regarding the line between consent and sexual abuse.

In the late 70's...

A nineteen-year-old woman is grieving the recent death of her mother. A much older man comforts her. This comforting leads to sex. Did the man prey on the woman?

In the mid 90's...

A young woman takes the drug her boyfriend offered her. Is she responsible for what happens next?

Present day...

A young man makes sexually explicit art. Is he responsible for those who view it? Is he a 'sexual terrorist'?

Reproduction is a novel for our times.

Buy this Book

Published in 2019

Published by Vintage Canada

a division of Penguin Random House Canada

2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner

Reading Reproduction won't teach you how to write a novel. Master storytellers can take chances those learning the craft cannot.

Dialogue needs action. Right? You need to take time to place your reader in time, in place. Right? 

Ian Williams threw out the writers' rule-book.

At times I found myself wondering where I was and who was speaking. But I cared so much about the family of characters that I had no choice but to keep reading. And besides this book just worked.

Ian Williams is a brave and creative author.

Next Sunday evening...

June 14th

Blogging:  What you need to know

How do you build a popular blog?

I built 'The Sweater Curse' blog in 2010. I renamed the blog 'Author Leanne Dyck's blog' a few years after that. It's not advisable to name your blog after your book. And it's definitely not advisable to re-name your blog. But I hung in there and this blog grew (450,000 page views). Next Sunday I'll share with you what I've learned.

I'm still here.

photo by ldyck

Follow, follow me...

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A project that I completed this spring was to sort through my 

Book Review: Oh, My Darling by Shaena Lambert (short story collection)

Relationships come in all shapes and sizes in Shaena Lambert's ten story collection.

All but three of the stories in Oh, My Darling are set in BC. As a proud Gulf Islander, I was delighted to discover that The Wind--a story with a heart-breaking conclusion--is set on Galiano Island. The other locations are Germany, the United Kingdom and Greece.

Artists and activists and senior citizens and... the stories are peopled with a diverse cast of characters. The most unique--a cancerous lump. Oh, My Darling--the story that gives the collection its name--is a call to action. The message:  you can beat cancer, you can survive, but you need to have courage, you need to be strong. You need to use all your resources including the power of your imagination.

The collection ends on a high with the story of a married couple vacationing in Delphi. Once again I was impressed with author Shaena Lambert's creativity. This time in how she formatted the story. First focusing on the wife, then the husband, then the wife again and so on. The couple have travelled to Delphi to celebrate the wife's fiftieth birthday. A milestone... A time to take stock of the past and make plans for the future. Maya, the wife, racks her brain attempting to come up with the perfect question to ask the oracle in the temple on top of the mountain. I love the last lines of this story:  'And they did. Down the hill, together.' (p. 197)

Oh, My Darling there is much to love in this clever collection.

Buy this Book

Published by HarperCollins Publishers

Published in 2013

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photo by ldyck

What makes me smile...

Usually, in order to attend a literary event I have to hop on a ferry and spend the night in Vancouver. But things have changed...

Book Review: The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan (historical fiction)

The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan provides glimpses into the relationship between two sisters growing up in the slums of Paris, France during the late 1800s. Sisterly love--sisterly envy. The secrets they can't share with each other, they share with us. The prejudice they face we witness. 

'I want to put my face in my hands, to howl, for...all the women of Paris, for the burden of having what men desire, for the heaviness of knowing it is ours to give, that with  our flesh we make our way in the world.' (p. 284)

I see you struggling. Starving,  you live in squalor and your future is bleak. But I can sleep easy without lifting a finger to help. In fact, I'm wise not to help because you'd only take advantage of me. Your facial features, they give it away. 

This type of blame-the-victim thinking was known as physiognomies.

Cathy Marie Buchanan's author notes explain that one of the inspirations for The Painted Girls was the discovery that 'Degas bought into the idea that certain facial features hinted at a person's innate criminality and sought to incorporate it into his artwork.' And she wondered, '[h]ow might such perception have affected the lives of his teenage model.' 

Buy this book

Published by Harper Perennial
an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Published in 2013

I enjoy shopping for almost all the books I review on this book--mainly at independent bookstores. Occasionally, there are exceptions. I received my copy of The Painted Girls from the HarperCollins. Along with a beautiful and useful beach bag. 

The Painted Girls is alternatively narrated by two sisters--Antoinette and Marie Goethem. Antoinette is the elder by four years. She seems resolved to her fate. Marie still dares to dream. The bleakness of their lives made The Painted Girls a challenging read, but my hope that they would escape the fate that was targeting them and eke out some kind of happiness kept me reading. 

Target reader:  Those interested in French or art history--especially dance or the fine arts.

February 19th is...

 I Read Canadian

'a national day of celebration of Canadian books for young people.' 

Next Sunday Evening...



Short story collection
Stories of My Life

A collection of short story that was inspired by my life.

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Book Review: Be My Love by Kit Pearson (young adult novel)

Be My Love by Kit Pearson is about secrets hidden and secrets shared, and it's about personal truths discovered.

Buy this Book

Published by HarperTrophy Canada
an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Canada

Published in 2019

I purchased my copy on Mayne Island during Kit Pearson's author talk.

'Kit Pearson on Mayne Island' photo by ldyck

Set in 1951, fourteen-year-old Mairead Jean Stafford "Maisie" spends a life-changing summer on Kingfisher Island with a 'hodge-podge of grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins'. (p. 55) All help Maisie learn some personal truths. Such as...

-The way to healing is to face your truth.

-By telling your truth you may help someone else who is in the same--or similiar--pain.

-Telling your truth may be hard but it's much better for you if you let it out.

-By telling your truth you may grow stronger and you may find others who share your truth.

'"We were amazed to discover how many of us there are!...It's so confirming to know that we're not alone."' (p. 206)

Target reader:  a young adult reader who feels like she doesn't belong and fears she never will. 

Another new book by Kit Pearson...

The Magic Boat (picture book) 

Next Sunday evening...

Book Review:
The Painted Girls


provides glimpses into the relationship between two sisters growing up in the slums of Paris, France during the late 1800's.

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Book Review: Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline (thriller, fantasy)

Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline is a cautionary folk tale about corporate greed for Aboriginal land.

Story question:  What challenges do Aboriginal men (and boys) face?

Buy this Book

Published by Random House Canada
a division of Penguin Random House Canada
Published in 2019

Struggling financially, Victor tells his wife Joan that he's going to sell some of their land. But the land is sacred to Joan and she refuses to let him. Victor storms out of the house and remains gone for a year. Where did he go? Did the rogarou get him?

What is a rogarou?

'They were men turned into beasts' (p. 190)

"He was the threat from a hundred stories by those old enough to remember the tales.' (p. 3)

How do you become a rogarou?

' "Being attached by a rogarou, mistreating women, betraying your people." ' (p. 69)

What does a rogarou do?

'the rogarou is doomed to eat the people, to wander the roads leading us into temptation.' (p. 221)

How do you defend yourself against a rogarou?

' "You put salt [bone] around your house and... no ragarou, can come in." (p. 147) 

The ace of spades ' "makes the rogarou weak, gives you a chance to get away to try to switch him back." ' (p. 76)

If you make a rogarou bleed he'll remember that he was a man and you may be able to switch him back.

Empire of Wild is an engaging story, cleverly written. One of the subplots doesn't end with the plot. This makes the story haunting as readers are left to resolve the subplot on their own. This also gives the author a way back into the story if she wishes to write a sequel. Which, you know, I'm hoping...

Cherie Dimaline talks about Empire of Wild and... (podcast)

Cherie Dimaline talks about Canada Reads (podcast)

Stories to share in February...

February 2:  short story
Ownership

I try my hand at writing horror--inspired by owning an old home

February 9:  book review
Be My Love
Kit Pearson
(middle grade)

set on a small island, during the 1950's, Be My Love is about secrets hidden and secrets shared, and it's about personal truths discovered.

February 16:  book review
The Painted Girls
Cathy Marie Buchanan
(historical fiction)

provides glimpses into the relationship between two sisters growing up in the slums of Paris, France during the late 1800's

February 23:  short story collection
Stories of My Life

a collection of short stories inspired by my life

Sharing my Author Journey...

January in BC has been full of rain.

Thoughts on a rainy day...

Book Review: Akin by Emma Donoghue

In this interesting interview, Emma Donoghue talks about Akin. 

Eighty-year-old, newly widowed, newly retired, Noah Selvaggio travels to his hometown Nice, France with an envelope full of mysterious photos and his great-nephew.

Micheal Jerome Young is an impoverished (think of the expanded definition), very America eleven-year-old. What will he think of France?

Buy this book

Published by HarperCollins Publishers

Published in 2019

It's World War II, you're living in Nice, France. Do you...

A) Work for the Resistance

B) Wait and see what happens--even though it's pretty clear what is happening to your Jewish neighbours

C)Collaborate with the Nazis

It's 2017, during a trip to France you discover evidence that seems to indicate that a beloved relative collaborated with the Nazis. What do you do?

'[A]lthough so many had claimed afterward to have been involved in the Resistance, only around two percent--mainly students and immigrants--had actually committed themselves. Perhaps another eight percent had taken timid steps.' (p. 101)

'And after all, didn't [Noah's] kind manage to ignore today's awful wrongs? Read the paper, shook their heads regretfully, sipped their lattes.' (p. 102)

Emma Donoghue has crafted yet another compelling read. As there are rather long chapters, I'm thankfully for the page breaks.

Things I'd like to ask Emma Donoghue--given the opportunity...

1)I recall an interview in which you said that your son had inspired Room. Did your son inspire this novel as well?

2)Why is Noah so quick to think the worse of his beloved relative with very little evidence when the opposite could be equally as likely?

3)Was writing about Noah's obvious irritation with grammar and other language issues mistakes therapeutic for you?

Here are some questions Emma Donoghue has answered.

Next Sunday evening...




I'll share a short story I wrote recently for this upcoming event... 

Storyteller evening--with music

at the Agricultural Society Hall

on Mayne Island, BC

at 7:30 PM
on Saturday, November 30th

Book Review: Milkman by Anna Burns

Milkman by Anna Burns is set in Ireland during the 1970s, during the time of the troubles. "Everyone" is afraid and "everyone" is paranoid. For the eighteen-year-old narrator, this environment is full of tension. To help her cope, she engages in a lot of introspection and, for the reader, this equates to long dark tunnel chapters. 

Buy this book

I found Milkman at Tanner's Books

Published by Gray Wolf Press
Published by Faber & Faber Ltd
Published in 2018
Winner of the 2018 Man Booker Prize

A rule breaker, Burns doesn't name any of her primary characters but a few of her minor characters are named. And the 'Milkman' has nothing to do with milk--not in the liquid sense of the word. Without naming characters, you may wonder how Burns welcomes the reader into the book. The narrator's voice is so strong that I had no choice but to keep reading.

This is Anna Burns' fourth published book. And all I can say is, "More please!"

photo by ldyck

June on this blog...

June 2:  Emphasizing the 'ability' in disability (list)

Have you watched a good movie, lately? Here's a list of three must-sees.

June 9: Fox 8 by George Saunders (book review)

George Saunders' novel Lincoln in the Bardo won the Man Booker Prize in 2017.  Fox 8 is a short novel that packs a powerful punch.

June 16 and 23:  How a Writer Sleeps (short story)

Weird? You like weird. Well, then you'll enjoy this short story.

June 30:  Ellen Schwartz's writing workshop (review)

I'm looking forward to attending Ellen Schwartz's writing workshop on June 14. In this post, I'll publish a brief review.

Sharing my author journey...

During the year,  I work on my writing but allow room for other distractions. But in summer I retreat to my writer's cave. 

What will I focus on this year?