April favorites

The Witches Catalogue of Wanderlust Essentials by Ciara Blume.  Dolce Villa Press, 6 May 2025.

Zani, a vampire-slaying, relic-hunting witch whose satchel is always packed for adventure, faces her most mortifying mishap yet: losing a dangerously enchanted artifact. Just her luck that the bloodstone amulet goes missing right before an eclipse that could awaken its curse.

Enter Will, a half-fae rogue with the rare gift of opening portals through space and time. He’s always admired Zani's adventurous spirit from afar. When she approaches him with the request to journey through history to help her recover the bloodstone, he can't resist the opportunity—or her company.

The Library of Lost Dollhouses by Elise Hooper.  HarperCollins, 1 April 2025.

Tildy Barrows, Head Curator of a beautiful archival library in San Francisco, is meticulously dedicated to the century’s worth of inventory housed in her beloved Beaux Art building. She loves the calm and order in the shelves of books and walls of art. But Tildy’s life takes an unexpected turn when she, first, learns the library is on the verge of bankruptcy and, second, discovers two exquisite never-before-seen dollhouses.

After finding clues hidden within these remarkable miniatures, Tildy sets out to decipher the secret history of the dollhouses, aiming to salvage her cherished library in the process. Her journey introduces her to a world of ambitious and gifted women in Belle Époque Paris, a group of scarred World War I veterans in the English countryside, and Walt Disney’s bustling Burbank studio in the 1950s. As Tildy unravels the mystery, she finds not only inspiring, hidden history, but also a future for herself—and an astonishing familial revelation.

The Champagne Letters by Kate MacIntosh.  Gallery Books, 10 December 2024.

France, 1805: Barbe-Nicole Clicquot has just lost her beloved husband but is determined to pursue their dream of creating the premier champagne house in France, now named for her new identity as a widow: Veuve Clicquot. With the Russians poised to invade, competitors fighting for her customers, and the Napoleonic court politics complicating matters she must set herself apart quickly and permanently if she, and her business, are to survive.

Chicago, Present day: broken from her divorce, Natalie Taylor runs away to Paris. In a book stall by the Seine, Natalie finds a collection of the Widow Clicquot’s published letters and uses them as inspiration to step out of her comfort zone and create a new, empowered life for herself. But when her Parisian escape takes a shocking and unexpected turn, she’s forced to make a choice. Should she accept her losses and return home, or fight for the future she’s only dreamed about? 

The Secrets of Flowers by Sally Page.  Blackstone Publishing, 25 February 2025.

A heartwarming novel about a grieving woman who rediscovers herself by uncovering the lost story of the girl who arranged flowers on the Titanic. 

One year after her husband's death, Emma has become a wallflower, hiding among the brighter blooms in the florist shop where she works.

But when a colleague invites her to a talk on the Titanic, she begins a quest to uncover who arranged the flowers on board.

As Emma discovers the lost story of the girl and the great ship, she realizes that flowers may unlock long-buried secrets in her own life.

The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor.  Penguin Young Readers, 25 February 2025.

Seven years ago, Maeve Abenthy lost everything: her world, her father, even her name. Desperate to escape the stain of her father’s crimes, she lives under a fake name, never staying in one place long enough to put down roots.

Then she receives a mysterious letter with four impossible words: Your father was innocent.
To uncover the truth, she poses as an apprentice for the Otherwhere Post, where she’ll be trained in the art of scriptomancy—the dangerous magic that allows couriers to enchant letters and deliver them to other worlds. But looking into her father’s past draws more attention than she’d planned...

Her secretive, infuriating mentor knows she’s lying about her identity, and time is running out to convince him to trust her. Worse, she begins to receive threatening letters, warning her to drop her investigation—or else. 

Lucy Maud Montgomery

In Lovers' Lane

I know a place for loitering feet Deep in the valley where the breeze Makes melody in lichened boughs, And murmurs low love-litanies. There slender harebells nod and dream, And pale wild roses offer up The fragrance of their golden hearts, As from some incense-brimméd cup. It holds the sunshine sifted down Softly through many a beechen screen, Save where, by deeper woods embraced, Cool shadows linger, dim and green. And there my love and I may walk And harken to the lapsing fall Of unseen brooks and tender winds, And wooing birds that sweetly call. And every voice to her will say What I repeat in dear refrain, And eyes will meet with seeking eyes, And hands will clasp in Lovers' Lane. Come, sweet-heart, then, and we will stray Adown that valley, lingering long, Until the rose is wet with dew, And robins come to evensong, And woo each other, borrowing speech Of love from winds and brooks and birds, Until our sundered thoughts are one And hearts have no more need of words.

Lucy Maud Montgomery( 1874-1942), is arguably Canada’s most widely read author. Her first novel, Anne of Green Gables, became an instant best-seller, and has remained in print for more than a century.

Montgomery produced more than 500 short stories, 21 novels, two poetry collections, and numerous journal and essay anthologies. 

Montgomery was named an Officer of both the Order of the British Empire and the Literary and Artistic Institute of France. 

She was the first Canadian woman to be made a member of the British Royal Society of Arts and and has also been declared a Person of National Historic Significance in Canada.

Joy Kogawa

July in Coaldale

July in Coaldale
and so hot the scalp steams 
and I am curling my mother's 
fine white hair with her 
new mist curler iron 
I bought for her 
81st birthday and 
she is telling me 
of her early morning dream 
that it was Christmas and 
there was music. "I can't 
remember the song" she says 
but after a few more curls 
he is singing in Japanese 
"Joy to the World" 
somewhat out of tune 
because she is deaf now 
and her throat is dry 
but she was famous for her singing once 
and she says in her dream 
there was an old dry plant 

that started to bloom.

From Woman in the Woods, (Mosaic Press1986) 

Joy Nozomi Kogawa (1935 -) is a writer and poet. Born in Vancouver to Japanese immigrant parents, Kogawa grew up in a predominantly white, middle-class neighbourhood.
Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, she and her family were forced into an internment camp in the British Columbia Interior. Kogawa's childhood experiences in the internment camp form the basis for her most famous book, the courageous Obasan, published in 1981 to widespread critical acclaim.

She won numerous awards for the book, which she adapted for children in 1985 under the title, Naomi's Road. After the war, Kogowa and her family re-settled in Alberta. She launched her writing career with the publication of a book of poetry, The Splintered Moon, in 1967. Kogawa went on to produce seven more books of poetry, three novels, two children's books and a recent work of non-fiction.
Kogawa is a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia.

Funny Friday - Robert W. Service

Robert W. Service (1874-1958)  was born in England, and emigrated to Canada in 1894.

In 1907 he published his first collection of poems, Songs of a Sourdough; an immediate success, it was followed by Ballads of a Cheechako (1909) and Rhymes of a Rolling Stone (1912).

Poems such as "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" assured Service of lasting fame and gave rise to his nicknames: "the Canadian Kipling" and "the Poet of the Yukon."

During WWI he was an ambulance driver, and after the war he travelled throughout Europe but lived mostly in France.
His later works include Ballads of a Bohemian (1921), Rhymes of a Roughneck (1950) and his autobiographical works: Ploughman of the Moon (1945) and Harper of Heaven (1948).

Artist: Ted Harrison

Narrator:  Max Ferguson

Rupi Kaur

Rupi Kaur was born in Hoshiarpur, Punjab in 1992. When she was three, her family emigrated to Canada to escape religious persecution.
She grew up in Brampton, Ontario, and attended the University of Waterloo. It was there that she began performing poetry, in 2009.
Kaur self-published her debut collection, "Milk and Honey," in 2014. The book sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide, and remained on the NYT bestseller list for over a year.
Her second collection, “The Sun and Her Flowers” was published in 2017.
She has a strong social media presence, and has inspired many young poets and writers.

Leonard Cohen

Joan of Arc

Now the flames they followed Joan of Arc As she came riding through the dark No moon to keep her armour bright No man to get her through this very smoky night She said, "I'm tired of the war I want the kind of work I had before A wedding dress or something white To wear upon my swollen appetite" Well, I'm glad to hear you talk this way You know I've watched you riding every day And something in me yearns to win Such a cold and lonesome heroine "And who are you?" she sternly spoke To the one beneath the smoke "Why, I'm fire", he replied "And I love your solitude, I love your pride" "Then fire, make your body cold I'm going to give you mine to hold" Saying this she climbed inside To be his one, to be his only bride And deep into his fiery heart He took the dust of Joan of Arc And high above the wedding guests He hung the ashes of her wedding dress It was deep into his fiery heart He took the dust of Joan of Arc And then she clearly understood If he was fire, oh then she must be wood I saw her wince, I saw her cry I saw the glory in her eye Myself, I long for love and light But must it come so cruel, and oh so bright?

Leonard Cohen (1934-2016) was born in Montreal. He was most well known as a poet, songwriter,singer and musician, but he was also a successful songwriter and novelist.

Many of his poems were also song lyrics. Joan of Arc is one of my favorites.

He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour.

Funny Friday - Dennis Lee

What Will You Be 

They never stop asking me 

"What will you be?--
A doctor, a dancer, 
A diver at sea?" 

They never stop bugging me: 
"What will you be?" 

As if they expect me to 
Stop being me. 

When I grow up I'm going to be a Sneeze, 
And sprinkle Germs on all my Enemies. 

When I grow up I'm going to be a Toad, 
And dump on Silly Questions in the road. 

When I grow up, I'm going to be a Child. 
I'll Play the whole darn day and drive them Wild.

From Garbage Delight, 1977

Dennis Lee was born on August 31, 1939, in Toronto, Ontario.    He is best known for his collections of cleverly-rhymed children's verse.                                                                                   Wiggle to the Laundromat (1970) was written for his daughters, and like much of his writing, drew upon his experiences as a parent.                                                                                       His other books of poems for children include Alligator Pie (1974), one of the best-selling Canadian children's books of all time; Nicholas Knock and Other People (1974); Garbage Delight (1977); and Jelly Belly (1983).                                                In much of his work, he uses Canadian place-names, local cultural idiosyncrasies, and environmental issues to try to communicate a sense of national identity, but his poems have proven popular among English-speaking audiences all over the world.