Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Introducing Inanna’s Young Feminist Series!
In a current climate where girls, cis and otherwise, are told, sometimes viciously, that their concerns are invalid and that their personhood is “less than”, we’re excited to see that feminist presses publishing positive books that challenge patriarchial norms. Today, on the cusp of going back to school, we’re applauding Inanna Publications: this nearly 40-year-old…
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In Review: The Week of August 22nd
The imminent end of summer really hit home this week, as fans were turned off and cardigans were pulled out for the first time in two months. Whether you’re looking forward to the kids going back to school or sad to see the end of another summer, stop and take a breath with us as…
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First Fiction Fridays: Where the Bodies Lie
With Alberta having a true political moment – between the unseating of the formerly un-unseatable PC party and the best-known Canadian Mayor (for good reasons, anyway) – there’s no better time to pick up Mark Lisac’s debut novel, Where the Bodies Lie (NeWest Press). Called “smooth prose and fine pacing” and “a pleasure to read” by the Globe &…
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Liner Notes with J.F. Robitaille
It’s been said of singer-songwriter J.F. Robitaille to “imagine docile singer-songwriter Jack Johnson, except with a book of Leonard Cohen poems in his hands, not a surfboard.” We couldn’t think of anyone more perfect to revitalize our Liner Notes column, with J.F.’s selection of literary-leaning songs perfect to psych up for publishing season. Listen to…
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ALU Book Club: Further Reading for After A Gentle Habit
In our final book club post of the summer (don’t mind us crying over here…), we’re recommending some other CanLit titles to keep you reading long after you’re done A Gentle Habit. And if you missed our July book club pick, there are even more fantastic books we can highly recommend here.
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Under the Cover: Sleuthing the cover art of Wind Leaves Absence
Poet Mary Maxwell shares her story of cover-sourcing in the age of the internet: how some careful search terms, determination, and poetry-inclined trustees resulted in the perfect image for her debut collection, Wind Leaves Absence (Thistledown Press).
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Top 10: School Experiences
It’s that time of year again, the one that kids loathe and parents love: back to school. Whether you’re living it or remembering it, school will bring forth a lot of memories for everyone, both good and bad. In today’s Top 10 we’re reminiscing some of our school memories that pretty much everyone can relate…
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In Review: The Week of August 15th
We’re going Presidential this weekend with our CanLit recommendations. Feel free to pass this on to Mr. Obama if anyone’s talking to him. We’ll just be hanging at the beach, reading as per usual. Happy weekend!
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First Fiction Fridays: Mountain Girl
One page. That is all it takes to become obsessed with Krissy and Jasper and Mountain Girl. Like its main character under the grips of Stockholm syndrome, readers find themselves torn between liking Krissy’s captor and being completely repulsed by him.
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Chappy Hour: The Troubadour + The Brave Never Write Poetry
Charles Bukowski inspired Cherie Dimoline’s A Gentle Habit, a collection of short stories that explore addiction in it’s many forms, and our second ALU Book Club pick. He also inspired Daniel Jones to write the collection The Brave Never Write Poetry (Coach House Books), filled with confrontational poems about sex and boredom, drugs and suicide that…
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ALU Book Club: Interview with Cherie Dimaline, author of A Gentle Habit
We had a lot of feelings about the stories and characters that make up the collection A Gentle Habit by Cherie Dimaline (Kegedonce Press). If you’ve been following along with our book club, you would have gotten a glimpse into our thoughts during last week’s staff discussion. But we’re lucky enough in our position at…
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Do-Lit-Yourself: Short Story Style w/ Wire Charm Bracelets
LPG Sales Manager Tan Light steps in to DLY a gorgeous, simple charm bracelet that – wait for it – expresses a key tenet of each of the six stories in our August book club pick, Cherie Dimaline’s A Gentle Habit (Kegedonce Press). Copy Tan, or learn how to bracelet-fy your own favourite short story collection, below.
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Writer’s Block: Malka Marom
Singer, radio broadcaster, documentary maker, and writer Malka Marom recently published a collection of interviews with Joni Mitchell, Joni Mitchell: In Her Own Words, Conversations with Malka Marom, with ECW Press.
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In Review: The Week of August 8th
It was a sloth-like week at ALU headquarters, with humid weather and early copies of fall books coming in, all we wanted to do was sit in a hammock and read. That’s probably what we’re all doing now as you read this, now that it’s the weekend. If that’s all that’s on your agenda for…
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First Fiction Fridays: White Elephant
You know when something is obviously not going to end well, but it’s imploding so spectacularly that you just can’t look away? That’s what’s happening to the Berringer family – Richard, Ann, and their son Torquil – in White Elephant.
Got any book recommendations?