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Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • All Lit Up is Eight!

    All Lit Up is Eight!

    Turning eight, feeling great is what our editors thought upon waking this happy morning, because it’s our eighth birthday! To celebrate, we asked the team to share a fave memory from when we were young (aka, seven).Plus, there’s an eighth birthday GIVEAWAY – read on!

  • Where in Canada: The River Twice

    Where in Canada: The River Twice

    Giller-nominated writer John Bemrose tells us about the setting of his new novel, The River Twice (Thistledown Press), Paris, Ontario – which also happens to be his boyhood home. See how Paris lives up to its name as “the prettiest town in Canada”, and the uglier side of war and the trauma it inflicts on Paris’s…

  • Poetry in Motion: Adebe DeRango-Adem + Vox Humana

    Poetry in Motion: Adebe DeRango-Adem + Vox Humana

    In her new collection Vox Humana (Book*hug Press), poet Adebe DeRango-Adem interrogates the politics of voice, namely, who gets to have one, in a milieu of racist and institutional violence. The poems seek to reclaim voice in a series of literary experiments of word and sound – hear her read part II of poem “Vox Refugium”…

  • First Fiction Friday: Jade Is a Twisted Green

    First Fiction Friday: Jade Is a Twisted Green

    Our top choice for a read heading into this weekend? Debut novelist Tanya Turton’s Jade Is a Twisted Green (Dundurn Press), a sparkling coming-of-age novel about simultaneously navigating loss and Black, queer, and immigrant identity.

  • In House: At Bay’s “Scene Between the Lines” Video Series

    In House: At Bay’s “Scene Between the Lines” Video Series

    Winnipeg’s At Bay Press looked at the outstanding community of writers and creators around them and thought – why not share their talents in a different way? And thus, the engaging Scene Between the Lines documentary series was born. At Bay publisher M.C. Joudrey tells us more, below.

  • Writer’s Block: Thomas Trofimuk

    Writer’s Block: Thomas Trofimuk

    Award-winning author and poet Thomas Trofimuk – most recently of The Elephant on Karlův Bridge (Thistledown Press) – answers our Proust questionnaire. He dreams up his perfect writing day (including a café where you can still get espresso for $1.50) shares his advice on the craft, and tells us all about the magic of an overpriced lavender scented candle.

  • School is in Session: Eight Reads for Back to School

    School is in Session: Eight Reads for Back to School

    Get out your knapsacks, it’s the first day of school. We rounded up two books from each stage of a student’s life to salute kiddos heading back to class all over and at every age – elementary, middle school, high school, and university.

  • Fall 2022: ALU Staff Picks

    Fall 2022: ALU Staff Picks

    We don’t care that it’s still hot enough to wear shorts; we’re getting ready for fall with some exciting reads on our release radar. Check out what books our staffers will be reading as the leaves start to change and things get cozy.

  • Top 10: Memoir Picks

    Top 10: Memoir Picks

    Did you know August 31 is We Love Memoirs Day? We help you hop-to loving memoirs with these 10 new and upcoming memoir picks.

  • Ten Graphic Novels for Fan Expo

    Ten Graphic Novels for Fan Expo

    Fan Expo Canada is upon us! It doesn’t matter if you like horror or sci-fi, memoir or mystery; there is a graphic novel out there for you. From fictional slice of life to historical non-fiction, we have a list of ten graphic novels to choose from just in time for the start of the comic-lovers…

  • ALU Summer Book Club: Follow-up Reads for After Realism

    ALU Summer Book Club: Follow-up Reads for After Realism

    Our team has sure loved reading and discussing the 24 exceptional short stories in the anthology After Realism, edited by André Forget and published by Véhicule Press. But what’s after After Realism? We keep the anthology train running and recommend four great ones for your TBR.

  • A Crash Course in Canadian Genre

    A Crash Course in Canadian Genre

    School’s almost back in session, and even if you’ve left your studying days behind you, it can never hurt to get back to the books – genre books, that is. Our Tan Light teaches this crash course on genre using recommendations from across the ALU-niverse.

  • All the World’s a Stage: Theatre Roundup

    All the World’s a Stage: Theatre Roundup

    The theatre is CALLING! With many theatre and musical performances happening across the country, we rounded up a list of plays for your reading pleasure. 

  • All the World’s a Stage: Theatre Roundup

    The theatre is CALLING! With many theatre and musical performances happening across the country, we rounded up a list of plays by amazing playwrights across Canada.

  • ALU Summer Book Club: After Realism Staff Discussion

    ALU Summer Book Club: After Realism Staff Discussion

    The ALU team met via Zoom to gush over the varied stories in our August book club pick – the anthology After Realism (Véhicule Press) – and, spoiler alert, suggest that it might be the most ALU book club pick of all time (?!). Read on to catch some of the highlights of our discussion, and…

Got any book recommendations?