In Review: The Week of February 4th

On the Blog

~ We sat down Proust-style with Canada Reads finalist Lindsay Wong (The Woo-Woo, Arsenal Pulp Press) to chat about five-year fantasy goals, what happens after publication, and writing: “I write because I am horrible at real life. That’s the honest answer.” ~ We admired Chantal Gibson’s genre-bending debut How She Read (Caitlin Press), a collection of poetry that meditates on representations of Black women in Canada for #BlackHistoryMonth.~ Our moody February needed some cheering up so we rounded up 5 books that are sure to brighten up the winter blues.~ Debut fiction La Brigantessa (Inanna Publications) follows peasant girl Gabriela Falcone whose forced to flee for her life after Italy’s Unification in 1861.

Around the Web

~ Redditors took to the forums to divulge tips for reading more books, which isn’t a TL; DR. 

via GIPHY

~ The inaugural BMO Winterset longlist is a shoutout to indie favourites: Seasons Before the War (Running the Goat), Between Breaths (Playwrights Canada Press), and The Luminous Sea (Breakwater Books).~ The Pizzeria al Prizes and the Rejection Cafe are now open for business via Electric Literature.

What Else We’re Reading

Mandy’s reading Anne T. Donahue’s funny and honest personal essay collection Nobody Cares (ECW Press) after meeting Anne at an author signing (and subsequently turning into a major geek about it).