Sarah Butland's Blog, page 11
February 26, 2020
My Secret Sister by Helen Edwards and Jenny Lee Smith
My Secret Sister by Helen Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Written by two woman who only discovered they were sisters late in life, this true story took me through heartbreaking moments of family abuse and fury mixed with a beautiful life we should all be lucky enough to have.
Secrets were kept under lock and key until in one moment of frustration the string was pulled and Jenny, the co-author, started pulling slightly and then finally tugging to unearth a history you need to read or live through to believe.
Truth is stranger than fiction and the story of this family proves it.
A tragic yet beautiful tale, I couldn’t give it the full 5 stars as it confused me in many ways (as is natural) but due to the time frame and switching of authors I found it hard to keep up and often had to go back to determine who was speaking and guess at their age/current year.
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February 25, 2020
The Beauty of Humanity Movment by Camilla Gibb
The Beauty of Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Read in celebration of I Read Canadian Day.
Something about the stories Gibb tells and the way she tells them intrigues me. Not my usual book of choice, the power and intensity behind the plot and the brilliance of each character she writes about has me hooked. The ending of this book, the extra ending at the end, made it even more wonderful for me as I was hoping for more and she surprised me with it.
The story of a woman who lost her beloved father at a very young age and returns to her home country of Vietnam meets with a group of people who, while they may not remember her father clearly, offer her a whole lot more.
This book offers a look inside Vietnam and the people that make it such an uniquely wonderful country.
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February 6, 2020
The Fury by Jason Pinter
The Fury by Jason Pinter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
My first book written by Pinter and I didn’t need to read 1-3 of the Henry Parker series to understand and enjoy it thoroughly. I rated it 4 stars because I was appalled by the lack of editing – an example includes using “meet” instead of “met”. Minor issues and didn’t take away from the overall story but still took me a second to stop and read it again to get it. And that’s annoying when it’s a mainstream author. Not everyone is perfect, I’ll likely have a few errors in this review but nonetheless, it’s disappointing to see so many oversights in one novel.
I will definitely look out for Henry Parker stories again as I connected well with the young journalist who is curious about things maybe he shouldn’t be. Alluding to past events that shaped his life and that of his girlfriend (s).
When Parker is first approached by a man who looked homeless, he wasn’t comfortable as his co-worker was recently attacked in the same area. He had no idea that stopping and talking to him could have saved the man’s life but maybe it didn’t matter.
The twists in this novel urge me to read the next in the series though I am curious about the first installments, too.
If you enjoy a good fast paced mystery and can overlook the editing, this is a great book!
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February 3, 2020
The Heist by Jason Lawson
Jason Lawson is a New Brunswick author I will always be eager to read as the only guarantee from his stories is greatness. Sometimes there is a lot of humour, other times history and sometimes, like in The Heist, fast paced adventure that had me hooked from the first scene.
Sarah was waiting for the church service to start, the first one she has been to in years, but more eagerly awaiting the arrival of her brother Matthew. Looking out the window while everyone else looked towards their new minister, Sarah spotted something strange and ran out to investigate.
If she didn’t, this tale would have been a whole lot different so I’m glad the curiousity got the best of her, even if it meant risking her life and others.
The characters were all easy to connect with and adore or hate, and the sucker punch at the end, while could be forecasted, was definitely a sucker punch.
The first of The Mastland Trilogy, Lawson told an entire story and enough of several others to have me pre-order part two, Crimson Snow, the same day I finished the first installment.
Go get The Heist today, I promise you’ll be hooked!
Thanks for reading,
Sarah Butland
January 27, 2020
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I hesitated giving 5 stars only because I wanted more.
Not my usual genre of choice, I read this for a book club and really quite enjoyed it. The twists through time and tragedy, through a plague and before the plague, characters I’ve grown to like and some that disgusted me, this journey took them all on an adventure of a life time, however long that was for each of them.
St. John Mandel did a great job of incorporating so much into such a quick to read story that it makes me wonder what else she has in store.
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January 20, 2020
Oakwood Island: The Awakening by Angella Cormier and Pierre C. Arsenault
While this is the sequel to Oakwood Island, it has been awhile since I read the first book and it all came flooding back. I also realized reading the first book beforehand wouldn’t be necessary to the understanding (?) of this story though it’s recommended.
The mysteries of Oakwood Island go far beyond what one can even imagine… or rather, what the reader can. The writers, New Brunswick duo Cormier and Arsenault, masterfully told a wicked tale of revenge, salvation and simple survival. In the end, the authors compared their story to a snowball rolling down a hill as the details and speculations continued to grow, turning some short stories by Cormier into two novels by the pair.
The characters, though real and likeable, almost taunted me with their stories, wanting me to connect with them as I hesitated, expecting them of being killed off or doing the killing themselves. The story which brought them all together as tightly as it strangled them, was well written and, once again, reminded me of Stephen King like gore.
From the conclusion, gruesome was exactly what they were looking for as the authors set this book up with a promise for a third.
Not for the faint of heart, as some of the characters realize, Oakwood Island: The Awakening is a story that will give you nightmares and warm your heart. It will also make your eyes itch but I’ll say no more.
Thanks for reading,
Sarah Butland
Pre-order your own copy today!
January 13, 2020
We Will All Be Received by Leslie Vryenhoek
We All Will Be Received by Leslie Vryenhoek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I had no idea what to expect but, as cliche as it was, was hooked immediately.
The characters were real, the setting of Newfoundland was brought to life and the story, while hopefully extreme in some cases, was overall very sweet, comforting and hopeful.
A story that started in the past and left it there while it jumped to the future, We Will All Be Received hit all the emotions in me as it took me through a tale of a woman escaping a horrible situation and running for her life.
Learning to trust after a hard past is a challenge for anyone, and learning to love is a whole other level of complications and how one person muddles through it all can help many.
Difficult situations written to make it easy to read and finish quickly!
I will definitely be checking out other books by this author.
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January 12, 2020
Yoga and Meditation in the Library by Jenn Carson
Yoga and Meditation at the Library: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Jenn Carson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Practical, useful, inspiring and thorough – this book offers everything you need and more to host a Yoga event in your community.
Not just for librarians, this book can be used by anyone hoping to connect people in their community through breathing and stretching and, yes, even laughter.
Detailing everything that is needed, including supplies and books right through to insurance expectations and reasoning for every complaint, Carson included everything in an easy to read and connect with format. With games, book reviews, tips and toys, this book touches on everything you need to get started, keep going and be successful.
If you want to get started today, you needed this book yesterday!
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As always, thanks for reading,
Sarah Butland
January 11, 2020
Feck Perfuction by James Victore
As the title implies, this book is about being creative, forgetting being a perfectionist and just doing!
Here is my Goodreads review:
Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life by James Victore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Absolutely what I needed to read right now, for personal as well as professional gains.
As the title implies, it’s not for the weak of heart or those easily offended by vulgarity but it is for the creative, the weirdo’s, the always-striving-for-something-more people in your life. Like a jump start to happiness, creativity and a Yellow Pages resource for what to do as well as what not to do, this book has it all and in a very conversational and easy to read format.
It took just days for me to read this as I was motivated, inspired and devoted to “cleaning up my room” and this review is just one of the many ways I’m getting started now!
Definitely recommend!
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As always, thanks for reading,
Sarah Butland
January 6, 2020
Happy 2020!!
It’s a new year and the theme at this time of year is happiness. We’re all supposed to ring in the new year with a fresh start and resolved to make it the best year yet but it’s not always easy.
Many have a longstanding tradition of ringing in the new year at a party, kissing a loved one or a stranger at midnight and staying up late taking selfies and making memories. Others are stuck working, doing a job of varying degrees of importance and missing out on all of the fun. Which group do you belong to?
There are other groups as well, of course. Those who choose not to party, those who haven’t been invited to party and those who are told “maybe” or “yes, I’ll go” only to be stood up. These people are ending their year with some hope and starting it wondering how to improve their life going forward without admitting they are disappointed with it now.
And for those people, I feel you. It’s a struggle to get over an illness, to deal with loneliness and feel loved and hopeful anytime of the year but I would think especially when everyone is putting on their party hats and painted smiles especially.
So I want to know… if your end of year/ beginning of the new year didn’t satisfy you, what would and how do you focus on what has been going well for you?
Please share, you never really know who you’ll be helping.
Cheers to a year full of amazing possibilities, endless real connections and satisfying results,
Sarah Butland
