Red Fern Book Review by Amy Tyler

Send us Fan Mail Music teacher and facilitator Cynthia Friesen drops by the podcast to chat about music, memory and healing. The phone rings, the doorbell chimes, but Amy's dogs are eerily silent this episode. Cynthia and Amy remember Bevelry Cleary and Cynthia recommends an app for calm and focus. Books and Resources discussed: Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary VIBE: Calm, Focus, Sleep...

Send us Fan Mail Join host Amy Mair as she explores three novels by English authors: The Midnight Library , Klara and the Sun and Hamnet . The Midnight Library is reminiscent of childhood classics A Wrinkle in Time and The Phantom Tollbooth. Klara and the Sun is a sci-fi exploration of memory, machines and loneliness while Hamnet explores the connection between the death of Shakespeare's son...

Send us Fan Mail Whistler Public Library Program Coordinator Jeanette Bruce is in the virtual house to discuss  two favourite reading genres: short fiction and fantasy. Short stories keep us engaged and fantasy takes us away from the here and now. Sign me up! My mom calls with an update on the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist and I learn about a brand new pasta shape from a podcast for seriou...

Send us Fan Mail Amy's husband Geoff drops by the podcast to discuss two contemporary novels or should we call them memoirs? You be the judge.  The Topeka School by Ben Lerner is a literary novel based on the author's own experience growing up in Topeka, Kansas. This complex and satisfying story jumps time periods, tenses and narrators to look at the importance of language and what it me...

Send us Fan Mail Host Amy Mair dives into the elegant and sometimes sordid world of fine art with My Rembrandt , a quirky and compelling documentary about a Dutch aristocrat and his race to find the first new Rembrandt in 40 years, An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin, The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and The Art Forger by Barbara Shapiro. She concludes the episode with a national story about the debat...

Send us Fan Mail Spring is here and with it a new season of books! Longtime book blogger Susan Matheson unpacks her top picks of the season. The much anticipated follow up novel by Imbole Mbue, a literary thriller by historical novelist Paula McLain and a memoir from 1980s Brat Packer Andrew McCarthy are topics of discussion. The rich period drama The Luminaries on Amazon Prime and Sibling Revelry...

Send us Fan Mail Join host Amy Mair and Simon Fraser University professor Reema Faris as they explore cultural heritage, identity and memory through the memoir What the Ocean's Remember: Searching for Belonging and Home by Sonja Boon. Reema shares her research on women and reading and recommends a best selling historical novel involving books, World War II and Paris. Need we say more? Amy rev...

Send us Fan Mail The Green Light (not to be confused with Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey!) is that mysterious light at the end of the dock in The Great Gatsby that represents Jay Gatsby's hope for the future.  In this episode, host Amy Mair looks at two American novels and examines why, it seems, everyone is reading and writing about the classic Jazz Age tale.  Spoiler alert: the copyrigh...

Send us Fan Mail Attending festivals and large events in person may be in our distant future, but one of the largest literary events in North America has found a way to pivot with new programming and a virtual lineup. Join me in my discussion with the Vancouver Writers Festival Artistic Director Leslie Hurtig and find out about what special events she has in store for this spring.  Hello, Ethan Ha...

Send us Fan Mail A poisoned aristocrat. A fledgling reporter. A scandal to die for. Join host Amy Mair as she meets up with mystery writer Lisa Zumpano to discuss her historical mystery series.  A self-professed Anglophile, Lisa reveals what it takes to be a self published author and how to get all the historical details just right. Righty-ho! Books and resources discussed: Anxious People by Fredr...

Send us Fan Mail Host Amy Mair joins with Jill Schmelke to discuss the critically acclaimed memoir Uncanny Valley by Anna Weiner as well as the historical novel Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris. They discuss health, working out (or not) and how sometimes a heavy book can be just the thing to get through hard times. Books and resources: Uncanny Valley by Anna Weiner Tattooist of Auschwitz b...

Send us Fan Mail Host Amy Mair looks at two food memoirs: Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl and The Measure of My Powers: A Memoir of Food, Misery, and Paris by Jackie Kai Ellis. Both books are about strong, creative women who took risks and made big changes in their respective industries and in their lives. Other books and resources: SmartLess podcast with Jason Bateman, Sean Ha...

Send us Fan Mail Amy interviews Vancouver night photographer Brian McConville who does his best work when most law abiding citizens are asleep. They discuss a couple of fine art books and Amy learns exactly what is a Rolleiflex camera. Books discussed: Night Stories: Fifteen Paintings and the Stories they Inspired , Linden Frederick Vivan Maier: A Photographer Found , John Maloof Other resources,...

Send us Fan Mail In this inaugural podcast, host Amy Mair shares an email from her Mom, selects her top new book release picks for January and February and selects two books that will cure your Pandemic blues. Shows and books discussed: New releases All Creatures Great & Small (PBS Masterpiece and Amazon Prime) Let Me Tell You What I Mean , Joan Didion (January 26) Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A H...