Shows
BOOKmarkableEpisode 17: My conversation with author Frances PeckI am so pleased to be able to share my first-ever interview with a published author here on Bookmarkable. I was delighted to sit down with local North Vancouver writer Frances Peck to discuss her debut novel, The Broken Places — a Globe and Mail best book of 2022, and finalist for the 2023 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize.
We had a lot to talk about and time flew by! We learned a bit about her second novel, Uncontrolled Flight and she gave some insight into the novel she’s working on now and her writing process.
We also...2025-05-311h 02BOOKmarkableEpisode 16: Canadian Independent Bookstore DayHappy One-Year Anniversary to Bookmarkable!
On April 26, I went to the Canadian Independent Bookstore Day at Cross & Crows Books on Commercial Drive in Vancouver, BC. There were tables of people selling jewellery, authors promoting their books and a pop-up bookstore for the currently online Perfect Match romance bookstore, with owner Amy Pelletier displaying lots of physical copies of popular books. She is searching for a good spot in the city for a physical bookstore, coming soon. You can follow her on IG @perfectmatchbookshop. I also spoke with the book crawl organizer, (there was a book crawl of...2025-05-2523 minBOOKmarkableEpisode 15: Finding our bliss with comfort reads - my conversation with Cathy NeedhamHello Bookmarkable listeners: Before I forget, here’s where you can signup for April 26th’s Vancouver Book Crawl - or just drop by Cross & Crows bookstore at 1 pm: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/vancouver-book-crawl-tickets-1322842340049. I hear there will be contests and prizes too, plus a popup of a new local romance bookstore, Perfect Match.
Reflections on comfort genre (bliss) reading - my conversation with Cathy Needham. In this episode we talked about or I mentioned a few writers and books including:
Elizabeth George
Thomas King’s Thumps DreadfulWater series
Tommy Orange
Ri...2025-04-2040 minBOOKmarkableEpisode 14: Books that got me through to springHere are the books I mentioned in this episode:
Stolen Focus by Johann Hari
Piranesi and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark
One Day Everyone Will Have been Against This and American War by Omar Al El Akkad
Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter
PS: I Hate You by Lauren Connolly
First Time Caller by BK Borison
Under Your Spell by Laura Wood
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
Promise me Forever by Debbie Macomber
Out on a Limb...2025-03-3120 minBOOKmarkableEpisode 13: February and a new philosophy of reading in these timesWherein I seek to patch together meaning with the insights, gleaned from my latest reads, that point the way with many signs that might mean something. To sum up: reading might not always give you answers but it helps.
Here are books mentioned in this episode:
Kill for Me, Kill for You by Steve Cavanagh
I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes
Burn Out: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski
All My Rage and Ember in Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Is She Really Going Out W...2025-02-2426 minBOOKmarkableEpisode 12: January 2025 a short check-inIt's a new year and I'm here and making it through January. Books are always there for comfort, guidance and reflection, showing the way. But you still need to read them (or listen to them). What circumstances help you feel like you can read more challenging titles and in hardcover? It's not just about having enough time. Waiting for tips: I need role models...
Here's books I mention on this show:
The Message and Between the World and Me by Ta Neishi Coates
Martyr by Kaveh Akbar
The Land o...2025-01-2717 minBOOKmarkableEpisode 11 - My November books and what's nextI look back on my year of reading with more gusto, and starting this podcast in May...and share my latest reading adventures from the month of November.
Books or authors mentioned or discussed include:
Read Dangerously: the Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Time by Azar Nafisi
Beneath the Surface of Things by Wade Davis
Sarah J. Maas
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Grief is for People, by Sloane Crossley
A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall
How we Named...2024-12-1422 minBOOKmarkableConversation with Claudia SjobergClaudia is a local (Vancouver) business owner, entrepreneur, community leader, and all round wonderful, fun and caring friend to many.
She is also a big reader and shared with me the long impressive list of books she's read with her book club -- but we also delved into some of the many more books she reads and enjoys beyond that list. We followed a list of questions to uncover what she likes and doesn't like and heard what she's come to know is important for her in reading, and the power of the story for all of...2024-11-021h 07BOOKmarkableMy conversation with Kerry RegierHost of Vancouver Co-op Radio show Why a Duck? (that features classical and jazz music and lighthearted conversation), Kerry Regier, joined me for a book conversation on October 13.
My apologies for some uneven audio levels on this recording.
Here's what and who we mentioned:
Poems of Miroslav Holub, Czech poet and immunologist. Kerry read his poem: “Half a Hedgehog”
Solaris and His Master’s Voice by Stanisław Herman Lem
The Game by Ken Dryden
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier
The Eleg...2024-10-211h 03BOOKmarkableFall reading updateDo you struggle to read? Is it hard to be a reader these days? Join me for a short check-in about my thoughts of the struggle to do quality reading with a busy life, in a time of many distractions. But fear not: reading can still help you out.
Books I mention are:
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
Margo's got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty
Beyond by Stephen Walker
Unbroken...2024-10-1110 minBOOKmarkableEpisode 7: My conversation with John and summer recapI had a fun but brief conversation with my good friend and book lover John Vekar on a warm summer evening, focused on the book Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey. This is definitely a part-one of our conversation.
Other books mentioned:
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Ordinary Monsters by JM Miro
This Summer Will be Different and
Meet me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
The Goblin Emperor by Sarah Monette
A Cure so Dark and Lonely, Heart so Fierce and Broken and A Vow so Bold...2024-08-2637 minBOOKmarkableEpisode 6: What we talk about when we talk about summer reading(Title reference to short story writer Raymond Carver and his story collection, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love and Haruki Murakami’s play on that in his memoir What I Talk About When I Talk About Running).
Books mentioned:
Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane
Holly, Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers and The Outsider by Stephen King
The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
The Age of Magical Overthinking by Amanda Montell
The Year of Magical Thi...2024-07-2724 minBOOKmarkableEpisode 5: My conversation with Karen SpearsThis was such a fun conversation on a hot summer day with a deep dive into the lure of Irish writing, the need to prune what we read to find what's next (with Karen’s own special formula for choosing what to keep reading), and a bit of an examination of the joy of the reading experience.
Here are the books and authors we mention:
A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving
The Diviners, Margaret Laurence
A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
Becky Chambers (Sci Fi author)
A Study for Obedience, by Sa...2024-07-2347 minBOOKmarkableEpisode 4: Conversation with Nena Rawdah of Cross & Crows bookstoreFiona Jackson shares her conversation with Nena Rawdah of East Vancouver's Cross & Crows bookstore and a few updates on her latest reads and whats on her next up TBR list.
Books mentioned on the show include:
All the works of Jane Austen
Shakespeare's play: Much Ado About Nothing, Othello and The Taming of the Shrew
Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem, "Pied Beauty"
Authors: E.M. Forster, George Eliot (pen name of Maryann Evans), David Chariandy, KJ Charles, Freja Marsk and Danny Ramadan
Broughtupsy by Christina Cooke
Glyph, Er...2024-06-1059 minBOOKmarkableEpisode 3: More on my reading list, podcasts and conversations coming soon!It's me again with a book report (I did my homework and read Prophet Song!), an update on all my other reads, reflections on reading podcasts I love, and a promise for my conversations!
Here are the books I mention:
Prophet Song, by Paul Lynch
The Maniac, by Benjamin Labatut
Who also wrote the amazing When we cease to understand the world — recommend!
Old Babes in the Wood - a short story collection by Margaret Atwood (great title!)
The Deal, The Mistake and The Score, by Elle Kennedy (college hockey spicy rom...2024-05-2123 min
BOOKmarkableEpisode 2: Rambling through my readingWelcome back to this solo session where I chat with you about a few highlights from my 60+ books read since January (plus a few from before).
Books mentioned:
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Yours Truly and Life's Too Short by Abby Jimenez
Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake
The Hazard and Somerset mysteries by Gregory Ashe
We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian
Happy All the Time by Laurie C...2024-05-0435 min
BOOKmarkableEpisode 1: Welcome to Bookmarkable: a conversation with Lorraine SmithWelcome to Bookmarkable: adventures in reading. Thank you for joining this podcast journey of discovery into the expanding universe of books.
This episode - a conversation with Lorraine Smith - was recorded September 8, 2023. Here are the books we discussed or mentioned:
A Fine Balance Rohinton Mistry
At Home: A Short History of Private Life, Bill Bryson
Babel, Yellowface, and The Poppy War RF Kuang
Candide, Voltaire
Choosing to Run: A Memoir, Des Linden
Fugitive Pieces, Anne Michaels
Outsider: An old man, a m...2024-05-0357 min