The weeds are growing and so is my ‘to do’ list. I’d rather stare out the window at my blooming rhododendron and contemplate beauty, but, alas, spring leaves little time for contemplation. There’s not much time for reading these days either, though I always manage a little time before bed. Here’s what I’m reading this month.

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

The Traitor’s Daughter by Roxana Spicer

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab

Books read to date in 2025: 29

This Thursday is the first day of spring. The ancients called it Ostara and believed it was a time to celebrate new beginnings, balance, and renewal. We usually think of it as the Spring Equinox, a time when the sun and earth are in balance, and the days and nights are equal.

Whatever you call it, and whether or not you mark it at all, spring is almost always welcome, at least here in the Western Hemisphere. Signs of growth are everywhere! In my garden, the heather and crocuses are in bloom, the daffodils are just about to pop, and the blossoms on the cherry and plum trees are too.

I love this time of year, though I’ll admit that as the garden comes alive, it’s sometimes challenging to balance cerebral pursuits with outdoor activities. For now, though, there’s still plenty of time for both. And that makes me happy because I have a lot of reading and writing to do. Here’s what I’m reading this month.

The Stone Witch of Florence by Anna Rasche

The Spirited Kitchen by Carmen Spagnola

Elegant Simplicity: The Art of Living Well by Satish Kumar

Books Read to Date in 2025: 21

 It’s Freedom to Read Week, a time that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom. Now, more than ever, we need to hold onto the right to read whatever we please. We need to make sure all voices are represented and all readers can find themselves reflected in the books they select.  Pick up a book this month. Any book you like. It’s your right to choose. Here’s what I’m reading this month:

The Leap Year Gene by Shelley Wood

After Life by Gayle Foreman

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman

Books Read to Date in 2025: 16

 People are often surprised when they learn that I don’t belong to a book club. I adore everything about books – reading them, writing them, and (in spite of my well-used eReader) the very physicality of them, as witnessed by the overflowing bookshelves in my house.

So why not a book club? Many people swear by them. Several of my friends, in fact, belong to book clubs and love them (I’m waving at you, Leah and Alice).

For me, though, book clubs conflict with how books are meant to be experienced. They take me back to high school with its enforced reading and dissection of characters, plot and theme. I’m also not a fan of being assigned mandatory reads. I have enough trouble getting through my own ‘to be read’ pile! And I certainly don’t want to struggle through a book I don’t like so I can share criticisms with others. The most I want to say about a book I don’t care for is ‘it’s not for me.’ Because that book might be just right for someone else.

That’s not to say I don’t talk about books with others. I talk about them all the time. I have friends who love to read and we often recommend titles to each other or discuss what we’re reading. If we read the same book, it’s fun to compare notes afterwards. I’ll admit, book discussions with writer friends sometimes do veer into specifics about what we liked or didn’t like about a given novel. But we generally approach the subject from deep craft point of view and always with the understanding and underlying respect for the many inherent challenges (as well as courage!) that it takes to write any novel and see it through to publication.

At the end of the day, writers write so people will be moved and entertained by their stories. That’s all that truly matters. That and reading the book. So, regardless of whether you’re in a book club or not, read a book. If you liked it, tell a friend. And then read another book. And another . . .