Billed as the first fiction out of North Korea, The Accusation is the first book to come from a writer still living under the regime. The stories told are heartrendingly simple stories that reflect on the duplicity and awful ironies North Koreans must encounter every day. One story tells of a woman who uses contraceptives to prevent pregnancy because she realizes just how hard the system is on young children who are forced atone the “sins” of their parents; she can’t bear to bring a child into a country that treats its youth with such harshness as experienced by her husband and young nephew. In other stories, we learn how deceit is rewarded and authenticity of self is suspicious. We learn how hard work and courage can be twisted into vainglorious selfishness.

In a country that excessively safeguards and monitors the story of itself and its people, storytellers such as Bandi are crucial to allow revolt and reform to take root.

The Accusation is an important book for us to read to understand a culture and political climate so foreign to our own. Not only that, it’s a work of great literary force, with parables that will stay with you after you close the book.

A note on my copy: I received a free copy at Booknet’s Tech Forum this March, as part of a Loan Stars promotion. (Haven’t heard of either initiative? Two of my favourite things and encourage anyone in publishing to check out the links if you haven’t!)

The Accusation by Bandi, published by Anansi, 2017

The year certainly got off to a great start with reading The Break. I can easily say this will be one of my favourite books of 2017, even though January is not yet over! The Break is the story of a close community of Métis women in Winnipeg and their encounters with violence. The story alternates from the perspectives of various women all connected through family and friendship ties. When a terrible incident of violence happens to one of them, they draw together even closer.

We also get the point of view of the perpetrator, but what’s so unique is the sympathy I felt for the one who did the violence. Rather than look at the good vs the bad guys, this is another book that looks at the history that leads people to violence as well as the brokenness that happens when we reject our family and community. The message seems to be that we are stronger together with our family and community around us.

The Break by Katherena Vermette, published by Anansi in 2016.

I’ve been doing a lot of looking ahead these past few weeks. Looking ahead to 2017, and my ambitions for career, for wellness, for finances and for family. But today I wanted to take a moment to reflect on this past year, specifically what reading has meant for me.

At the start of 2016 I started a new job at publisher Dundurn. It’s been a huge positive to work here for the past year. And of course starting at a new publishing house I had the lovely chance to dive into their list of books, getting to know titles and reading those that sparked my interest. So a lot of my reading on Goodreads includes Dundurn books, new and old. A few highlights include:

I’ve also read some amazing non-fiction books on current affairs and politics and hope to continue that trend into 2017. I’m actually proud to say that the two books I’ve finished in 2017 are both non-fiction!

Goodreads did the honours of creating My Year in Books (2016), and I can report that I read 60 books with 9 books being non-fiction / memoir! Oh, man, The City of Mirrors was quite the long read, but I had to read it all after thoroughly enjoying the first two books of the trilogy. Plus got my fantasy quota filled for the year. Here’s a little snapshot of my year in reading:

That’s all from me for now, folks! It’s back to reading, working on 55-Book Challenge for 2017, and doing some bookmaking and book marketing! Happy reading.

Having just purchased my ticket to the annual Giller Light Bash, my thoughts are turning to who will win the prestigious honour this year. I’ve only read two books from the six-book shortlist; I’m really excited about both these choices. They are both really strong books that highlight current issues dealt with by women: body image and rape.

13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl is a series of stories about the same woman over her lifetime as she struggles with her weight, but more importantly her self-confidence and ambition that becomes inexorably tied up in how much she weighs.

The Best Kind of People comes from a favourite Toronto author of mine, Zoe Whittall, who creates the story of a family dealing with the aftermath of a beloved father, husband and teacher who’s been charged with rape of three students. The novel presents a rounded view of the issue of rape, and how we as a society distort the issue, treat (or mis-treat) the victims and the accused in such cases. How much do we ever know another person vs project our own desires and motivations on that person?

I’m actually rooting really hard for either of these books to win, if only because they were hugely entertaining, thought-provoking books on my reading list for 2016.

[Read my review of The Best Kind of People | Read my review of 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl]

At the beginning of 2016, I boldly stated my bookish resolution to read 50 books this year. It’s a pretty fair goal, considering I do work in the book publishing world and I’m surrounded by books. And yet, it can be hard to find time to read with conflicting calls on my time and attention.

But, working at a new publishing house in 2016 has given me a tasty new list of books to explore, plus I’m often commuting to work on the streetcar with time to read. At almost the half-way point of 2016 (wait, really?!) I’m doing pretty well in my goal.

2016 Reading Challenge

Kendra has
read 26 books toward
her goal of
50 books.

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26 of 50 (52%)

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