Book Review | THE FINDER by Will Ferguson

  

THE FINDER by Will Ferguson
Publication: September 1, 2020
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Canada
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/ Mystery
Rating: ★★★★

From the Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning novelist of 419 comes a spellbinding literary adventure novel about precious objects lost and found.

The world is filled with wonders, lost objects—all real—all still out there, waiting to be found:

• the missing Fabergé eggs of the Romanov dynasty, worth millions
• the last reel of Alfred Hitchcock’s first film
• Buddy Holly’s iconic glasses
• Muhammad Ali’s Olympic gold medal

How can such cherished objects simply vanish? Where are they hiding? And who on earth might be compelled to uncover them?

Will Ferguson takes readers on a heroic, imaginative journey across continents, from the seas of southern Japan to the arid Australian Outback, to the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, after the earthquake. Prepare to meet Gaddy Rhodes, a brittle Interpol agent obsessed with tracking “The Finder”—a shadowy figure she believes is collecting lost objects; Thomas Rafferty, a burnt-out travel writer whose path crosses that of The Finder, to devastating effect; and Tamsin Greene, a swaggering war photographer who is hiding secrets of her own.

The Finder is a beguiling and wildly original tale about the people, places, and things that are lost and found in our world. Both an epic literary adventure and an escape into a darkly thrilling world of deceit and its rewards, this novel asks: How far would you be willing to go to recover the things you’ve left behind? -Publisher

THE FINDER is an ode to travel and a good hunt, filled with compelling people, witty dialogues, and vivid settings. The book starts in Okinawa, to Australia, and ends in Loch Lomond. The premise centers on a Finder, a small man with a forgettable face, who has the gift of finding forgotten things -things valued high because they were once lost and now found. He takes advantage of the chaos and leaves more behind after him. Finding the Finder, however, is Interpol Agent Gaddy Rhodes's obsession. And caught between their game of cat and mouse is an array of characters -distinct and flawed, but sincerely fleshed out and evenly scattered.

Ferguson’s words are delectable. His wit and humor emerge thru them naturally, knowing they are from experience. He has a knack for transporting his readers exactly where he imagines them to be. His keen eye highlights rich cultures and vibrant landscapes. All the while that the characters' history unravels, the mystery thickens. And although this reader doesn’t want the book to end, I want to know how the story will come together.

This book came at a much needed time, a gift, while wanderlust is at its peak during a pandemic. 

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About the Author:

Photograph by
Kevin Hanson

Will Ferguson is the author of four novels, including 419, which won the Scotiabank Giller Prize. A three-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, he has been nominated for both a Commonwealth Prize and an International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. His most recent novel, The Shoe on the Roof, was an instant national bestseller. Will Ferguson lives in Calgary.

*Thanks to Simon & Schuster for sending the advance uncorrected proofs for free in exchange for this unbiased review.
*This post is a part of the monthly linkups organized by Lovely Audiobooks! You can click here to check it out and be a part of it.

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Author's Friday | THE KINDNESS OF ROMANCE by Ana Tejano

AUGUST ROMANCE 

   

ANA TEJANO has been in love with words and writing ever since she met Elizabeth Wakefield when she was in Grade 3. She used to be a blogger and contributor to several publications using her other name that is not a secret identity. When she’s not writing, she works as a communications manager and a leader in CFC Singles for Christ. She lives in Metro Manila with several dogs and cats, loves anything with peanut butter, and is always trying to catch up on sleep. Connect with her at anatejano.com.

Mid-March, our executives announced that we could start working from home, one of the things I thought to myself in an attempt to comfort my extrovert self was: “At least I’m going to have time to write again.” Working from home meant my commute time is nonexistent, and I wouldn’t be wandering around the mall aimlessly waiting for a Grab ride, so that’s about 2-3 hours back to my day. Yes, I can write again, I can finally finish revising my book.

Fast forward five months later, I’m still here, with the book’s Act 3 an absolute mess, plus a short story due two years ago in progress (and being rewritten for the umpteenth time). I have ideas and ideas hitting me everywhere going into my idea dump files, and lots of discussions with people about these things, but actual writing and editing happening? Nope.

It isn’t for the lack of trying, really. I have finished a lot of things. There is that script for #romanceclass’s Hello, Ever After web series for one. My day job involves writing and I manage to churn out articles and write-ups for work and I can summon words when needed. But for myself—for “fun work” as we often call it—I come up dry. (Or sometimes, I come up with something and then hate it the next day. Ah, well.)

This is why I hesitate to participate in a lot of things since late last year to this year as an “author” because I hardly feel like one sometimes. I didn’t want to call it writer’s block because I didn’t believe in that—besides, I was writing anyway, and our corporate website has that. Maybe it’s just an off day, but writer’s block? No way. Maybe I just need to find inspiration. Take a break. Read something. Watch something cute and then go back to work. I need to try harder because look, everyone else has the same chances, I have so much time on my hands right now, and so what right do I have to slack off?

But a thing I learned about the romance genre is that it is very kind. Not in the sense that it excuses and condones questionable behavior, but it is kind in a way that there is compassion between the pages of the book. See, the romance genre is about love but not just about the love of the two main characters. I mean sure, that is the end game of it all (must have happily-ever-afters/happy-for-now or it’s not romance, ok), but often romance is also about the people that surround these leads, the ones who root for them and call them out, the ones who push them to make the right choices, to choose love. There is a certain kindness in romance books that gives its characters room to grow, make mistakes, learn more about themselves, and breathe. Sure, these characters are put to a wringer before they get to the end, and sometimes bad people are going against them, but when their love ultimately prevails, it becomes a reminder to extend the same kindness that they had received and given to ourselves, too.

In a lot of ways, this is what my current work-in-progress is all about: Meah, who’s kind to everyone else but not very kind to herself, and Joseph, who wants to be a better version of himself, forgetting sometimes that he is also human and is allowed to still make mistakes. And if I could teach these two characters (my most stubborn kids, as I call them) how to be kind to themselves, then I could—should—do the same for myself. These “unprecedented times” are hard, and some days, we can only muster enough energy to go online and do the actual day job, then go offline later and do things that are not writing. And this is okay. Sure, I need to recognize when I am just really slacking off and/or making excuses, but for those other times when words are difficult and everything is just driving me into despair, then maybe it’s okay to not do for now and just be.

They say good things take time, so who knows? Maybe one day, we’ll all wake up and the pandemic is over, and one day, you’ll wake up and see me shouting joyfully that the book is out. Whenever that is, I hope that when we all get there, it’s because we have all chosen to extend kindness to others, and most importantly, to ourselves.

-AT

*Ana’s latest book, You Could Be the One, a collection of three friends-to-lovers short stories are available in ebook and print format worldwide at bit.ly/ycbto. For her other books, visit anatejano.com/books.


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*August Romance

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Wednesday Spotlight | GHOST OF A FEELING by Celestine Trinidad

About the Book:

   

June 16, 2018
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

All Cris Villareal had ever dreamed of was becoming a doctor. But after the death of a patient under her care and the subsequent humiliation she suffers under a senior resident in her hospital, she begins to lose faith in herself. And no one else could understand her and her despair. So one Halloween night, on the rooftop of her apartment building, she decides to end it all. She is stopped from jumping by Emilio, the ghost of a young man who haunts her building, who also committed suicide there many years ago. Eventually, Cris finds herself opening up to him, in a way she had never before, with anyone living or dead. There is only one problem. Emilio isn’t really a ghost. He is actually a living young man named Nathan Morales, and Cris was just one of the unwitting victims in a prank he had once played on the tenants of her apartment. But being Emilio was the only way he could think of to stop her that night, and the only way now he could get her to open up to him. As Emilio, he was someone she could trust enough to help her, in a way Nathan himself never could. As their relationship becomes deeper and their feelings grow stronger each day, can he finally help her find a reason to keep living? But how long can he keep lying to her? - Amazon

Hello Ever After webseries, Episode 2 - "We Will Be Okay"

About the Author:

CELESTINE TRINIDAD is a licensed physician (a pathologist) based in the Philippines. In her spare time, she writes fiction of different genres, including romance, fantasy, science fiction, crime, and children's stories. Some of her other stories have been published in other print and online venues, such as The Digest of Philippine Genre Stories, Alternative Alamat, and the Southeast Asian Fantasy volume of Insignia. Her first novel, "Ghost of a Feeling", is available on Amazon. You can visit her website at bit.ly/celestinetrinidad.

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*August Romance

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Author's Friday | A REMINDER TO MOVE FORWARD by Mina V. Esguerra

AUGUST ROMANCE 

     

MINA V. ESGUERRA is author and publisher of romance novels. She founded the #RomanceClass community of Filipino authors of romance in English and the readers of the books. Also, an agent representing media adaptation rights for selected #RomanceClass titles. Visit minavesguerra.com and romanceclassbooks.com for more about these books and projects.

My latest romance book, released in July 2020, is also my 25th book. As a self-publisher, I usually get to control my writing schedule, as well as my publishing release date. I get to make the decisions on all of that for all of my books, and I wanted to make my 25th book’s release special.

Then 2020 happened, and not only did I move all of my deadlines, but I also started to question whether to release a book at all. Why put out a new book during a pandemic? Didn’t people have other things to worry about? Who would be reading romance at this time?

While wondering about all of that, I put publishing on hold and instead devoted some time to other things (not my book). At the beginning of quarantine, I watched Crash Landing On You, a Korean romance drama. Every week, I participated happily in my writing community’s watch parties of classic and current Pinoy romantic comedies. I was spending four hours just doing the weekly grocery run because of long lines and used that time to listen to romance audiobooks. These became things I looked forward to, and not just time fillers. I became aware of how there were more layers of feelings now, because I wasn’t just enjoying the story on its own, but was also reflecting on a time that I wished I could see again. You know, pre-pandemic. This makes some people sad, but for some reason I was hopeful. I enjoyed seeing better days, and good people finding love.

Doing that, I found the answer to my questions and concerns about releasing a book this time, this year. Yes, there was definitely going to be an audience for a new romance, because I had voraciously consumed so much of it for comfort. Yes, it might have to be a new set of readers, and some may be reading it with a layer of sadness. But the important thing was to make sure the book was out there, and ready when its readers are.

SO FORWARD is about former figure skater Colin, who is now secretly taking his MBA and is about to defend his final paper, about providing more funding to the Philippine national teams representing winter sports. It’s a paper that’s strong on principle but weak on business, so his thesis adviser gets some help for him, in the form of future CEO/MBA prof/former hockey player Lexa. When I was writing it (pre-pandemic), I was exploring what we consider defaults not just in the romance genre but in life in the Philippines. The theme of this book had always been about questioning what we accepted as the default, and if we could expand our definition of it to include more ways to be. And let people thrive even if they aren’t exactly as we expect. Colin is also my first bisexual main character, and though the book’s plot has nothing to do with it, it naturally fits the theme of seeing the value in people and what they do. Our romance-writing community in the Philippines is diverse and we have many groups writing romance of all kinds, but we’re also at the point where many are writing romance as a response to real life, real injustice, and how love can be found—and sustained—despite all this.

The reason why I wrote the book remains relevant—maybe that was enough reason to release it, even if this particular time is so different and many things are uncertain. I’ve since said this to other authors also worried about their books right now. We had a reason to write it then, and the book may still entertain/comfort/help someone now. Maybe more than ever.

-MVE

*So Forward is available worldwide in digital and paperback on Amazon and other retailers. To order the print edition in the Philippines, go to this form: bit.ly/mvebooks.

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*August Romance

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Book Review | VANESSA YU’S MAGICAL PARIS TEA SHOP by Roselle Lim

Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim
Publication: August 4, 2020
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Romance, Magical Realism
Rating: ★★★★

Become enamored with the splendor of Paris in this heartwarming and delightful story about writing one’s own destiny and finding love along the way.

Vanessa Yu never wanted to see people’s fortunes—or misfortunes—in tea leaves. -Goodreads

VANESSA YU’S MAGICAL PARIS TEA SHOP is my first taste of Roselle Lim, and I am pleased by her simple, charming writing style. I am sorry that it took me a few tries before I finally dipped myself into reading this. The extravagance in its contents is a bit overwhelming for me to fully digest, given the current pandemic and the limitations of travel. All the same, Lim executed a delightful story filled with familial love, hope, and redemption.

Vanessa Yu never wanted to be a clairvoyant. It brought her nothing but frustration, embarrassment, and migraines.  She cannot even get a decent date because of her gift. She is desperate to gain control over it. So, off to Paris, she goes with her Aunt Evelyn to get her long-overdue clairvoyance lessons.

This marrying of East and West is adorable. On the one hand, Lim dealt us with the family and values that are snug and protective. On the other, she showed us a vast world that is both challenging and captivating. Indeed, postcards and textbooks cannot give Paris justice. One has to experience it in its real glory. However, Lim offered the next best thing. She brought Paris to life by displaying its culture -food, fashion, art, and people. And her description is nothing less of scrumptious. One cannot help but fall in love.

In the center of all the clairvoyance, cultures, and challenges is a young woman finding her way into herself and love.

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About the Author:

Roselle Lim was born in the Philippines and immigrated to Canada as a child. She lived in north Scarborough in a diverse, Asian neighborhood.

She found her love of writing by listening to her lola (paternal grandmother's) stories about Filipino folktales. Growing up in a household where Chinese superstition mingled with Filipino Catholicism, she devoured books about mythology, which shaped the fantasies in her novels.

An artist by nature, she considers writing as "painting with words."

*August Romance
*Thanks to Berkley and Edelweiss for the galley in exchange for this unbiased review.
*This post is a part of the monthly linkups organized by Lovely Audiobooks! You can click here to check it out and be a part of it.

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Author's Friday | AUGUST ROMANCE

    

Hi there. How’s it going?

The summer heat is scorching, and there’s still a pandemic. The family and I binge-watched Avatar: The Last Airbender for the nth time, which we agree we will never get enough in one lifetime. Long walks through the city parks, with audiobooks tucked in my ears, helped lift some spirit. So let’s talk about the August Blog Project.

I am super excited for a particular project I wanted to explore for a long while now. August is Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa, a celebration of our culture, heritage, and identity through our languages, as the Filipino nation. August is also Romance Awareness Month and I figured that the best way The Page Walker can celebrate these two occasions is to feature Filipino Romance authors and their books each Friday of August.

These past months were hard. Books are one of the few things I hold hard on to keep me sane, Romance Books most especially. They are light and hopeful, waking those dulled areas in my brain. It addresses my need for human connection and inspiring me to reflect and reconnect. I am sure introverts can relate very well.

Romance is not easy for everyone. Well, for everyone who doesn’t want to try it, I mean. There is no reason to run for the hills. Romance Books are not forcing us to be more romantic than what’s comfortable. Instead, they give a bubblier perspective, inspiring us to take courage in the most unpredictable path. So for those who think that romance books are unmanly or cringeworthy, I am telling you, this pandemic is the most relevant time to try them.

For this project, I am collaborating with romance authors I’ve known for some years now. These are delightful authors who can deliver those “kilig” factors that can surely lift any readers.

So, stay tuned!

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*Updated:

August Romance #1: Roselle Lim
August Romance #2: Mina V. Esguerra
August Romance #3: Celestine Trinidad
August Romance #4: Ana Tejano
August Romance #5: Tara Frejas

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Book Review | WINDSWEPT by Gwen Cole

   

Windswept by Gwen Cole
Publication: July 21, 2020
Publisher: Sky Pony
Genre: Fantasy / YA Fiction
Rating: ★★★★

Every day, Sam endures the same subway ride on her way to school, but when she meets a boy named Reid, suddenly her daily commute isn’t so ordinary. Reid has the ability to teleport—or, drift, as he calls it—and for the first time, Sam has the opportunity to travel anywhere without a passport or plane ticket.

But as their two worlds come together, Sam discovers her family had been keeping secrets from her, and meeting Reid was just the beginning of unraveling the truth. When drifters begin to disappear, Sam has no choice but to face the threat when she finds out her family is among the missing.

As Reid and Sam start their search for the missing drifters, help comes from the most unexpected of places. After a significant breakthrough, Reid is taken, and Sam finds herself alone in a world she knows nothing about. With the enemy closing in, she soon realizes she’s the only person who can save them all.- Goodreads

Readers who are tired of the commonly chosen one trope, like Katniss or Tris, will likely weigh up and skip this book. Pleasantly, Gwen Cole handled the “only person who can save them all” part, as the book blurb said, in a clever way. Both Sam and Reid have personalities befitting teenagers who have room to change and does not make some cliché choices.

And besides the “oh so” cute teenage romance, there is a certain element that separates WINDSWEPT from the rest of Jumper-ish stories. These people have fleshed out as vulnerable, flawed, and troubled creatures. Not untouchable, god-like beings, which are able to jump from one place to another without care or consequence. Absolutely no world meltdown.

Although the author has the opportunity to stretch out the mystery and explore more of the drifters’ history, it is refreshing that this is a quick read ending on a high note. A YA fantasy that readers shouldn't miss. I recommend.

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About the Author:

Gwen Cole is an award-winning author of Cold Summer and Ride On. She grew up in northern New York and after moving to Virginia, she met her husband while playing in a hardcore band. When she’s not writing, you can find her playing Xbox, skiing in the winter, playing softball in the summer, and always watching too much Netflix. She now lives in Richmond, Virginia with her family, always longing for colder winters.

*Thanks to Sky Pony and Edelweiss for the galley in exchange for this unbiased review.
*This post is a part of the monthly linkups organized by Lovely Audiobooks! You can click here to check it out and be a part of it.

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Sampler Review | IGNITING DARKNESS by Robin LaFevers

Igniting Darkness by Robin LaFevers
Publication: August 4, 2020
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 
      for Young Readers
Genre: Historical Fantasy / YA Fiction
Rating: ★★★★

When you count Death as a friend, who can stand as your enemy?

Sybella, a novitiate of the convent of Saint Mortain and Death’s vengeance on earth, is still reeling from her God’s own passing, and along with him a guiding hand in her bloody work. But with her sisters on the run from their evil brother and under the watchful eye of her one true friend (and love) at court, the soldier known as Beast, Sybella stands alone as the Duchess of Brittany’s protector.

After months of seeking her out, Sybella has finally made contact with a fellow novitiate of the convent, Genevieve, a mole in the French court. But when Genevieve mistakenly draws the attention of the French king to the convent of Saint Mortain and its deadly arts, she may do her sisters (and herself) more harm than good. Sybella, having already drawn the ire of the French regent, may not be able to depend on her sister and ally as much as she hoped. Still, Death always finds a way, even if it’s not what one expects.

No one can be trusted and the wolves are always waiting in this thrilling conclusion to the Courting Darkness duology, set in the world of Robin’s beloved His Fair Assassins trilogy. -Goodreads

The book started exactly where COURTING DARKNESS left off. I am glad that it did not miss a beat. The first book left a lot of questions and some disturbing events that want immediate answers. And as much as I am grateful for this sampler, I am in great anticipation to read the full book.

I rarely like multiple narrators, but this book made it so intriguing, I cannot wait whose voice will come next every time. And there is a very welcome addition to these voices here that I am sure other readers will be excited to read too.

There is no doubt IGNITING DARKNESS is an electrifying conclusion to this much-awaited historical fantasy duology.

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About the Author:

ROBIN LAFEVERS is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed His Fair Assassin trilogy—GRAVE MERCY, DARK TRIUMPH, and MORTAL HEART and the companion duology COURTING DARKNESS and IGNITING DARKNESS (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, June 2020). Her books have received multiple starred reviews, have been selected as best books of the year by Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews; and been nominated for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature. Writing as R.L. LaFevers, she is also the author of the THEODOSIA and NATHANIEL FLUDD, BEASTOLOGIST series. Though Robin has never trained as an assassin or joined a convent, she has been on a search for answers to life’s mysteries for as long as she can remember. She finds them mostly in books.

*Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Netgalley for the sampler in exchange for this unbiased review.
*This post is a part of the monthly linkups organized by Lovely Audiobooks! You can click here to check it out and be a part of it.

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Book Review | HOW THE PENGUINS SAVED VERONICA by Hazel Prior

  

How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior
Publication: June 16, 2020
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: ★★★★

A heartwarming story about a curmudgeonly but charming old woman, her estranged grandson, and a colony of penguins that proves it's never too late to be the person you want to be...and that family is what you make it.

After a disastrous first meeting with the grandson she never knew she had, eighty-four-year-old Veronica McCreedy wants to find a worthwhile cause to endow with her millions. Although she has health, wealth, and wit, Veronica has been alone for a long time, her only connection to her past a box of diaries from when she was a teenager during WWII...and a locket filled with a strand of hair from every person she has ever loved and lost.

After learning about a research team studying endangered penguins in Antarctica, Veronica tells the scientists she's coming for a visit--and won't take no for an answer. Despite a discouraging first experience (a penguin attacks her favorite designer handbag), Veronica warms to the birds. She even convinces the team to rescue an orphaned baby penguin who swiftly becomes part of life at the base. Veronica's closed heart starts to open.

But when she becomes ill, her grandson Patrick comes to Antarctica for one last attempt to get to know his grandmother. Together, Veronica and Patrick--and even the scientists--begin to really learn what family, love, and connection are truly all about.

This is a moving and inspiring read. Life has not been kind to Veronica. Having endured all those losses, I am in awe of her resilience and strength to move on. It is no wonder she turned into a grumpy old lady, carrying all those bottled pain.

HOW THE PENGUINS SAVED VERONICA presented different themes, and I want to focus on two of the most significant: opening back to love and ecological preservation. They said that the journey to love is a journey to one's self. And that is true in any form of love. For Veronica, it took a locked-box, a locket, and a colony of Penguins to remind her where love is. And any heart will melt for Penguins. The number of threats to these adorable creatures is one of the major concerns for our planet at present. I am glad the author chose to echo this SOS.

Those Penguins, cute as they are, are not the only charming feature in this book. I like how Ms. Prior fleshed her characters out. The story unfolds beautifully as she gradually smoothed out the edges of the characters. These too-good-to-be-true characters are exactly what our societies need to reflect on right now. We need accommodating people who are always ready to listen -people like Terry, Gavin, and Eileen. I like them.

I believe this book fits nicely into the emerging genre called Coming-Of-Old Age. I highly suggest them. Please do give them a try. There’s plenty to glean from these kinds of stories.

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About the Author:

Hazel Prior is a harpist based in Exmoor, England. Originally from Oxford, she fell in love with the harp as a student and now performs regularly. She’s had short stories published in literary magazines and has won numerous writing competitions in the UK. Ellie and the Harpmaker was her first novel.

*Thanks to Berkley and Edelweiss for the advance review copy in exchange for this unbiased review.

*This post is a part of the monthly linkups organized by Lovely Audiobooks! You can click here to check it out and be a part of it.

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READ AWAY THOSE PANDEMIC BLUES

  

I am reading sporadically since our province declared a state of emergency last March 18 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Under normal conditions, I would portion any book I will read into (at least) five, and then I make sure to finish a portion each day. Rule. But since the lockdown, to pick a book up again was difficult. Oftimes it takes days to nudge me back.

The night used to be my best buddy because it is quiet, the ideal time to read. I already lost count the many times I told myself “just one more chapter” right after finishing the last one. But lately, the idleness of the day leaks into the night, and I would lie awake in bed, not reading at all, wishing the Sandman will be kind.

The last two months of winter were the most challenging as I cannot walk around the park or sit on a bench and read. The best I could do was taking the pup for a quick walk out on the sidewalk.

Boohoo, right? My husband said that it was from the stress of worrying, which is true. So, I thought of ways to bust these pandemic blues away and get my reading mojo back on track.

MORE AUDIOBOOKS

I’ve been reading with audiobooks before. Although I usually set them aside for walking and long bus rides, I now cling to them more often. I bought the audiobook copies of my most anticipated list from Google Play. I read along while listening as much as I could, but often, I switch to just listening. And those I could not go thru even in audio, I drop. I figured it is not the time to dawdle on things I cannot finish on the first go.

WHILE EATING

I work mostly from home, even before the lockdown. And so, weekdays leave me eating lunch alone. The house rule is no reading, or internet browsing, or phones while we are having meals together. Technically speaking then, reading while eating on my own isn’t breaking any rules.

WHILE SHOVELING

I’ve learned the art of heaping snow more efficiently during the lockdown. I’ve emptied all my worries and frustrations into it. Oh yes, that double-truck driveway and sidewalk were no match for me while I was listening to Brittany Pressley and January LaVoy.

WHILE OTHERS

I know people who also mastered the "reading while on treadmill" trick. Believe that you can do it too. I listen to audiobooks whenever or however I can squeeze them into whatever I am doing as well. I play them on speakers while cooking, folding the laundry, and (lately) gardening.

TWITTER STORIES

While some people make sure to stay away from social media to reduce stress, I go to Twitter and Facebook in search of people who share a story or two. Lucky days turn my searches into gold. Other days, my find could be an animal rescue story too. Then my faith in humanity is restored, and I am happy to pick up my book again.

TFG TO THE RESCUE

I joined the latest two online book discussions with my beloved book club. And it turned out my dear bookish friends was all I need to vanish this blues away finally. They made me realize again why I love to read. Nothing thumps the spark of lively chatter. I’ve missed them so much.

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Now that the warmer months are here, and the province is phasing its way to reopening public places and the economy, I get to walk in the park longer, seat and read, and drink my coffee in tranquility again. 

My worries, of course, is not more valid than what others may have, and we battle them differently as well. I merely hope my undertakings during these difficult times will motivate you likewise to read your pandemic blues away too.

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