Reading voraciously is a highlight of the writer’s job description. I try to read 75 books a year, which is kinda cheating because Agatha Christie’s and M.C. Beaton’s compact, devourable mysteries easily get me to that goal every time.
My favourite books:
Moral Disorder, by Margaret Atwood
The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, by Michael Ondaatje
My favourite mystery writers:
Ann Cleeves (Vera Stanhope, Jimmy Perez, Stephen Ramsay & more)
Charles Todd (Ian Rutledge, Bess Crawford)
A.J. Devlin (Jed “Hammerhead” Ounstead)
Louise Penny (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache)
M. C. Beaton (Hamish MacBeth and Agatha Raisin)
Agatha Christie (especially her Hercule Poirot stories)
Books by friends:
Bird’s Eye View, by Elinor Florence
Once You Break a Knuckle, by D. W. Wilson (technically I’ve never met D. W. Wilson, but we both grew up in Invermere and attended UVic’s creative writing program and I like his books, so.)
Blogs I stalk:
Thoughtsfrommyheadphones (my friend John Close, a natural-born preacher for the church of conscious living)
Brock Demus McLeod (my sweetie, who died September 20, 2017)
Joe Hammond (providing beautiful insights from the perspective of a dying father and husband)
Globe & Mail pieces I recommend reading because Dave Jorgensen is hi-larious:
“I’m Trying to Break the Education Habit,” published April 9, 2014
“Me, Be a Dad? No Thanks,” published May 21, 2014
“Building Muscle to Bluff Your Way Through Life Isn’t Easy,” published October 16, 2014
Excellent books on death and grief:
Final Journeys, by Maggie Callanan (her first book, Final Gifts, is worth a read too)
The Mourner’s Dance, by Katherine Ashenburg