The Book of Guilt – a book review

Posted on October 17, 2025 by karenmeg

The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It’s 1979 England. Thirteen-year-old Vincent and his two brothers, are orphaned triplets, living in a children’s home together. They are cared for and monitored around the clock by different “mothers”. They take daily medication, learn from the “Book of Knowledge”, have nightmares recorded in the “Book of Dreams”, and when they do “bad things”, these events are documented in the “Book of Guilt”. Their house used to be filled with other orphans, many who seemingly did good things to manage to be sent to the utopian “Margate” , an amusement park-type of home. The boys are visited occasionally by an elderly doctor, kindly Dr. Roach, who checks in on them and coordinates their care with the mothers. The three seldom venture beyond their property, and the few times they have entered the village, they have been either avoided or treated with hostility by the villagers. They are different.

In a parallel story, a girl named Nancy is being raised by her parents, spoiled and sheltered, handled most preciously. She is never allowed outside, hasn’t met anyone else beyond her parents, and is asked to hide in a hidden part of her wardrobe, whenever anyone comes to the house.

What is the connection between the two? Something was not quite right in either of these settings.

This was a dystopian novel, and the further I read the more quickly I had to continue. The layers peeled away to reveal horrors and violence, in such sharp contrast to the childhoods that were initially cloaked in hazy innocence.

I was very much reminded of the novel “Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro which I read almost 15 years ago. It gave me the same type of unsettling chill. I can’t describe more without spoilers.

A 4 star rating. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC in exchange for a review.




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Scattershot Saturday

Posted on October 11, 2025 by karenmeg

It’s the Thanksgiving long weekend here in Canada. The colour change of the leaves is not as far advanced as usual this year, probably. because summer temps did not break until late this past week. But I like the cooler weather – and the wasps are definitely gone now.

  1. We went downtown again on Thursday to see the French synth band “Air”, playing their complete album “Moon Safari” which was released over 25 years ago. It was a great performance at the refurbished Massey Hall.

2. The Summer I Turned Pretty – the finale (last 2 episodes of Season 3)- I binged with my daughter last night. For the uninitiated, it was a series based on a book trilogy, about a love triangle made up of Isabella (Belly) and two brothers, the elder Conrad, the younger Jeremiah, who spent their summers together as kids, as their Moms were best friends. I was never really team Conrad, he was too sullen, too complicated. I became on Team Jer – but the character of Jer went through a transition, not in a good way. He went from a sweetheart to an annoying college bro. Not to spoil things, but Belly and Conrad ended up together -and now we have a movie to look forward to for the full blown ending.

My verdict? I was somewhat underwhelmed. The Paris settings were lovely though.

3. We went to my brother’s for Thanksgiving dinner – he made the turkey on the barbecue! I decided to bring a colourful salad, a recipe I found on the internet, full of Kale and sliced brussels sprouts, fried shallots, pickled onions, roasted salted almonds … a winner. There was a surprise birthday cake for me – I’ve got one coming up this week. It was nice to have time with family.

4. Golden – I feel like I’ve been living under a rock – I had no idea about this latest animated super popular movie on Netflix, K Pop Demon Hunters,

Oh, I’m done hidin’, now I’m shining like I’m born to be
Oh, our time, no fears, no lies
That’s who we’re born to be

Great lyrics, I love that it’s popular with young girls. EJAE’s story is particularly inspirational. Talented young Asian women.

5. The Blue Jays won over the New York Yankees and are now on their way to the ALCS! This is the furthest they’ve been since 1996. Big game coming up tomorrow as they face the Seattle Mariners. How awesome would another World Series Win be? I know, one step at a time!

6. Sad news – Diane Keaton. She was such a wonderful actress – and a real movie star. I can’t believe she passed, she seemed eternally youthful.

7. Another family get together planned tomorrow. While I love having the family celebrations, I miss having my boy here this year.

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Wordless Wednesday

Posted on October 8, 2025 by karenmeg
Zen
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Scattershot Saturday

Posted on October 4, 2025 by karenmeg

What – two posts in one day?

Another gorgeous October day – only it’s HOT – 25 deg C! Some random thoughts for a Saturday:

1/ Going to a wedding today! I haven’t been to one in a couple of years, and I can’t even remember the last Chinese wedding banquet I went to. I’m looking forward to the festivities.

They will also be having a traditional tea ceremony, and my mother has been asked to participate. It is a formal tradition where the bride and groom offer tea to their elders – and in return the elders give them good wishes in the form of lucky red envelopes with cash, or jewelry. We never had that at our wedding – back then my generation wasn’t as keen to be so traditional, and my husband isn’t Chinese, so it wasn’t something my parents thought was necessary.

Tradition is highly underrated these days, so it will be nice to be witness to that.

2/ Street Dance – Speed Demon – dial up the funk! I learned some new choreography last night, to the new Justin Bieber single, which is so catchy, I can’t get it out of my head. I was practising before bed last night and it registered on my FitBit, which is hilarious. I had no issues getting to sleep and had a decent sleep score. I guess more dance is good ?!

3/ Finishing up on some stuff, like books to be read (hence the previous book review); writing to be done (journalling here and more meaningfully, taking pen to paper), getting to my scene writing.

4/ Just had a Facetime call with my boy – who’s chilling for a Saturday morning. He showed me his sourdough bread starter, we got caught up. Turns out he’s pretty caught up with his grandma, who had some issues with her cable company earlier this week, and I had to be her IT to help re-set her PIN. The last time she had this issue my son helped her out. He already knew that from her texts – and says it is a bit scary that I am her IT support these days. In fact, “I’m surprised that you figured out Facetime without a hitch this time, Mom!). Yeah, he’s funny, good thing he’s not within slapping distance. :).

I do miss him a lot, though – especially during family occasions, like a wedding. Neither kid will join us this time, but such is life when your kids are young adults.

5/ Changes coming up, good ones. I guess, like spring, fall can be a time of new beginnings.

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Our Last Wild Days – A book review

Posted on October 4, 2025 by karenmeg

Our Last Wild Days by Anna Bailey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Loyal May has returned home, the small town of Jackknife in rural Louisiana, to care for her ailing mother. Loyal, a successful journalist, left home at 18 years old, having betrayed her only friend, Cutter Labasque.

The Labasques are a family that lives on the fringes, three siblings who hunt alligators, left to fend for themselves after losing their parents in a spectacular accident. They live in the swamps, and although are known to the town folk, they are not welcomed into the community.

When Cutter is found dead in the muddy swamp, no one seems to care or wonder about the official cause being ruled a suicide. Least of all her two surviving brothers. But Loyal feels there is more to the story, as it would have been out of character for Cutter, even if she hadn’t seen her in years. She is determined to find out the truth, and harbouring guilt about her betrayal, wants to make amends, as she didn’t have the chance to when Cutter was alive. Working with the small team at the local paper, she unravels the webs of lies in the small town connections, amidst the dark atmosphere of the bayous.

I loved the cover and description of the novel. The brooding, dark atmosphere struck me right away. It was a tense, suspenseful murder mystery.

The characters were complex but relatable. Loyal was very believable, and dealing with the decline of her mother while she was trying to find answers, made her sympathetic. I loved how scenes with Cutter were woven so we could witness the bond they had as young teens. Sacha’s character was a good partner for Loyal; he had his own vulnerability and challenges of being different in an unforgiving environment.

The story flowed so well, the tension of the brothers, the cops, and a whole host of other characters (no spoilers). I loved the twists and connections of storylines, and the ominous background of the wild creatures, the alligators, and ties to old superstitions and the unknown.

Every character had a back story, and the author provided just enough on each to enrich the story and make it believable. The story started slowly, but the pace picked up and plot twists happened very quickly. The action scenes were incredibly descriptive and easy to visualize.

I really enjoyed this book! It reminds me of “Where the Crawdads Sing”, so fans of that book would like this.


Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada, the author and NetGalley for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.



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Friyay

Posted on October 3, 2025 by karenmeg

End of the week, it’s a beautiful Friday!

Hey, I only had 5 hours sleep, maybe because last night I was dancing and had a later snack with my BodyJam buddies at the Keg: Gin Basil Lemonade coming right up…

That’s yummy tuna tartare.

Since I was already up, I decided to do a 6 minute morning meditation on Insight Timer. Not quite the pick me up as the following (I LOVE this scene…)

Then did a 30 minute strength training session courtesy of Les Mills On Demand. Strength training is so important for women my age (women all ages really), so if I can’t get to the gym, why not do something at home.

Then I did a quick DuoLingo session – I started to review my French for my trip last year, and am now on day 539 of my streak!

This is extreme morning person behaviour, me thinks.

Next up today, meet a friend for coffee, work on my hair, do my nails and head downtown for Streetdance.

We have a family wedding tomorrow, so need to get a bit cleaned up for the festivities.

What’s up for your weekend?

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Taking a walk, feels all right…

Posted on October 2, 2025 by karenmeg

It’s Thursday in October and it’s a beautiful day.

Lots to be grateful for, just in time for Thanksgiving weekend coming next week.

We took a mid morning walk, the weather has been fantastic – summer without the humidity, at a comfortable 20 deg C. Of course, only after we had our coffee and sat on the couch watching early morning Breakfast TV, while our joints and bodies settled. Forcing ourselves to get up for our walk. I hate that feeling of being sore when you wake up in the morning. The remedy, of course, is a walk. Since I plan on a dance workout tonight, couldn’t go too crazy. It is nice to hit 7000 steps before noon.

I installed this on our door – it’s fake but it works.

We have a community garden that was set up and curated by some young people in our neighbourhood. It is flourishing so beautifully! It’s always fun to check out what’s been planted, and what is thriving.

Look at all that luscious green!

Speaking of Luscious – anyone remember Luscious Jackson? I love this tune, so cool 90’s

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Scattershot Saturday

Posted on September 27, 2025 by karenmeg

I thought I would start out something new for the blog, new for the fall.

What’s another word for Random that starts with S? “Scattershot” Google says. And so it begins.

My weekly roundup of things that are random, broad and haphazard.

1/ Gymrat era

I’ve been killing it at the gym. Been going 5 days a week in September. What the heck, I need to remember to purposefully rest. I took a break, somewhat in the summer. Gotta admit I’ve been getting results though. Friends I haven’t seen in a while, notice. I guess I look leaner. It’s this…Bodypump, been doing it consistently for a year now, adding to my combat and dance workouts.

2/ Mums – it’s officially fall, and I got a couple of massive planters from Costco for our front entrance. I may use as my new iphone back cover.

3/ Comedy. -Just for Laughs

I love to laugh. We went to see Marc Maron earlier this year, gotta love his curmudgeonly humour, he was great. He’s retiring his WTF podcast later this year.

I’ve been following another comic, Zarna Garg, for the last little while. She’s the most hilarious presence on social media that I’ve seen in a long time. I also saw her on a few daytime shows this past summer, showcasing her newly released memoir. I can’t wait to read it – I think it’s wonderful that she made her way to America, got an education (finance and a JD!). Married, became a SAHM, and was then encouraged to try stand-up by her children.

She came to Toronto for two soldout shows..

My face hurt from laughing so hard. I’ve got her book on hold at the library.

4/ Shopping my own closet

My cousin is getting married next weekend, and I’ve been thinking about getting a new dress. I have so many, and my most recent purchases have been variations of the LBD (little black dress). I don’t think I should be entirely in black to a family wedding. Since I’ve been unsuccessful at decluttering, I still have many party dresses from back in the day that would be considered vintage — hence, I haven’t fit into any for the longest time. Guess what – I found one that actually fits now!

Saving myself almost $200, the average cost for dresses I was looking at. Helpful.

5/ Learning about AI

There is so much about AI out there, so much to learn, so many new terms. I am excited to keep learning about the possibilities, but simultaneously quite overwhelmed. It’s all about using it smartly, harnessing the benefits without losing the human touch. I can’t believe the pace of the uptake.

I’ve used it to propose travel itineraries, suggest decor ideas, complete with sources, provide prompts for creative writing, and inspiration for scenes.

Do you use AI?

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Wordless Wednesday

Posted on September 24, 2025 by karenmeg
I feel so grown up now
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Westward Women – a book review

Posted on September 22, 2025 by karenmeg

Westward Women by Alice Martin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It’s the 1970s. An itch is the first sign of a mysterious affliction affecting young women, drawing them to voyage to the West Coast of the US. It seems random. They’re in the prime of their lives. They become like walking zombies, wandering, blank. Some are never heard from again. Others are found dead.

We follow three young women amid this turbulent time—three of them in search of something. Aimee, a recent college graduate, decides to go looking for her missing best friend who appears to have been infected. Teenie, a young victim who is drawn into this westward voyage by a man, Pied Piper of sorts (they call him Piper). He lures young women onto his bus, creating a cult-ish community of young women, all kept under his insidious control masked by his unremarkable exterior. And finally, Eve, a journalist chasing this story, is seeking redemption after an embarrassing fall from grace.

I enjoyed this story and in particular, found it very interesting the way it was told from different points of view and voices. Aimee and Eve were both told in the third person; Teenie was written in the first person, as the one woman who was infected, and we saw everything through her eyes.
There was an unwavering creepiness throughout the book. I just knew there would be a breaking point, a culmination of events. And it did not disappoint. The story was cleverly woven.

Four stars for me, this was a great debut novel from Alice Martin. Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for an advanced copy for review. Planned publication date is March 2026 – look for this one!



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