Stevie Szabad, Author

It’s the middle of January and snow is falling here in Aylmer, Quebec. My kids’ hometown. My fellow military brats understand that last, as in, moved so much while growing up that we don’t claim our own “hometown” (See Home. Again and Again about that.)

I posted my 2024 Reading List recently, but am not impressed by how long it became. Oh, I’m happy enough about how much I read last year and expect to do as much this one, too, but really, my blog posts should be lighter and easier to read in one quick sitting. So I announce now a new blog series, the Monthly Read and Review by Stevie Szabad, with focus on the books that Michele has read, and the monthly events around that author’s life that may (or may not!) be of interest to readers of this blog.

We begin.

• “Unknown Shore. The Lost History of England’s Arctic Colony” by Robert Ruby. This is the kind of non-fiction I adore, about a topic I can never get enough of: arctic exploration. The focus this time is on the Elizabethan explorer Martin Frobisher, and his 3 expeditions to what will become Canada’s Baffin Island area. Like me, you may have learned a little about these early explorers from Europe and their attempts to find a Northwest passage to the mysterious and splendorous east, to find an easier route to the lands of “Cathay”. Through meticulous research from original source documents, Ruby will disabuse you of any glory in these forays. Greed, corruption, downright exploitation, from the common sailor up to Queen E herself. Lots of source material from the indigenous sources also. I don’t often read a whole book of non-fiction non-stop (preferring fiction, I tend to intersperse my non-f reading for a break), but this one I did. Loved it.

It’s now the end of what turned out to be a slow, cold January (typical!) Visits to elders in the care home, some grandson time including a bowling day, and lots of curling in my regular leagues. Booked a southern cruise for a week in February, which is probably why January is draaaggging on. And ordered new summer clothes online to take thereon. Even a new bathing suit, which got a tryout at an overnight at the fancy Casino hotel nearby. And of course, reading.  Did read a fantastic book by

• Kristin Hannah, “The Women”. Vietnam nurses and their return to America. Not the best of times. Again, a topic I know something about, but certainly not enough of. As historical fiction, I can’t recommend this book enough. Great research to keep it real, and imagination of the personal lives to keep it interesting. Wonderful reading of rich writing.

• One more to note, “The Prediction”, one of the “freebies” I load on the Kindle to fill in easy reading time. By Darren Sugrue. Meh. After such great writing from Hannah (see above), this one falls well short. BUT. Such a cool concept – mathematician can calculate your exact date of death! This story kept me reading until the end, and did have a satisfying ending. So worth what I paid, haha, free from Bookbub.

And that’s it for this first Read and Review post of January 2025. And don’t forget to check out Michele Sabad’s BOOKS