REVIEW: Falling Into Sinkhole (Jake Beka, 2026) | 🔗 https://brennan.day/review-falling-into-sinkhole-jake-beka-2026/

#BookReview #Poetry #LiteraryCriticism #CanadianLiterature

Latest on the blog: a short poem by the father of Canadian poetry, Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts.

Set in the cold and silent month of February, "The Brook in February" captures the tension between winter’s stillness and the hidden vitality of the coming spring.

As always, vocabulary exercise included!

https://grammaticus.blog/2026/02/25/the-brook-in-february-roberts/

#poem #poetry #canada #canadianliterature #winter #february #englishteacher #learningenglish

“The Brook in February” by Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts

Charles G. D. Roberts (1860-1943) was a prominent Canadian author and public intellectual, often referred to as the father of Canadian poetry. He wrote numerous works of fiction, but he also did a lot of nature and travel writing, largely focused on Canadian themes.

The short poem presented here was first published in his collection “The Book of the Native” in 1896. Set in the cold and silent month of February, it captures the tension between winter’s stillness and the hidden vitality of the coming spring.

If you’re an English language learner, don’t miss the vocabulary exercise found below! (Answer key available.)

VOCABULARY EXERCISE

Match the following words from the poem with the definitions:

WIND  (v.)  |  FIR  (n.)  |  MUFFLED  (adj.)  |  BABBLE  (v.)  |  BLOSSOM  (n.) 

• wrapped up, enveloped
• to make the low, continuous noise of water flowing over stones
• a small flower on a tree or plant
• an evergreen tree with leaves like needles
• to have many twists and bends

To check your answers, please click here.

ADDITIONAL LINKS

Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts (The Canadian Encyclopedia)

E-book versions of C. G. D. Roberts’ works (Project Gutenberg)

NOTES

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the box below. You can also subscribe to my free monthly Newsletter and get a regular recap with additional content.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

COVER IMAGE CREDIT

Photo by Richard Wang via Unsplash

Sharp Words Winter Book Fair is coming! We'll be there on Saturday, January 31st from 11 to 5 pm, down at Bridgeworks at 200 Caroline Street North. Come by for panels, artists, authors, and the best selection of indie books to top up your winter TBR. Check Sharpwords.ca for updates!

#BookFair #IndieBookFair #BookMarket #SmallPress #BookEvents #OntarioEvents #HamOnt #HamOntEvents #CanadianLiterature #CanLit

The City & The City posted their 2025 bestsellers and we love to see a Stelliform book on the list! Also of note: the book is on the list because it is great, yes, but also because The City & The City read and loved it and recommended it and made it a bookclub feature. Indie bookstores are THE BEST.

#indiebooks #indiebookstores #bestseller #lynnhutchinsonlee #originsofdesireinorchidfens #bestof2025 #canadianbooks #canadianliterature #canlit #canadianauthor #books #bookstodon #booklover

My favourite wintertime books

The temperature is dropping and it’s getting colder and colder outside. What better way to spend a quiet winter evening than with a nice, warm drink and a cosy yet thrilling read!

In this post I’ll share with you some of my favourite books with a dreamy wintertime setting. For the past few years we haven’t had much snow in my neck of the woods, but there’s plenty of it in these titles! And I think there’s something for everyone in my selection – both fiction and non-fiction. So, scroll down and find something for yourself.

(A brief note for my current students – you can borrow all of these titles from my in-house library.)

Without further ado, let’s get cracking!

Five Go Adventuring Again

MYSTERY / ADVENTURE / CHILDREN’S

On the odd chance you are not familiar with the Famous Five book series by Enid Blyton, have a look at my article written on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the very first release. 

Five Go Adventuring Again is the second book in the series. Originally published in 1943, it’s written in a simple way typical of Blyton’s early works, which makes it suitable for English language learners – levels pre-intermediate (B1) and above. Set during Christmas holidays, the kids get themselves involved in a holiday adventure, as they discover secret passages, mysterious maps and deal with suspicious strangers.

Regardless of how old you may be, you’re never too old for a Famous Five book! You can check out the e-book, accessible via archive.org with a free account.

The Secret History

MURDER MYSTERY / DARK ACADEMIA / CAMPUS NOVEL

Donna Tartt’s first book, The Secret History, has been a best-seller for over thirty years. First published in 1992, it follows a group of students at a small, elite New England college. Budding classicists who are the main characters have complicated personal histories and relationships, and are all somehow connected with the disappearance and murder of a fellow student.

If you’re intrigued, a while ago I posted a review of this novel (I had only the best things to say), and you can read it by clicking here.

The Sittaford Mystery

MURDER MYSTERY / DETECTIVE STORY

If you’re into thrillers and murder mysteries of a more cosy variety, Agatha Christie’s novels featuring Miss Marple are just the ticket! 

The Sittaford Mystery is set in a small Dartmoor village in the middle of a very snowy winter. A group of people meets for a spiritualist seance at a residence of one of the prominent locals – but instead of table-turning, there’s a seemingly inexplicable murder!

If you like the book, check out the television adaptation of this story, part of the ITV’s Agatha Christie’s Marple series starring Geraldine McEwan. (If you can’t find it elsewhere, it’s currently available on YouTube, here and here.)

The Tenderness of Wolves

MURDER MYSTERY / DRAMA

I remember when I first read Stef Penney’s 2006 novel The Tenderness of Wolves, I loved every single thing about it! Penney’s writing style (extremely skillful for a debut novel!); the deep winter setting; small and remote rural places in Canada; the suspense… It was just breathtaking. You won’t be able to put it down!

The book is difficult to define in terms of genre, but it’s definitely much more than your typical murder mystery. I wish there was a film adaptation, but thus far there is only the BBC Radio 4 drama series originally broadcast in 2007. (Sadly, it doesn’t seem to be available on the BBC Sounds platform at the time of writing. Let me know if you manage to find it elsewhere!)

Peace Like a River

DRAMA

Leif Enger’s 2001 novel Peace Like a River is set in the early 1950s and follows the lives of the Land family from the small town of Roofing. Their initially calm existence gets disturbed by the actions of two local bullies, and from there things unintentionally go into a downward spiral for everyone. 

In spite of dealing with difficult subjects, the striking thing about this book is its gentleness and grace. There’s a lot of Biblical and Christian symbolism in it, starting with the title itself (a line from the hymn “It is well with my soul”). It’s very well written and simply heartwarming.

It’s been a while since I last read this book, and I can’t guarantee that it’s actually set in winter at all – but I always feel like reading it on a cold winter’s day. So think of it as an honourable mention here.

Wilderness Seasons

NON-FICTION / ADVENTURE / NATURE WRITING

The only non-fiction title in this selection is a delectable little book written by Ian and Sally Wilson. Its full title is Wilderness Seasons: Life and Adventure in Canada’s North. First published in 1987, it’s the Wilsons’ true account of their own personal adventure.

Having decided to leave the city, they moved to a remote homestead – hundreds of kilometres from the nearest settlement, and accessible only by a small plane. Wonderfully inspiring, the book describes the four seasons in their little piece of heaven (so not all of it is winter-themed).

I’ve always harboured similar fantasies, and reading this book was incredibly satisfying. I remember getting it at a book swapping event over a decade ago. And as a special treat, the book came with the authors’ signatures. I treasure it to this day.

Please post in the comments section below and share about your wintertime favourites. I’d love to read about them!

COVER IMAGE CREDITS

Photo by Paola Chaaya via Unsplash

NOTES

I’m a freelance language tutor (English, Latin, Classical Greek), researcher, and a literary scholar currently based in Belgrade, Serbia.  

If you wish to receive new content from my blog – as soon as it’s published – please enter your email address in the box below. You can also subscribe to my free monthly Newsletter and get a regular recap with additional content.

To support my work, you can send me a donation via PayPal. It would be greatly appreciated!

#AmericanLiterature #books #Canada #CanadianLiterature #Christmas #EnglishLiterature #learningEnglish #reading #readingComprehension #readingSkills #recommendations #tips #winter

CFS as food studies matchmaker? Yep! We’re putting together a book review and a memoir for your weekend reading pleasure…
https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v1i2.57

What are the true costs of an industrial food system? How can we get a better perspective by taking both an insider and outsider look at farming?

Try pairing Rita Hansen Sterne’s review of Farmageddon: The True Cost of Cheap Meat by (Philip Lymbery and Isabel Oakeshott) with poet and journalist Brian Brett’s Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life.

While the former unpacks cheap meat, the latter takes us to small, mixed farm on Salt Spring Island (BC). But should you name an animal you are going to eat? Brett’s solution is to give them all interchangeable names, rather than assign one to each individual. His pigs go by Bacon, Eggs, and Toast.

Bonne lecture!

#FoodStudies
#FoodBooks
#CanadianLiterature
#IndustrialFood
#AgriFood
#FactoryFarming
#Farming
#Pork
#Pigs
#Bacon
#Eggs
#Toast
#Farmaggedon
#PhilipLymery
#IsabelOakeshott
#BrianBrett

ICYMI: there was a lovely review of Rebecca Campbell's THE OTHER SHORE in Brief Ecology, a newsletter focusing on environmental news - not just what's happening but also what we can do. It's definitely worth checking out.

Here's a link to Brief Ecology #22, where you can find more about THE OTHER SHORE: https://www.briefecology.com/p/no-desert-data-centers-climate-impacts

#rebeccacampbell #theothershore #shortstories #shortstorycollection #canlit #canadianliterature #canadianauthor #speculativefiction #sffh #bookstodon #books

4 doctoral scholarships at the Graduate School of the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies at @freieuniversitaet

Deadline: 31 Jan, 2026

https://www.jfki.fu-berlin.de/en/graduateschool/news/2025-11-14_CfA-2025.html

#AmericanStudies #CanadianStudies #CulturalStudies #AmericanLiterature #CanadianLiterature #scholarship