Liar by Lynn Crosbie

An unusual read for me. Although a big fan of some of the great poets, I don't normally, sadly, find the time to pursue current publications. This is a long, narrative poem, and for me a pleasant surprise. It moves very quickly with strong, evocative, and "right" imagery, if I can say that. My only negative comment would be that at times it struck me as a little self-indulgent, but that is a very personal reaction - just the kind that really good poety should cause. Would love to hear other reactions, especially from big poetry readers and fans.

Mean Boy by Lynn Coady

For some reason, I find this book to be immediately apparently Canadian - and I'm not sure what I mean by that. But you know how you can just tell when a television program was produced in Canada? I had the same reaction to this book. It is extremely well-written and at times laugh-out-loud hilarious. Set in a small-town university in New Brunswick, this will appeal to anyone who has been an undergraduate, tried to write poetry, idolized a prof, or even thought very hard about the meaning of life and what "success" means. I was disappointed in the ending - I thought she needed about 30 more pages.