Ooooh Canada

I actually didn’t know the Canadian anthem until the Olympics this past winter (as a sidenote, I can’t handle watching the Olympics…I get so wrapped up in the athletes’ hopes, knowing they’ll have to wait four years to try again, that I can’t take the stress…I also go off an long tangents about totalitarian states and their sketchy practices regarding ‘amateur’ athletes, which means no one would want me to watch with them even if I was interested…however my parents are huge fans of the Olympics, so I caught bits and pieces as I wandered through the living room), but I guess anthems are one of those things that are really more domestically relevant anyway. Still, I’m proud that now I know the general tune and a few of the words! ;)

I’m rambling about Canada, because I’m wrapping up the past year’s Canadian Book Challenge 3 and joining this year’s (they go from Canada Day –> Canada Day). Before joining the challenge, I barely read any Canadian lit, and I’ve had a great time getting to know more about my northern neighbour this past year with John Mutford as the perfect host. Here are the books I counted to complete the challenge (I needed to read at least 13, and not counting books by Canadian authors that I read for other reasons ended up with 15):

• Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint (Ontario)
• “The Rez Sisters” by Tomson Highway (Manitoba)
• The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland (British Colombia)
• The Devil’s Picnic by Taras Grescoe (Quebec)
• Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (Ontario)
• The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede (Newfoundland)
• Skim by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki (Alberta)
• Still Life by Louise Penny (Quebec)
• Obasan by Joy Kogawa (British Colombia)
• The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (British Colombia)
• Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King (Alberta)
• Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill (Nova Scotia)
• The Girl in the Picture by Denise Chong (British Colombia)
• The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag by Alan Bradley (British Colombia)
• Piece by Piece ed. by Teresa Toten

The best book: A tie between Someone Knows My Name, Alias Grace, and Green Grass, Running Water
Any new authors? Lots! I purposely tried to expose myself to authors I hadn’t heard of before (although I couldn’t resist Atwood and de Lint entirely). Tomson Highway, Susan Vreeland, Taras Grescoe, Jime Defede, Louise Penny, Joy Kogawa, Alan Bradley, Thomas King, Lawrence Hill, Denise Chong, and I think all of the authors from the anthology Piece By Piece. Of those, I definitely want to read more King and Hill.
Any books that were tough going? Obasan took some effort on my part to convince myself to finish it, and I become pretty disenchanted with both Still Life and The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag about halfway through. The Girl in the Picture should’ve been about 100 pages shorter too. ;) Oh, and I loathed The Forest Lover, which I only finished because I read it for a book club I was trying out. I know this sounds a bit negative, but I promise my overall experience was positive. ;)
What did I learn from this challenge? The diversity of Canada! Canadian identity, in a literary sense at least, seems quite fluid, which really appeals to me. I didn’t manage to read a book by an author from every province, but I still got a bit of a taste of the geographic diversity too. It’s fun to see the similarities and differences between Canada and the US…we’re kind of like two siblings who have gone different ways but still retain a certain familial resemblance.

Now for the list I put together for the Canadian Book Challenge 4! I spent quite awhile trying to find books that were published pre-2000, since I’ve lately noticed just how skewed my reading has become. But I still ended up with fiction published mainly in the 00’s and 90’s, so if you have any suggestions, dear readers, let me know. I’ve left the fiction list sorted by decade, since that’s how I put it together, but it’s kind of depressing to see the lack of older books! lol Also, I noted the province of the author in parantheses, but as you can tell from the overwhelming dominance of Ontario I wasn’t exactly concerned with geographic distribution. ;) The nonfiction list is at the bottom and isn’t subdivided, because I want to get off the computer and go read!

1920s

• The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery: Anne of Green Gables is one of my favourite characters ever, and I also enjoyed the Emily series as a girl. So it’s about time I gave Montgomery’s ‘adult’ book a try! :)

1950s

• The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne by Brian Moore: apparently Moore was known for his strong psychological insights into women. And, NYRB Classics republished this last month; while my library has a much older copy, that still makes me more excited to read it. ;)
• The Watch that Ends the Night by Hugh MacLennan (Quebec): I love that one of the storylines in this book is set Montreal’s intellectual circles of the 1930s. Isn’t that instantly appealing?

1960s

• My Heart is Broken by Mavis Gallant: I’ve heard marvelous things about Gallanet’s story writing ability, and as a short story aficionado, it’s about time I give her a try!

1970s

• The Beggar Maid by Alice Munro (Ontario): I can’t believe I’ve never read any Munro! (Well, I did read one of her short stories in the anthology My Mistress’ Sparrow is Dead.) This novel-in-short-stories sounds right up my alley.
• Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood (Ontario): I love Atwood, and now that I’ve read four of her best-known works, I’d like to try out her more obscure side.
• High Spirits and/or What’s Bred in the Bone by Robertson Davies (Ontario): I’ve heard things about Davies! The first appeals to me because it’s a collection of ghost stories, while the latter sounds interesting since it’s narrated by a guardian angel. :)

1980s

• Swann by Carol Shields (Manitoba): I enjoyed Dressing Up for the Carnival a couple years ago, so I’ve been wanting to follow up with Shields!
• Not Wanted on the Voyage by Timothy Findley (Ontario): Xicanti was kind enough to recommend this to me on Twitter!

1990s

• A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry : I already have this out from the library, after being told by multiple bloggers that it’s an Eva book, so it’ll be my first read! :)
• The Book of Saints by Nino Ricci (Ontario): this is a carry-over from last year’s list. It’s historical fiction set in Italy, which isn’t something I read often.
• In The Skin Of A Lion by Michael Ondaatje (Ontario): another carry-over! After not enjoying Anil’s Ghost, I want to give Ondaatje another chance.
• The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay (Saskatchewan/Manitoba): an author carry-over from last year, although I’ve decided to go with the title that Aarti recommended! I love the idea of a historical fantasy novel set in the Middle Ages (Alamut anyone?), so I hope I love the execution too.
• The Underpainter by Jane Urquhart (Ontario): I’ve heard good things about Urquhart, so I thought I’d start with the earliest book of hers my library has!
• The White Bone by Barbara Gowdy (Ontario): this is written from the point of view of elephants! Generally, I’m not a fan of talking animals in books, but I think an animal narrator would be different.
• Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald (Nova Scotia): a carry-over from last year; perhaps now I’ll be more in the mood for juicy melodrama. ;)
• Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels (Ontario): I usually avoid WWII books, but after reading A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True, I’m drawn to books featuring Polish characters. Hopefully it won’t make me cry too much.
• The Englishman’s Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe (Saskatchewan): this one seems to be highly praised everywhere I read about it! It’s a Western, which isn’t a genre I’m familiar with, but I’m so curious about a Canadian Western. Plus, part of the story is set in 20s Hollywood! With my love of classic films, I’m hoping that will help me enjoy the Western bits more.
• The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston (Newfoundland): somehow, I’ve managed to read a ton of praise about this book but have no clue what the plot is. I actually enjoy going into books that way, so all I know is that this is epic fiction: that’s enough for me! ;)
• The Mark of the Angel by Nancy Huston (Alberta): I’m not sure if I’ll enjoy Huston, but I do want to give her a try. This is set in post-WWII France, which intrigues me…I’m not sure I’ve read a book set in that time period before!
• A Good House by Bonnie Burnard (Ontario/Saskatchewan): another highly praised one…I know that this is a family saga and I think it won some awards. ;)
• Murder in Montparnasse by Howard Engel (Ontario): while I’m incredibly picky about my mysteries (I only get to book 2 or 3 only a handful of the series I try), I’m always on the lookout for a new series, so I thought I’d give this a go!
• The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood (Ontario): more Atwood! The plot summary of this one just sounds so good.
• The Magician’s Wife by Brian Moore: a historical novel set in the late 19th century in France and Algeria featuring a magician…need I explain further why it’s on the list?!
• Into the Green by Charles de Lint (Ontario): I really enjoy de Lint, but I want to give Newford a rest for a bit (I’ve been reading the series in published order), so I thought I’d go for this early stand alone novel.
• Deadly Appearances by Gail Bowen (Ontario): another mystery series for me to try. :)
• House of Dreams by Pauline Gedge (Manitoba): this is set in Ancient Egypt! When I was younger, I was obsessed with Ancient Egypt, and once I visited the country I fell in love with its modern aspect too. So anything that gets me back there is a good thing. :)

2000s

• Crow Lake by Mary Lawson (Ontario): some of my favourite bloggers highly recommend this one!
• The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys (Ontario): a carry-over from last year; as I said then, it kind of sounds like a Persephone book (although it’s not published by them).
• What the Body Remembers by Shauna Singh Baldwin (Quebec): another carry-over, set during the Partition in India/Pakistan. Having just finished a book about Pakistan, the horrors of the Partition are fresh in my mind.
• A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews (Manitoba): Mennonites! I’ve never read anything about them, so I’m a bit curious. My dad’s family lives in Amish country in Pennsylvania, so whenever we went to visit them we’d see that, which was neat. But I think I’m rambling.
• Tamarind Woman by Anita Rau Badami (Alberta): isn’t that a great title?! I think the story moves back and forth in time, between India and Canada…I have a thing for Indian fiction, so this automatically looked good to me. ;)
• Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden (Ontario): I put this on last year’s list but didn’t get to it (I read a couple other First Nations authors)…I think it’s going to be really depressing, so I’ll have to gear up for it.
• Consumption by Kevin Patterson (Manitoba): this sounds like SUCH a neat idea! From what I can tell Patterson himself doesn’t have any Inuit heritage, but he’s spent time with them, so with any luck this novel set in the 1950s about an Inuit girl sent to a sanitarium and the resulting culture clash will be good.
• Katya by Sandra Birdsell (Manitoba): a historical novel set in Russia! Early 20th century Russia! I don’t need any further justification. ;) But if I did, the summary comparing her to Willa Cather and Jane Austen would have sold me.
• A Student of Weather by Elizabeth Hay (Ontario): Hay seems to be the darling of every review I read of her. ;) I’d like to start with one of her earlier books and work my way up.
• The In-Between World of Vikram Lall by MG Vassanji: I really enjoyed The Book of Secrets last year, so I’m curious to see Vassanji’s return to the Indian communities of Eastern Africa.
• Your Mouth is Lovely by Nancy Richler: isn’t that an intriguing title? This is another historical novel set in Russian in the early 20th century…what can I say? I’m predictable!
• The Body at the Tower by YS Lee: this is the soon-to-be-published second book in Lee’s marvelous YA series set in Victorian England. I loved the first one (A Spy in the House) and am delighted that I’ve already been able to get in line for this one!
• Chef by Jaspreet Singh: I’ve beem mildly obsessed with Kashmir since reading Shalimar the Clown (I have the audiobook, and since this is my favourite Rushdie novel, I’d say I’ve conservatively listened to it at least 6 times all the way through…now I usually pick out sections to reread dependong on my mood), so I’m curious about this debut novel set there, even though the reviews I’ve seen are mixed.

Nonfiction

• Sugar: a Bittersweet History by Elizabeth Abbott: sugar has such a complicated history (and present! ask me about vegan sugar if you’d like to know) that I’d love to know more about it. And Abbott’s descended from people involved in the sugar trade, which I’m hoping means her historical account will be personal and thus more interesting.
• The Iambics of Newfoundland: Notes from an Unknown Shore by Robert Finch: a carry-over from last year! Kelly read it and had high praise. :)
• Being Caribou by Karsten Heuer: another competitor for best title. Karsten and his wife Leanne spent their honeymoon journeying with caribou in the Arctic. Seriously!
• Beyond the Sky and Earth by Jamie Zeppa: in this travelogue, Zeppa (a woman) writes about her time in Bhutan! Seriously! If you know me, you know I love to read around the world, and I can’t resist adding a new country to my ‘collection.’ ;)
• The Truth About Stories by Thomas King: I adored King’s novel Green Grass, Running Water last year, and this is the only other book of his my library has. It’s an essay collection on literary stuff from a native perspective, which sounds just up my alley. ;)
• The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant: another carry-over from last year’s list. I still love trees. :)