Pick-a-Shelf discussion

Have you actually been to Canada? A beautiful country & this avi (thanks, LynnB!) shows it up pretty well

I love Canada. I've been to western Canada a number of times, but have always wanted to visit eastern Canada. A trip to Nova Scotia to visit my friend Jen, Toronto to visit my friend Wendy, and PE Island to visit Anne of Green Gables are on my bucket list.

Tien wrote: "Have you actually been to Canada? A beautiful country & this avi (thanks, LynnB!) shows it up pretty well

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My hubby wants to know if you know what mountain that is.

Lyn (Readinghearts) wrote: "My hubby wants to know if you know what mountain that is."

No, I don't, but it looks like maybe from the Fraser River valley in BC?? Maybe Alberta, though. Sorry I don't know. Maybe someone else will recognize it.

The Fraser Valley? I don't know, but I found the photo and the page claims it's photostock and that it's "Canadian flag in front of te [sic] snow capped Rocky Mountains, British Columbia, Canada"

But that makes little sense since I don't see any foothills whatsoever. Also, the colour of the mountain shows it's quite far away, so it's nto right in front! The foothills are far enough away to be hidden behind those not-very-tall trees.

There aren't many places that flat in BC, but it could just be a small flat area.

Karin wrote: "The Fraser Valley? I don't know, but I found the photo and the page claims it's photostock and that it's "Canadian flag in front of te [sic] snow capped Rocky Mountains, British Columbia, Canada..."

The BC Rockies or Cascades don't have much in the way of foothills. It looks like around Abbottsford BC to me, lots of flat there that the mountains rise up from. But I really don't know.

I've never been to Canada, but would one day like to.

On another note, I really enjoyed Margaret Atwood The Heart Goes Last . See my review

I've only been to Toronto to a conference and to visit friends, who took me to Niagara Falls. It was a wonderful experience.

Never been to Canada but I definitely want to go!

I finished and there were some parts set in Canada so the fact that it was in this shelf is not as crazy as it sounds! I gave it 4 stars - as usual with this series, some parts are tedious but once you get into the action, it's super exciting.

I have never visited Canada (I'm form Europe and so far have travelled only inside Europe).

I read:

(English: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen)
Read: 03.-05. July
Rating: 5 stars (I loved it and added it to my favourites)
Shelved as Canada by 27 people.

This was my first book from Sara Gruen, but I will definitely read also her other books.
The author (Sara Gruen) was born in Vancouver, Canada, grew up in London and Ontario and is an author with dual Canadian and American citizenship, but as I understand now she lives in Western North Carolina, USA.

I really loved Water for Elephants!
I must confess I was so afraid to read it - I can't read books about animals - will cry my eyes out. This book was also cruel, but I really liked the way the story was built and the atmosphere created (I felt like I was in the middle of the events). Even little humor wasn't missing.
I don't think I want to watch a movie though. Well maybe I will. After some time.
Movie just can never be as good as the book.

Quote (page 92, in USA in 1930ies):
"How is it that everyone on this train has so much alcohol?"
"We always head to Canada at the beginning of the season. Their laws are much more civilized. Cheers!"

I just finished The Orenda by Joseph Boyden which is set in 17th century Canada (and is by a Canadian author). An excellent story, I would give it 4-1/2 stars. It is a fictional story of the early years of non-native settlement in Canada. The Huron, the Iroquois and the Jesuit missionaries are all entangled in the charcters of Bird (Huron), Snow Falls (Iroquois) and the Jesuit priest, Christophe (known as Crow to the native people).

I've just finished Oryx and Crake by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It wasn't bad, but I honestly expected something better. Perhaps my expectations were simply too high. I didn't particularly like it that the book was going backwards, starting from the end and going back to the beginning. It made it hard to understand what was going on and the implications of it all. Not the best Atwood, in my opinion.

I've never been to Canada but I'd like to, one day, although this is not going to happen any time soon since it's so far away from Italy, which makes it expensive as well.

Just finished Anne of Green Gables. It was written by Canadian author L.M. Montgomery and is set in Canada. I enjoyed the book, the main character is quirky and gets into all kinds of trouble. The book was published in 1908 so there were several aspects to it that were dated and very different, but it was not too hard to get past them. Overall it was a good read.

I finished Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. Both the author and the setting are Canadian. This is a fictional story based on real murders in 1843. Grace Marks, age 16, is convicted in the murder of her employer and his housekeeper; this is the story of a doctor's (mental health) interviews with her while she is imprisoned. A very interesting story.

Christina wrote: "Just finished Anne of Green Gables. It was written by Canadian author L.M. Montgomery and is set in Canada. I enjoyed the book, the main character is quirky and gets into ..."

I've read several in this series and find them enjoyable, too. They're a nice, clean, comfortable read.

I finished The Meeting Place and The Sacred Shore. These are books 1 and 2 of the Song of Acadia series by Janette Oke (Canadian) and T. Davis Bunn.

The books are set in Acadia (now Nova Scotia) in the mid to late 1700s. In The Meeting Place while the English army controls the area there are many French Huguenot settlements. The Huguenots refuse to take up arms for the French king but also refuse to take an oath to the English king because it includes a clause requiring them to fight in his army if needed. Catherine Harrow, wife of the English commandant becomes friends with Louise Robichaud, a neighboring French woman. The story of their friendship in spite of the French and Indian War is a very tender one.

The second book is The Sacred Shore. In this book Andrew Harrow (commandant in previous book but no longer in the army) receives an unexpected visitor from England and Andrew, Catherine and their daughter Anne's lives get turned inside out. I don't want to say much about the plot of this book because it would be a huge spoiler for book 1. I didn't expect to like this one because of some of the plot angles but ended up liking it quite a lot. While both books are Christian fiction, I would say this second one is much 'preachier' than the first.

Sadly, I have never been to Canada.

I finished yesterday. It's the second book in the Scott Pilgrim series, and I loved it. I accidentally got the color edition, a very happy accident as I enjoyed it even more for the excellent color.

If you haven't tried graphic novels, this would be a good series to start with because it's a fun read. Aside from a short battle here and there, Scott is just your usual young guy trying to navigate the dating world. It seems simple enough, but the underlying idea is that our past relationships have a lasting effect.

Quote from one of Scott's friends: "What, you broke up with your new girlfriend, but soon we'll meet your new new girlfriend?"

I just read Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet by Alisa Smithand JB Mackinnon. It's a memoir about food --non-fiction. It's set in British Columbia, Canada, where the authors live. Very interesting and thought-provoking about the food we eat.

Well, I finished my second Louise Penny book (A Fatal Grace) last night, and I liked the story even better than I did the first one. This time Inspector Gamache is back in Three Pines for a murder at the old Hadley house. That was the home for the murderer in the first book of the series, and so is a bit of a creepy ghostly place. We meet some of the same people in Three Pines as in book #1, making this a Canadian cozy mystery. Yet, the story only borders on a cozy mystery as it has enough undercurrents and background intrigue to touch fingertips with the thriller genre. I gave it 4* and most definitely will continue to read this series!

I know I'm late, but I wanted to read my pick for this shelf anyway.

i just finished . It's a very good story. I saw the movie, but couldn't really remember it what it was about. The book is better, as always :D It's about Jacob who joins the circus. I gave it 4 stars.

LynnB wrote: "Karin wrote: "The Fraser Valley? I don't know, but I found the photo and the page claims it's photostock and that it's "Canadian flag in front of te [sic] snow capped Rocky Mountains, British Colum..."

Certainly not in BC, but there are some in Alberta, which is not what that photo was!