CanadianContent discussion

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... I am sure that we will be hearing about more holiday reading and I know that many of us are enjoying the wonderful Christmas book exchange (thanks again to Allison and Natasha)!!

What has everyone been reading this week?

I finished a couple of books this week, Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (loved it!), Things We Have in Common by Tasha Kavanagh (an ARC copy, liked it, made me feel for the narrator, an obsessed fantasist, a lonely grieving teenager) and just finished The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore as one of our December group reads. Funny book! Can't wait to start discussing it. Still on the go with Twelve Drummers Drumming by C.C. Benison which I am enjoying and Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie which is all right. Not really up to her usual standard. I find the Christmas themed books I've been reading and have earmarked to start are short and easy reads, at least. I've put Quicksilver to one side for the moment.

It's an anxious morning here in the office. CFE (Common Final Examination) results for the CPA designation. I can't think about books yet! I remember this day in 2005 when I found out I passed. Such stress!

Hi all!

I gave up on Hot Milk, which was a massive let down for me. I usually love these calmer, introspective reads, but this one was just laced with so much bland misery, that I just couldn't take it anymore.

Thinking I was going to redeem my slump with an "old faithful," I blindly went into Summer's Child by Diane Chamberlain. Years ago I LOVED her The Midwife's Confession, so I thought any of hers would carry the same magic. Wrong! It was cookie-cutter, predictable and not believable at all.

I then started Second Life, and will finish it today. WOW!! @MJ I saw that you loved it! It's amazing! I don't have a ton of experience with "thrillers," but this one has completely sucked me in. What a ride! It's a bit sexual -- I wasn't expecting that -- but it's a gripping read, and I can't wait to see how it ends. There are some pretty negative reviews, but I just don't see it that way. I'll be giving it 5*.

In paper I read Boundless: Tracing Land and Dream in a New Northwest Passage, which completed my BINGO card. It was a calming and enlightening, and will be a piece of history for the north. I was left feeling like I need to read more. The way Kathleen Winter described the landscape and ice was really beautiful.

And lastly, in a quick reread 15 years later, I read Griffin and Sabine again! What a treat! I'd sort of forgotten the plot, but of course remembered the amazing artwork and the very cool way that the book is constructed, with postcards and letters inside envelopes. I immediately went onto Better World Books and purchased the next two in the series. I can't wait to get at them, as I've never read those two before! I would strongly recommend these really quick reads, as they're just such a treat to hold and read.

Okay, we've heard positive results from both our writers, so I'm calmer now.

I listened to Winter Street this week. A solid four stars of light holiday reading. I also finished The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror on the drive in this morning. It was a great listen (funny!) and refreshingly different from most Christmas books.

I'm still slugging my way through Christmas Under the Stars, which is okay, but definitely doesn't call my name to pick it up read. The worst part is that I'm about halfway through and still no Christmas! The book has Christmas in the title for goodness sake!

Happy Friday!

I've read few actual books this past week having rediscovered the work of Chie Shinohara, who was one of my favourite manga artists as a teenager. I'm pretty sure I blew through over 40 volumes of her work in avoiding my essays.

I also finished three graphic novels, The Outside Circle, [book SuperMutant Magic Academy] and Saga, volume 6}.

The two novels I finished this week were [book: And the Birds Rained Down by Jocelyne Saucier and The Devourers by Indra Das. Both were quite good. I did prefer The Devourers though because it played with fantasy genre tropes in a way I hadn't seen done before.

I'm now closer to the end of bingo than ever since completing a couple books, and thanks to MJ who made some suggestions on how I could shuffle things around. Turns out I've read a lot more books then I thought that counted for bingo. Only two books to go now and that's a much more manageable number.

Happy Friday everyone!!
It's hard to believe we've almost reached the middle of December!!
We had the Secret Santa exchange at my in-person book club on Monday. It was so fun with the "stealing"!! Do Not Say We Have Nothing, The Best Kind of People and All the Light We Cannot See were the most popular ones to be stolen. People brought such a great variety of books! I ended up getting The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. I think I will enjoy this one.
This week I finished The Summer that Melted Everything. I gave this a 4-star. For a debut novel, it had an intriguing plot and a surprising ending.
I started Shelter, another debut novel, about broken family dynamics as a result of ongoing domestic violence in a Korean family. I also have The Hidden Keys as well. Both books are due back in the library. Hopefully I will catch up with some Christmas reading after these two.
Enjoy your weekend!!

Happy Friday everyone!

I'm a slow reader and still haven't finished my books from a couple weeks ago. Still working my way through Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches and The House of the Spirits.

However, it was my birthday last week and I got a couple books as gifts.

I got Do Not Say We Have Nothing (which I am ecstatic) and I also got The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen and I cannot wait. I've only heard great things.

Happy reading!

Happy Friday (at last)!

This week I finished Commonwealth, which I loved (5 stars!).

I've decided to spend this month trying to read some of the 2016 releases I have lying around. I know I won't get to all of them but I'm hoping to make a significant dent. So, now I'm reading The Naturalist. I'm enjoying it enough but I loved Alissa York's Fauna so much that it was bound to be a hard act to follow. I love the descriptions of the Amazon rainforest but something's a bit off about this novel. Maybe there's not quite enough "action."

Still making my way through My Life on the Road. The last long chapter I read detailed Steinem's work volunteering for many political candidates over the years. She had quite a lot to say about Hillary Clinton and it made me really emotional, so I've taken a little break from this read. It really is a wonderful book, though.

And I have only 3 installments of Cranford and then I'll be done with that one.

Just finished Lawrence Hill's The Illegal. Enjoyed the story but I found the writing a bit stiff and unemotional. Need a new can lit choice to start and will be selecting something from the groups lists.

Happy Friday everyone!
What a long week. I'm also getting a bit overwhelmed with all the Christmas stuff that needs to get done and organized in the next couple weeks!
This week was a bit slow. I read Wenjack. A a beautiful book. I don't think it could have been done more perfectly than that.
Now I'm reading a silly fluffy book that requires about zero thought.
When I'm done that I have One Good Hustle out from the library.
Then I'll be onto Random Passage courtesy of my secret santa, which I hope to read over the Xmas break. :)

Hello all! We finally got a bit of snow and I'm starting to feel quite seasonal here.

@Pauline, I read The Illegal recently as well. I thought it was a good read, but kind of like a Dick Francis novel - more of a palate-cleanser, and fun so long as one isn't expecting amazing dialogue and so on.

I finished Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels this week with The Story of the Lost Child. Wow! Sometimes even when I enjoy a series, I have a hard time working my way through it and there are big stretches between my turning to each subsequent book. But with this series, I've been insatiable. Such a fascinating story.

I'm now halfway through The Underground Railroad, and finding it intriguing so far.

I started in on The Underground Railroad I am about 3/4 of the way through, and I am finding it starting to lose steam, although it did start strongly.

I am also listening to The Color of Magic which is part of the disc world series. I am enjoying it, but thinking it might have been better to read a few first and get familiar with the world and characters before doing audio.


As I have time I am also reading through A Christmas Carol

I ended up sticking with Do Not Say We Have Nothing and finished it this morning. I absolutely love Thien's writing but political novels don't really intrigue me much so I can't say that I loved it. I think I will love her short stories though if I can ever get to them.

I'm still plugging through The Witches of New York which is definitely going to be the least favorite of her 3 books. I'm actually not liking this one very much.

I've been reading some fantastic short stories. William Trevor, oh my, he ranks up there with Alistair MacLeod. I'm also enjoying some stories by newcomer Clea Young.

Allison wrote: "And lastly, in a quick reread 15 years later, I read Griffin and Sabine again! What a treat! I'd sort of forgotten the plot, but of course remembered the amazing artwork and the very cool way that the book is constructed, with postcards and letters inside envelopes. "

Yes, aren't these books beautiful? I have the entire series - it's definitely time to experience them again.

TrudyAn wrote: "Allison wrote: "And lastly, in a quick reread 15 years later, I read Griffin and Sabine again! What a treat! I'd sort of forgotten the plot, but of course remembered the amazing artwork and the ver..."

They are amazing, @TrudyAn. So unique and gorgeous. I can't wait to get the next two in the next week or so.

I just finished I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid. I had placed a library hold on this book, and by the time it was available, I wondered why I had been interested in reading it. It is definitely not my usual read, but it was surprisingly good, though creepy and sad. This book has many low ratings, many attributable, it seems, to not understanding the ending.

I also finished listening to The Underground Railroad. Considering all the hype around this book, it was disappointing. I wasn't able to relate to any of the characters, and the narrator's difficulty with male voices was distracting.

I'm glad to hear that The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror is being enjoyed. I really enjoyed the audio version a few years back. I may still find time to read the book over the holidays. It's such a fun read.

I finished The Barrakee Mystery and quite enjoyed it. I liked the characters and the Detective, Napolean Bonaparte. I hope to continue with the series.

I finished the audio of Pretty Paper, which was a nice Christmas tale. Willie Nelson doesn't write the most exciting prose but the story is heart-felt and warm.

I have now started another Christmas audio, You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas and liking it so far. Augusten's view of the world is interesting. He had an unconventional upbringing, which leads to some interesting outlooks. I have a soft spot for him since reading Running with Scissors. He's done remarkably well with what Life has given him.

I finished A Spool of Blue Thread and just didn't get it. I would have given up on it but thought that something must happen before the book ends but sadly nothing happened.

Like @Allison*NeedsALittleChristmasNow (lol), I have been reading holiday books.The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Finished Winter Storms, the last novel in the trilogy of the Quinn family in this holiday series. it was a light, easy ready and tied up the ending nicely.

I also read The Gift which could have had a lot more editing (perhaps could have been 1/3 its size), The Book of (Holiday) Awesome and listened to The Best Christmas Pageant Ever I have also posted a bit more detail in the holiday reads section.

I scored a large pile of Christmas books from the library so will continue my holiday reading this weekend now that we have a bit of snow on the ground!

@May - fun to hear about your book club exchange. we have ours coming up this week and I am looking forward to it.

@Pauline - if you are looking for a CanLit suggestion, I would suggest Richard Wagamese - any of his but especially Medicine Walk which I clearly cannot stop raving about!

@Petra - Pretty Paper is in my library pile!

Ugh. I have been waiting patiently for my library turn for the audio of The Couple Next Door, and it arrived yesterday.

The narrator is awful. :(

Normally, I'd abandon ship on it, but I've really wanted to get to this one. I guess I'll keep going... But this is a real risk with audio books! The narrator/reader has the power to ruin the whole experience!

I'm still not reading novels, will have to start once I begin my holidays soon. So I've continued to read many children's illustrated books which are so delightful. I read a few by a Canadian writer (can't remember her name) and at the end of each book she writes-You are Loved. It just moves me so much to think that some small person is reading that and what it must make them think. Almost all of the illustrated books I've been reading have been exceptional-the art is stunning and the stories are very touching and sweet. I am also reading a great deal of Canadian illustrated books and I have on hold at the library about
another forty. The nice thing is that I can read five in no time and then return them. The first novel I plan to read is an Australian novel by a female author who apparently was very famous in her day, but I never heard of her. It's not a very long book but it looks like fun. Once I begin it I will supply the name and title.

@Allison
same situation different book. Was highly anticipating a new dystopian Lionel Shriver, but unhappy with it so far, too much ponderous detail and unbelievable dialogue. I'll stick with it though, and now that I'm finally 'in' to it I'm hoping it will develop.
Come to think of it, this is how I have felt with her other work, which required a lot of patience that was amply rewarded.

the book is the mandibles.

and I know that our complaints are different Allison, yours being an issue with the audio, but I'm picking up on that feeling of crushed expectations. And it seems no matter how firmly I delete my assumptions, they seem to creep in.
At any rate, hope there is a written solution for your issue and that you can find and enjoy the book

I am loving seeing everyone's 2016 stats posted in GR! So fun! I feel like I can get another 3 or 4 books in yet, but it's still fun to see, and makes it really hit home that we're close to the end of the year -- wow!

This is my first full year on good reads and I was surprised by this stats post. I love the stats and am also trying to read a few more by the new year. I noticed that we had quite a few books in common!!

Yes, a lot of us have overlap in reads. :) Clearly shows how much we influence each other!

I was just crunching some numbers for the books I read this year (so far) compared to last year. The female/male split was the same at 55% female and 45% male. I read a little less non-fiction this year (12 vs 16 books) - this is still an area I need to work on. Books by an author "of colour" were about the same in both years.

The biggest shift was in my Canadian reading - because of bingo, of course. In 2015, 18% of the books I read were Canadian; in 2016, 41% were Canadian. This increase came partly at the expense of American authors (from 65% down to 51%) but also at the expense of authors outside North America (from 17% down to 8%).

I don't pick what I read based on year-end stats, but I find it a bit depressing how North American my reading is. I know some of this is explained by what books are easily available and on one's radar due to media exposure, but it's still disheartening.

Last year was the first year I tracked the country of origin and my Canadian authors were woefully few, just 14 compared to 42 American but I wasn't surprised that I also read 36 books written by UK authors with 11 other countries represented. I do enjoy UK authors and this year's count is 29. The US fell to 26 and my Canadian reading upped to 34 so I'm quite pleased with that.

I just returned from checking out my new library branch. I must have been feeling guilty about my stats because I had a book by an American author in my hands and then swapped it out for Ali Smith's Public Library and Other Stories. :-)

Ha! That's funny, Susan.

I love seeing everyone's stats. My reads (BINGO and other) are pretty Canada-heavy, and very few reads from outside N. American, especially since 2016 BINGO.

I think next year I'll focus less on having mostly Canadian reads on my card... And then I say that and wonder "why?" I truly believe that Canadians are the best authors! :)

So my stats were:

gender breakdown: 40% Male; 60% female
ethnic breakdown: 21% non white; 25% white;
country breakdown: 24% European; 19% Canadian; 57% American

guys, are you figuring out these breakdowns (eg gender, country) yourself, or is there someplace Goodreads calculates it?

You need to track yourself @Emmkay. Unfortunately!

We should have a separate thread for the stats.

I can set that up...