CanadianContent discussion

It is Friday the 13th - in Southern Ontario this is a day when thousands of bikers descend on the small Lake Erie town of Port Dover. For others it is our spine crackers day to share what we are reading and to find more book recommendations to add to our book mountains.

What have you been reading this week? What is next?

Happy Friday! After too many busy weekends lately, I'm looking forward to a relaxing one at the cabin.

This week I read Home Ice: Reflections of a Reluctant Hockey Mom by Angie Abdou. The book covers the major issues affecting the sport and its young players today, from a Canadian perspective of course. I found it very interesting.

I am now reading Trickster Drift, but I'm not that far in yet.

I am also listening to Less. I'm about halfway through and still haven't decided if I like it or not.

Happy weekend! I've had reader's block the past few weeks and have barely completed anything. I hope it will pass soon.

However, I am re-reading Hilary Mantel's wonderful memoir Giving Up the Ghost

Also, mostly through, if not particularly impressed with, the audiobook of Anthony Horowitcz's The Word Is Murder. I started out by liking it a lot but there are some plot/logic inconsistencies that are grating.

@ Allison ༻hikes the bookwoods༺, I just added Less to my hold list yesterday...let me know if I should cancel the hold!

Happy Friday!

This week I finished Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo". It's difficult to comment on this book without sounding trite, but it blew my mind. I think of slavery in the U.S. as being something that happened in the "olden days," but the subject of this book died only 7 years before my parents were born. Also, I'd never before read an account of capture in Africa and being on a slave ship. Anyway...it's a sad but important book.

I'm currently reading Anatomy of a Miracle, which is bit uneven. There will be a great chapter or two and then I'll get bored for a while. It's a novel about a young man who is paralyzed while serving in Afghanistan but then, 4 years later, regains the ability to walk without any obvious explanation. Doctors are stymied, the Vatican starts investigating, the "Miracle Man" gets a reality show, etc.

I'm also reading Loving: Interracial Intimacy in America and the Threat to White Supremacy. I've made it through the history of anti-miscegenation laws in the U.S., which was dense reading. I think the rest of the book will go more quickly.

Storyheart wrote: "@ Allison ༻hikes the bookwoods༺, I just added Less to my hold list yesterday...let me know if I should cancel the hold!"

Oh no, it's not awful or anything like that. I'm just not feeling the love...lol.

Storyheart wrote: "Also, mostly through, if not particularly impressed with, the audiobook of Anthony Horowitcz's The Word Is Murder. I started out by liking it a lot but there are some plot/logic inconsistencies that are grating. "

I so enjoyed the Magpie Murders audiobook. I hope this one comes around for you.

Allison ༻I so enjoyed the Magpie Murders audiobook. I hope this one comes around for you."

I loved Magpie too so am feeling a little letdown by this one.

Happy Friday the 13th everyone!

This week I finished Ayesha At Last, a modern day Pride and Prejudice set in the GTA's Muslim community. A fun read, but the writing to me was just so so. It is the Markham Library Read for the summer.
I also finished Molly's Game: From Hollywood's Elite to Wall Street's Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker in audiobook after having watched the movie. It is a fascinating read and I really admire her drive, grit and resiliency.

Still reading The Story of a New Name and The Count of Monte Cristo. Also hoping to start The Sisters Brothers.

Have an amazing weekend!

I am reading There There which is an indigenous read about a group of people who all converge at a pow wow. So far I find the characters interesting and am looking forward to seeing how they all come together.

I also finished All the Crooked Saints for tonight's in person book club. I found it to be a little "out there". I can appreciate it's uniqueness however it just didn't grab me like I wanted it to. I plan to give it 3 stars. The end picked up a bit.

Enjoy the day.

I have been in a bit of a mini-slump other than my audiobooks. I got my first new phone in almost a decade so I have been wasting my time on it in the evenings. Somehow I get sucked in, even though I end up feeling that time was a waste when I never feel that way about reading.

I hope to get back to Beforelife, which is a Canadian fantasy-ish? read. It is just a bit of a tome so it is not that portable. I am into it though, he is a very comical writer that reminds me of Will Ferguson in a way. The jokes are pretty over the top. Only time will tell if it works or gets too tedious.

I am also reading Killdeer: Essay-Poems, which is some Canadian poetry. I am trying to expand my horizons reading more poetry but I am feeling a little lost with this one. I am too much of a poetry novice I think.

Oh, I finally read The Great Gatsby, which I was a bit surprised to find I enjoyed.

Hope you all have a great reading weekend!

@May, I would like to read The Count of Monte Cristo, but I keep putting it off. Is it terribly boring? I always imagine that it is.

@Shannon, buzz about There There seems to be everywhere these days. I'm interested to hear how you like it.

I Love Love Love The Count of Monte Cristo.

Allison ༻hikes the bookwoods༺ wrote: "@May, I would like to read The Count of Monte Cristo, but I keep putting it off. Is it terribly boring? I always imagine that it is.

@Shannon, buzz about There There s..."

It's big, but definitely not boring. I'm just over 300 pages in and it's great! I brought my book to work and so many of my colleagues, especially men, said to me that was their favourite childhood book :)

But that page count is so daunting! One of these days....

Allison ༻hikes the bookwoods༺ wrote: "But that page count is so daunting! One of these days...."

Lol!! You can do it!! If you finished Pillars of the Earth, you can definitely do this one!

That one is on my TBR as well, I am trying to read at least 2 books over 700 pages per year, as I have a lot of big chunksters that have been piling up.

I am about 2/3 of the way through Not Wanted On The Voyage the writing in this is very clever, but it is taking me quite a while to get through it.

In audio I listened to Between by Angie Abdou, I found this author through www.literature-map.com and entering Amy McKay. This was a fantastic book, and I believe I have discovered another great Canadian author.

I just read my first Angie Abdou book this week as well @Heather(Gibby). It was her new nonfiction title, Home Ice, however I so loved her writing that I want to check out her novels too.

I haven't read anything of Angie Abdou's but I have seen her moderate book events here in Calgary. She is very well spoken and funny.

My reading this week consisted of:

Another cookbook by Lynn Crawford this one called At Home with Lynn Crawford: 200 Of My Favourite Easy Recipes, I really liked her recipes in Farm to Chef: Cooking Through the Seasons chosen for the cookbook Bingo Square so I thought I'd try this book as well. Looking for some tasty, easy everyday recipes and it fit the bill.

I also read The Word Is Murder by Anthony Horowitz, his first book for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Was looking for an easy palate cleanser and felt I got much more - great characters, a very detailed police procedural (not a thriller or even a loose mystery) with lots of detail that kept me engaged throughout. Lots of pieces in the puzzle and I liked the cleverness of inserting the author into the story. I enjoyed the intricacies of all the tie-ins amongst the characters and the plot and thought the book was very well written.

Am continuing to read and savour A Place between the Tides: A Naturalist's Reflections on the Salt Marsh by Canadian Naturalist Harry Thurston. It's a non-fiction and may not be for everyone but I have never read a book so jam-packed full of information and references about a small, specific habitat and all the creatures and fauna that share the same space with humans. It has a memoir aspect as well as Thurston reflects on his life in an area in Nova Scotia where he grew up, left for school and work and returned to live and write. Besides sharing his knowledge, Thurston is incredibly poetic and visual when describing his experiences and observations.

Less by Andrew Sean Greer and There There by Tommy Orange have both been on my radar for some time and I will be interested in reading what people think when their finished reading these books as well as The Word Is Murder .

@ Heather (Gibby) thanks for the heads up on Angie Abdou. Her mostly widely read book The Bone Cage didn't appeal to me but Between definitely sounds interesting.

@ Susan - you're so right about how slavery happened so recently.....not a long time ago. Unfortuately, racism towards people of colour continues to be alive and thriving around the world - some underground but much blatant and supported by institutions and systemic discrimination. It's disheartening and so unfair. Educating ourselves like you and other members are doing are doing by reading and speaking out will hopefully positively influence changes for the better.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Hi everyone! I have missed you all. I've been in a bit of a reading slump and out in the garden a lot, so haven't been checking in. It's been a few weeks since my last update.

@Heather(Gibby) - I'm a fan of Timothy Findley's writing. I enjoyed Not Wanted On The Voyage many years ago. It's an odd story, if I remember correctly.

Over the past 3 weeks, I finished:
The Garden of Small Beginnings - I was afraid this would be too much of a romance but it was a fun story of a young widow learning to let go of her past and start to live & love Life. I quite enjoyed it.

Confusion - the third of the Cazalet family saga. I was in the next town and stopped at the library so that I could continue this series. While I was there, I picked up all three books that I have yet to read. I'm now reading the 4th of the series, Casting Off. I'm a sucker for a multigenerational family saga.

Today I finished listening to The Windfall and quite enjoyed it. It's light, chuckle-funny and has warm characters. The ending was a bit abrupt but this is an enjoyable, light read. A perfect beach read, in my eyes.

I then started listening to The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. - 1/19 discs listened to and I'm hooked. I think I'm really going to like this one.

Good morning everyone! It has been a really slow book drought for me also. it has taken me 2 weeks to finish (late) the Cat's Eye for my book club. It is written so beautifully but is more of a character study than a plot based novel.

I finished listening to The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in "Healthy" Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain which needs a lot more peer reviewed research, in my opinion. if it really was the cure for cancer, diabetes and could stop ALS from prescribing, i think there would be more proof, research and everyone would be eating this way!

What next? not sure, maybe Stephen King's The Outsider but i have to finish in 3 days before it is due at the library.

Like many, I have also been in a bit of a reading slump. We spent last weekend on a very long (eleven hours each way) road trip to Moosomin, Saskatchewan, for my nephew's wedding. Then I spent this week leading a summer day camp for 6-12 year olds, which is very exhausting. I have one more camp to lead, and then I have the rest of the summer off.

I did manage to finish Keeper'n Me for my bingo challenge. This is Richard Wagamese first book, and is quite autobiographical. I enjoyed it, but his later books are much better.

I am now about halfway through The Virgin Cure, and am really enjoying this one. I didn't have very high expectations, as I wasn't that impressed with Ami McKay's The Birth House.

@Susan...the Barracoon book sounds very interesting. I have added it to my ever growing TBR!

@Petra...the Cazalet series is one of my favorite all-time series. They don't seem to be very well known in Canada. My library network gives me access to probably about half of the rural libraries in Alberta, and I was only able to get a couple of the books from the library.

I have totally had a reading slump. I have stated a Certification for Administrative Assistants and it's a lot of work. Work has also been very busy so my reading has taken a hit.

@Gail: the Cazalets aren't well known at all. The series was recommended by a friend in Italy and I'm glad she recommended it. The small library in the next town has the series but none other in this area. I was lucky.

Hi everyone! I have been really swamped at work lately - working every day and evenings - so my reading pace is much slower. But if I didn't have a good book to pick up for a few minutes before bed, this cycle of work/home/sleep/repeat would be much harder! Anyway, I have a much needed holiday arriving at the end of next week, so I just need to keep functioning until then.

I recently read There There, which I thought was really well-written and page-turning. It kind of didn't need the denouement - I just wanted more of the characters. I also read In Cold Blood, which dragged a bit but was interesting, particularly when I read articles about the context and controversy around Capote's methods.

Last night when I got home from work I began The Boat People - very good so far, and very timely.

@Petra, I've had the Cazalet series on my tbr list for a long time. I should get to it!

I’ll add my voice to the chorus of support for the Cazalets — I recently read and loved the whole series. If you like it, you should tackle The Whiteoaks... although I expect all you ardent Canadians have already read it!

I actually haven't read the Whiteoaks series. It intrigues me, but the length of the series is rather daunting!

Hahaha, Elinor....I noted the Cazalets to the Whiteoaks in my review of Confusion! This series does remind me of the Jalna series. I enjoyed that series, too.

Hi CanCon Friends!

I made a decision to join NetGalley a few weeks back. Now I have TOO MANY books to read! Haha! The process for joining seemed so official, with reminders to link up my social media access and questions about blogs and business content, none of which I have when it comes to reading and books. So I figured I would not get chosen to review many titles. Yep, I was wrong. I applied for 12 and got 11. Of the 12, 3 were children's books, so they are easy to handle. And 9 of the 12 were Canadian authors, so I will have lots of Canadian Content reading happening over the next few weeks. Luckily, I will have an ability to do more than average amount of reading over the next few weeks.

I finished Falling for London: A Cautionary Taleby Sean Mallen. I was familiar with Sean's journalistic work, as he was host of Global TVs Ontario-based political show during the time I was working as a government relations advisor. This book is about his time as a Foreign Affairs Correspondant in the UK. It's the job of his dreams and his wife does NOT want to go. But she goes, and complains the whole time. The bits about his marital relationship was uninteresting to me. But the bits about journalism and current events were fascinating.

I also read a galley for No Good Askingby Fran Kimmel. It read a bit like an ABC AfterSchool Special episode, but it kept my interest and I did enjoy reading it. I can see it doing well. It's about a family that is struggling from its own losses and, in the week before Christmas, takes in an orphaned young girl who turns things upside down. In a good way.

I received a hard copy ARC of Fredrich Bachman's newest book in the mail today, and I don't remember applying for it anywhere! So that was a nice surprise!

I am enjoying seeing everyone's updates and my list of interesting books is growing and growing.

Until next week...