CanadianContent discussion

Greetings readers,

it seems unbelievable that I am typing December!! are you ready to start your Christmas reading?

what have you been reading? what is next?

have a great day!

I feel terrible to say this with so many of you living in Covid hot spots, but after a blissful summer and early fall, the stress of Covid has returned to our island. With that, I find myself unable to focus on reading very much - a failsafe clue that my stress levels are high. There are many rotational workers between Alberta work camps and Newfoundland, and unfortunately they are bringing Covid along with an anti-mask mentality back with them. Many are following the isolation rules, but there are also many that are not.

I am slowly making my way through Three Things About Elsie, but I'm reading only a few pages a day. I know I'm spending way too much time on my phone either playing mindless games or doomscrolling.

At least audiobooks proceed at a steady pace as long as I play them. I finished A House in the Sky this week and am now listening to A Promised Land.

Happy Friday!

This week I finished The Death of Vivek Oji, which I enjoyed reading and have been mulling over ever since I finished it. I also finished Anxious People, which was a fun read/listen. The audiobook narrator is very good. I guess this book falls into Up Lit (it's happy/sad)? It's my first book by Fredrik Backman, although I've seen the movie version of A Man Called Ove.

I'm still reading Vesper Flights and have also started Culture Warlords: My Journey Into the Dark Web of White Supremacy. My current fiction read is Luster.

Happy Friday!

Susan, you're right in that it doesn't feel like it should be December already.

Allison, we had a pretty good summer, too, with Covid but that went belly up in the Fall and we're now struggling.

I've been reading the third of Samuel Beckett's trilogy Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable and still listening to A Time for Everything.

I have finished knitting the scarves for Christmas and feeling pretty good about that.

Happy weekend everyone! I am not getting as much reading in as I'd like but it remains a constant comfort during pandemic times.
For my book club, I am reading Mexican Gothic and soon we will be reading Anxious People. My loan on The Pull of the Stars just came in so keen to get into this.

@Susan G. I have never tried Christmas reading, perhaps this year I should give it a whirl- any suggestions from the group.

@Allison, I disliked House in the Sky very much, having listened to the audio by the author. She was so purposely reckless and her personality has a flavour of narcissism. I am a minority in this I'm sure.

@ Susan, The Death of Vivek Oji looks like a book I could love. thx for suggestion

@Petra, I'm not familiar with Samuel Beckett, will have to check him out. I would like to relearn how to knit. A great hobby with tangible presents to share, love it!

Be well everyone.

I agree with you @Wanda. Her behaviour was needlessly reckless and there was a lack of a personal touch in the narrative. It was very much like, “this happened and then this happened,” which made it difficult to connect as a reader.

I am digging into my pile of books that have been hanging around the house for ages, and am currently reading And No Birds Sang. I didn't realize it was a war book when I picked it up, I assumed it was another of his nature books, but it is quite an engaging story.

Allison and Wanda, I read Amanda Lindhout's book years ago as an ARC. I agree with you on her gratuitous risk taking. It made me very angry. She has redeemed herself in my view by what she has done afterwards, however. I live in Alberta, not too far from where she is from, and she has been a popular public speaker on the topic of sexual assault and violence against women. A friend of mine took her teenage daughter to one of her events. The girl had suffered two separate sexual assaults in her early teen years, and was suffering from severe mental health consequences. Amanda Lindhout spent a long time with her after the event, and they have remained in touch in the years since. My friend's daughter is now doing great. She incorporated the birds from the cover of the book into a tattoo to symbolize her survival.

And since I chimed in here for the first time in months, I should probably update you on what I've been reading. I have been meaning to get back into this after a long covid induced hiatus during which my reading was pretty sporadic and unfocused. I have read some really good books in the last little while:
The Vanishing Half - one of my best 2020 reads.
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek - another top book for 2020.
The Inquirer - a great debut novel by a local author...Thanks Secret Sender!
The Yorkshire Shepherdess and the two sequels - as a farmer I can totally relate to these books. I now follow the author on Instagram and love her photos.
Ridgerunner - the only Giller book I read.

I have read a few duds as well. I suspect my current read, Days by Moonlight might fall into that category. I didn't care for Fifteen Dogs either. Both were book club picks or I wouldn't have bothered.

Happy Saturday!!

I try to NOT listen to daily posting of COVID numbers, but it's hard to avoid. I don't understand the rationale of the anti-masking. I do feel for all the small businesses which will suffer greatly from the month-long lockdown in Toronto and Peel. I really hope they can survive this.
My reading for the November has been slow. I only finished Color Me In this week, a book designated for my in-person book club. I did not like it. The writing was choppy and I am tired of the coming-of-age storyline.
Currently listening to Sigh, Gone: A Misfit's Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In, which I am enjoying. Finally starting The Woman in Cabin 10.
Have a great weekend!

@Gail, thanks for sharing about Amanda Lindhout. I worry about who our young females have for role models and supports in a world of endless "self help" books by authors with no credentials or credibility. (Girl, wash you face stuff). I realize Amanda L. has first hand experience with the trauma she endured. I found her quite unlikable, glad your friend's daughter made a positive connection. Side note, I enjoyed Days by Moonlight and Fifteen Dogs, I think he's writing is either love it or leave it.

Allison ༻hikes the bookwoods༺ wrote: "I feel terrible to say this with so many of you living in Covid hot spots, but after a blissful summer and early fall, the stress of Covid has returned to our island. With that, I find myself unabl..."

What a perfect word, doomscrolling. Did you make that one up, or is it part of the modern vocabulary?

Gail wrote: "Allison and Wanda, I read Amanda Lindhout's book years ago as an ARC. I agree with you on her gratuitous risk taking. It made me very angry. She has redeemed herself in my view by what she has done..."

That is heartwarming. I hope Lindhout’s actions serve as a cautionary tale for other young people who believe nothing bad can happen to them.

✿✿✿May wrote: "Happy Saturday!!

I try to NOT listen to daily posting of COVID numbers, but it's hard to avoid. I don't understand the rationale of the anti-masking. I do feel for all the small businesses which w..."

I never pick up coming of age books, either. I just feel that having survived my own teenage years as well as those of my four children I just don’t want to relive the angst.