CanadianContent discussion

Greetings all,

Welcome to the weekend! it is hard to believe that we are moving into July.

It is difficult to reconcile Canada Day... so I am going to suggest that we discuss some of the books that we have read, written by Indigenous authors, that have inspired us to learn more about the true history of Canada, about the residential schools, the Indian hospitals, the generational trauma, the Indian Act, the treaties balanced with the rich culture and traditions, the positive impacts, the inventions, the creativity and beautiful art and dance.

As many know, I am a huge fan of the late Richard Wagamese who shared his own story and learning through his beautiful prose. I anyone in this group has not read Medicine Walk, that is an excellent book to start with.

I wish everyone a week of reflection, self care and kindness as we learn, grieve and support others.

in addition, please share what you have been reading and what is next.

Take care everyone!

Through Black Spruce was the first book I read that inspired me to learn more. Recently I read The Inconvenient Indian which was very informative as to the why of recent politics.

Monkey Bread by Eden Robinson was really good too. The depth of stories conected to the land that the indigenous live on compared to those relatively new to the country is brought home in this novel.

My reading has nothing to do with Indiginous matters although I do plan on reading something on residential schools. I did read Michelle Good’s Five Little Indians when it first came out. I thought the message of the book important,but the basic prose was dreadful. I don’t believe it has won as many prizes for its quality of writing,as much as what it is about.

I’m almost finished A Town Called Solace. I’ve never read Mary Lawson before and as it was a possibility for a group read I wanted to give her work a try. Once again I am completely baffled as to why this book is receiving so much love. It’s not that the book is poorly written,it’s just that the content is so trivial and mundane. Huge disapointment but there are other books to read.

I had a quiet reading week, only finishing The Henna Artist which I enjoyed and was a quick read.

The best part of my week was that Perdita Felicien joined my work book club to discuss My Mother's Daughter. She was open, articulate and has left us all reflecting and discussing the hurdles (both literal and figurative hurdles) in her life. If you have not read this book, I highly recommend it... she and her family faced a lot of challenges, abuse and racism yet they are loving, forgiving and hardworking... and always with an optimistic approach.

Now I am reading Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century which is another eye opener about individuals (many seniors) who live in vans, RVs, campers and travel for seasonal work, saving on rent and taxes and getting by on minimum wage jobs at amazon (they call them the camperforce) or in campgrounds.

Next, I am hoping to read Five Little Indians and was privileged to take a "virtual tour" of the Mohawk Institute, a former residential school that is local. if anyone is interested, you could take the "virtual tour" from anywhere, just for a donation to the save the evidence fund. it is something that all Canadians should learn more about. https://woodlandculturalcentre.ca/moh...

The first book I remember reading that really informed me about the true history of the effects of residential schools and the plight of murdered and missing indigenous women was In Search of April Raintree which I read in my early 20's. It had a powerful impact on me.

I don't have any Canadian literature on the go right now, I am still working my way through Wolf Hall and listnening to Elton John's biography Me

Hello everyone.

This week I finished The Searcher and Brat: An '80s Story, both of which were good reads. I also read Sweet Tooth: Deluxe Edition, Book One to start off this series by Jeff Lemire. I really like Lemire's non-superhero graphic novels and am reading these ones because I noticed they have been turned into a Netflix series.

I'm currently reading The Wild Silence, the follow-up to a memoir called The Salt Path that I read earlier this year.

I am in a major reading slump and the NHL playoffs are not helping. Go Habs Go!

I am reading Pachinko by Min Jin Lee as a Buddy Read with 2 others. It follows one Korean family through the generations from early 1900s to 1989. I am enjoying the huge book, and finding it difficult to read slowly, as it is so engaging.
I finished a Buddy Read of His Family by Ernest Poole. His Family won the first Pulitzer Prize for Novels in 1918. It tells about the life of a New York middle class family in the 1910s.
I read ALL TOGETHER NOW: A Newfoundlander's Light Tales for Heavy Times by Alan Doyle. Some of the tales were funny and caused my husband and I to laugh.
I finished The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs.
This week I hope to start the audio version of the Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.

Kathleen wrote: "I am reading Pachinko by Min Jin Lee as a Buddy Read with 2 others. It follows one Korean family through the generations from early 1900s to 1989. I am enjoying the huge book, and finding it diffic..."

I loved the first part of Pachinko and am interested to see how it goes for you once you finish. I will say no more about how I felt about it once I finished...

Karin, I think I understand why you asked about Pachinko. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the book, but the latter half had some parts that detracted from my reading pleasure, and didn't really add anything to the story except words and pages. I am still thinking about the story and haven't written a review yet.
How did you feel about it once you finished?

Kathleen wrote: "Karin, I think I understand why you asked about Pachinko. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the book, but the latter half had some parts that detracted from my reading pleasure, and didn't rea..."

It started off at 5 stars, moved to 4 and ended up 3 stars for me. Here is my review which may or may have some personal rants in it--I have to get off of GR and keep procrastinating so didn't reread it.