CanadianContent discussion

Hi all,

it is hard to believe that July has arrived. I hope that everyone can enjoy the holiday tomorrow and reflect on the Canada that needs to be inclusive, reflective and focused on reconciliation.

are you reading something written by a Canadian author? What have you finished? What are. you reading? What are you hoping to start?

Enjoy the long weekend!!

Hi

This is a bit off topic, but can anyone help me fill out a list of Canadian literary authors who are the same age as or older than Margaret Atwood. One of my pet peeves is reading that she was the first or somehow the main one starting off and this just isn't so!

The women I can think off of the top of my head because my mother had some or all of their novels, so I bit my literary teeth on them while growing up, are

Gabrielle Roy born in 1909--30 years before Atwood and whose debut novel was published in 1945, the year Atwood turned 6

Margaret Laurence who was born 13 years before Atwood and whose first novel was published in 1960, 9 years before Atwood's novel debut

I finished two books this week:

I really enjoyed every page of The Good Mother. The characters were flawed and real, their situations tense and I wanted to know how things would turn out.
I haven't heard of the author, Karen Osman, before and will be checking out more titles by her.

On audio I finished listening to Should We Stay or Should We Go. The parallel universes that gave this story 12 different endings were thought provoking and filled with humour, compassion and a love of Life.

I'm in a bit of a quandary now, though. I don't have a book started and I'm not sure which book to choose.

Karin, I can't think of any female authors older than Margaret Atwood right now. If I do, I'll be back to post them.

Karin, Lucy Maud Montgomery was born before Margaret Atwood. She wrote Anne of Green Gables, poetry and short stories or essays.

Petra wrote: "Karin, I can't think of any female authors older than Margaret Atwood right now. If I do, I'll be back to post them."

Okay, now you know of the two I mentioned :) I don't know if there are female literary fiction authors prior to that that really made it and my mother no longer remembers due to her memory loss (either Alzheimer's or dementia--no way to know without a biopsy and there is no point since the progression is the same.)

Kathleen wrote: "Karin, Lucy Maud Montgomery was born before Margaret Atwood. She wrote Anne of Green Gables, poetry and short stories or essays."

Yes, thanks, but I am thinking specifically of literary fiction :).

So, for example, did Anne Hébert write literary fiction novels? She was a poet, etc and born in 1916. What about Mavis Gallant born 1922? She mostly wrote short stories, but again, I can't find her in my libraries.

There were nonfiction women writers as early as the 19th century such as two of the Moodie sisters (a third stayed in England) and they wrote fiction as well.

Susannah Strickland (nee Moodie--moved there from UK) wrote:

Novels (what type were these? I have never seen them and can't get them from my local American library)

Mark Hurdlestone – 1853
Flora Lyndsay – 1854
Matrimonial Speculations – 1854
Geoffrey Moncton – 1855
The World Before Them – 1868

Poetry

Patriotic Songs – 1830 (with Agnes Strickland)
Enthusiasm and Other Poems – 1831

Children's books

Spartacus – 1822
The Little Quaker
The Sailor Brother
The Little Prisoner
Hugh Latimer – 1828
Rowland Massingham
Profession and Principle
George Leatrim – 1875

Memoirs

Roughing it in the Bush – 1852
Life in the Backwoods; A Sequel to Roughing It in the Bush
Life in the Clearings Versus the Bush – 1853

Letters
Letters of a Lifetime – 1985 (edited by Carl Ballstadt, Elizabeth Hopkins, and Michael Peterman)

Karin, Ethel Wilson and Constance Beresford-Howe may fit the bill! I’ve read and enjoyed Swamp Angel by the former, and The Book of Eve by the latter.

Karin, I remembered a series I read many years ago, written by Mazo de la Roche. Canadian and published before Margaret Atwood's books.
I quite enjoyed the Jalna series, as I recall. The first book is The Building Of Jalna,

Petra wrote: "Karin, I remembered a series I read many years ago, written by Mazo de la Roche. Canadian and published before Margaret Atwood's books.
I quite enjoyed the Jalna series, as I recall..."

Emmkay wrote: "Karin, Ethel Wilson and Constance Beresford-Howe may fit the bill! I’ve read and enjoyed Swamp Angel by the former, and The Book of Eve by the latter."

Wait--I think I have read Swamp Angel by Ethel Wilson--I have forgotten most of what I read growing up. The MPE has an afterword by one of my two English profs in university. I didn't care for him because he was constantly making subtle remarks that put down first years students. He was there for nearly 30 years. He was so off-putting to me that I won't read any of his books even now.

Thanks! I'm going to make a list so that the next time this comes up, I'm better armed. But this only comes up in literary fiction since people know about Lucy Maud Montgomery. Plus I may read some of these.

Growing up I was largely limited to my parents' bookshelves and the school library, so most of my Canadian authors were things my parents read.

When speaking of authors older than Margaret Atwood (one of my favourite authors), we mustn't forget Alice Munro (She's 90). While much of her body of work is short fiction, she also wrote a couple of novels. "Who Do you Think You Are" (which it could be argued is a series of connected stories, and published under the title "The Beggar Maid") and "Lives of Girls and Women". I'm currently in the process of re-reading much of her work .... and enjoying her stories as much as, or even more than, the first go around.

Hi all - I have been in a bit of a book drought and have been reading Death on the Nile for a few weeks. although these are easy reads, I am finding so many stereotypes and racist terms in this and Murder on the Orient Express which I read last.

I am also slowly still reading HBR At 100: The Most Influential and Innovative Articles from Harvard Business Review's First Century and Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick still.

I need to get my focus back!!

A conversation started up about Greenwood in the May thread. I'm going to try to transfer it here:

Em: "Hello! I just finished Michael Christie’s Greenwood. I cannot recommend it strongly enough. So vast and sweeping, yet intimate and so very pertinent to everything that we are experiencing right here in Canada with climate change. But it is so much more than that-so much heart and another family that aren’t blood family stories. My experience of reading this was very much like Pillars of the Earth. It appears long but it is such a fast immersive read. I want to start all over again from the beginning. Don’t you love it when you don’t want to leave the story you find yourself in?"

Petra: "Em, what a coincidence! I just started listening to Greenwood. It pulled me into the story right away. I'm looking forward to my jogs so that I can listen to more."

Em: "@Petra-I am so glad I read the hard copy first-but I very much would like to listen to it also-just added it to my shelf! Thanks for the incentive."

Susan: "Loved this book!!!"

Has anyone else read and loved (or not) Greenwood? It's been on my TBR list for awhile but always signed out at the library. I was finally able to take out a copy of the audio book.
The audio is very well narrated and I'm thoroughly enjoying this story. I'm just at the beginning but am drawn in already.

Petra wrote: "Has anyone else read and loved (or not) Greenwood? It's been on my TBR list for awhile but always signed out at the library. I was finally able to take out a copy of the audio book...."

I read Greenwood about a year or so ago, maybe two. It wasn't my favourite, but I did get through it. I thought it started kind of slow. All that said, with what I've been reading about others' opinions about the book (and my recollection of certain aspects of it), I think it definitely deserves a re-read!

Ellen wrote: "When speaking of authors older than Margaret Atwood (one of my favourite authors), we mustn't forget Alice Munro (She's 90). While much of her body of work is short fiction, she also wrote a couple..."

Thanks--I'd forgotten about her! I was just coming back to say that I have been reading Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing and she mentions some Canadian authors older than her, including Alice Monro, who I did read at home since my mother had at least one of her books of short stories. It was one of those "how could I be so stupid?" moments for me.

I am in a bit of a time crunch, but will come back with a few other names she mentioned (focusing on women, but she mentions male authors as well.)

Hi everyone,

It’s been a while since I checked in. In the last few weeks, I’ve read:

Labyrinth
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need
Parenting the Modern Teen
The Elephant Tree
Family of Liars

Currently, I’m reading Lessons in Chemistry.

Have a great week!

Petra, April of last year, 3 buddies and I read Greenwood by Michael Christie. We all liked the book and had great discussions. 3 of us gave it 5 stars and one gave it 4 stars. I was fortunate to be gifted the book by my "book fairy" (Secret Sender).

Hi all! I started off July with a few Canadian reads. My Evil Mother: A Short Story was a satisfying Amazon Single from Margaret Atwood. I also read Songs for the End of the World. I did enjoy this novel but the pandemic imagined in it was so similar to the one we've been living through that it didn't feel like escapist reading.

I also read a short collection of stories by a Swedish author, An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good, which I enjoyed.

I'm currently reading The Summer Book and Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era.

I am currently reading Station Eleven which has been on my TBR quite a while, but I had been avoiding because I was under the false perception that it was really heavy on the science side of science fiction. However I have been very pleasantly surprised with the very human storyline so far.

@Susan, An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good was great in audio, had me laughing out loud many a time.

Heather(Gibby) wrote: "I am currently reading Station Eleven which has been on my TBR quite a while, but I had been avoiding because I was under the false perception that it was really heavy on the scienc..."

Station Eleven is dystopian, not scifi at all, but people often mistakenly call dystopian novels scifi than really are. Just because it was an unknown virus that caused the collapse of civilization does NOT make it scifi. IMO, and I do have strong ones ;), scifi has to include SCIENCE even if it's fake science, which it very often is--or theory taken to a fictional level.

Or it includes adventures in space. There are various types of scifi such as hard core scifi, space opera, of time travel (but where is the science in Outlander ;) -- many people put some time travel in fantasy)

People often call some fantasy novels scifi as well (but not all.) I think of some scifi novels as also being fantasy even if there are no dragons and elves, because scifi has such an enormous range.

Stepping off my soapbox now :)!

Karin wrote: "Heather(Gibby) wrote: "I am currently reading Station Eleven which has been on my TBR quite a while, but I had been avoiding because I was under the false perception that it was rea..."

I indicated that I mistakenly thought it was heavy Science fiction-I thought is was Space Opera actually-lol

I just finished The Love Hypothesis and The Henna Artist, which were both recommended to me recently. I've scared up a pre-censorship/major overhaul copy of Nancy Drew and the Mystery of the Old Clock, so I'll be doing a deep dive into how things changed between the original edition and the copies I grew up with. I've been struggling to pick books and read them for the past few months, so hopefully I'm back on track!

Sorry, I haven't been active lately. Catching up on some posts now and just updated my Bingo challenge.

I did just finish The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe. I am surprised that I found it to be a five star read for me. I loved the character of Emmeline. Who doesn't love the eccentric aunt? Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade used to be a favourite - due for a reread. Lesley Crewe is a new author for me. I will be looking into her other books.

June was a bit of a reading drought for me but this week, I have finished:

Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe - enjoyed, not the best written book but such an interesting artist to write about in a historical fictional context. it left me wanting to learn more and see her paintings

Lands of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk Road - a memoir of an epic bicycling trip up the silk Road to Tibet. While it was daring, I felt badly for the parents who must have been worried sick about their daughter sleeping in random homes, cycling on black ice and in snow, sneaking through border crossings... written by a Canadian author.

Death on the Nile - enough Agatha Christie for a while; this one was hard to focus on and it really was packed with stereotypes and racist comments.

Ice Walker: A Polar Bear's Journey through the Fragile Arctic - a fascinating journey in the Arctic through the yes of a polar bear struggling with climate change. this is a book we all should read and reflect on before we purchase, damage the environment and consider our own wants before the needs of the planet.

What's next? I just started Caleb's Crossing

Add me to the Greenwood lovers, I really enjoyed it as well. Although it was a couple years ago and now I have to say, I can't recall that much of the storyline. I know there was the future section on the tree reserve and the section about the youth of the railroad/timber magnate? And a carpenter... Maybe have to give it another read at some point.

Recent Canadian reads were Cabbagetown, which was great but grim and Nikolski, which was enjoyable, but I wanted it to do more than it did.

I'm currently into Sweet Tooth, which is kind of just meh. I'm thinking about maybe moving, so I'm into reading only 1) books I own 2) that are heavy and 3) that I don't think I'll like well enough to want to keep once they're read. It's not making for the most enthusiastic reading time!

Hi all!

It’s nice to finally catch up on some posts. Lots of books you’ve mentioned that I’ve added to my TBR list, thanks 😊. Since March I’ve really been dragging in the reading department and had to abandon a book or two. The Spoon Stealer, had to be returned to the library and I have not gone back to it although I’d like to, I was really enjoying the story. Some discussion on Greenwood, I listened to this one and really really liked it! I gave it 4 or 5 stars.

On audio this month, I just finished Brick Lane of which I was not totally engaged, I think I gave it a 3 star. Now listening to Girl in Pieces, I’m enjoying the narrator and the story so far being 4 hrs deep.

In hand, I’m reading Something Fierce by Carmen Aguirre a previous Canada Reads contender I believe. Wow, what a life Carmen lived as the daughter of revolutionary.

I’m enjoying the summer too much and my reading has taken a backseat. I hope to get back into the swing of things sooner than later.

Heather(Gibby) wrote: "Karin wrote: "Heather(Gibby) wrote: "I am currently reading Station Eleven which has been on my TBR quite a while, but I had been avoiding because I was under the false perception t..."

Oops, okay!

❀ Susan wrote: "June was a bit of a reading drought for me but this week, I have finished:

Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keeffe - enjoyed, not the best written book but such an interesting artist ..."

Yes, I have noticed that about Agatha Christie and while I don't like it, I also notice that it comes out of the mouths of characters or in quotes from other writing, so was she being racist or was she merely showing people as they really were at that time? Her books were written before political correctness came into being and racism was more prevalent and overt.

I just stopped reading a book because of it, but then I'm not a big fan of her writing anyway.

Happy Friday!! I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and finding time for some great read!

What have you finished? Started? What is next?

Not a Canadian Book (so I hope this is allowed) but I just finished The Dictionary of Lost Words. I enjoyed the way that the essence of the story was drawn through dictionary entries and how these words were used in sentences. It was a good education about how the dictionary evolved during the late 1800's through early 20th century, touching on women's suffrage and the first world war .... and was just a good story, not a barn burner, but a good, entirely readable, story. I would recommend this book.

I'm reading Swamp Angel by Ethel Wilson one of Canada's earlier-than-Atwood literary authors mentioned by Atwood.

I like it, although it's a bit disconcerting that the afterward in this edition is written by a professor I didn't like. He would make rude remarks about first year students that went over most people's heads.

It might not follow all of what people think literary novels should have, but given that she came to writing late and from a very different background I don't see why that's a problem. I like Maggie, the protagonist, quite a bit.

Karin wrote: "I'm reading Swamp Angel by Ethel Wilson one of Canada's earlier-than-Atwood literary authors mentioned by Atwood.

I like it, although it's a bit disconcerting that t..."

I absolutely adored that book!!!

Happy Friday!

Since I last posted, I finished Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era. I was a bit disappointed by the basic writing style in this one, but the content is certainly important.

I also read True Biz, a novel set largely at a school for the deaf. I really enjoyed this one and also learned quite a bit about the Deaf community and the issues they face. And I read The Last Days of California, a novel about a family taking a road trip in advance of the Rapture. I really enjoyed this one as well.

I'm currently reading Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory and Companion Piece.

Happy Friday!
I've finished a few books over the past couple of weeks:

The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World - I enjoyed this book. This author describes the Earth with the dinosaurs. She manages to bring that time alive. Then she goes on to describe the damage caused by the asteroid and the Earth's slow recovery from that. Well done. The author did like to repeat certain phrases but that's my only complaint.

Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail - I'm interested in long hikes and hope to complete one one day. The Appalachian Trail is out of my hiking league but it intrigues me. This woman's story was amazing. She walked it, for the first time, at 67!

Greenwood - a wonderful story of family and connection. I really enjoyed how the trees were a large part of the story. This was a warm and interesting story.

Heather(Gibby) wrote: "Karin wrote: "I'm reading Swamp Angel by Ethel Wilson one of Canada's earlier-than-Atwood literary authors mentioned by Atwood.

I like it, although it's a bit discon..."

I'm done and it's a solid 4 star read for me, which is high--I am "stingy" with 5 stars. But I'm 5 books behind in reviews and am not going to write any today, either.

I started the only other book of hers I could find in either library network system I am spoiled with, The Innocent Traveller

Petra wrote: "Happy Friday!
I've finished a few books over the past couple of weeks:

The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World - I enjoyed this book..."

Interesting. FYI--the asteroid bit is only one of several dominant theories at the moment :). Many now believe that it is possible that a number of environmental factors were involved, but there is no agreement. (that's my biology background leaping into play here ;) ). But some argue their side very well.

Hi all - i have not been reading too much but finished:

Caleb's Crossing - I do enjoy a good historical fiction but this one took me a while to get through. it told the story of a young Indigenous man studying at Harvard in the time of the Puritan's. It was ok.

Run Rose Run - finished for book club and I would probably have given this a 3.5 but am rounding up to 4. Despite being a thick book, it was a quick and easy read. I could hear Dolly's voice in the character AnnieLee and for some reason, heard Ruthanna's voice as Kathy Bates... not sure why as the character was not at all described to look like her.

it was interesting to read about a singer trying to make it in Nashville as she hid her sordid past.

I am in awe of Dolly Parton who has done so much, from song writing, singing, hiring people in her community through Dollywood, getting books in the hands of children through the Imagination Library and even funding a COVID-19 vaccine before joining with James Patterson to write a book. what can't she do?.... in fact, although I am not much of a country music fan, I saw her in Toronto on her last tour and met up with Alison who was there with her daughter!!

❀ Susan wrote: "Hi all - i have not been reading too much but finished:

Caleb's Crossing - I do enjoy a good historical fiction but this one took me a while to get through. it told the story of a y..."

I'm a big Dolly Parton Fan. I had heard that she had written a novel. Gotta look into it.

Good morning! Welcome Friday… the last Friday of July!! Are you enjoying some summer reads? Making progress on bingo?

What have you finished? Read? What is next?

Have a wonderful day!!

Happy Friday! I can't believe it's almost August!

This week I finished Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory, which I really enjoyed. I do wonder what it would be like to read this book without knowing who Sarah Polley is (or Jian Ghomeshi, for that matter), but otherwise I highly recommend it (and the audio is also very good and read by Polley).

I also finished Companion Piece, which wasn't quite as good as the seasonal quartet, but I always enjoy Smith. Then I read two short novels: Small Things Like These from the Booker longlist and Mouth to Mouth. I enjoyed both very much and didn't realize that Antoine Wilson was born in Canada.

Bingo is going well. I am up to 17 squares filled now after finishing the books by Polley and Wilson.

I'm currently reading Here Lies, a novel set in 2042 Louisiana speculating about the climate crisis.

Petra wrote: "A conversation started up about Greenwood in the May thread. I'm going to try to transfer it here:

Em: "Hello! I just finished Michael Christie’s Greenwood. I cannot recommend it s..."

Thanks for the review. I just added it to my to read list because I'm a Canadian author who writes about living in the forests off-grid. Trees breathe and keep your secrets too!

Karin wrote: "Petra wrote: "Karin, I remembered a series I read many years ago, written by Mazo de la Roche. Canadian and published before Margaret Atwood's books.
I quite enjoyed the Jalna serie..."

One author that comes to mind, that I don't think was mentionned, as writing earlier and Canadian is Marian Engel.