I Love Canadian Authors discussion

I am looking for a book that is heart well written and on the happier side of things (Can be sad but has hope). My book club is feeling like we have read too many books lately where the characters have terrible things happen to them or they are very bitter. Any recommendations? Maybe even something that is funny? The club reads a wide variety of books so would consider almost any genre.

Thanks! (Oh it has to be an older book because we get them through inter library loan).

Lynn Coady's 2006 novel Mean Boy is wickedly funny.

Or how about Whale Music by Paul Quarrington? This one ends on a note of redemption, and it's a great read. Quarrington's most popular and maybe his best novel. And now is a fitting time to read Quarrington (he has cancer).

For flat out funny, without being deathly serious at any time, Cory Redekop's Shelf Monkey. This is maybe the funniest novel I've read in years.

Hi Shannon.

What about a Miriam Toews book? She's a bit lighter sometimes. Her book A Boy of Good Breeding was fun. Also, Garbo Laughs by Elizabeth Hay was really enjoyable; it is a bit darkly funny.

I am going to suggest some of AJ's recommendations and see where we go. I agree with your suggestions too Jennifer but we have read a couple of Miriam Toews and one by Elizabeth Hay (our club has been meeting for 6 years now). We try not to repeat authors although we have been known to bend our self-imposed rule.

Keep the recommendations coming though because every few months we seem to find that we need to lighten up and its much harder to find those kinds of books than well written darker books.

Miriam Toews, the Flying Troutmans made me laugh out loud. I also enjoyed How to be Good by Nick Hornby and The Tent, the bucket and me by Emma Kennedy, a funny memoir about childhood camping trips with her parents in the 1970's.

S.k. wrote: "Miriam Toews, the Flying Troutmans made me laugh out loud. I also enjoyed How to be Good by Nick Hornby and The Tent, the bucket and me by Emma Kennedy, a funny memoir about childhood camping trips..."

I plan on reading The Flying Troutmans soon. I enjoyed her other books as well.

I'm probably too late and your Group has probably already made their choices.
However, I thought I'd recommend Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. It's funny in a wry, sarcastic way and there were laugh out loud parts. It explores "friendship" in all its companionship, togetherness and responsibility.
I don't belong to a Real Life Bookclub but I think there would be a lot to discuss from this book.

Thanks Petra:

Its never too late to recommend a book for our club (we have been meeting over 6 years now and will be continuing indefinitely). I will take a look and add it to my backup list.

But I'm fired from recommendations after Shelf Monkey. ;)

LOL, A.J.! I'm almost afraid to look it up to see what its about. (but, of course, I'll have to...just out of curiosity).

Another book that may allow for discussion is Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls. It's a story about 2 people with split-personality disorder learning to live with their condition and live with the World. Also, it's how people learn to accept and live with them, too. Despite numerous personality changes throughout the book, it's easy to read.

Oh AJ you're not fired. Maybe fired from "funny" or less dark books but I would still ask you for recommendations. LOL

And now that I went back and reread my original message with its typos and I think missed words I wonder how did anyone decipher it enough to give me a recommendation to begin with?? (I have to admit I am not used to a mouse pad under my wrist and I end up moving text around without realizing it). Thank goodness I am not an author.

Not sure if this is the correct place to ask this question. I am looking for e-reader recommendations from all of you before I take the plunge into purchasing one. I am so confused with the selection out there - Kindle (from Amazon), Kobo (from Indigo/Chapters), Sony, etc. Please provide feedback, including the good and bad. I look forward to your responses.

I just got a Kobo. It works really well and is about half the price of the Kindle and Sony e-reader. It doesn't have a lighted screen and a few other features but if price is a factor the Kobo works well enough. If you want something with more bells and whistles I'd get a Kindle. I'm not familiar with the Sony e-reader so I can't comment on that one.

Kobo's entire philosophy is based on platform independence, which is a big plus in my mind.

My eReader is from Costco. It's from Aluratek and, if I remember correctly, the name on the box was "eLibre".
It looks just like the Kobo eReader. I don't know if all the features are the same. There's no backlight on the screen, it comes with 100 books (classics) and uses the "ePub" format, which is the same as the Kobo books. I've only bought one book to add to the Library (from Kobo) and it was easy to upload into the Reader.
I'm pleased with it. It's simple, basic, handy and (so far) reliable.

Anybody read any Mavis Gallant recently?