Happy Canada Day!

In honour of Canada Day, I am going to do mini-reviews of the last few books I read for the 2nd Canadian Challenge, Eh? It finishes today, so it would be a good plan to finish things up.

The Golden Phoenix and Other Fairy Tales from Quebec Edited by Marius Barbeau & Michael Hornyansky

Vasilly asks: What were some of your favorite tales in the book, The Golden Phoenix? Should I read it?

I read this book quite a while ago because Nicola reviewed it. I love fairy tales, so what better to read than a collection released by Canadians. It was a really worthwhile read, I must say. The stories were ones that I had heard before, in many cases, but they had been retold probably through the generations orally. These two men took the oral stories and wrote them down for everyone to enjoy. To see the transformation made the book that much more enjoyable. The book follows a lot of the common trends in fairy tales: There is the repetition, the use of the number three, the successful youngest brother winning over his two older ones, etc. It should be read and enjoyed by more. Unfortunately, I didn't write down which stories I enjoyed and I already returned it to the library. I will say that I think I enjoyed all eight of the stories, though, and I do recommend it.

Scott Pilgrim: Precious Little Life - Volume 1 by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Scott Pilgrim's life is totally sweet. He's 23 years old, he's in a rock band, he's "between jobs," and he's dating a cute high school girl. Nothing could possibly go wrong, unless a seriously mind-blowing, dangerously fashionable, rollerblading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruising through his dreams and sailing by him at parties. Will Scott's awesome life get turned upside-down? Will he have to face Ramona's seven evil ex-boyfriends in battle? The short answer is yes. The long answer is Scott Pilgrim, Volume 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life.

This book was just a fun read. Scott Pilgrim is one of those characters that everyone would love. It's funny because in many ways, it is a book about nothing. It is just Scott's life told in comic book form. He is in his twenties, lives with a guy, has no stuff of his own, plays video games, and belongs to a band. Then, there are the girls, of course. You think it is just going to be a typical down on his luck guy, but then O'Malley surprises you. I am looking forward to more in this series. Frankly, I think it is so stupid in premise that it makes it great!

Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Raleigh doesn't have a soul. A cat stole it - or at least that's what she tells people - or at least that's what she would tell people if she told people anything. But that would mean talking to people, and the mere thought of social interaction is terrifying. How did such a shy teenage girl end up in a car with three of her hooligan classmates on a cross-country road trip? Being forced to interact with kids her own age is a new and alarming proposition for Raleigh, but maybe it's just what she needs - or maybe it can help her find what she needs - or maybe it can help her to realize that what she needs has been with her all along.

This was a good graphic novel. The artwork was well-done, the characters were interesting, and the story kept you wanting to learn more. It's rather interesting, though. O'Malley deals with a serious subject, but he manages to do it with a bit of humour thrown in. I enjoyed that. What teenager doesn't feel like they have lost themselves at some point and time. A very good book, I must say. I look forward to more by him.

The Guests of War Trilogy - Book 3 - The Lights Go On Again by Kit Pearson

For five years Gavin and his sister Norah have lived in Canada as "war guests." But now, as 1945 approaches, the war is finally ending, and Gavin and Norah will soon be going back to England.

Norah, who's fifteen, is eager to see her parents again, but ten-year-old Gavin barely remembers them. He doesn't want to leave his Canadian family, his two best friends and his dog.

Then something happens that forces Gavin to make the most difficult decision of his life.

The Lights Go On Again is the last book in the acclaimed series that began with The Sky Is Falling and Looking At The Moon.

All I can think of to say at the beginning of this review is FINALLY! I read the first two books in this trilogy several years ago, reread them a couple years ago, and then is the first time I have finally read book three. The first two books are told from the perspective of Gavin's sister, Norah, but in this book he takes centrestage. When he came to Canada because of the war, he was really too little to know what was going on. Now that the war is drawing to an end, though, he finds that the time to go home is near and he doesn't remember anything but his life in Canada. This book is a struggle between what is home for Gavin and the changes that the end of the war are bringing with them. A strong end to the trilogy. I am glad that I finally read it!

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston

I asked Heather from A High and Hidden Place if she wanted to read a book together. After some book comparison, we agreed on Wondrous Strange. I have wanted to read the book since I got it, but it just never seemed to work into my plans. I am very glad I finally got around to it and that I got to read it with another wonderful blogger!

Kelley Winslow is living her dream. Seventeen years old, she has moved to New York City and started to work with a theatre company. Sure, she’s only an understudy for the Avalon Players, a third-tier repertory company so far off- Broadway it might as well be in Hoboken, but things are looking up—the lead has broken her ankle and Kelley’s about to step into the role of Titania the Faerie Queen in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Faeries are far more real than Kelley thinks, though, and a chance encounter in Central Park with a handsome young man named Sonny Flannery plunges her into an adventure she could never have imagined.

Sonny is a Janus Guard, charged by Auberon, the King of Winter, with watching over the gate into the land of Faerie, which lies within Central Park. For Sonny, the pretty, young actress is an enigma. Strong and willful, she sparks against his senses like a firecracker, and he can’t get her out of his mind. As Hallowe’en approaches and the Samhain Gate opens, Sonny and Kelley find themselves drawn to each other—and into a terrible plot that could spell disaster for both New York and Faerie alike.

Canadian author Lesley Livingston explodes onto the stage of teen fantasy with a debut novel—the first in a planned trilogy—that puts a fresh new spin on classic faerie lore. Wondrous Strange blends a gripping plot with fully believable characters, fascinating ideas and just the right amount of romance to create a story that is vivid, thrilling and engaging. Readers of Herbie Brennan, Holly Black and Melissa Marr will find a new favourite in Lesley Livingston.

Heather asked me three questions about the book. These are my answers:

What did you think of the inclusion of Shakespeare and A Midsummer Night's Dream?
- The inclusion of the play is really the reason that I wanted to read this book in the first place. I have to admit I am not a huge Shakespeare fan, but I do really like this play. I am a sucker for retellings in the first place, though, so it was no surprise that I was drawn to this one. I really liked how Livingston combined the play, the 'real' world, and the 'fairy-tale' world in this book. It was done really well. While this book had a few 'first book issues', I still thought it was really well written and planned out. It was just believable. I could actually picture things playing out just as Livingston described it, and I didn't have to stretch my imagination too far. I am really excited to see where the trilogy goes next!

Who was your favourite character?
- That's a hard question. I, at first, want to say Kelley, because with a slight spelling difference, we have the same name. But, when it gets right down to it, I am not sure I would consider her my favourite character. I had a feeling that something along this line would be one of my questions, so I found myself thinking about the characters as I read along. I actually was thinking I might say Lucky, because really, a horse in a bathtub blowing soap bubbles out his nose is such a funny image! I really liked how Livingston wrote him into the story. I also really liked the Winter King. I thought he was so well-written! He was full of surprises, but also not at the same time. It is really hard to explain without spoilers. I liked Sonny, too, of course. I think, though, if we were comparing this to Melissa Marr (like the blurb does above), I like Seth better. Really, there was no character in this book that I didn't like. They all really added to the story. Even if they were not supposed to be well-liked, they were still well written.

Most importantly, what did you think of the ending and do you think you will continue on with the series?

- I thought that the ending cleared things up pretty well. If there was not a sequel, I think it could almost be a standalone. There are things to clear up, but it was not a cliffhanger ending. (Thankfully!) I plan to read the rest of the trilogy, though. The second book is actually out in September, so I can't wait! Maybe I will read that one with you, too, Heather? We will see what the months bring.

I don't usually rate my books, but I was just going to link to Heather's review and I saw she gave the book a 3.75 out of 5. I agree with that rating. To read Heather's answers to my questions, head on over to her post.

Dingo by Charles de Lint

Reason for Reading: Once Upon a Time Challenge III, 2nd Canadian Challenge, Really need to read more from this author.

High school senior Miguel's life is turned upside down when he meets new girl Lainey, whose family has just moved from Australia. With her tumbled red-gold hair, her instant understanding of who he is, and her unusual dog-a real Australian dingo-she's unforgettable. And, as he quickly learns, she is on the run from an ancient bargain made by her ancestors. There's no question that Miguel will do whatever he can to help her-but what price will each of them have to pay? Dingo is quintessential Charles de Lint, set close to his beloved, invented city of Newford-a mixture of darkness and hope, humor and mystery, and the friendship within love.

Title and author of book: Dingo by Charles de Lint

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? Young adult fantasy.

What led you to pick up this book? I figured that if I wanted to get through de Lint's backlist, I should work on his young adult novels first because they were shorter and would make me feel accomplished!

Summarize the plot, but don’t give away the ending! See above...

What did you like most about the book? How you read this book and you could feel Australia in it. It is a fantasy novel, so lots of things that threaten belief happen, but deLint pulls it off in such a way that it feels believable. Lainey is from Australia in the novel, while Miguel is from near deLint's fictional town of Newford. I don't know a lot about Australia, but this book seems to incorporate some of the mythology from there. The dingo is an Australian animal which plays a big role in this novel.

What did you like least? You know, nothing really is jumping out at me here. I didn't love the book, but it was enjoyable. The problem is that it has been a couple months since I read it! The fact that nothing is immediately jumping to mind means that the book didn't have a lot of major flaws. Anything I didn't like about it was minor and forgettable. This is why I should review books in a more timely manner!

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? I first read de Lint years ago! It was Jack, the Giant Killer and I didn't like it! For years I would look at his pretty books at the store (he always has nice covers), but just couldn't get over my extreme dislike of that first book! That's how much I hated it! (I wonder if I would think the same now?) Anyway, I guess it was book-blogging that led me to read him again. Now I have read The Onion Girl and The Blue Girl. I enjoyed both of them and have decided to start reading his backlist. I have books by him at home, but for some reason I have been reading ones I don't have and have to get from the library. Who knows why!

What did you think of the main character? Oh! I remember something I didn't like! The main character was kind of annoying. He was competant, but sometimes his immaturity grated on my nerves. I have issues with young narrators... I think I want them to think like adults. I know that is not logical, but that's how I think!

What about the ending? The ending was fine... I really hate this question because I don't want to give anything away! I mean, telling how a book ends is a rather big spoiler. I didn't love the ending, but any more details would give too much away!

Another good de Lint novel! I am glad I got over my dislike of him... Now, to find time to read more!

Other Reviews:

Teen Book Review: "Charles de Lint’s latest novel, Dingo, is certainly good, but it was less wonderful than I expected. Worth reading for fans? Yes. But if you haven’t read anything of his, don’t start with this, or you’ll have an unfairly low opinion of his talent (my favorite book of is is The Blue Girl)."

Rhinoa's Ramblings: "A beautiful mixture of myth and fantasy that de Lint is famous for. Honestly though it is not my favourite of his novels so far. I think looking back that it is because the narrator is male. Funnily enough he seems to write his female characters more realistic and understandable than his male ones."

Becky's Book Reviews: "Everything about this novel--the characters, the plot, the language--is well done. I can't think of a single flaw. I can't really get into what I liked most about the characters, but I can say this. They were complex. Definitely interesting to read about, to care about."

Books & other thoughts: "I enjoyed this YA novel, as I do all of Charles de Lint's books. I love the way he weaves mythology with contemporary life, the magical with the commonplace."

In Spring it is the Dawn: "I kind of wished the story and characters had been fleshed out more so it would last longer, and I did find the writing a bit straightforward and juvenile, but it was still a very fun introduction to the imagination of de Lint."

Anyone else?

JPod by Douglas Coupland

Books Completed: 83
Completion Date: March, 2009
Pages: 448
Publication Date: May, 2007

Reason for Reading: It's Douglas Coupland... Enough said...

A lethal joyride into today’s new breed of technogeeks, Coupland’s forthcoming novel updates Microserfs for the age of Google.

Ethan Jarlewski and five co-workers whose names start with J are bureaucratically marooned in jPod. jPod is a no-escape architectural limbo on the fringes of a massive Vancouver game design company.

The six workers daily confront the forces that define our era: global piracy, boneheaded marketing staff, people smuggling, the rise of China, marijuana grow ops, Jeff Probst, and the ashes of the 1990s financial tech dream. jPod’s universe is amoral and shameless. The characters are products of their era even as they’re creating it.

Everybody in Ethan’s life inhabits a moral grey zone. Nobody is exempt, not even his seemingly straitlaced parents or Coupland himself, as readers will see.

Full of word games, visual jokes and sideways jabs, this book throws a sharp, pointed lawn dart into the heart of contemporary life. jPod is Douglas Coupland at the top of his game.

All hail the brilliancy that is Douglas Coupland. I have loved his books for years now. I still haven't read all his books, because why rush, but I think he is by far one of my favourite Canadian authors (actually, author period) of all times. His books are just awesome! I can plot him out in my mind. I don't think I have read a book by him that hasn't stuck with in some way. The first book I read by him was All Families are Psychotic. As it was the first book I read by him, it remains pretty much my favourite. I don't know if that would change with a reread or not... I also love Girlfriend in a Coma, that is a fantastic book! Sadly, I read both of those books years before I started blogging. Excuse to reread, maybe? I don't love all of his books, though, but that is me. I am really a very critical person! For example, Nymeth considers Life as God her favourite, while when I read that book a few years ago I hated it! (I am planning a reread, though.)

Anyway, Chris just recently started reading Coupland. Nymeth challenged him to read Hey Nostradamus! I read that back when it first came out in paperback and I consider it another one of my favourites. It's another example of a Coupland book that has stuck with me, actually. JPod is actually a sequel of sorts to Microserfs. I haven't read Microserfs yet, so I am not sure how comparable it is. Two of my friends read JPod and said it was really good, though, so I decided I needed to see what I would think of it. Plus, it has been a while since I read Coupland. That's a major offense! Anyway, I have to say I really liked this book. I have been going back and forth on where it fits, for me, in my Coupland list. I don't know if it is my favourite, and nothing can beat Girlfriend in a Coma. All I know is that I really enjoyed it. It was a fun book that looked at so many issues! I was a little worried when Coupland wrote himself into the book, but I must say he really pulled it off!

Ethan Jarlewski is the narrator. He is a great character! Coupland is totally giving the nerd his day in the limelight. It is very entertaining, really. Ethan works as a gaming programmer, but it really seems that all he does is pointless procrasinating activities that are pretty entertaining! I mean, he works with a bunch of rather smart people, so their idea of 'fun' is not exactly my idea. The new girl in the office actually makes a hugging machine! I thought that whole process was really fun. Thrown in with the fun, though, are a lot of issues present in todays society. I mean, when we first meet Ethan's mother it is because she just called to tell him that she killed someone! Then, we see her grow-op. The book just goes on from there in every possible direction. One thing that happens in the book that I laughed my head off at was they are making a game, that is what they are doing for a living afterall, and they have to include a turtle in it somehow. The whole idea is pretty ludicrous, but I don't want to give a lot away. Anyway, so they have to model the turtle on Jeff Probst, the host of Survivor. The best thing is I could totally see that...

This book will make you laugh, but it will also make you think. I mean, when you hear just someof the topics presented in the book you will find yourself trying to figure out how it can possibly all work together, but it does! I'm sorry, I have to say it again, but jPod is brilliant and Coupland is brilliant for making it all work. The characters are a bit stereotypical, but it works for the story. I am really gushing here! I honestly didn't find a lot wrong with the book. I picked a perfect time to read it and, well, I LOVED it! If you haven't read Coupland you seriously have to. This book is totally him at the top of his game, but it is just one great book by a fantastic author. It's been a while since I had my Coupland fangirl moments, so you are just going to have to humour me!

Bottom line, I know for a fact that jPod will be on my best of list at the end of the year. Also, isn't the cover great? Okay, I really ramble when I really like a book...

Challenges Update

My sidebar is getting rather cluttered and I have actually finished a lot of challenges, but have just been keeping them there anyway. I am going to do a bit of a progress report now so I can clean the sidebar off a bit, but if books still apply I will probably continue to keep track... Just not on my sidebar.

The Series Challenge Season 3
December 1, 2008 - November 30, 2009

Read Four Books that Finish an On-going series:
1. Mercy Thompson Series - Book 4 - Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs
2. Grave Goods: A Mistress of the Art of Death Novel by Ariana Franklin
3. Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry (The Giver Trilogy, Book 2)
4. Messenger by Lois Lowry (The Giver Trilogy, Book 3)
5. The Guests of War Trilogy - Book 3 - The Lights Go On Again by Kit Pearson (need to review)

Challenge Status: COMPLETED!

Dewey's Books Reading Challenge
January 1, 2008 - December 31, 2009

Read 5 Books that Dewey Reviewed:
1. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
2. The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
3. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
4. Looking for Alaska by John Green
5. American Born Chinese by Gene Luch Yang
6. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
7. Paper Towns by John Green
8. The Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot
9. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
10. So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson
11. Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body by Courtney E. Martin
12. The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci & Jim Rugg
13. The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
14. Gossamer by Lois Lowry
15. Nation by Terry Pratchett
16. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
17. One Piece, Volume 1 by Eiichiro Oda


Challenge Status: COMPLETED!

Women's History Month Challenge
Month of March

Read 5 books by any women:
1. The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme - Book Two - The Thief Queen's Daughter by Elizabeth Haydon
2. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
3. Messenger by Lois Lowry (The Giver Trilogy, Book 3)
4. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
5. Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale
6. Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi - Still Need to Review

Challenge Status: COMPLETED!

New Author Challenge 2009
January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2009

Read Ten New Authors:
1.Hiro Mashima
2.Barbara Randall Kesel
3.Bill Willingham
4. Art Spiegelman
5. David Wolman
6. Jon & Kate Gosselin
7. Katherine Barber
8. John Green
9. Gene Luch Yang
10. David Michaelis
11. James Bow
12. Scott Westerfeld
13. Ellen Hopkins
14. Carrie Vaughn
15. Edith Pattou
16. Queenie Chan
17. Trenton Lee Stewart
18. Christine Fletcher
19. Melissa Marr
20. Linda Medley
21. Jo Graham
22. Jessica Abel
23. Nick Abadzis
24. Kaoru Mori
25. J.H. Sweet
26. Bryan Talbot
27. Jeff Smith
28. Alison Bechdel
29. Natsuki Takaya
30. Clamp
31. Mary E. Pearson
32. David B.
33. Colleen Doran
34. Derek Landy
35. Charles Burns
36. Eizabeth Wein
37. Ingrid Law
38. April Lurie
39. John Scalzi
40. P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
41. Francesca Lia Block
42. Eiichiro Oda
43. Sara Nelson
44. Courtney E. Martin
45. Cecil Castellucci & Jim Rugg
46. K.L. Going
47. Nick Hornby
48. Ysabeau S. Wilce
49. Sonya Sones
50. Erich Von Daniken
51. Megan Whalen Turner
52. Claudia Gray
53. Mark Crilley
54. Carolyn Turgeon
55. Susan Beth Pfeffer
56. Ted Naifeh
57. Christopher Barzak
58. Carrie Ryan
59. Marc Eliot
60. Raymond Briggs
61. Sharon Creech
62. Ali Smith
63. Erica Kirov
64. Kristin Cashore
65. Suzanne Collins
66. Bryan Lee O'Malley
67. David Almond
68. Anne Fadiman
69. Melina Marchetta
70. Lesley Livingston
71. Pierre Bayard
72. Andi Watson
73. Ellen Potter
74. Rachel Neumeier
75. Philippa Pearce
76. Alessandro Baricco
77. Jay Asher
78. Philip Reeve
79. Holly Lisle
80. Per Petterson
81. Jennifer Holm
82. Kelly Link
83. Margaret Peterson Haddix
84. Janet Taylor Lisle
85. Chris Wooding
86. Martin Wilson
87. M.T. Anderson



Challenge Status: COMPLETED!

Rhinoa's Manga Challenge
January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2009

Read Six Mangas:
1. Fairy Tail - Volume 1
2. Fairy Tail - Volume 2
3. Legends of the Dark Crystal - Volume 1
4. The Dreaming Vol 1
5. The Dreaming Vol 2
6. The Dreaming Vol 3
7. Emma - Volume 1
8. Emma - Volume 2
9. Emma - Volume 3
10. Emma - Volume 4
11. Emma - Volume 5
12. Emma - Volume 6
13. Emma - Volume 7
14. Chobits Vol. 1
15. Fruits Basket Vol 1
16. Fruits Basket Vol 2
17. Chobits Vol. 2
18. Chobits Vol. 3
19. Fruits Basket Vol 3
20. Fruits Baskey Vol 4
21. X/1999: Prelude by Clamp (Volume 1)
22. X/1999: Overture by Clamp (Volume 2)
23. Chobits Vol. 4
24. One Piece: Romance Dawn by Eiichiro Oda (Volume 1)
25. One Piece: Buggy the Clown by Eiichiro Oda (Volume 2)
26. One Piece: Don't Get Fooled Again by Eiichiro Oda (Volume 3)
27. Emma - Volume 8 by Kaoru Mori
28. Miki Falls - Book 1: Spring by Mark Crilley
29. Miki Falls - Book 2: Summer by Mark Crilley
30. Manga Shakespeare: A Midsummer's Night Dream
31. Scott Pilgrim: Precious Little Life - Volume 1 by Bryan Lee O'Malley
32. Manga Shakespeare: Romeo & Juliet
33. Manga Shakespeare: Hamlet
34. Manga Shakespeare: The Tempest


Challenge Status: COMPLETED!

Graphic Novels Challenge
January 1, 2009 - December 31, 2009

Read Six Graphic Novels:
1. Fables Volume 1: Legends in Exile
2. Fables Volume 2: Animal Farm
3. The Book of Ballads
4. Maus - Volume 1: My Father Bleeds History
5. Maus - Volume 2: And Here My Troubles Began
6. Fables - Volume 3: Storybook Love
7. Fables - Volume 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers
8. Fables - Volume 5: The Mean Seasons
9. Fables -Volume 6: Homelands
10. Fables: Volume 7: Arabian Nights (And Days)
11. American Born Chinese
12. Fables - Volume 8: Wolves
13. Fables - Volume 9: Sons of Empire
14. Castle Waiting
15. Life Sucks
16. Laika
17. Alice in Sunderland: An Entertainment
18. Rose
19. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
20.Epileptic by David B.
21. Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale
22. A Distant Soil - Volume 1 - The Gathering by Colleen Doran
23. A Distant Soil - Volume 2 - The Ascendant by Colleen Doran
24.Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi
25. The Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot
26. Black Holes by Charles Burns
27. The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci & Jim Rugg
28. Robot Dreams by Sara Varon
29. The Good Neighbors: Kin: Book One by Holly Black & Ted Naifeh
30. Ethel and Ernest by Raymond Briggs
31. Clubbing by Andi Watson
32. Babymouse: Our Hero by Jennifer Holm
33. Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O'Malley


Challenge Status: COMPLETED!

2nd Canadian Book Challenge, Eh!
July 1, 2008 - July 1, 2009

Read 13 Canadian Books:

1.Traveling Music by Neil Peart
2. Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland
3. Don't Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
4. The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews
5. Lord Beaverbrook by David Adams Richards
6. Coventry by Helen Humphreys
7. Jolted by Arthur Slade
8. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
9. Conceit by Mary Novik
10. What They Wanted by Donna Morrissey
11. Barnacle Love by Anthony De Sa
12. Personal Demon by Kelley Armstrong
13. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
14. I Was a Child of Holocaust Survivors by Bernice Eisenstein
15. Santa Claus: A Biography by Gerry Bowler
16. Cats I Have Known and Loved by Pierre Berton
17. Louis Riel: A Comic Book Biography by Chester Brown
18.Turtle Valley by Gail Anderson-Dargatz
19. one good story, this one by Thomas King
20. Men of the Otherword by Kelley Armstrong
21. Only in Canada, You Say: A Treasury of Canadian Language by Katherine Barber
22. The Unwritten Girl by James Bow
23. Dust by Arthur Slade
24. JPod by Douglas Coupland
25. The Golden Phoenix and Other Fairy Tales from Quebec Edited by Marius Barbeau & Michael Hornyansky
26. Scott Pilgrim: Precious Little Life - Volume 1 by Bryan Lee O'Malley
27. Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O'Malley
28. The Guests of War Trilogy - Book 3 - The Lights Go On Again by Kit Pearson
29. Wonderous Strange by Lesley Livingston


Challenge Status: COMPLETED!

Dust by Arthur Slade

Books Completed: 59
Completion Date: February, 2009
Pages: 168
Publication Date: August 2, 2001

Reason for Reading: 2nd Canadian Challenge

Eleven-year-old Robert is the only one who can help when a mysterious stranger arrives, performing tricks and promising to bring rain, at the same time children begin to disappear from a dust bowl farm town in Saskatchewan in the 1930s.

I first read Arthur Slade last year when I read the fantastic Jolted. I honestly love that book to death, and that is very high praise from me in terms of a young adult novel! I have read more this year than normal, but mostly because I won't buy them generally and I am addicted to putting books on hold at the library! Arthur Slade, though, is a young adult novelist that I am not afraid to tell everyone that they should read! Jolted was better, for me, than this book, but I still really liked this experience. Slade is just a fun author. His ideas are fresh and original. It has been a joy so far to sit down with one of his books. Once my library pile is not quite so scary I plan to read more from him.

When we are children we are told over and over again to not talk to strangers. Robert and his little brother are probably told the same, but sometimes you forget your parents' words when faced with the situation. This happens to seven-year-old Matthew. He has finally been trusted to walk to town on his own. He meets a stranger along the way and his parents are faced with the very serious situation of not knowing what happens to him. Robert is different, though. He is able to see through all the situations that are thrown his way during the course of the novel. The town is desperate. They have been living with a drought for quite sometime and are desperate for water to feed their dwindling groups, so when a man appears with his fancy words and technology that could save the town, they are quickly bought into the scheme.

Not a very long book, but another example of why Slade is such a great Canadian young adult author. He takes a very believable situation and throws in the unbelievable. This mysterious stranger is not at all what he seems, but Robert seems to be one of few people that can figure this out. Throw in a rain machine and some butterflies and you have what could be a very illogical novel. Slade makes it all come together, though!

The Unwritten Book Series: Book 1: The Unwritten Girl by James Bow

Books Completed: 28
Completion Date: February 2, 2009
Pages: 205
Publication Date: April 1, 2006

Reason for Reading: Sent the complete trilogy by the author. New Author Challenge. Canadian Challenge.

Rosemary Watson lives in the small town of Clarksbury, where news travels fast and gossip sticks around. Years before, her brother Theo suffered a nervous breakdown, and Rosemary, now entering junior high, is constantly teased about it. She wonders if she might go crazy like her brother, and she feels guilty for not being able to save him. She tries to hide in books, but even there she's uneasy: she can't stand to see characters suffer. She's happiest in the cool world of fact and figures.

Rosemary and Peter - the new kid in school with issues of his own - are thrown together, and soon find themselves on a life-or-death quest to rescue Rosemary's brother, who has lost himself in a book. With the help of Peter and her guide, faerie shape-shifter Puck, Rosemary must face the storybook perils of the Land of Fiction and learn to open her heart, before it is too late.

Have you ever wandered what happens to all the books that you abandon? I know that there are plenty of books through the run of a year that I either don't finish because I am not interested in them or because I get distracted by another book and forget to return to them. James Bow takes this idea and has apparently has created a trilogy based around it. So, what would happen if the books paused when you paused and never reached the conclusion? One interpretation of that idea is found in the pages of this book. Since I really enjoy books about books, I knew that I had to see what this trilogy was all about. It is a young adult trilogy, though, so keep that in mind.

I received this book in the mail yesterday and immediately decided to start it. I have other books on the go, but I was curious. I can be a bit picky about my young adult books, but this one wasn't so bad. It was not the best book I have ever read from the genre, but it was still a fun book. Rosemary and her friend Peter have to save her brother who has quite literally lost himself in a book. You find out the full details of that when you get into the book yourself. Rosemary's brother had a break-down a couple years ago, which is something that no one has really forgotten. This means that when Puck suddenly appears on the street one day, she feels like she has finally gone crazy like her brother. What does turn out is that she is about to start an adventure that will test the common roles of being a hero and make Rosemary face her fears.

I will be very interested to see what happens next! Where the book is short, I don't want to give too many details away because there won't be much point in reading it!

Only in Canada, You Say: A Treasury of Canadian Language by Katherine Barber

Books Completed: 20
Completion Date: January 20, 2009
Pages: 288
Publication Date: March 15, 2007

Reason for Reading: I live in Canada and I was curious! New Author Challenge. 2nd Canadian Challenge.

Ask any Canadian about a distinctly Canadian form of English, and most will offer an enthusiastic Bob-and-Doug-McKenzie 'eh' in response. A passionate few might also bring up the colour vs. color debate or our pronunciations of 'out' and 'about'. And some may point to the ubiquitous Canadian toque as evidence of a language that is all our own. If this is your idea of Canadian English, then it might surprise you that Katherine Barber, Editor-in-Chief of the best-selling Canadian Oxford Dictionary and author of the best-selling Six Words You Never Knew Had Something to Do With Pigs, has written a new book filled with nothing but made-in-Canada vocabulary. Only in Canada You Say highlights more than 1,200 words and phrases that are unique to our neck of the woods. Did you know, for example, that every time you ask for Gravol at the drug store, you're using a word that is unknown anywhere else? That those tasty butter tarts your mother used to make don't exist beyond our borders? Or that there are three distinctly Canadian sex words? And jokes about living in the Great White North aside, it is still pretty interesting to discover that there are 17 Canadian words for ice! Organized thematically, Only in Canada You Say covers Canadian English from coast to coast to coast, with sections dedicated to the things we love to do, where we live, how we get around, and what we wear. The entertaining and informative introductions to each section provide a fresh, often eye-opening, perspective on the reality of Canadian English from Canada's own 'Word Lady', Katherine Barber. Only in Canada You Say maybe 'eh' is just the beginning of this story! '

I always love a good book about Canada, so when I saw this reviewed somewhere I added it to my wish list. It just happened to be on the page that I chose for my library browsing, and the library had it, so I was very happy to finally get around to reading it! Canadian language is an entertaing thing, apparently. I highly enjoyed this book, and I would actually like to own my own copy! I was really surprised about the words that I hear or say all the time that are mostly only said in Canada. They are just common wording for me. I mean, I have always been proud of the fact that I am a Bluenoser (live in Nova Scotia) and that I am a Canuck (I think this one people know). Now, I know some of the words that I use that others might not.

The way this book works is it is broken into large sections and then those large sections are broken into related smaller sections. At the beginning of each large section, the author talks about some of the words that are going to be included in this topic. The intros are actually pretty funny because she says things that I would never even think about. Canadianisms are just common to me, so I never considered what it would sound like for people that are not Canadian to hear them. This goes beyond 'eh', of course. I know that is the most common word associated with Canada, and I have to say, I live in Canada and I hardly ever say 'eh'. It is more common in Central Canada, I think, but I could be wrong!

The first section in the book is called "Canadians Say the Darndest Things". This was probably my favourite section because I found myself trying to remember if I have ever said them before or heard them before. Some are of a historical notion, like 'fuddle duddle', which is claimed to be what Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau said in Parliament one day instead of a profanity. Not a phrase I have used before, but one that I have heard. One of my favourite, and one that I might have uttered before, is 'holy jumpin'. I was also surprised about some of the ones that come from Atlantic Canada. She says that 'sook/sookey baby' is from my neck of the woods. I just assumed everyone says that! Oh, and I said that quite often when I was younger. I am not sure if I have had much reason for it in later years. Then, there is phrases like: 'done like dinner' or 'go to the washroom'. I have used both of those before.

Then, she moves on to Geography, which includes things like the weather. I was really surprised that the phrase 'spring break-up' is largely Canadian. I am looking forward to the 'spring break-up' right about now! The food and drink topic was another favourite. I was both surprised, and not, by food that is Canadian. I know that 'rappie pie' was largely Canadian, but I didn't think about 'butter tarts' or 'blueberry grunt' being only from around here. (Butter tarts are no big loss, but blueberry grunt is awesome! Unless, well, I cook it... It didn't turn out so well.) Drinks was the same. I know that 'double-double' is from Tim Hortons fame, but I was surprised it was Canadian to say 'two-four'. (Believe me, I have heard two-four my entire life! It was particularly common during my university years.)

I learned a lot from this book. I took special note about words and phrases that are supposed to be from my neck of the woods. There were a lot I have never heard before, so no idea who says them! Then, there is the obvious ones like the 'loonie' and the 'toonie'. I know when I was little, I was in the U.S. and my sister asked at a store for a 'loonie'. The man working had no idea what she was talking about! So, if you want to know more about crazy Canadians, this is a great book to see just how different we really are! For those that live in Canada, though, it is just as interesting. I am very glad I took the time to read it, and I probably will have to add a copy to my household in the future.

Turtle Valley by Gail Anderson-Dargatz

My memories are so like that hat full of butterflies, some already deteriorating the moment they are collected, some breathed back to life now and again, for a brief moment, by the scent on a passing wind–the smell of an orange, perhaps, or a whiff of brown-sugar fudge–before drifting away, just out of my reach. How much of myself flits away with each of these tattered memories? How much of myself have I already lost? (Turtle Valley, p. 289)

Kat has returned with her disabled husband and young son to her family’s homestead in Turtle Valley, in British Columbia’s Shuswap-Thompson area. Fire is sweeping through the valley in a ruthless progression toward the farm and they have come to help her frail parents pack up their belongings. Kat’s mother, Beth, (the now elderly protagonist of Anderson-Dargatz’s first novel, the award-winning The Cure for Death by Lightning) is weighed down by her ailing husband, Gus, and by generations of accumulated detritus. But there is something else weighing her down, a secret she has guarded all her life. Kat is determined to get to its source before fire eats up all that is left of the family’s memories.

Kat has her own burdens. Her father is dying, and the family has chosen to keep him home as long as possible in defiance of the approaching flames. Beth is showing signs of early dementia. And her husband, Ezra, is a husk of his former self, stolen from her years ago by a stroke and now battling frightening mood swings and a trick memory. Once filled with passion and hope, their relationship has become more like that of nursemaid and invalid.

Now thrust into contact with her parents’ neighbour Jude, her lover before Ezra, Kat finds his strength attractive, as well as his ongoing passion for her. As she considers her choices in love, Kat discovers that her grandmother, Maud, to whom she bears an uncanny resemblance, was once faced with a similar dilemma when forced to choose between the capricious violence of her shell-shocked husband, John Weeks, and the rugged constancy of their neighbour Valentine Svensson. Leafing through Maud’s scrapbooks and long-hidden love letters, Kat begins to unravel the mystery of her grandfather’s disappearance in the mountains. She is to find that like most family secrets, this one is tangled amidst generations of grief.

As sparks rain down upon them, Kat tries to hold her family together, soothing Ezra’s rages, comforting their son, Jeremy, tending to her mother’s fragile mental state and striving to keep her father at home and comfortable as he nears death. Masses of ladybugs swarm through the house and panicked birds smash windows. Shadowy ghosts flit in and out of the encroaching smoke. All around them the landscape burns and terrible choices must be made. What can be salvaged? What will survive after Turtle Valley has burned?

Turtle Valley is a novel of reconciliation and hope in the midst of terrible loss. Part ghost story, part mystery, part romance, the novel transcends these genres and carries its readers into new territories of forgiveness and acceptance of the difficult choices we all must make in finding our way through life and love.

One thing I can say, while I haven't read as much as I normally do this year, I have been doing a very good job at cleaning off some of the books that I have really wanted to read and never got around to. I have had this book almost since it came out because I had heard such good things about it, but it took me all this time to get to reading it. I had heard of the author before, but this is the first time I have ever read her. I probably will look into her backlist after this though, because this was a very enjoyable book. Especially since one of the earlier books is about the main character in this books mother.

I always like the history of family. The secrets that are hiding in the closet or the mysteries that have never been solved. This book deals a lot with this idea, which is a lot of the reason why I liked it so much. Katrine is coming to the conclusion that there are things that happened in her past that she does not know the whole truth about. When a forest fire threatens her childhood home, she finds herself back to help her aging parents collect the important things from their home. While searching through years of memories, she uncovers the truth about who her grandmother and grandfather were. Saving the memories before the fire wiped them out forever.

I was really surprised by how much I liked this book. I was a little worried at first. I am not sure what it is, but children in novels tend to grate on my nerves much more than they do in person. So, I did find Katrine's son, Jeremy, annoying at times. I think it was also an extension of the fact that she babied her husband because he was recovering from a stroke. Too many children under one roof, or something along those lines. It was enjoyable to be along for the mystery, and I very much liked the ghost story elements. They seemed to fit right in and didn't seem strange to me at all. In the face of terrible tragedy, there is rebirth. This is Katrine's time to find herself, and lose parts of herself at the same time.

Overall, a very well-written novel! I strongly recommend it!

Conceit by Mary Novik

"St Paul's cathedral stands like a cornered beast on Ludgate hill, taking deep breaths above the smoke. The fire has made terrifying progress in the night and is closing in on the ancient monument from three directions. Built of massive stones, the cathedral is held to be invincible, but suddenly Pegge sees what the flames covet: the two hundred and fifty feet of scaffolding erected around the broken tower. Once the flames have a foothold on the wooden scaffolds, they can jump to the lead roof, and once the timbers burn and the vaulting cracks, the cathedral will be toppled by its own mass, a royal bear brought down by common dogs." (p.9)

It is the Great Fire of 1666. The imposing edifice of St. Paul's Cathedral, a landmark of London since the twelfth century, is being reduced to rubble by the flames that engulf the City.

In the holocaust, Pegge and a small group of men struggle to save the effigy of her father, John Donne, famous love poet and the great Dean of St. Paul's. Making their way through the heat and confusion of the streets, they arrive at Paul's wharf. Pegge's husband, William Bowles, anxiously scans the wretched scene, suddenly realizing why Pegge has asked him to meet her at this desperate spot.

The story behind this dramatic rescue begins forty years before the fire. Pegge Donne is still a rebellious girl, already too clever for a world that values learning only in men, when her father begins arranging marriages for his five daughters, including Pegge. Pegge, however, is desperate to taste the all-consuming desire that led to her parents' clandestine marriage, notorious throughout England for shattering social convention and for inspiring some of the most erotic and profound poetry ever written. She sets out to win the love of Izaak Walton, a man infatuated with her older sister.

Stung by Walton's rejection and jealous of her physically mature sisters, the boyish Pegge becomes convinced that it is her own father who knows the secret of love. She collects his poems, hoping to piece together her parents' history, searching for some connection to the mother she barely knew.

Intertwined with Pegge's compelling voice are those of Ann More and John Donne, telling us of the courtship that inspired some of the world's greatest poetry of love and physical longing. Donne's seduction leads Ann to abandon social convention, risk her father's certain wrath, and elope with Donne. It is the undoing of his career and the two are left to struggle in a marriage that leads to her death in her twelfth childbirth at age thirty-three.

In Donne's final days, Pegge tries, in ways that push the boundaries of daughterly behaviour, to discover the key to unlock her own sexuality. After his death, Pegge still struggles to free herself from an obsession that threatens to drive her beyond the bounds of reason. Even after she marries, she cannot suppress her independence or her desire to experience extraordinary love.

Conceit brings to life the teeming, bawdy streets of London, the intrigue-ridden court, and the lushness of the seventeenth-century English countryside. It is a story of many kinds of love — erotic, familial, unrequited, and obsessive — and the unpredictable workings of the human heart. With characters plucked from the pages of history, Mary Novik's debut novel is an elegant, fully-imagined story of lives you will find hard to leave behind.

Well, I was on my way to bed when I happened to glance at my book pile in my bedroom and my eyes fell on this book. I forgot to review it! So, I headed back to my computer to remedy that. Conceit came to my attention last year because it was short-listed for the Giller Awards. Not surprisingly, I am still reading Giller nominees from last year this year. I should have got around to this book sooner because I must say, it was a very good read!

The problem with this review is that product description is rather long and detailed, so I don't really want to rehash what is already said above. I must say, I seem to be experiencing a theme where I read books with the main female character being rather eccentric. I read a lot of books where females are the main characters, and lately, they have been a rather interesting bunch. Pegge is just another working their way into that theme. I love her, though. She had a very engaging voice and you never knew quite what she was going to do next. The story follows her from her childhood to her older years when her children are all grown up, so you get a good taste of her as a person.

I am amazed that this is Novik's debut novel. Once upon a time it took Canadians so long to get recognized, and here she is writing this book and getting nominated for a Giller right away! Not to mention, I liked this book better than Late Nights on Air, the book that would go on to win the Giller, but I am sadly not one of the judges! Not to say that she would be my choice for the award, though, because I haven't read the rest of the books yet... In any case, this was a very strong debut novel. It had really interesting characters that I loved reading about! I look forward to what Novik comes out with next.

My thanks to Random House for sending me this book!

A Couple Things

I decided to count and see where I stood with The 2nd Canadian Challenge, Eh? because I have been reading a lot of Canadian fiction this month. I am up to 10! That means I only have three more books to go, so I am very happy with that! Here is my list:

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
Personal Demon by Kelley Armstrong
Barnacle Love by Anthony De Sa
What They Wanted by Donna Morrissey
Coventry by Helen Humphreys
Extraordinary Canadians: Lord Beaverbrook by David Adams Richards
The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews
Don't Lets go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland
Traveling Music by Neil Peart

*Edited to add: I forgot Conceit by Mary Novik. That makes 11!

In other news, congratulations to Joseph Boyden for winning the Giller Award! I actually thought he was going to win, so I wasn't surprised when his name was called! That being said, I really should read the winning book as I have had it sitting here for a while! (Watch me hate it. That would be bad...)

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

An extraordinary debut novel of love that survives the fires of hell and transcends the boundaries of time.

On a burn ward, a man lies between living and dying, so disfigured that no one from his past life would even recognize him. His only comfort comes from imagining various inventive ways to end his misery. Then a woman named Marianne Engel walks into his hospital room, a wild-haired, schizophrenic sculptress on the lam from the psych ward upstairs, who insists that she knows him – that she has known him, in fact, for seven hundred years. She remembers vividly when they met, in another hospital ward at a convent in medieval Germany, when she was a nun and he was a wounded mercenary left to die. If he has forgotten this, he is not to worry: she will prove it to him.

And so Marianne Engel begins to tell him their story, carving away his disbelief and slowly drawing him into the orbit and power of a word he'd never uttered: love.

Okay, I will admit it, when this book first came out, I read the description and automatically decided that it was not something that I would like. Romance in novels is fine, but I am not the sort that reads books that are marketed as romance. So, I never expected to find myself reading this book. It was a combination of positive reviews and retellings of the synopsis that made me decide to give the book a chance, and I am so glad that I did! I loved it! It was different than anything I had read before, really, and once I got caught up in the pages I found that I had a very hard time putting it down! And, to think, I almost didn't read it at all!

It really surprises me that this is Andrew Davidson's first novel. It is so refreshing and the writing so well-done, you would think you were reading a later novel. It is the story of love, like the book synopsis lead me to believe, but it is so much more! It has two very interesting main characters: A man that has been nearly burned to death in a fire and a woman that lives in what most people believe is a fantasy world. They come together, though, and create a story that I would happily read again right now! The story changes through different time periods, so it is not just set in stone. It covers medieval England and then moves closer to modern day. Marianne is a story-teller, and as I was reading the words I could picture her sitting beside me telling them. She was such a vibrant character she jumped off the pages!

Now, to be honest, I didn't know until the end how much I loved the book. I think since it was a bit different than my usual reading that I was resistant to it, but by the last 150 pages, I was glued to it! This book is seeing a lot of blogging activity, so it seems rather pointless to rehash the plot when so many other people already have, but it such a worthwhile read! Will everyone love it? Probably not. We are talking about a former porn star and a former nun falling in love. It is not exactly a story that will sit well with everyone who comes across it, but Davidson writes in such a way that even the unusual seems believable. You find yourself wanting to believe that everything that is written is entirely plausible, even if it seems like the craziest thing possible.

All I can say is I cannot wait until he writes something else, but it will be very difficult to follow this book! I am really surprised I liked this book as much as I did, though. It is a keeper for sure and I recommend it strongly!

My thanks to Random House for this book! It is also counts towards The Second Canadian Challenge, Eh! The Kelley Armstrong book I read the other day could too, I just thought of. I am going to have to count and see where I stand, I think I am almost done!

Barnacle Love by Anthony De Sa

Like Wayson Choy and David Bezmozgis before him, Anthony De Sa captures, in stories brimming with life, the innocent dreams and bitter disappointments of the immigrant experience.

At the heart of this collection of intimately linked stories is the relationship between a father and his son. A young fisherman washes up nearly dead on the shores of Newfoundland. It is Manuel Rebelo who has tried to escape the suffocating smallness of his Portuguese village and the crushing weight of his mother’s expectations to build a future for himself in a terra nova. Manuel struggles to shed the traditions of a village frozen in time and to silence the brutal voice of Maria Theresa da Conceicao Rebelo, but embracing the promise of his adopted land is not as simple as he had hoped.

Manuel’s son, Antonio, is born into Toronto’s little Portugal, a world of colourful houses and labyrinthine back alleys. In the Rebelo home the Church looms large, men and women inhabit sharply divided space, pigs are slaughtered in the garage, and a family lives in the shadow cast by a father’s failures. Most days Antonio and his friends take to their bikes, pushing the boundaries of their neighbourhood street by street, but when they finally break through to the city beyond they confront dangers of a new sort.

With fantastic detail, larger-than-life characters and passionate empathy, Anthony De Sa invites readers into the lives of the Rebelos and finds there both the promise and the disappointment inherent in the choices made by the father and the expectations placed on the son.

I mention all the time how I am not a big fan of short stories. I prefer novels for the most part. I have read a few short story collections that I have loved, so don't get me wrong, but for the most part I avoid them. One exception I have discovered that I don't mind is short story collections where the story is all inter-connected. Then, it is like a novel and I normally get all the facts that I am left wondering about with regular short stories. Barnacle Love is that kind of book. I was not really sure about it, I think I might even have mentioned it back when the Giller-nominees were announced, but I decided to take a chance on it and I am glad that I did! It is now short-listed for the Giller, and while I was not blown away by it, I found it to be a good read.

When you think about Canada, we are really a country made up of other countries. We are all immigrants in some way, even if it dates back generations. (With the exception of full-blooded Native Canadians, of course). So, in many ways, these novels about immigrant life and their experiences starting out in a new country are all of our stories. It might have happened a few generations back, but members of our families came to his country with a dream and a hope to one day have it become reality. They came to a strange place where they didn't know the language, had very little money, almost no material possessions. They just had a wish for a better life for them and their family. This ideal of making a better life is one of the ideas behind this collection of short stories.

The main idea behind the book, though, is the relationship between a father and a son. The father comes to Canada under dangerous circumstances from Portugal with the hopes of rising above the circumstances he was raised in. His mother had high hopes for him, they were just not the same hopes that he had for himself. He has remained in Canada, though, and continues to dream for a life that seems always out of his reach. Manuel is the narrator for the first few stories in the book. Then, his son takes over. Antonio tells his entire families story the way that he hears it and observes it. His father wanted so much more, but he seems to be stuck and not really sure how he is supposed to capture his dreams. His family is trapped under his own depression.

I think the thing that I like best about this book is the title. It really is so true. As one of the characters in the book says: 'My husband used to say that men are all barnacles. A barnacle starts out life swimming in the ocean. But, when it matures, it must settle down and choose a home.' This is actually true to most forms of relationships. We are free for a while, and then we have to choose where we want to spend our mature years. It is very fitting for the relationships that are shown in this book. I think it is a perfect title for the book. Sometimes I am left trying to figure out why authors decide the titles that they decide on for their book, but this one, I am just left thinking...

A good book. I haven't read any of the other short-listed books, so I can't say much of its chances for winning, but I do recommend it. I am just not sure what to say about it...

My thanks to Random House for sending me this book!

This also counts for The 2nd Canadian Challenge, Eh!

What They Wanted by Donna Morrissey

Yes, two reviews in one day! I am so far behind I figured I should get cracking!

In her new novel, What They Wanted, award-winning author Donna Morrissey explores both new and familiar terrain: the wild shores of a Newfoundland outport and the equally wild environment of an Alberta oil rig. After Sylvanus Now suffers a heart attack, family tensions come to the fore: daughter Sylvie must deal with her feelings of estrangement from her mother, Addie, while her brother Chris, a natural artist, frustrates his dreams by going to work on an oil rig. A novel about uilt,responsibility, tragedy, and the enduring ties of family, this is vintage Donna Morrissey.

Words cannot describe how excited I was when I got the book magazine from my local bookstore and saw that Donna Morrissey had a new book out. I love Donna Morrissey! A few years ago I noticed Kit's Law at the bookstore and it caught my attention. It was right around my birthday or Christmas and I remember asking my mother if she would get me a copy of it. Downhill Chance was out at the same time, I believe, so I wound up reading both of them around the same time. I loved them! They are the perfect representation of small-town Canadian fishing towns. While they take place in Newfoundland, and I live in Nova Scotia, I could still see the history of my province in her writing. They are quaint, simple novels. The perfect books to curl up with on a rainy afternoon. They are like old friends to me, just looking at the books sitting on my shelf will take me back to the first time I read them and remind me of just how much I enjoyed them. I have since given both books as gifts to friends and family. It was sadly before blogging days when I read them, though.

Fast-forward to 2005. I had not really seen anything new from Morrissey, so she was off my radar for a while. Then, I was in a random bookstore in the city and there it was... a new book! Sylvanus Now was a surprise because I had not heard a word about it until I saw it sitting there on the shelf. So, it of course came home with me! I reviewed it back when I first started this blog, and I gave it a five out of five. Looking back, though, I did not enjoy it as much as her other two books, so it probably was a bit of a high rating.... In any case, it was another excellent read from Morrissey. Now we have her new book, What They Wanted. I knew about this one ahead of time, but I waited and bought it with my birthday money. I must not be the only person that loves her, though, because this one was released in hardcover.

This book is the sequel to Sylvanus Now. Sylvanus is all grown up and has children of his own. His daughter is the main character and it is she that tells the story. Sylvanus is still in the book, but a new generation is in the forefront. Sylvie was an interesting character. She has done what lots of people from the east coast have done, gone out west for easy money. She has came home for a visit, though, because her father has had a heart attack and is not in great shape. Always her fathers' daughter, she has to make sure that he is alright. While home she manages to talk her brother, Chris, into coming out west with her. That was not necessarily her intention, but that is what has happened. He has lost his fathers' boat and feels guilty about it, so he feels the need to make quick money and make up for what he has done.

The story moves back and forth from small town Newfoundland to a thriving economy in Alberta. Many people in todays age are likely finding that same story a part of their lives, so it is a very fitting setting. Alberta is the boomtown, while the east coast is suffering through over-fishing and a loss of a way of life. Morrissey is telling many peoples' story for this day and age. And, she tells it very well. Once again I was captivated with the story, and that always surprises me. I really prefer books with lots of action, and that is not really what Morrissey writes. She just writes what I know, I suppose. I have lived in small towns my whole life and I can see people I know in the characters that she writes. One of these days I might have to actually go to Newfoundland so I can really relate, but I think you can live in any of the towns on our eastern shore and know where she is coming from.

Another great book from Morrissey. She really is worth the read, I must say. I really want to reread her earlier books now, actually! Another book the I recommend and another book for The 2nd Canadian Challenge, Eh! I actually finished this book in October but I forgot I hadn't reviewed it until I saw my list and felt like something was missing for this challenge!

The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews

“Min was stranded in her bed, hooked on the blue torpedoes and convinced that a million silver cars were closing in on her (I didn’t know what Thebes meant either), Logan was in trouble at school, something about the disturbing stories he was writing, Thebes was pretending to be Min on the phone with his principal, the house was crumbling around them, the black screen door had blown off in the wind, a family of aggressive mice was living behind the piano, the neighbours were pissed off because of hatchets being thrown into their yard at night (again, confusing, something to do with Logan) … basically, things were out of control. And Thebes is only eleven.”–from The Flying Troutmans

Days after being dumped by her boyfriend Marc in Paris–“he was heading off to an ashram and said we could communicate telepathically”–Hattie hears her sister Min has been checked into a psychiatric hospital, and finds herself flying back to Winnipeg to take care of Thebes and Logan, her niece and nephew. Not knowing what else to do, she loads the kids, a cooler, and a pile of CDs into their van and they set out on a road trip in search of the children’s long-lost father, Cherkis.

In part because no one has any good idea where Cherkis is, the traveling maters more than the destination. On their wayward, eventful journey down to North Dakota and beyond, the Troutmans stay at scary motels, meet helpful hippies, and try to ignore the threatening noises coming from under the hood of their van. Eleven-year-old Thebes spends her time making huge novelty cheques with arts and crafts supplies in the back, and won’t wash, no matter how wild and matted her purple hair gets; she forgot to pack any clothes. Four years older, Logan carves phrases like “Fear Yourself” into the dashboard, and repeatedly disappears in the middle of the night to play basketball; he’s in love, he says, with New York Times columnist Deborah Solomon. Meanwhile, Min can’t be reached at the hospital, and, more than once, Hattie calls Marc in tears.

But though it might seem like an escape from crisis into chaos, this journey is also desperately necessary, a chance for an accidental family to accept, understand or at least find their way through overwhelming times. From interwoven memories and scenes from the past, we learn much more about them: how Min got so sick, why Cherkis left home, why Hattie went to Paris, and what made Thebes and Logan who they are today.

In this completely captivating book, Miriam Toews has created some of the most engaging characters in Canadian literature: Hattie, Logan and Thebes are bewildered, hopeful, angry, and most of all, absolutely alive. Full of richly skewed, richly funny detail, The Flying Troutmans is a uniquely affecting novel.

I first heard of Miriam Toews back in 2004 when her novel A Complicated Kindness won the Governor General's Award. Sometimes I pay a lot of attention to award-winning books, while other times I do not. For whatever reason, I decided to pick that book up and I read it at some point and time. I am pretty sure it was that year, so it was before blogging. Now, while I am sure it was a good book, it was not a great book... Why, you might ask? Because without going to look at a book description, I would not for the life of me be able to tell you what happened in that book. Last year, I read Swing Low: A Life by Toews and apparently did not review it. That's annoying! Anyway, I remember that book much better than A Complicated Kindness and it hardly received any media attention at all.

So, fast-forward to this year when her new book came out. I was not super-excited about it, but at the same time, I decided to give her another try. I come away from the experience thinking 'meh'. It wasn't a fantastic book, but it also was not a terrible book, either. I really liked the characters, but I felt like I never really got close to them. They could've all died and I would've just sort of shrugged and moved on. Which is a shame because the characters are colourful and I wanted to really like them, but it was like there was a wall between me and them. So, while the characters were alive to me, they just did not capture my interest and pull me in.

To summarize my rambles. While I didn't love this book, I also didn't hate it. I just can't seem to do these plodding family drama-type novels anymore. I also notice that Toews is not on the Giller long-list this year, so I am not the only one that thinks what could've been a promising novel just did not capture her audience...

This is a read for the Second Canadian Challenge, Eh? My thanks to Random House for this book! Even though I didn't love it, I am still glad I read it. It also has an awesome title...

This, That, and The Other Thing....

I really need to come up with better titles for my posts! I probably have even used that one before, but I can't remember and I am too lazy to check.

So, my throat is still putting up a fuss, but I think I have allergies and not a cold. I love the fall, don't get me wrong, but something just drives my sinuses crazy! And, I know this, but the sore throat sort of threw me off and made me think I was getting a cold! I am actually happy to have allergies. Weird, I know, but who wants a cold at this time of the year? I want to read and read and probably clean, but I mean, who wants to clean? I just informed my DH via text-message that I have too many books. I am kind of curious what the reply will be. I do have too many books, but not overall, just to read... I feel like I should be making a big dent in Mount TBR, but I don't think it is working out so well.

Tonight I finished up a book in the Extraordinary Canadian series that Penguin Books has. I love the whole idea behind this series and have been pre-ordering the books. Two arrived in the mail this week. One on Big Bear and the other on Lester B. Pearson. Now I have to wait until March of next year for more! So, I figured I should, you know, read the ones I have already! So, I read David Adams Richards book on Lord Beaverbrook. The review will be up on Historical Tapestry once Michelle Moran's week is completed. I really think I am the biggest fangirl when it comes to this series. It is a perfect way for me to catch up with some figures from Canadian history that I am not necessarily familiar with. Yeah, I have issues, but you know that, right? And, the books are going to look so awesome all lined up in a row on my shelf... Once I have them all, of course, because you know that I will have to have them all! This is also my fourth book for that Canadian Challenge I supposedly belong to, but since I haven't actually reviewed anything yet, I am sure most people forgot I even belonged! Oh, wait, that was the fifth. Man, I am behind!

Also, don't forget to head over to Historical Tapestry for Michelle Moran week. I know people read my blog, but I haven't seen you comment (slackers), and you are missing out on a chance to win a FREE BOOK! So, go over there and comment! I supposedly comment on your blogs and I don't get free books for doing so! You do! (haha, well, maybe). Today I posted a review of The Heretic Queen, which I loved and consider one of my favourite reads of the year!

I think after I finish this I am going to review a book... So, expect another post from me today!