Comments on: Home and Native Land

By: Christine

Christine — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:29:32 +0000

Yeah, Davies is big and smart but he’s also a great read. I’m always glad when teachers pick Davies!

By: kiirstin

kiirstin — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:08:42 +0000

I believe we read Fifth Business (Davies) in Grade 13, which was a pretty inspired and fairly daring choice for our small, rural high school. They had a lot of faith in us. I loved that book, despite finding other Davies difficult to wade through. .-= kiirstin´s last blog ..Claymore Volume 1 by Norihiro Yagi =-.

By: glumpuddle

glumpuddle — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:01:16 +0000

I think that possibly my grade 13 English teacher (I date myself!) also liked As for Me and My House or why would he have assigned it instead of some Margaret Atwood novel that all the other classes were doing. (It wasn't Handmaid's Tale as that was not yet published. Oops, that dating thing again.)

By: Christine

Christine — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:39:56 +0000

I think that everyone hates As for Me and My House, with the exception of my former prof, who wouldn’t shut up about it. But you’re certainly not alone in your sentiment!

By: Melanie

Melanie — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:42:45 +0000

As for me and my house ... as a Saskatchewanian I must say I detest that book as well. Thank goodness I am not alone! I've just finished reading Tanya Huff's latest, The Enchantment Emporium, set mostly in Calgary and using Calgary fully as part of the story. I enjoy seeing those touches. Melanie’s latest blog post:Moon Tiger

By: Ali

Ali — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:44:33 +0000

That envelope is hilarious. I get excited about seeing my city in books, too, especially when the book is by a local author, or someone with some connection to the city. Ali’s latest blog post:Who's Your Local Author? Bookworms Carnival, coming up!

By: avisannschild

avisannschild — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:12:12 +0000

I'm just working on a review of a book I requested in part because it's partially set in Montreal, where I live (Last Night in Montreal), but I was very disappointed in her portrayal of the city. I didn't recognize it hardly at all! I was pretty happy to read The Perseids and Other Stories by Robert Charles Wilson, which is set in a future Toronto, even though I don't know Toronto well enough to judge whether he described it well or not. I have As for Me and My House but I've never read it! avisannschild’s latest blog post:Mailbox Monday: BEA & other loot! (June 15)

By: glumpuddle

glumpuddle — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:11:14 +0000

hahaha As For Me and My House the book we love to hate!!!

I totally agree with you on this Christine. Totally. And I have to add to your exciting things about things Canadian in books – I love reading Canadian theologians – they use stuff like hockey to illustrate their points instead of baseball/USAfootball etc.

The most recent “Wow” moment I’ve had around Canadian lit has to do with Margaret Atwood. Ms Atwood lives in TO, and contributed to a book I think you reviewed – something to do with love letters. Anyhow, her love letter is set in a particular restaurant on Bloor street that I’ve walked past a gazillion times. I loved having this familiar place in the middle of this not-particularly-Canadian book. So Cool. Now I confess that I sort of look for Ms Atwood in that particular location – but I think she probably doesn’t really hang out there all the time. Still. I look. And a park she mentions in a book of essays is right there outside my church. I’m an Atwood fan, can you tell?

By: Christine

Christine — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:27:23 +0000

It’s pretty much a mix. We put the Us in words like colour, honour, and neighbour, but we have a more American vocabulary (sweater instead of jumper, trunk instead of boot, etc.). Some words are just crazy: we write lieutenant but pronounce it leftenant.

By: EL Fay

EL Fay — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 01:01:46 +0000

I honestly can't think of a single book I've read in the recent past that was either written by a Canadian author or set in Canada. And I didn't even realize that until I read this post. (Sorry.) I read a lot of translated fiction, so I've read books from many different countries . . . just not Canada. Something I've always wondered: when writing/speaking English, do Canadians use British or American grammar and spelling? EL Fay’s latest blog post:Sunday Salon