I do not mean that awful stuff, dear readers. I mean the stuff that you’re not going to get in class. You know, the good stuff.

Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood hardly needs an introduction, as her publication list is about as long as my leg — and, furthermore, you probably have read her in school, at least a little. Most classes on Canadian lit will read The Handmaid’s Tale (as well they should!). My favourite — the one I’d tell people to start with — would be Alias Grace. Both that and The Robber Bride are frequent re-reads of mine.

Pierre Berton

Do you like narrative nonfiction? Great, me too. Read Pierre Berton for very interesting histories of Canada. I enjoyed Invasion of Canada and Flames Across the Border (about the war of 1812). The Last Spike is one of his best-known books and is reputed to be very good indeed.

Douglas Coupland

Hey, remember Jpod and and Hey Nostradamus! and Girlfriend in a Coma? Coupland may be dang depressing, but he is also Canadian, and we will therefore crush him to our collective bosom with pride. Plus, sometimes you need to read something depressing. Too much happiness isn’t good for you, right?

Robertson Davies

Another writer who is already well-represented on syllabi everywhere? Why, yes. Like Atwood, Davies deserves it. Davies was fond of writing trilogies, of which the perhaps best-known is the Deptford trilogy, comprised of Fifth Business, The Manticore, and World of Wonders. I am also particularly fond of What’s Bred in the Bone. If you’re looking for something lighter (and more delightful) than the novels, try The Papers of Samuel Marchbanks.

Cory Doctorow

Woo, science fiction, woo! Start with Little Brother. Or, you know, his blog.

Lawrence Hill

Four words: The Book of Negroes. Hill is another Torontonian, now living in Brampton and writing things like said  The Book of Negroes (published in the States as Someone Knows My Name, because I guess you can’t say “negro” there anymore?).

Michael Ignatieff

I haven’t read any Ignatieff myself, but I think that I should, because he could well be our next Prime Minister. I do have smart friends who love everything he’s ever written; they are also card-carrying members of the Liberal party, though, so take that as you will. A list of works published is here.

Guy Gavriel Kay

Guy Gavriel Kay is a fantasy writer who lives in Toronto, and deals with Toronto to greater or lesser extents in his writing. My first encounter with Kay was through The Fionavar Tapestry, which comprises three novels: The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire, and The Darkest Road. You could start with those, or with Tigana which is monstrously brilliant.

Stephen Leacock

Stephen Leacock is a little dated now, and doesn’t help the trend of Canadian reading lists being over-weighted with books that are old and not much else. But Leacock is more than just old; he is very funny, in that dry mostly British way. I would star with an anthology, like Laugh with Leacock or another best-of collection.

Ann-Marie MacDonald

Ann-Marie MacDonald writes chunksters, brilliant chunksters that will leave you reeling. At least, Fall on Your Knees affected me that way; I stopped reading As the Crow Flies early on because it’s too big to easily carry around. But I’ll finish it, don’t you worry.

Alistair MacLeod

Alistair MacLeod wrote No Great Mischief, which I loved and my friend Elizabeth hated. But since this is my blog, and not hers, I urge you to consider my opinion the better one.

Stuart McLean

I actually first encountered Stuart McLean as a radio presenter — he has a show on the CBC called The Vinyl Café, which you may listen to through various methods. Frankly, I don’t think much of his taste in music, but I greatly enjoy the stories he tells on air, many of which have since been published. I would start with Stories from the Vinyl Café, or Secrets from the Vinyl Café. You can also get them as CDs, and we have many of those as well.

Yann Martel

Yann Martel wrote Life of Pi, which you will hate if you stop after the first hundred pages or so, but love if you make it through to the end. More interestingly, he maintains the site What is Stephen Harper Reading?, in which he sends our Prime Minister books every fortnigh.

Robert Munsch

Anybody who doesn’t know who Robert Munsch is shall be punched in the face.

Michael Ondaatje

Another writer rightly found on reading lists. I liked In the Skin of a Lion very much. Many people have read The English Patient, or have seen the film, although I have done neither. I do, however, know a cat named after him.

Kenneth Oppel

I ask: who wouldn’t love young adult novels about bats having adventures? Describing them like that makes them sound lamer than lame, I know, but they’re actually pretty cool. First in the series is Silverwing.

Spider Robinson

Spider Robinson writes smutty science fiction / fantasy, and his books are very punny. Also, his name is “Spider”. That’s almost as good as Banana Yoshimoto.

Sinclair Ross

Just kidding! Sinclair Ross sucks.

Fred Wah

I read Diamond Grill, by Fred Wah, for my Asian-North American Lit class last year, and enjoyed it very much. It is almost poetry, and among the best of what we read in that class (at least as far as the Canadian books were concerned).

This is not a complete list by any means, and there are doubtless many writers I’ve overlooked. For those of you with adventuresome spirits, Wikipedia has a large list of Canadian writers for you. And, as always, you can click the covers below to be taken to Amazon for purchasing purposes.

Post from: She Reads Books

Read More Canada

Now, when I was a wee bairn in grade nine, I informed her in no uncertain terms that the YA collection she had was… inadequate. I believe my exact words were “after a while, you realise that all YA books are the same”, and I soon moved on to the science fiction and classics sections. In the intervening years, however, I’ve come to realise that there’s lots of really, really good young adult fiction out there, whatever my earlier impressions might have been. And after avoiding said genre like the plague, I am now coming around and highly enjoying most of what I’ve read.

So here’s the thing: I’ve promised her a list of books that she should buy for the library before she goes — a retirement bequeathal, if you will. I want to put together a list of some really kick-butt YA (in any genre), but I need some help.

Here’s the list I’ve come up with off the top of my head, in no particular order:

• An Abundance of Katherines (John Green)
• Looking for Alaska (John Green)
• Paper Towns (John Green)
• The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
• The Book of Lost Things (John Connolly)
• Zoe’s Tale (John Scalzi)
• The Amulet of Samarkand (Jonathan Stroud)
• The Golem’s Eye (Jonathan Stroud)
• Ptolemy’s Gate (Jonathan Stroud)
• The Graveyard Book (Neil Gaiman)
• The Bromeliad (Terry Pratchett)
• When We Were Romans (Matthew Kneale)

What am I missing? I’m not terribly well-read in terms of YA, and so I will eagerly add your suggestions to the list — leave them in the comments for me, or contact me more directly. I’m going to try to send it to her by the end of the week.

(Note: you’re of course free to suggest other types of books than straight YA — but that’s where I want to concentrate, since I remember the YA collection being particularly uninspiring.)

What’s the best YA being written right now?

Post from: She Reads Books

Pimp my High School Library

A note on the many, many links embedded here: Month names link to my full monthly book summaries, book titles link to Amazon, and author names link to either the author’s personal blog or website, or Wikipedia — whichever was more appropriate and/or extant.

March:

March is when I started doing this book blogging thing in earnest, and so it’s also the earliest point from which I’ve been tracking my reading. A good deal of March’s reading was for school, with a boatload of Pratchett thrown in to boot.

Best book: Tess of the D’Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy

Honourable mentions: Whitethorn, by Bryce Courtenay; The King’s Daughter, by Suzanne Martel.

April:

I don’t know why, but April seems to be a bit thin on the excellent books front. I mean, Pratchett is excellent, and I read a lot of his stuff, but I didn’t read much of the Pratchett that really stands out as exceptional. And Atonement actually made me angry. But still, there was some good reading going on, and I give you my picks:

Best book: Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov.

Honourable mentions: Thud! by Terry Pratchett; Dining with Death, by Kathleen Molloy.

May:

There are a lot of honourable mentions for May, because I read a lot of very good books. And now I’m thinking that perhaps it would have been easier to separate things by genre rather than by month — but, in for a penny, in for a pound.

Best book: Fall on Your Knees, by Ann-Marie MacDonald.

Honourable mentions: Gaudy Night, by Dorothy Sayers; Agnes Grey, by Anne Brontë; Girl Meets God, by Lauren Winner.

June:

June was a bumper month for me; I read a whopping 26 books, mostly thanks to Roger Zelazny and Laura Ingalls Wilder (5 and 7 books each, respectively). I didn’t pick any of those as the best, though.

Best book: Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi.

Honourable mentions: The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkein; Four Fires, by Bryce Courtenay.

July:

Best book: Proust was a Neuroscientist, by Jonah Lehrer.

Honourable mentions: Yellowknife*, by Steve Zipp; Moving Pictures, by Terry Pratchett; Smilla’s Sense of Snow, by Peter Høeg.

August:

I read some lovely and fascinating books last August. Here are three of them.

Best book: The Brain that Changes Itself, by Norman Doidge.

Honourable mentions: When We Were Romans, by Matthew Kneale; Résistance, by Agnès Humbert.

September:

September was when I started having to read books for school again. None of them made the “best” list, though… somehow… *cough*HenryJamesBoring*cough*.

Best book: Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood.

Honourable mentions: The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak; The Big Over Easy, by Jasper Fforde.

October:

Good books in October; yay, October books.

Best book: Looking for Alaska, by John Green.

Honourable mentions: Jpod, by Douglas Coupland; The Book of Lost Things, by John Connolly.

November/December:

I didn’t keep track of my reading in the last two months of the year well enough to be able to say what I read when, so I just smooshed the two months together. And I don’t know how I’m going to choose the best for these months, because I read a whole lot of books that are just crazy-excellent. But since it’s two months in one, I’ll just pick twice as many books for each category. Hooray!

Best books: Babel Tower, by A. S. Byatt; The Bartimaeus Trilogy, by Jonathan Stroud.

Honourable mentions: Tales from Outer Suburbia, by Shaun Tan; Paper Towns, by John Green; The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman; Three Men in a Boat, by Jerome K. Jerome.

*Note: I haven’t linked to Yellowknife because Google’s giving it a malware warning at the moment. Boogie-boogie!

And that’s it, folks! May 2009 bring us even more good books to read! What were your favourite picks this year?

Post from: She Reads Books

Best Books of 2008

This morning I had the honour of participating in my university’s Remembrance Day ceremony — my choir sang an arrangement of In Flanders Fields and also led the congregation in a few hymns and the national anthems. I’ve participated this way as long as I’ve been in the choir. We get a good sized crowd out every year, standing quietly in the cold, but every year there are fewer and fewer veterans.

Canada has one remaining World War One veteran. He is a hundred and eight years old.

Sometimes people get uptight about Remembrance Day, usually in my experience those who are particularly anti-war.

“Those soldiers died for a lie — those soldiers should never have been fighting — dying for a country, that means less than nothing.”

And if this is so, then what? Was their sacrifice any less worthy? Did they suffer less? Did they die easier? My friends, this is not so.

Regardless of your ideas about wars, or just wars, or unjust wars, this is an important day. We must recognize the sacrifices of both those who gave their lives for the country and those who survived — who, in some ways, have given us even more.

Wear your poppy. Thank a veteran. Read some good books:

• The Wars, by Timothy Findley (WWI)
• All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque (WWI)
• A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway (WWI)
• The Guests of War Trilogy, by Kit Pearson (WWII)
• The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (WWII)
• The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank (WWII)
• Catch-22, by Joseph Heller (WWII)
• The Bridge over the River Kwai, by Pierre Boulle (WWII)

Post from: She Reads Books

Lest We Forget

The Screwtape Letters, by C. S. Lewis. This is a longstanding personal favourite, because it is both splendidly written and extremely useful. The Screwtape Letters is a collection of letters “from a senior to a junior devil”, pertaining largely to matters of sin and temptation, and touching on most of the general ares of human existence, both carnal and spiritual. It is good.

*Tamburlaine the Great, part One, by Christopher Marlowe. Tamburlaine is a shepherd who conquers all of Asia. Everything he does has a positive outcome, at least for him — not so much for the people he’s conquering. In Part Two, which I haven’t yet read, he dies fat and happy, surrounded by those he loves. You might have an impression that all renaissance drama is about star-crossed lovers and/or brooding tragedians; I tell you, this is not the case.

One thing that I thought particularly interesting about this play is that Tamburlaine conquers all sorts of armies and such by the power of his words as much as by the sword. I don’t think it’s plausible, though. As I pointed out in a paper on the subject, everyone in the play talks exactly like Tamburlaine does — which is to say, like Marlowe does, he of the “mighty line”. (Kids: learn to speak eloquently. You too can conquer Asia!)

*What Maisie Knew, by Henry James. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, I’m Henry James and I couldn’t be more uninteresting if I tried.

*Catch-22, by Joseph Heller. Catch-22 is deliciously funny right up until it gets horrible. And when I say “horrible” I refer to the contents rather than to the writing; Heller is stellar (heh). I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, although it took me a fair while to finish it, on account of its very large largeness.

*Looking for Alaska, by John Green. My brain wants to have John Green’s brain’s babies. If you follow me. I devoured Looking for Alaska in one sitting and have added several other books of his to my wishlist. This book reminded me of Catcher in the Rye, except for being cool and interesting instead of insufferably pretentious and boring. Huzzah!

*A Hatful of Sky, by Terry Pratchett. Terry Pratchett is, of course, one of my favourite writers, and so it shouldn’t be very surprising that I liked A Hatful of Sky so very much. I liked Tiffany Aching especially; it was the first time I’ve read one of the books about her, and while I understand that there was one that preceded this novel, it stood on its own very well. She’s much more interesting than Rincewind, you know (but then, pretty much everyone is).

*Arrow of God, by Chinua Achebe. Not as good as Things Fall Apart. Still lots better than Death and the King’s Horseman (see below).

*The Oath, by Frank Peretti. Frank Peretti is one of the few authors I’ve found whose Christian fiction doesn’t make me want to throw up a little bit. It’s raw, not sugary, and full of action, rather than syrup. That being said, I thought that The Oath was particularly weak compared to other works of his. It was a challenge to get to the end of this novel; the action really drags in the last hundred pages or so, where it really should be climaxing. If you’re interested in trying some Peretti, I’d recommend Piercing the Darkness instead.

*Dr Faustus, by Christopher Marlowe. Probably you are familiar with the general scheme of the Faust legend. But did you know that in Marlowe’s play, the unfortunate doctor explodes at the end of the last act? It is really quite amazing.

*Under Western Eyes, by Joseph Conrad. Under Western Eyes is a dull book about a bunch of dull Russians who run around pretending at being spies in Geneva. As with many books on October’s list, I got about three-quarters of the way through before putting it down for the next thing. Perhaps it’ll be a special project over the Christmas holidays to finish all of my school reading. But I still don’t think I’ll finish this one.

*Death and the King’s Horseman, by Wole Soyinka. A lot of people in my class thought that this play was very good and interesting — but I’ve been reading Marlowe and co. lately, and so my opinion is more like: pfft, whatever. I mean, I suppose that it has some good literary qualities on its own, but I don’t think that Death and the King’s Horseman compares to other literature very well — neither to other plays I’ve studied, nor to other African lit. It was a disappointment on the whole. Although the cover is an excellent sort of green. I approve of green.

*Faking Grace, by Tamara Leigh. (reviewed) I read this book and I liked it. But I didn’t want to review it, so my mom did it for me. The end.

Read Responsibly, by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum. Yes, I’m re-reading my Unshelved books again. Do you want to make something of it? Well, do you?

*Jpod, by Douglas Coupland. A longer review of Jpod will come forth once I’ve got my act back together here. In the meantime, please enjoy this brief explanation by the good folks at Unshelved. Yes, them again. At least I’m not talking about Marlowe.

*The Book of Lost Things, by John Connolly. (reviewed) Oh boy oh boy oh boy. The Book of Lost Things was something else.

*Edward II, by Christopher Marlowe. I know, I know, Marlowe, Marlowe, Marlowe, blah de blah de blah. I know. But a) he’s really good, and b) it’s on my syllabus and so I have to read it anyway. Edward II is a fairly typical “weak king” play with some homoeroticism thrown in for good measure. That’s all, really.

Post from: She Reads Books

Those October Books

*Halting State, by Charles Stross. The plot of this book was a wee tad confusing, but the writing was fascinating. There are three main characters. They all speak in Scottish dialect. And it’s narrated in the second person. Whoa-oh-oh-oh! Go on, read it. I dare you.

*Story of the Sand, by Mark B. Pickering. This wasn’t very good… (reviewed)

*In the Land of Invisible Women, by Qanta Ahmed. … but this was. (reviewed)

*A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving. Looking over the month, I seem to have a sort of beautiful-but-sad theme going on. This is the first of those.

The Big Over Easy, by Jasper Fforde. I actually hadn’t read The Big Over Easy in a long time, because (much as I usually enjoy almost anything Fforde does) the first time I read it, I remember being increasingly frustrated and annoyed with the ending. It just! Went! On! And! On! But this time was different. Maybe because I knew what to expect, I thoroughly enjoyed this reading, even the ending. Well done once more, J. Fforde.

*Anna of the Five Towns, by Arnold Bennett. Victorian realist fiction! Woohoo! I don’t know if it’s because of the course I took last year, but I just really enjoy this sort of book. Anna of the Five Towns itself was lovely, although I found the ending rather implausible (dare I say, un-realistic). Charming, though.

*Mankind, by Anonymous. And what’s even more fun than Victorian fiction? Why, medieval morality plays, of course! Mankind is both pious and scatological, much like the middle ages themselves, as I am given to understand.

The Fourth Bear, by Jasper Fforde. More fun with Fforde. Hi-tiddely-pum-oh.

The Lions of Al-Rassan, by Guy Gavriel Kay. I hadn’t read this in a millionty billion years, but I chanced upon it at the used book store and so snatched it up forthwith. It’s still good. It was actually quite interesting to be re-reading it after such a long time, since most of what happened felt vaguely familiar but was actually still a surprise. Anyway, Guy Gavriel Kay writes very good books, and though I think Tigana is the best, this is still quite enjoyable.

The other thing I enjoy about Kay’s writing, especially when he does these historical fantasies, is how incredibly obvious it all is. The Kindath are Jews! The Asharites are Muslim! The Jaddites are Christians! Could this novel possibly be set in — gasp — medieval Spain? Why yes, yes it could. Now, who can guess where Sailing to Sarantium is set?

Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe. They certainly do!

Positive Attitude, by Scott Adams. Ho, hum, another Dilbert collection. This one was all in colour, which was kind of distressingly unfamiliar.

Bridget Jones’s Diary, by Helen Fielding. One of my go-to novels when I need a good laugh. The sequel as well, though I didn’t get to it last month.

*Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, by Bryan Lee O’Malley. Aw, his life is precious. And it’s a graphic novel. And there’s a dance-fight. Hello, sequel!

*The Spanish Tragedy, by Thomas Kyd. Although this opened the way for a grand tradition of tragedies on the English stage, it wasn’t all that interesting. Not enough blood, say I. What good is a hanging and a stabbing and a tongue-bite-outing if you don’t get the fun of poisoned drinks, kissing skulls, and burning gold?

Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood. (reviewed) Loved it!

*Genuine Men, by Nancy Bruno. (reviewed) Twas Okay!

*Templeton Turtle Goes Exploring, by Ron Pridmore. (reviewed) Not so much!

*A Jest of God, by Margaret Laurence. So I’ve been on this Margaret Laurence kick recently, when you count “recent” as, oh, say the last six months or so. This was very good, although I think both The Diviners and The Fire-Dwellers were better. Next up, The Stone Angel. Go, Manawaka, go.

*The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. (reviewed) Ack. This book was so good.

*Endymion, by John Lyly. Shepherd-astronomer type falls drastically in love with moon, gets put into 40-year sleep while everyone else doesn’t age for some reason. Also there are magical fountains and witches and, oh, all sorts of things. Renaissance drama, I love you because you are wacky.

Post from: She Reads Books

September Books

But August, on the whole, was plentifully filled with fascinating books. I read three or four non-fiction titles, which I think slowed me down in terms of number of books read — novels just seem to go so much faster — but I enjoyed all of them, even if they’re outside of my usual scope.

Here’s the breakdown:

*The Wars, by Timothy Findley. I read this for two book challenges: The Book Awards Challenge (II) and the 2nd Canadian Books Challenge (eh?). I don’t understand why it took me this long to read this book. The Wars is intense. And fantastic. Go read it.

*Lives of Girls and Women, by Alice Munro. Hot dang, I actually can’t remember anything about this book. I guess it wasn’t memorable? I think I enjoyed it at the time, though.

*First Daughter, by Eric van Lustbader. (reviewed) I give this a meh, and otherwise will let my full review do the talking.

My Man Jeeves, by P. G. Wodehouse. What-ho, Jeeves! Ballyhoo! Eggs & b.!

Say Cheesy, by Darby Conley. This was one of the several comic collections I read over the course of August, mostly as relief from and contrast to the giant non-fiction tomes I was also reading. I particularly enjoy Get Fuzzy books as they are so wonderfully bent.

*It Starts with You!, by Julia J. Austin. (reviewed) It starts with you! Unless you like good books!

*The Brain that Changes Itself, by Norman Doidge. Boy howdy, was this ever a fascinating read. I have this thing for neuroscience, you see, and sometimes when I get to read such a smart, sciency, brainy book… well, it just leaves me swooning.

*When We were Romans, by Matthew Kneale. (reviewed) This. Book. Is. So. Good.

Blueprint for Disaster, by Darby Conley. Another Get Fuzzy collection! I heart.

Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons, by Bill Watterson. Of course, even Get Fuzzy and Darby Conley cannot compare to Bill Watterson’s genius with Calvin and Hobbes.

*The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. This was an exceedingly interesting book, although it took me a very long time to get through it. It has mushroom hunting! And corn sex! And all sorts of foody facts that are making me seriously re-evaluate what (and how) I eat. Pollan’s writing is very good — but it is still a hard book to read because of the contents. It really made me think, and I appreciate that… but at the same time, I’m now definitely caught in the dilemma that the title cites.

Yukon Ho!, by Bill Watterson. Yum tum tiddle pum, Calvin and Hobbes. Here’s a fun thing: a list of their names in translation. Tommy og Tigern! Kázmér és Huba! Kalfin i Gopsya! karubin to hobbusu! Will the fun never end?

There’s Treasure Everywhere, by Bill Watterson. Even more Calvin and Hobbes! My cup runneth over. I especially enjoyed this collection because it had been a few years since I’d read it — long enough for things to be fresh again.

*Castaway Kid, by R. B. Mitchell. (reviewed) As with some romance novels, the plot has been helpfully inserted into the title.

*The Road Past Altamont, by Gabrielle Roy. As previously mentioned, nothing happens in this book. But it’s still lovely.

Misty of Chincoteague, by Marguerite Henry. Ah, this book is still enjoyable & lovely. Digging for clams! Taming wild horses! It’s all very exciting, you see.

*The Heretic’s Daughter, by Kathleen Kent. An enjoyable read. Review forthcoming.

*Résistance, by Agnès Humbert. This memoir blew me out of the water. It was first published just after World War Two, in French, and this is the brand-new (and only) English translation. The story is one woman’s account of the war, first living in occupied Paris, and of joining the Résistance before being caught and spending time first in a French jail, and then in a German work camp. It’s journal-style and all in the present-tense, and so felt very immediate. This is definitely one to check out!

Also in August I (finally) finished the 100+ Books Challenge, after six months of reading. I actually was only two books short in July — which, I think, is patently ridiculous — and so I’m quite glad to be finally and officially finished my first challenge. Hoorap! Huzzard!

What did you read in August? Anything particularly horrible or amazing?

Post from: She Reads Books

August Book Round-Up

Here are the goods:

*V for Vendetta, by Alan Moore. My brothers had been bothering me to read this for a good while now. And so I read it, and enjoyed it. It’s dark and gritty and graphic; I thought that the premise/world was exceedingly interesting. I discussed V for Vendetta in a little more detail here.

*Runaway, by Steve Simpson. (reviewed) I highly recommend this book only because it is so unequivocally, hilariously awful. Read my full review for further details.

Great Canadian Short Stories, ed. Alec Lucas. This collection from 1971 lives up to its name, as its contents are (a) great, (b) Canadian, and (c) short stories. Intriguingly, both the first and last stories have to do with codfish. No joke. You should pick it up.

*Stealing Athena, by Karen Essex. See my review.

*The Last Plague, by Glen E. Page. As above, see my review for further (any) detail.

Letters to Karen, by Charlie W. Shedd. I don’t feel like talking about this book. So I won’t. So there.

*Witches Abroad, by Terry Pratchett. As much as I heart Pratchett, I would have to say that this particular offering was not very memorable … since I am wracking my brains and can remember only the piddliest amounts of plot. But it was probably excellently funny at the time. There is also gumbo in it.

*Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett. MOAR PRATCHETT LOLOLOLOLOL?!?!?!

*Smilla’s Sense of Snow, by Peter Høeg. I really enjoyed Smilla’s Sense of Snow, although if you’re someone who likes books to resolve nicely at the end you might not do so. It was particularly exciting for me because I’ve visited Copenhagen, and so I recognized some of the setting, which I thought was cool. I didn’t yell about it — but you should see me when I see my city in a TV show.

*Absolution by Murder, by Peter Tremayne. This was hideously dull, and a definite exception to the whole July-books-were-so-good theme. It read like a boring version of those Ellis Peters mysteries. I read the first three or four chapters, and then skipped to the last two — the ending was predictable and uninteresting. I rarely give up on books midway, but in this case I’m glad that I did.

*Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife, by Kate Walker. So, DailyLit offered this on some special read-it-free promotion. This is interesting because usually the free ones are more or less limited to OOP books, and so seeing something recent offered for nothing was a draw. Plus, I keep hearing that you can make a packet writing Harlequins, so I thought I’d see what they’re like for myself. It turns out: trashy, not particularly well-written, kind of morally vapid, but escapist enough that I could see someone making a living by cranking them out. I can’t say much for Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife except that it’s so handy the way the plot is spelled out in the title like that.

*What If . . . ?, by Steve N. Lee. Good book! Review and author interview are forthcoming.

*The Fire-Dwellers, by Margaret Laurence. I love Margaret Laurence’s books. Oh gosh. She’s so good.

*Yellowknife, by Steve Zipp. Yellowknife is as beautiful and strange as the Northland it describes. A review and author interview are forthcoming.

*Moving Pictures, by Terry Pratchett. Giggle giggle giggle.

Awesome Lavratt, by Ann Wilkes. (reviewed)

*Proust was a Neuroscientist, by Jonah Lehrer. This book came in the mail to me courtesy of the lovely and generous Dewey. It is fascinating! I have a great interest in neuroscience (for which my spellchecker suggests “pseudoscience” and “bioscience”)* and Proust was a Neuroscientist is extremely informative and well-written. It also has a very neat premise: Lehrer examines great artists — Proust, (George) Eliot, Cézanne, Stravinsky, etc. — and looks at how their artistry either used or foretold things about our brain that neuroscience would only “discover” years later. It is a very cool book, and the cover art has rays of glory bursting forth from a madeleine, which can only be counted as a plus, I think.

Of course, some of these books also fell into various challenge categories. Great Canadian Short Stories, Yellowknife, and The Fire-Dwellers were all read for the 2nd Canadian Book Challenge, although you’ll note that none of them are actually on the list of books I thought I’d read for said challenge. I say: whatever.

I also read 17 books this past month, falling two short of my stated goal of 19. That means I’ll have to count August for the 100+ Books Challenge, since I’m currently sitting at a total of 98/100. Ninety-eight! Good grief. I should have picked up two comic collections or something.

*My spellcheck also suggests “Overconscientous”  instead of “Neuroscientist.” Um, okay there, buddy.

Post from: She Reads Books

July Books

And now I’m all happy and full and thinking back over the last month. I read approximately seven thousand books in June. Well, it was actually 26, but it sure felt like more. Definitely in excess of my normal intake, anyway. Since there were so many (and because it’s fun) I’m going to six-word reviews this time:

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, by Marjane Satrapi. Spawned new love for graphic novels.

*Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett. Great god Om as talking tortoise!

*Pyramids, by Terry Pratchett. Not the best but loved mummies.

*Lords and Ladies, by Terry Pratchett. Elves are evil! (Roleplayers take note).

Nine Princes in Amber, by Roger Zelazny. Read whole series in two days.

The Guns of Avalon, by Roger Zelazny. Five books can go pretty quickly.

Sign of the Unicorn, by Roger Zelazny. These are still good on re-reading.

The Hand of Oberon, by Roger Zelazny. But I won’t read next five.

The Courts of Chaos, by Roger Zelazny. These first five are the best.

Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Light prose, sweet pictures, maple sugaring.

*Farworld: Water Keep, by J. Scott Savage. You guys: it’s really really good.

*Fatal Voyage, by Kathy Reichs. This is a book I reviewed here.

Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Pioneering spirit makes me feel lazy.

On the Banks of Plum Creek, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Debut of Nellie! (Duhn dhun DUHHHN).

Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Work, eat, work, eat, work, EAT!

By the Shores of Silver Lake, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Not much happens in this one.

The Long Winter, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This has traditionally been my favourite.

These Happy Golden Years, by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Sweetest courtship ever written? Could be.

*Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson. Should have read it years ago! (reviewed)

The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkein. Love The Hobbit, love, love, love. (reviewed)

*Four Fires, by Bryce Courtenay. Courtenay’s books still just so good!

*Victory Conditions, by Elizabeth Moon. Spaceships, romance, guns, adventure: series finale.

*Wyrd Sisters, by Terry Pratchett. First Witches book. Was vastly entertained.

*Reaper Man, by Terry Pratchett. Death storyline: great. Wizard storyline: boring.

*I Am America (and So Can You), by Stephen Colbert. Amusing, but no laughs out loud.

*Thief of Time, by Terry Pratchett. Pratchett writes Christine’s new favourite, again.

That’s the lot of them! (And it is a lot of them). This brings me up to 81/100 for the 100+ Books Challenge. Next month’s goal is 19 books, to finish!

Post from: She Reads Books

June Books

Here’s the breakdown:

Mooched:

• Letters to Karen, by Charlie W. Shedd
• Letters to Philip, by Charlie W. Shedd
• Priceless Weddings for under $5000, by Kathleen Kennedy

Sent from Phenix & Phenix:

• Runaway, by Steve Simpson
• Castaway Kid, by R. B. Mitchell
• Genuine Men, by Nancy Bruno
• The Last Plague, by Glen E. Page
• It Starts with You!, by Julia J. Austin

Sent from Bloomsbury Press:

• The Power Makers, by Maury Klein

Bought from Thrift Store:

• London, by Edward Rutherfurd
• My Antonia, by Willa Cather
• The Best American Mystery Stories 2000, ed. by Donald E. Westlake

From my Grandmother:

• The Living Planet, by David Attenborough
• Great Canadian Short Stories, ed. by Alec Lucas (not pictured)

That’s fourteen lovely new books to (re/)read. Woohoo!

Post from: She Reads Books

Trip Notes (III and final)