I just read a great book by a Canadian Author..

Crunchy Carpets — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:16:09 -0500

Called Whitechapel Gods by SM Peters..he apparently resides in Brentwood Bay on Vancouver Island...awesome spooky fun bool

NO Can LIT angst..no misery on the plains.....

Just a fun horror/Sci fi...

Look for me at http://crunchycarpets.com or check out the ladies at www.wetcoastwomen.com

Canadian Book Challenge Eh?

sassymonkey — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:35:20 -0500

Happy Canada Day! Ok, Canada Day isn't until July 1 but we're close enough right? And what better way to celebrate than with a Canadian themed reading challenge? None! So step right up and explore the world of Can-Lit.

The first Canadian Book Challenge is running down. The goal was simple - read 13 Canadian books - one for each province and territory in the country. You didn't have to read one book from each province and territory but many did. And the participants explored the world of Canadian literature that extends past Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro. One of Back to Books selections was The Alchemist's Dream by John Wilson. It's a fresh young adult story about Henry Hudson's fatal voyage. Nicola said it was "a fascinating topic and a glimpse into an era where the boundaries between science and magic were blurry."

BiblioHistoria read one of my favourite authors as part of the challenge - Pierre Burton. You know how people say that they'd listen to a certain actor read the telephone book because even they could make it interesting? If Pierre Burton had written the telephone book I'd read it cover to cover. Historia read his Starting Out: 1920-1947, the story of his youth in Yukon and beyond. She loved it.

I could go on and on, but I LOVED this biography, for all the details it gave me about the Yukon. Now I realise this all took place well over 70 years ago, but still. I have never been to the Yukon. I have never seen the northern lights.

The Second Canadian Book Challenge is just about to start. As with last year's challenge it will be to read 13 books and you have until July 1, 2009 to do it. For a bit of an added twist John is offering up 13 different paths you can take to complete the challenge. There's "The Individuals" where you read 13 books by a single author (we have some prolific writers in Canada). There's "The Prize Pack" where you read books that have won Canadian literary awards (I personally suggest reading the Charles Taylor non-fiction book - they are fantastic). My favourite is probably "The McClung" where you read 13 books published by Canadian women - perhaps even one of Nellie McClung's own published books.

Kailana, who blogs at The Written Word has chosen the category that I think may be the most popular - The Free Spirit. You simply read any 13 Canadian books you have at your disposal.

Susan of You Can Never Have Too Many Books (a sentiment I hearily agree with) chose "The Individual" and will read 13 books by Charles de Lint. Did you know he was Canadian? Me neither. One of the lovely things about this challenge is discovering authors that you never knew were Canadian and finding Canadian authors you just plain never heard of.

Contributing Editor Sassymonkey blogs at Sassymonkey and Sassymonkey Reads.

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I just read a great book by a Canadian Author..

Canadian Book Challenge Eh?