Comments on: Canadian Book Challenge

By: Canadian Challenge II, Eh?

Canadian Challenge II, Eh? — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:43:08 +0000

[...] I just finished the first Canadian Reading Challenge when I read the last two books for it during the read-a-thon. Of the 13 books required, I actually [...]

By: 3M

3M — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 22:23:29 +0000

Hi, Mom! Well, you know I read the Little House series, but maybe someone never bought me the Anne of Green Gables series. Guess I could have gotten them from the library, though!

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:42:50 +0000

Mom and the younger sisters read all of the Avonlea series by LM Montgomery. I am surprised that you have not read them yet. They were a great bedtime story series.

By: Elaine

Elaine — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 13:40:56 +0000

You cannot go wrong with LM Montgomery. Apart from the glorious Anne books she wrote so many others and they are all so enjoyable.

Margaret Atwood – you really have to be in the right frame of mind for her I find. She is not a writer you can just pick up now and then, concentration is the key here! Alias Grace is stupendous as is The Blind Assassin. Surfacing I found slightly odd and if I had read that first I would probably not have read any more.

Good luck!

By: raidergirl3

raidergirl3 — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 20:03:02 +0000

Great list, and you have plenty I've never heard of. Obviously, I love LM Montgomery and she has tons of books. You can't go wrong with her; Atwood can be hit or miss. Life of Pi was excellent - it might bog down a bit at 3/4 way, but the ending was worth it. Some for you and your boys: Gordon Korman's Bruno and Boots series, at MacDonald Hall. His humorous books are what I got my son hooked on reading with. Our favorite is I Want to Go Home. Also, Owls in the Family by Farley Mowatt is an excellent book for under 12s; my daughter loved it when we read it aloud. I loved a little book called The Good House by Bonnie Berard(?) a few years ago, and it's a Giller winner.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:31:00 +0000

I recently moved to Canada and my cousin (who is in Iraq with the 101st airborne division) recommended Ms. Kennedy’s Tin Box. He and half a dozen other men in his division picked it up at the USO in Kuwait and said they almost didn’t read it, that they thought it might be geared more towards women. It wasn’t. They were touched by it and wrote the author who then blogged about it. I finished the book weeks ago and it’s a great story. What a find, this new Canadian author. I hope she writes many more.

By: Ramona

Ramona — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:27:15 +0000

I was so pleased to see Holly Kennedy’s novel The Tin Box on your list. It truly is unputdownable, a compelling story that made me laugh and cry many times. Half of it is set is small town Alberta and it was sold in many countries, so that must say something. The author has a blog and a website where many of her fans leave comments.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:04:58 +0000

I hear that Crow Lake is really good. Anything by Atwood or Munro is usually good and thoughtful. I love Shields although I didn’t read that one. And Life of Pi is very interesting!

I’m reading Anne of the Island right now. The Anne series is sweet and sentimental with down home humour.

By: John Mutford

John Mutford — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 11:47:58 +0000

Good list! I haven't read Penelopiad but Oryx and Crake was really good. Personally, I'd skip Shipping News and maybe replace Atuk/i> with Barney's Version though that one's a bit longer.

By: Sheila

Sheila — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:11:52 +0000

I’m Canadian but I’ve hardly read any Canadian books. I don’t like Margaret Atwood. I loved Anne of Green Gables and the next few books in the series.

By: Eva

Eva — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 08:41:20 +0000

I’ve read the first three on your list, and I loved them all! I’m not Canadian, however the Anne books give a good sense of place. Pi doesn’t really have much to do with Canada, but it’s still good!