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Meddelelse redigeret af dens forfatter, nov 22, 2009, 11:24am.

What a good opportunity to keep track of my Canadian reading!

British Columbia

Alberta
Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman
The Outlander by Gil Adamson

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

Ontario
The Killing Circle by Andrew Pyper
Lost Girls by Andrew Pyper
Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam

Quebec

Newfoundland/Labrador

Nova Scotia

New Brunswick

Prince Edward Island

Nunavit, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories

Meddelelse redigeret af dens forfatter, dec 3, 2009, 9:00am.

Mrs. Mike, a vintage tale first published in 1947, is about an Irish-American girl sent out to Alberta a hundred years ago for her health and how she met and married a mountie and moved up into the wilderness 700 miles north of Edmonton on the Peace River where she was the only white woman for hundred of miles. Later, her husband was reassigned to a small settlement, but life was always wild and dangerous. I was surprised to discover how good the writing is; here are the first two paragraphs of the book:

The worst winter in fifty years, the old Scotsman had told me. I'd only been around for sixteen, but it was the worst I'd seen, and I was willing to take his word for the other thirty-four.

On the north side of the train the windows were plastered with snow, and on the south side great clouds of snow were whipped along by a sixty-mile gale. There was snow on top of the train and snow under the train, and all the snow there was left in the world in front of the train, which was why we were stopped.

Meddelelse redigeret af dens forfatter, sep 22, 2009, 1:14pm.

On to my very long wishlist this one goes! Thanks. I think.

The Killing Circle by Andrew Pyper is pure thriller. It's set in Toronto and in the lonely towns that dot the spine of Lake Superior. There's lots about Canadian weather and Toronto is well described and each scene is set in a specific part of that city. I would definitely long to live there were it not for the really creepy serial killer. This is a very scary book, featuring the aforementioned serial killer, an endangered child, cold weather and plenty of imbalanced characters.

Great choice! I loved The Killing Circle myself. Will have to read more of Pyper's work.

#5&6 - I just bought that book last week, but I haven't started it yet. It's getting alot of buzz here in Kingston, Ontario. I gather you two liked it, then?

Michelle

It was excellent and very scary. You will have to lock your doors at night while you are reading it.

Okay, I will NOT be readng it when Hubby is away coming up :) Thanks for the tip, RWG!

I began this challenge with a lot of excitement and eager to discover new Canadian authors. I'm still excited, and I'm still discovering new Canadian authors, however, they're setting all their books in Ontario or Alberta. Ontario, I expected, but Alberta? I did grow up there, and it is the most beautiful and interesting province, but I am still surprised. Until I started this challenge, all the Canadian books I read were set in Nova Scotia.

So after a bit of a think, and being unable to resist beginning The Outlander, I've decided to go with it and hope that eventually I'm led further afield. I'm going to review and list all my Canadian reads here and unless you all stage an intervention, there's no one to stop me.

I'm in Alberta too, with Kappa Child by Hiromi Goto. I had no idea there were Japanese mythological creatures lurking around Calgary. Anyway, if you want to leave Alberta, I highly recommend Kiss of the Fur Queen by Tomson Highway, which is set for the most part in Manitoba. And if you want a BC read, just let me know.

Meddelelse redigeret af dens forfatter, nov 3, 2009, 2:11pm.

RWG, I'd think by now you'd know we're the enablers, not the intervenors!

Was she looking for an intervenor? I thought I was here to enable!

I'll eventually wander out of Alberta and Ontario. I do have several books set elsewhere, even one in Nunavut, I'll get there someday!

The Outlander is very good so far!

#12 & #13 - Ha! How true. No wonder I love it here.

Have fun RWG - good to hear that Outlander is a good one. Ah, so many books, so little time. I try not to think about it, it's so sad.

M.

The Outlander was one of the best books I'd read this year. It's definitely worth reading, even if you have your Alberta category already covered.

The Outlander is excellent so far. I don't have much time to read this month because I'm attempting NaNo, but I do find myself trying to carve out little moments to read.

In keeping with my fascination with the topic, and after I finish my Early Reviewer book, I think I will have to read The Tenderness of Wolves next. It will, at least, keep with me alternating books set in Alberta with books set in Ontario.

I finished The Outlander and it was excellent. A lovely page turner of an historical novel, it concerns a young woman, fleeing for her life into the Rockies after she murdered her husband. What happened next and what happened before are both fascinating.

I continue with my task of reading books set only in Ontario or Alberta with Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam. This is a book of interconnected short stories about four doctors, following them from various points in and before medical school until they are in their forties. Each story stands alone, but putting them together adds a resonance to each individual story. This is just a very good book, very deserving of its Giller Prize.

I'm glad that you liked it, RWG. I'd have felt somewhat responsible if you had detested it.

You would not have been responsible at all. I recently sent a book that I hated with an undying passion to a friend in BC who just gave it a five star rating. And we usually agree on books.

In any case, I loved it and would not have read it without your recommendation.

The Vincent Lam book sounds interesting. I've added it to my own wishlist now.

I just bought a copy of Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures and I'm looking forward to reading it. I might have overlooked it without your discussion here - but I won't hold it against anyone if I don't give it a high rating :)

Whew! That's a good thing. I'm terribly self-conscious about my taste in books :)