Play Book Tag discussion

Another really, really contentious vote, but in the end, the winner is:

Canadian

Please share your reading plans and recommendations below!

Remember, for the regular monthly reads, the book can be shelved as Canadian on Goodreads, or be a book that is not yet shelved that way but you feel should be.

One way to find books to read for this tag is to please visit:

https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...

IMPORTANT NOTE:

In addition to reading our normal tag, we will also be reading to honor our recently deceased administrator and reading compatriot, JoLene. Please click on the following link for more details.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I have had The Boat People on y TBR list for a few months now and have been meaning to get to it, glad it fits somewhere finally!

I had a funny feeling 'Canadian' would win!

Time for all the Margaret Atwood :)

Joi wrote: "I had a funny feeling 'Canadian' would win!

Time for all the Margaret Atwood :)"

Oooo....great recommendation! I always say I want to read more of her!

A Recommendation for those you who like a a good historical-non-fiction

The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism

Excellent! I'm so glad this won.
I agree, great time to experience Margaret Atwood if you haven't tried her already. I can also recommend:

Etta and Otto and Russell and James

Three Day Road

Someone Knows My Name (Canadian author, mostly takes place in colonial/revolutionary America. Also titled, The Book of Negroes)

The Outlander

I’m really glad that this won. I feel as though I have read so much of the other two tags.

JGrace, you said The Outlander, I read Outlander, and starting teaching for book 6 before realizing that I misread! Lol

I will post the decathlon Challenge first thing in the morning. In the meantime, plan away for your Canadian read because the October prompt us not tied to the monthly tag.

Nicole R wrote: "JGrace, you said The Outlander, I read Outlander, and starting teaching for book 6 before realizing that I misread! Lol"

If I were Gil Adamson I'd try for a new addition of my book with and alternative title. You have to add the author's name to this title if you want to search it on goodreads. The title alone gives you not just Gabaldon's first book with that title but all the other books in the series as well.

Recommendations:
What the Body Remembers by Shauna Singh Baldwin
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill
Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell
Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald
The Handmaid's Tale (or Anything else) by Margaret Atwood
Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
Crow Lake by Mary Lawson


Books on my tbr that I think I'll read
Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King
Whatever is next in the series by
Alan Bradley (Flavia de Luce series)
Louise Penny (Chief Inspector Arman Gamache series)
L.M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables series)

YAY!!!! I have not been very good about reading Canadian this year, at least in comparison to previous years, so I need to get on that and do better!

This was a hard one for me, but I found some possibilities:

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Girl on the Other Side by Deborah Kerbel
The Space Between by Michelle L. Teichman

If you haven't read it yet, I would recommend:

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Now for my ONE recommendation:
(I will echo one of BC's recommendations above and go with):
Still Missing / Chevy Stevens

I guess a lot of my Canadian favourites have personal connections, so I'll leave a few out, but other recommendations include:

- If You're Not from the Prairie... / David Bouchard
(this is a picture book; David Bouchard is closer to my Mom's age - slightly younger - but he went to school in the small town in Sask that I grew up in)
- Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda / Romeo Daillaire (not about Canada, but he is Canadian)
- A House in the Sky / Amanda Lindhout (nonfiction - a Canadian, freelance reporter kidnapped on Somalia)
- No Time for Goodbye - Linwood Barclay (or just about anything else by him. If you like Harlan Coben...)
- Room / Emma Donoghue (I like to claim her as Canadian, I believe she holds dual citizenship; if you've already read it, my next favourite by her that I've read so far is Frog Music)
- The White Bone / Barbara Gowdy (it's from an elephant's point of view; I read it long before I was writing reviews, so I'm going on memory for how much I enjoyed it!)

The recommendations above all made my favourites list the year I read them - except "Frog Music", but it came close. They are all tagged "Canada", "Canadian authors" or "Canadian fiction". (I use the authors tag for nonfiction.) I have far more than those listed above with these tags.

I have so many on my tbr! I'm going to try for some of the ones that have been there longer:

- The Anatomy of Edouard Beaupre / Sarah Kathryn York
- When Everything Feels Like the Movies / Raziel Reid
- The Age of Hope / David Bergen
- The Tattooed Witch / Susan McGregor

Although, I'm sure I can easily find others to pick up, as well, so this may change!

I might read something by Charles de Lint but I'm really not sure yet. People have already recommended a whole bunch of things that look interesting so I'll have to look into those and come back with a better plan.

I would first like to recommend the book I'm reading Washington Black by Esi Edugyan. She has also written Half Blood Blues, which I really liked.

Consider also another Booker nominee Warlight byMichael Ondaatje. He has written other wonderful books, among them;The English Patient,Anil's GhostThe Cat's Table

Others which I have read and found worthy are:

Suggested by J Grace- Etta and Otto and Russell and James

Someone Knows My Name (Canadian author, mostly takes place in colonial/revolutionary America. Also titled, The Book of Negroes)

The Outlander by Gil Adamsom (I think you would like it Nicole R.)

Others:
Galore by Michael Crummery
The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams
Flight of Aquavit by Anthony Bidulka (set in Saskatoon- this is the 2nd of a series but this is where I started and it was very good.)

I most likely am going to read what I planned for war Regeneration by Pat Barker.

A whole continent of writers and locations for outside writers!

Yukon
Away--Amy Bloom
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette--Hampton Sides

British Columbia
The Jade Peony--Jayson Choy
To The Bright Edge of the World--Eowyn Ivey
A Tale for the Time Being--Ruth Ozeki

Saskatchewan
The Last Crossing--Guy Vanderhaeghe
The Dog Who Wouldn't Be--Farley Mowat

Manitoba
Indian Horse--Richard Wagamese

Ontario
Fifth Business--Robertson Davies
The Remains of the Day--Kazuo Ishiguro
Forty Words for Sorrow--Giles Blunt
Through Black Spruce--Joseph Boyden
Warlight--Michael Ondaatje
The Wars--Timothy Findley

Quebec
The Beautiful Mystery--Louise Penny
Surfacing--Margaret Atwood (set in Quebec)

Nova Scotia
No Great Mischief--Alistair MacLeod
The Grey Seas Under: The Perilous Rescue Mission of a N.A. Salvage Tug--Farley Mowat
Kit's Law--Donna Morrissey

Newfoundland
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams--Wayne Johnston
Sweetland--Michael Crummey
Annabel--Kathleen Winter
The Shipping News--Annie Proulx

Canada at large
The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America--Thomas King
White Eskimo: Knud Rasmussen's Fearless Journey into the Heart of the Arctic--Stephen Bown

To pursue (how to decide which ones?):
Galore--Michael Crummey
Barney's Version--Mordecai Richler
The Underpainter--Jane Urquhart
A Complicated Kindness--Miriam Toews
The View from Castle Rock--Alice Munro
The Tin Flute--Gabrielle Roy

Booknblues wrote: "Flight of Aquavit by Anthony Bidulka (set in Saskatoon- this is the 2nd of a series but this is where I started and it was very good.)..."

Oooh, something set in Saskatoon! I might have to look into that one!

And a couple of people mentioned "The Colony of Unrequited Dreams" by Wayne Johnston. My favourite by him is The Navigator of New York.

I see "Annabel" recommended above. It was very good.

For authors, there is also Farley Mowat

Michael wrote: "A whole continent of writers and locations for outside writers!..."

Michael, I love that you've broken it down by province! (Or territory)

I'll also second "Indian Horse" and "In the Kingdom of Ice". And author Joseph Boyden is very good.

I’ve just got Life of Pi, Anne of Green Gables, The Handmaid’s Tale and Water for Elephants from the library. If I can finish them, I may read some other classics written by Canadian authors (novels or poetry). But I’m still exploring, can anyone give me some suggestions? Thx

I am going to read Hag-seed, but can recommend Anne of Green Gables and Water for Elephants.

I don't think anyone mentioned the excellent Alice Munro yet?

I am reading Water for Elephants now for the friendship tag, so far I am enjoying it, but I'm only halfway through.

Edit: I saw now that Michael mentioned Munro above :)

How about Robertson Davies?

Then there is the excellent and surprising The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland which inspired the lively musical Come From Away.

I also recommend:
The Tenderness of Wolves
Hunger’s Brides: A Novel of the Baroque - this one is a serious commitment yo read, and absolutely amazing.

Michael wrote: "A whole continent of writers and locations for outside writers!

Manitoba
Indian Horse--Richard Wagamese

Ontario
Fifth Business--Robertson Davies
The Remains of the Day--Kazuo Ishiguro
Forty Words for Sorrow--Giles Blunt..."

The Remains of the Day???
I'm reading it now and so far it's very much in England.
but if he is going to make a hasty move to Canada in the last 100 pages, that will make 2 books I'm reading at the moment that are fitting next month's tag.

I'm recommending everything Attwood. Even if it's not the best book ever, it will be well written and thought provoking.

At the moment I'm thinking of reading either The Shipping News or The Stone Diaries

I have a couple of old ex-library books by Maurice Gagnon about a Canadian lawyer, Deirdre O'Hara, which I'll dig out. I even have one in French so maybe it'll be fun to try and get through that!

So October is planned to be a busy reading month for me.....I am on the hunt for a Canadian historical fiction book....a 2 n 1 to satisfy both.

Joni wrote: "So October is planned to be a busy reading month for me.....I am on the hunt for a Canadian historical fiction book....a 2 n 1 to satisfy both."

There is Deafening if you are interested in WW1.

I need clarification, does the tag exclusively mean a Canadian Author, Or can it be a story that takes place in Canada?

Although I haven't listened to it yet, the "What should I read next" podcast with Anne Bogel is all about Canadian lit today. How timely!

Joanne wrote: "I need clarification, does the tag exclusively mean a Canadian Author, Or can it be a story that takes place in Canada?"

Hi Joanne, as always, we are pretty flexible with the monthly tag and so long as you think it is a good fit, then we are good with that definition! So long as it is not completely illogical ;)

Having said that, I think either a Canadian author or taking place in Canada would be very strong connections for a book with this month's tag.

October PBT Decathlon Challenge announced!

Post 634: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline is a good thriller, speculative fiction read.

edited to add *and Canadian*

Idit wrote: "The Remains of the Day???
I'm reading it now and so far it's very much in England.
but if he is going to make a hasty move to Canada in the last 100 pages, that will make ..."

Canadian author. But serious question in people's use of tag. Maybe it's not a useful or common practice to tag his books as "Canada" versus "Canadian" or "Canadian author". The same for Ondaatje or even Atwood when books are not set in Canada.

Figured this one would get it. Plenty of great options here.

I've been eyeing Marilla of Green Gables, but I might also read Emily of New Moon (or any other L.M. Montgomery) if I don't get to it by the end of this month.

Station Eleven has also been my my TBR for a while.

It would also be a good time to revisit some graphic novel options like any Faith Erin HicksThe Marrow Thieves or Hark! A Vagrant.

For a seasonal, Halloween tie-in, there's Anna Dressed in Blood.

I think I might revisit The Incredible Journey.

Oh! I added The Marrow Thieves to my TBR when I was looking for a dystopian read but never got around to it.

I've got a huge list of possible options, but I think these are the ones most likely to make an appearance.

Joanne wrote: "A Recommendation for those you who like a a good historical-non-fiction

The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism"

I read this book in January and really loved it. I had never heard of this event before reading the book. I grew up in Maine and we frequently went to Nova Scotia.

I’m thinking the Witches of New York since it doubles for fall Flurries. Also, the Gate Keeper, Book two of Dark Muse by Phillip Mann. Set in Something Mile in Canada where religious Jews meets paranormal sci fi. Also choices include Hag Seed and the Luminaries.

Anybody know any non-fiction, or children's, or "lighter" books? I don't feel up to anything like Thomas King or Atwood or Davies right now. Oh, and I didn't care for Anne, and have read Emily.

I'd prefer my choice to be Canadian author set in Canada, and to be widely avl in libraries or on OpenLibrary.org or on Project Gutenberg.

I do recommend Station Eleven from the list, though iirc it's set in US.

Oh, it's possible that I found the right book for me. Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town is avl. and apparently has been assigned reading for Canadian schoolchildren.

Cheryl wrote: "Anybody know any non-fiction, or children's, or "lighter" books? I don't feel up to anything like Thomas King or Atwood or Davies right now. Oh, and I didn't care for Anne, and have read Emily.

I..."

How about Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman ?

My review HERE

Cheryl wrote: "Anybody know any non-fiction, or children's, or "lighter" books? I don't feel up to anything like Thomas King or Atwood or Davies right now. Oh, and I didn't care for Anne, and have read Emily.

I..."

Have you read The Incredible Journey? It has some emotional passages, but it's a childhood read I'm planning on revisiting.

Hebah wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "Anybody know any non-fiction, or children's, or "lighter" books? I don't feel up to anything like Thomas King or Atwood or Davies right now. Oh, and I didn't care for Anne, and have ..."

Oh this is a favorite~!~~

Jenny wrote: "Joni wrote: "There is Deafening if you are interested in WW1. ..."

"Deafening" is very good. For historical fiction, a couple of people also suggested "The Tenderness of Wolves". I know there's more that's not currently coming into my head. :-)

ETA: Others have also mentioned books about the Halifax Explosion, which would be more historical fiction.

Cheryl wrote: "Anybody know any non-fiction, or children's, or "lighter" books?..."

One of my recommendations was a picture book:
If You're Not from the Prairie... by David Bouchard.

If you aren't interested in such a topic, he has lots of other very good picture books! Check out the author himself.

Hilde wrote: "I don't think anyone mentioned the excellent Alice Munro yet?

I am reading Water for Elephants now for the friendship tag, so far I am enjoying it, but I'm only halfway..."

I am going to read Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage: Stories! I love Alice Munro . . .

Not quite sure what to recommend under Canadian except authors - - Rohinton Mistry, Esi Edugyan are two that come to mind!

For something a bit different I’ll recommend a graphic novel: Jeff Lemire‘s Essex County.

First thought for me was an entry in Louise Penny‘s Inspector Gamache series. But as I look through the recommendations, I have more and more candidates:
Barkskins by Annie Proulx
The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette by Hampton Sides
Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

My recommendation is Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese.

I will probably read another book by the same author.

Jenny wrote: "Joni wrote: "So October is planned to be a busy reading month for me.....I am on the hunt for a Canadian historical fiction book....a 2 n 1 to satisfy both."

There is Deafening if yo..."

Thank you. I think I am going to go with Anne of Green Gables