Book Reviews: Unless and Be Good

WAAAAAAY back in 2010, ok so really I mean last month, I started reading a selection from each of Canada Reads: Unless by Carol Shields, and from Canada Reads Independently: Be Good by Stacey May Fowles. I basically just picked the ones from each list that had the shortest wait time at the library. What was interesting is that they both deal with "goodness" in very different ways. The other interesting thing is that they are both similar in size and shape roughly 5x7 inches.

Unless is told from the perspective of Reta, a middle age woman whose seemingly perfect life is disrupted when Norah, the eldest of her three daughters drops out of university to beg on a street corner of downtown Toronto. Norah sets herself up at Bathurst and Bloor (just down the street from me!!) and is basically mute, with a hand printed sign reading "Goodness" around her neck. Shield's follows Reta as she tries to understand how this happened to her daughter and how to continue on with her life. I finished this book on December 16th so my opinion of the book is as follows: it was alright. That's all, sorry. I didn't love it, I didn't dislike it, was just alright.

Be Good on the other hand, is told from the perspectives of a a group of 20-somethings making in Vancouver and Montreal, and at times is quite raw. It's not always pretty, and lives are full of things left unsaid, hurt feelings, and longing. To me, Be Good is about how people get by day-to-day trying to love, both romantically and in friendships, while trying to protect themselves. I finished Be Good on December 28th....I remember feeling like the novel dealt with some gritty details of the character's sex lives, I wasn't disturbed by it,  but I also didn't necessarily feel like reading about it at the time

I was surprised by the fact that I had never read a Carol Shields novel, and like to think that I would have eventually gotten around to it at some point if it weren't for Canada Reads. AS for Be Good, I probably would never have come across this book on my own, and although I wouldn't say I absolutely loved these novels, I'm always glad to read work by Canadians-and Canadian women!

******BY THE WAY...THIS WAS MY 200th POST!!!!!******

Canada Reads Review: The Jade Peony

This was by far the most disappointing of the Canada Reads books for me.

I read Wayson Choy's All That Matters a few months ago just after reading Lisa See's Shanghai Girls. Both of those books are set during the same time period (1930-40s) as The Jade Peony-and I liked All That Matters because it was from a Chinese-Canadian perspective rather than Chinese-American.



My problem with the Jade Peony is that it is too similar to All that Matters. The Jade Peony is told from the perspective of the three youngest siblings in the family, while All That Matters-which came out after-is from the eldest sibling's perspective. I usually enjoy reading books that have the same or some of the same characters, but I felt like I already knew all of the stories in the Jade Peony, and whose perspective it came from in large part didn't matter. I realize that this isn't exactly the book's fault that I read it's sequel first-but since that is what happened, I was disappointed.

The only character that really struck a chord with me, was Sek-Lung or Sekky. I found it really interesting to read about how badly he wanted to go to school, how difficult he found learning Chinese, and how he seemed to be the most "caught in the middle" of all his siblings between the new and the old ways because of his relationship with Grandmama/Poh-Poh. I also found it particularly interesting that he referred to her as Grandmama and not Poh-Poh, considering she was so intent on "the old ways".

Well this was the last of the books I needed to read of the Canada Reads books!! Hurray I did it!!

So what was my favorite book? Good to a Fault 100%.
My least favorite book? Nikolski
My pick for the winner ....hmmm... probably Good to a Fault but I'll have to think about that one a little bit more.

Now I get to join in the discussions on the Roughing It In The Books: Canada Reads Challenge!!

Canada Reads Review: Nikolski

Nicolas Dickner's Nikolski is my 4th of the Canada Reads Books, and so far, my least favorite. The "About this book" section on the Randomhouse website says: "Intricately plotted and shimmering with originality, Nikolski charts the curious and unexpected courses of personal migration, and shows how they just might eventually lead us to home. "

The description that continues there sounds like the makings of a GREAT book, but there was something missing for me. I didn't connect with any of the characters and honestly wasn't all that interested in finding out what would happen.

I did like the idea of Noah's mother traveling cross-country in a station wagon and trailer, well, more like cross-prairie. I was fascinated by the way they tried to keep in touch by "guessing" where to send letters and postcards-although that would NEVER work for me!! Even if I could imagine myself living out of my car with no plans ahead of me, I would still want to arrange a more structured way to keep in touch!!

I think I may have read through this one too fast, because it feels like there was something missing in this story.

It's been 16 days since I said I was going to start the Canada Reads Challenge-I think 4 books in 16 days is a record for me! I'm waiting for #5 (The Jade Peony) to come in at the library (it's been "In Transit" for a few days). In the meantime I have a book club meeting next week so I need to start reading that book!

So my blogger friends, what book(s) are you reading? Any suggestions for me?

Canada Reads Book Review: Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott

I REALLY enjoyed this book!! There is a quote from Elizabeth Hay (another great author--> Late nights on Air) on the back cover of Good to a Fault, "...a wise and searching novel about the fine line between being useful and used." PERFECT!

The basic plot: 40 something loaner Clara gets into a car accident with a family (with 3 kids and grandma) who are living out of their car. The mother ends up in the hospital with cancer-not accident related injuries-so what does Clara do-invites the rest of the family to "stay" (live) with her.

While I can't EVER imagine welcoming strangers into my home to live, I adored Clara. I really felt like I was in her head. Endicott does such a good job of allowing you inside Clara's thoughts-like how she seems to think she has no right to feel her feelings-she's always tearing apart her initial reactions to things/people/situations, or how she seems to feel unworthy "She couldn't even be sick successfully". Clara doesn't-or can't-view her actions as kind or good, because she constantly feels like she's not doing enough.

The way Endicott wrote about the children and their feelings, fear, loyalty, happiness...amazing!

I also really liked the theme of "goodness" throughout.

It was heartbreaking at different times, and in different ways at the same time-for all of the characters involved. I liked this book from the first paragraph to the very last.

Definitely my top pick of the Canada Reads books so far!! I still have Nikolski and The Jade Peony to read though!

(Great interview with author Marina Endicott here)

a reading filled weekend

What a good weekend! I usually get up well past noon but somehow found myself up at 9am on Saturday AND Sunday! This truly NEVER happens!! I can go usually go to bed at 10pm and STILL sleep until noon.

Getting up that early allowed me to have hours and hours of uninterrupted reading time and still get a lot done. I finished my second Canada Reads novel, Ann-Marie MacDonald's Fall on Your Knees. Wow. I definitely didn't remember anything about this book, however the general "feeling" I get with her work was there. She's a fantastic writer but her books always leave me feeling completely unsettled. I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Or maybe both.

So, what to say about Fall on Your Knees. It's about family, endurance, discovery, and is wonderful and yet desperately heartbreaking at the same time. It's an interesting look into the heart and souls of some incredibly complex characters. I might spend some time this week taking a look at the reading group guide to see if it spurs any further thoughts.

I enjoyed Fall on Your Knees but I think I liked Generation X better-as far as Canada Reads goes. Now on to book #3....I think it will be Marina Endicott's Good to a Fault.

What are YOU reading now?

Generation X - My first Canada Reads Review!!

WELL! That was a surprise! After a good 10 years of adamantly hating all ofDouglas Coupland's writing, it turns out that I don't! I read Microserf's last year based on a friend's recommendation and BARELY made it through. I actually considered giving up at least twice-and if you know me you know that I ALWAYS finish my books!

When I realized that Generation X was one of the Canada Read's books, I had serious doubts about committing to the challenge. I decided to read Generation X first in order to get it out of the way, so as not to spend the next month dreading it. BUT-lo and behold I actually quite liked the book!

Coupland's writing was witty and not nearly as pretentious as I though it would be. When I first opened the book and saw cartoons and definitions sprinkled along the margins I honestly cringed-but upon reading the book I totally loved them!! They really added to the vibe! There were no major "oh my god did that actually happen" or "a-ha" moments for me-but I have to say the character development was excellent (character development has apparently become more and more important to me).

I found Generation X to be quite clever and often found myself smiling throughout the book (which would normally make me super self-conscious on the subway, but since I was home sick-and alone-I occasionally indulged in a true LOL).

On a side note-did you know Douglas Coupland designed a park in Toronto. I noticed it last year on the way to dragon boat practice when we (M and B and me) were driving down the Gardiner (or was it Lakeshore-I forget I wasn't driving) and I noticed a big red canoe off to the north! Pretty neat!!

It will be quite interesting to see how the other 4 Canada Reads selections pan out!

Have you read any of Douglas Coupland's books? Fiction or non-fiction? What did you think?

It's official-Canada Reads 2010 Challenge

I was off work sick today. Boo! Hopefully it was just because of something I ate last night, and not something related to an outbreak, but either way I felt awful today, and I can't go back to work until Friday (according to the Occupational Health Department). I slept and read on and off, and finished the first of my Canada Reads books-I'll post about that later when I feel more up to it. I will post on the Origin of Species though as that one is mostly done already.

In regards to the Canada Reads-after some perusing on the internet, I came across an awesome blog: Roughing It In The Books…someone almost always dies in the end. It turns out these ladies are running a Canada Reads 2010 challenge with the goal being to read all five books, participate in discussions about the books, and guess who will be the winner of Canada Reads 2010-and there's even a contest!! I love the idea of reading the books with others and will definitely be signing up to join!

Canada Reads 2010 Challenge!!

Canada Reads 2010 is a CBC event that celebrates Canadian literature over a three month period. Five CANADIAN books are chosen and defended by 5 "celebrity" CANADIANS in a battle royal survivor style "online, at public events, and on air". Half-hour on-air debates are held March 8-12 on CBC Radio One with one book getting voted off each week to determine which book Canadians should ultimately read in 2010.

This year's books are as follows: Generation X by Douglas Coupland, Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott, The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy, Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie Macdonald, and Nikolski by Nicolas Dickner.

I have decided to read along too! It's the end of January now, so if I start reading this week I should be able to fit in all 5 books, along with my book club book for February!

What do think? Anyone else up for it?