I'm about to start Lottery by Patricia Wood and Ivanhoe for a book club.

I'm currently reading two Canadian books--Under the Ribs of Death by John Marlyn, which is rather grim, and The Valley, by Gail Friesen which is pretty light so far (no touchstone for that second book).

I finished East Fortune by James Runcie today.... a really good story to sink in a chair and pass the day reading.

Next up is Automatic World by Canadian author Struan Sinclair - touchstone for the title not working.

I am reading The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood and Wolf Dreams by yasmina khadra an Algerian/French writer. I am enjoying both so much I can't decide which to finish first so I just pick up which ever one is at hand.

I'm reading Long Past Stopping by Oran Canfield, whose father developed the "Chicken Soup" books.

Finished up Larry's Party by Carol Shields on the 1st-- love that book, I think I've read it four times now. I've finished The Year of the Flood since; I really liked it. I think it works best if you've read Oryx and Crake, and I hope the trilogy rumors are true. I'm now one chapter into 26a by Diana Evans.

I finished Automatic World by Canadian author Struan Sinclair tonight.... He packs a lot of descriptive story telling along multiple themes and I don't think I fully appreciated the novel first time through... I faced too many interruptions in my reading. Something to re-read when I can give the novel my full attention without interruptions.

Next up is The King's Rifle by Biyi Bandele.

I'm reading Little Children by Tom Perrotta. I'm divided: on the one hand it's a superficial but entertaining critique of suburban life with a creepy twist, on the other it has vague pretensions of being intellectual but just doesn't pull it off.
There are heavy-handed allusions to Madame Bovary but it never quite makes it the parallel (perhaps later?) - presumably because it assumes that the readers probably haven't read it and it would be too complicated to explain everything... frankly the main character doesn't seem all that intelligent and educated and I doubt she's read Madame Bovary either! A good way to spend Thanksgiving weekend however.

I'm reading Rick Mercer Report: The Paperback Book by Rick Mercer (duh!).

After reading two memoirs, one dealing with the genocide in Darfur and one with heroin addiction, I need something light!

Lynn - yes, you DO need something light! Enjoy Rick Mercer. He was at my university the other day, but I missed him. I hear he was given a bagpipe lesson and it'll be on his show in the future. I have to see that. Anyway, I just started The Diviners, by Margaret Laurence. I'm told to expect to like this one a lot.

I finished The King's Rifle by Biyi Bandele this afternoon... I really enjoyed the book, especially the personal interactions between the members of D-Section. A highly readable World War II story for even non military genre readers.

Next up is Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery...... I cannot wait to dive into this one!

Almost forgot - Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Message edited by its author, Oct 10, 2009, 8:11pm.

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful that I have two Thanksgiving dinners to prepare, and still have time to read. I'm reading Guernica by Dave Boling. It's been on my wish list for a while, and I just got it. Ever since reading Mark Kurlansky's The Basque History of the World, I've been very interested in the Basque people and their history.

lkernagh, I really enjoyed The Elegance of the Hedgehog but Gourmet Rhapsody didn't appeal to me at the bookstore. Let me know if I should go back...I still have some birthday gift cards left.

Happy Thanksgiving from the western side of the country! I'm makin' turkey today, and don't expect to find time to read.

Happy Thanksgiving from the east coast. We had our turkey yesterday to accommodate travellers and today did some geocaching and feasted on leftovers. I just finished The Measure of a Man and will start Ian Rankin's Mortal Causes tonight now that my company has gone home. I always love a good mystery for a change of pace and Ian Rankin is one of the best.

Hi LynnB - Two Thanksgiving dinners to prepare - WOW!

I finished Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery.... I loved the book (all the mouthwatering descriptions of gastronomic delight put me in the right frame of mind for tonight's dinner, let me tell you!)...just not quite as much as I enjoyed The Elegance of the Hedgehog. Barbery's approach to story telling in Hedgehog was utilized again here (individual POV chapters of the various characters, including the POV of the family cat). In all, a great story for any 'foodies' out there to enjoy, and an excellent feat of descriptive prose from Barbery, but not, at least in my opinion, on par with the The Elegance of the Hedgehog.

Next up is The Visibles by Sara Shepard.

Message edited by its author, Oct 11, 2009, 7:12pm.

Since this was a three day weekend, I started Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman - I'll be plowing through the 800-some pages for next few weeks...

Finished The Visibles by Sara Shepard - a quick, coming of age story.

Next up is Border Songs by Jim Lynch.

Happy Thanksgiving (my clock says 11:10 p.m but the weekend ain't over yet)!

I'm starting De Niro's Game for a class on Canadian Multicultural Lit. So far it seems interesting.

lkernagh, I really liked Border Songs. Brandon Vanderkool is now one of my favourite fictional people.

LynnB - Excellent! I plan to dive into Border Songs tonight!

Still Alice by Lisa Genova. On a trip to Yellowknife last month, it seemed everyone in the airport and on the plane was reading this!

I'm reading Corked a memoir by Kathryn Borel. I heard her interviewed on CBC radio yesterday and immediately bought her book (I was on my way to the mall anyway....)

The Last Shot by Leon Rooke.

I finished Border Songs by Jim Lynch this afternoon.

LynnB, I echo your impressions regarding Border Songs.... I loved everything about it and would love to see another book with Brandon Vanderkool and his neighbors! I also enjoyed Still Alice, but I am drawn to books that deal with medical conditions, etc. I would be curious to learn your thoughts about the book.

Next up, is Once on a Moonless Night by Dai Sijie... I loved Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress so I have some high hopes for this book!

Message edited by its author, Oct 18, 2009, 4:38pm.

Still Alice was so sad, but I am glad I read it. Very well written, and I feel as if Alice were part of my family.

If you like books about medical conditions, I would recommend Rough Music by Patrick Gale which is also about Altzheimers.

I just finished Unbuilt Toronto: A History of the City that Might have Been by Mark Osbaldeston. It is a fascinating study of the abandoned plans and buildings that would have changed the way Toronto looks-some for the good and some for bad!

That sounds really interesting, Cyrel. I'd like to read something like that about Vancouver -- we certainly have lots of building projects that never went anywhere (like the freeway through downtown, thank god).

I just finished Linwood Barclay's Fear the Worst and have started an ARC of Kanata by Don Gillmor. So far, I'm really enjoying Kanata, a fictional work about explorer David Thompson and his descendents. I wish Canadian history had been told in such an interesting way when I was learning it in high school!

As well as books for the Canadian Fiction/Non-Fiction Challenge I am reading A Butterfly Flaps in Iceland written by my cousin Samuel James Harrison. It is posted on HarperCollins website www.authonomy.com that is aimed at finding new writing talent. Books with the most support are considered for publishing. You can show support by clicking on "back the book". Although I haven't read much science fiction recently, I'm really enjoying this one.

Just finished Margaret Laurence' The Diviners and am about to start Kiss of the Fur Queen (Tomson Highway). I'm also in the midst of the 1965 Canadian poli-sci philosophical classic, Lament for a Nation, by George Grant.

I've been trying to get Lament for a Nation since reading True Patriot Love by Michael Ignatieff, his nephew. What do you think of it?

I'm also curious to know how Lament for a Nation has stood the test of time.

I'm reading What Happened to Anna K. by Irina Reyn, which is a modern version of Anna Karenina

Hmmmm. I have to admit that I'm having some problems with getting my head around Lament of a Nation, but it's slowly starting to click. I have to write a 12 page essay on it over the next week--at this point it's rather over my head--but I will get a better grasp of it and report back! I'm not sure how it's stood the test of time, but the fact that we're working off the 40th Anniversary edition, and that I'm studying it in 2009 university kinda says that it must still be relevant. Although I've definitely wondered about it myself as I've read (who cares what happened to Diefenbaker?).

re: Lament for a Nation. I saw my 87 year old father today, and I wanted his opinion on Diefenbaker, who was one of the major topics in Lament of a Nation. My dad didn't have a lot to say about him as a politician, but I found out that his dad (my grandfather) went to a one-room school with John Diefenbaker in Borden, Saskatchewan, and Diefenbaker's father was the teacher. Cool! Anyway, I'll be re-reading this book several times over this weekend in preparation for my essay. In other reading, I just started Kiss of the Fur-Queen by Tomson Highway, which is set in Manitoba.

I finished Does this clutter make my butt look fat and, in spite of a lot of repetition, enjoyed the underlying premise of the need to determine if the way you are living (and the results of living that way) is really the way you want to live the rest of your life. I don't know that it's an "easy plan" but it was helpful.
I also just finished The Frozen Thames and found it delightful - just a series of vignettes set in London from 1142 to 1895 during each of the times the Thames froze solid. A little book and a quick read, but worthwhile.

#35 - I liked "Clutter" it was fun and easy to read - no results on my backside however!

I have finished The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories by Agatha Christie - a compilation of her short stories over the years. There was a good Poirot mystery but the others were more psychological thrillers, the dark side of human nature. I much enjoyed it.

I'm reading Lemon by Cordelia Strube. It definitely reminds me of the snarky teenager that I once was. Plus I just love the feel of the paper that Coach House prints on...

Just finishing Outlander /Gil Adamson and am glad I persevered. I'll never go through the Crowsnest past and look at it the same!! Am also listening to Creepers by David Morrell and am enjoying it but find I have to keep going back to pick up bits I've missed.

I'm reading another set of short stories by French writer Georges Flipo Qui comme Ulysse. The stories are linked by the theme of traveling: either on vacation, on the road to self-discovery or as an immigrant. I'm enjoying them very much for their diversity, sincerity and simplicity.

I am almost finished The Disappeared, Kim Echlin's novel on the Giller shortlist.

I'm reading Acting Up by Libby Purves

#40 Cait86 - I found The Disappeared to be a riveting page turner when I read it. I would love to hear what you think of the book.

I finished Once on a Moonless Night by Dai Sijie late last night (well, actually early this morning) ... I found it to be an impressive feat of storytelling with vivid, descriptive prose written in a manner that lets you drift along with the story.

As there are still a few days before the group read of People of the Book starts, I have decided to pick up The Witness Tree, which is briefly described as "A political epic based on the early life of Eleanor Dulles–sister of John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State, and Allen Dulles, the first head of the CIA–and the secret beginnings of modern Israel."

Message edited by its author, Oct 25, 2009, 11:26am.

Just finished an ARC of Don Gillmor's new book, Kanata. (Added a review for it, too.)

I'm currently in the middle of Gabrielle Roy's The Road Past Altamont and next up is The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens.

I'm reading The 10 Greatest Gifts I Give my Children by Steven Vannoy. It's a parenting concept based on proactive conflict resolution and mediation with an emotive twist. The concepts are simple and easy to read, with many good stories for illustration. A bit corny at times but a useful tool.

Last night I finished Kiss of the Fur Queen, by Tomson Highway, and I highly recommend it. Next up is Kappa Child, by Hiromi Goto. According to the back cover, it's about Japanese Canadians farming in Alberta and it's reminiscent of Little House on the Prairie. Hmmm. I'll have to see about that!

edited to make a correction: I reread the back cover and it says it's NOT reminiscent of Little House on the Prairie. Now that makes more sense. I think the main character gets impregnated by an alien, and I'm sure that never happened to Laura Ingalls.

Message edited by its author, Oct 29, 2009, 9:05pm.

An Aesthetic Underground by John Metcalf.

I have started the Extreme Vinyl Cafe. I've never been disappointed by those stories, so it will be an enjoyable read

I really enjoyed Atwood The Year of the Flood. While reading I had the impression that she didn`t really care how many books she would sell. It made me think of Eric Clapton`s Unplugged album...seemed relaxed and fun.
I also finished Wolf Dreams which is by an Algerian-French writer Yasmina Khadra which I quite enjoyed as well.
Finally, tonight I am planning to finish Shelf Monkey by Corey Redekop, a Winnipeg writer and an hilarious, witty and sometimes simply strange novel.
I am not sure what is on November`s book shelf...

Having just finished Ivanhoe, I am about to read William Makepeace Thackeray's Rebecca and Rowena which he wrote because he believed Ivanhoe married the wrong woman.

I have started the Extreme Vinyl Cafe. I've never been disappointed by those stories, so it will be an enjoyable read

I saw that on the 40% of table at the Canadian Superstore the other day and I was soooooo tempted. I'm trying not to buy books (and failing), and since I own another Vinyl Cafe book that I haven't read yet, I thought I'd be strong and say "no." What do you think? Should I rush back and get it? I've never read Stuart McLean before, but I love listening to him on the CBC.

#48: +1 on Shelf Monkey. I don't think I've laughed harder at a novel in years.

Boo!

I'm reading Chasing the Flame: One Man's Fight to Save the World by Samantha Power

I have started The Book of Negroes. Wow - what a powerful beautifully written book.

How Stories Mean by John Metcalf et al.