Thursday, June 28, 2012

Canada Day Blog Hop Day I: The Favourites

Welcome to the first official day of the Canada Day Blog Hop: though my blog readers know that this has been going on all week.


Recap:

GIVEAWAY information:  Yes, friends! I am thrilled to offer a Giveaway for residents of Canada and the United States.  Simply comment on ANY Canada Day post this week and tell me the name of your favourite novel by a Canadian. I will draw names from a hat!  

What's in the Giveaway:
-Oh Canada tea from DavidsTea ( the best tea in the country)
-a signed copy of Jolted: my favourite Canadian YA novel as personally provided by our friend Arthur Slade (who incidentally is our guest-star on Canada Day so come back here then to be subject to his brilliance! )

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Top 5 CanLit Picks from your Friendly Neighbourhood Rachel:


The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery: Umm, my blog title and incessantly loquacious ramblings speak volumes to my passion for this book [I divulge my love on Booklust]

That Summer in Paris by Morley Callaghan: It's Hemingway's A Moveable Feast in that it speaks to that gorgeously glorious and golden Parisienne era of written beguile. [adoration housed here]

The Blooding of Jack Absolute by CC Humphreys: I friggin' love this book. It makes me laugh. Really hard. It's just brilliant, fun, whip-smart writing.  [Courtney and Rachel talk Jack 

Deafening by Frances Itani [it was my first pick in my Certified Savvy Readers for Harper Collins Canada]


Jolted by Arthur Slade [he is TOTALLY going to be featured on ye olde blog on Canada Day and I am super stoked! *gleeful fangirlish squeal* read my review of this awesome book!]

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But wait! I am not the only reader with some awesome CanLit picks. Howdy to our extra special guest Katie (and a personal favourite booklover of mine) who blogs at the Teacup Tortoise.

CanLit Picks from the Teacup Tortoise: 

It’s a toss-up for me between Stones and Forbidden City as to which is my favorite book by William Bell. What is special for me about both of these, is that my appreciation for them comes from somewhere entirely unrelated to academia or any intellectual standpoint: they are simply well-written, well-crafted, and fantastic reads.

While I treasure my copy of Forbidden City because it is actually signed by Bell himself (Thank you, Rachel for that!), the book is definitely one of my favorites in the Canadian YA genre. The plot, the characters, the connection to history - I can’t pick just one reason as to why I love this book. It made me want to learn and know more about the history of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, and about China’s overall history.

I have always loved Stones, and remember checking it out of the school library over and over again when I was younger. Who doesn’t love a bit of a ghost story? The fact that there was a local element as well always made me enjoy it even more. Again, it’s the characters, the events and plot twists, and (not surprisingly) the connection to 19th century history, that always keeps me coming back to Stones as one of my all time favorite YA books.



Light Lifting by Alexander MacLeod is a collection of short stories that I discovered fairly recently. I have not always been a big reader of short fiction, but having taken classes with Dr MacLeod, and knowing that this book was shortlisted for the Giller Prize a few years ago, I was compelled to pick up a copy. Light Lifting is an extraordinarily good read. The stories are tight and well crafted, the characters are flawed, believable, and so wonderfully human. I found myself wanting every piece to continue, wanting to know more about these people and their own stories. Each of these short works acts like a snapshot, a clear look into the lives of these characters. I believe the title of the work is particularly significant as well, because it isn’t just the moments of huge import that make or break us - it’s all the light lifting along the way, those little imperceptible moments and choices that add up over time. While I may be biased about Light Lifting, I really love this collection of Canadian short fiction. It’s pretty fantastic, and definitely worth a read!









25 comments:

Chrystal said...

Thank you for being a part of the hop! :)

Court said...

Well!

I have not read one of your favourites! How is this possible? I simply MUST add That Summer in Paris to my list!

Unknown said...

I love that you're going all out and having 4 days worth of posts. Thanks so much for participating in this year's hop!

Rachel said...

thanks everyone for coming by my blog! this is SO fun! i love canada day :)

ChristasBooks said...

My favourite Canadian book is Maragret Atwood's Alias Grace. Love that you're making a whole event out of this. Looking forward to your other Canada theme posts

Kailana said...

I have never been able to get into The Blue Castle... I do own, it though! I can't remember if I have read Callaghan before. I will have to see. I keep meaning to read the Humphreys ever year and then forget... And Deafening has been on my TBR pile since it came out. I don't know what happened to me... I used to read Canadian books. I don't seem to much anymore! I have read Jolted, though, and if you hadn't asked for a specific list it would have been on mine!!

Sayomay said...

My fav Can. author is Moira Young!

Gina said...

I actually stumbled upon this hop but I'm learning so much! I didn't realize how many of the books on my wish list (and to be read list..hehe) were penned by Canadian authors. How cool! Thanks for being a part of the hop! Can't wait to see the rest of your posts. ^_^

FireStarBooks said...

I love Cheryl Rainfield's HUNTED. :)

Emmanuelle said...

I honestly don't read very many Canadian authors. I don't exactly purposely pick on US authors; I really just go by what book
description looks really interesting

frenchcanadienne(at)hotmail(dot)com

Nina (Brown Paper) said...

I'm so enjoying getting to know your blog--I also love The Blue Castle. One of my fave Canadian books is Clara Callan by Richard B. Wright.

Shannon (Giraffe Days) said...

Oh yes! The Blue Castle is one of my favourite books, and definitely my favourite Montgomery book! It is probably my favourite Canadian book, come to think of it. :)

Some new-to-me Canadian authors on your list, I can just see my TBR mountain growing even more!

deanna_boocock said...

I love Cathy Beveridge Shadows of Disaster - middle school book about the Fanks Slide disaster in Southern Alberta

Becca A. said...

I never actually got to finish the book, but I loved Hemlock. A friend let me borrow it for a few minutes while I stopped over at her apartment, I was hooked, and then we left. I want to get my hands on this book so bad!

Sam Sain said...

My favorite Canadian book is '' Là où la mer commence'' by Dominique Demers. =) It is a fantastic Canadian-French book.

Christinabean said...

I'd love to win Jolted! I have heard great things of Arthur Slade. Please enter me! clderwee at gmail dot com

Aislynn said...

Thanks so much for participating in the Canada Day Blog Hop!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Suz Reads said...

I like Kelley Armstrong and have read almost all her books! My faves of hers are the Women of the Otherworld series because they all have awesome heroines! Thanks for this amazing giveaway - I would love to win it!

guiltlessreader said...

discovering some great Canadian book blogs and books through this hop!

guiltlessreader said...

As for favourite novel, oooh, difficult. i'll have to say Nick Bantock's Griffin and Sabine because it's such a unique book. but then The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje and then all of Margaret Atwood's and Alice Munro's books spring to mind and now I can't decide :P

Darlene said...

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens is my fave!

Darlene said...

Oops, forgot to leave my email address:

darlenesbooknook at gmail dot com

Lisa (Reading to the Moon) said...

I've loved all of LM Montgomery's books since I was little. My favourite Canadian authors I've read this year are Courtney Summers and Megan Crewe

Geneviève said...

My favourite Canadian book... man, this is a hard question! I'd say, without thinking for too long, The Road to Chlifa/La route de Chlifa by Michele Marineau and The Canning Season by Polly Horvath!

Unknown said...

I love all of Michelle Sagara's Chronicles of Elantra series -- but if I have to pick one, I'll say the 1st book - Cast in Shadow is my fave

Thanks for the amazing giveaway!
elizabeth @ bookattict . com