Canada Day Blog Hop Day II:East Coast fiction

Here's a recap of our blog hop thus far:

• Kick-off post
• Hey Canada blog tour
• Mountie Day
• Jessica Strider's 5 Canadian Sci-Fi and Fantasy book picks
• Rachel and Katie's 5 favourite Canadian novels

GIVEAWAY: If you comment on any Canada-related post this week you could win my GIVEAWAY which includes a signed copy of Jolted (my favourite Canadian YA novel ) directly from our friend Arthur Slade (who is our guest star on Canada Day!) and some Oh Canada from DavidsTea ( the greatest tea on earth) 

I always say that Nova Scotia is my favourite province in Canada. Further, it is one of my favourite places on earth.  There is something in the ocean-scape, the steep oral tradition, the languid narrative, the music and the culture that has had its hold on me for years.  Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland: all provinces in our Atlantic region which I have had the privilege of exploring on numerous occasions.   Of course, some of our finest ( and most famous literature) comes from this area of Canada.

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To help us decide which East Coast writers we should read, I called on my friend ( and one of my favourite bloggers) Kailana from The Written World.  Kailiana is a real, live Nova Scotian and an expert on CanLit.

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (read pre-blogging) – I don’t think an east coast list is complete without Lucy Maud Montgomery because she is an author many are familiar with. For me, I have never been able to resist the wonderful character of red-haired, blue-eyed, Anne with an ‘E’.

 

The Birth House by Ami McKay (review: http://myreadingbooks.blogspot.ca/2006/06/birth-house-ami-mckay-june06.html ) – This is a look at midwifery in Nova Scotia and takes place close to where I currently live. It is not something you see written about a lot and McKay does an excellent job of capturing the history of the province through the eyes of women.

 

The Republic of Nothing by Lesley Choyce (read pre-blogging) – This book is only sort of set in Nova Scotia because the island doesn’t actually exist, but the author is from Nova Scotia. It is one of those books that it is hard to even pin down why it is worth reading, but the craziness that occurs will keep you flipping the pages.

 

Kit’s Law by Donna Morrissey (read pre-blogging) – Morrissey tends to set her books in Newfoundland. If you read any of your books you will feel like you are there because she captures the east coast culture really well.

 

Mercy Among the Children by David Adams Richards (read pre-blogging) – This is definitely my favourite author from New Brunswick. I read this book about 10 years and still think about it. I really need to reread it.

 

Honourable Mentions:

 

Barometer Rising by Hugh MacLennan (read pre-blogging) – This remains one of my favourite WWII reads. It was released in 1941 and looks back on Halifax during WWI.

 

Heave by Christy Ann Conlin (read pre-blogging) – Another book set in my neck of the woods.

 

Saints of Big Harbour by Lynn Coady (post: http://myreadingbooks.blogspot.ca/2005/12/first-book-look.html (my very first review on my blog ever...)) – Captures the east coast very well!

 

The Gravesavers by Sheree Fitch (Read but never reviewed) – I enjoyed that this book uses the SS Atlantic as a background to the story. Before the Titanic it was the greatest marine disaster.

 

Fall on Your Knees by Anne Marie MacDonald (read pre-blogging) – Excellent novel set in Nova Scotia.

 

Galore by Michael Crummey (Read but never reviewed) – An excellent novel set in Newfoundland.