CanadianContent discussion

Greetings readers!!

As we head towards December, are you snuggling in and reading? Are your reading habits changing as we enter the time of hibernation?

What have you been reading? What is next?

have a great day!

Happy Friday! I will soon be switching my reading to Christmas themed, but I'm not sure when that will happen. It's dependent on when the Christmas spirit strikes me. So far it's just Christmas stress of what to buy for everyone on my list!

In audiobooks this week, I finished The Book of Longings, which I thought was fantastic, and I've just started A House in the Sky. I'm just a few chapters in, but I'm already disturbed by Lindhout's reckless behaviour.

I'm having trouble focusing on reading right now. I finished The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, a light book that wasn't too bad. I am now reading Three Things About Elsie, which I've seen described as up-lit. I'm just not in the right frame of mind for heavy literary fiction. After so many months of living blissfully in the Atlantic Bubble, I think it may be the stress of Covid being back in business here.

Happy Friday!

This week I finished The Discomfort of Evening, which I really did not like. This must be the biggest dud of the year for me. I also finished Untold Story, which I'm a bit embarrassed I read but I needed something light and silly, and Solutions and Other Problems, which was very good.

I'm currently reading Vesper Flights (beautiful essays about the natural world) and The Death of Vivek Oji (very good), and on audiobook I'm reading Anxious People (Marin Ireland is a fantastic narrator!).

Happy Friday and unusually warm outside!!

I didn't post anything last week, as reading was slow going and I was busy attending an amazing virtual book retreat last weekend, with great authors (Kate Quinn, Hazel Gaynor to name the known ones), book club discussion Ties That Tether), yoga practice, book giveaways and new book previews So happy @Girlybookclub put this together for women readers all around the world. There were around 75 participants from all around the world. I've been having retreat withdrawal all this week.

I finished Ties That Tether and When We Were Young & Brave, that was it!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hi Everyone, I'm slowly getting back into reading once again. I finished Hamnet and Judith, ohhh so didn't want this to end. I am part way through Mexican Gothic, it’s interesting so far. I loved the cover art of this book!

@Allison I read The Book of Longings a few months back, loved it!

@May, your retreat sounds lovely!

@Susan, I've been waiting to read Anxious People, might have yo grab the audio at your suggestion!

@Susan G- I hope you have had some down time to get into a good book too! You might be sad to hear MB has now considered book sales as non essential! In whose world? We are on big lock down at the moment so no in person book sales...another victim to pandemic

Hi all -

@Wanda - I finally got back to some more reading... we have been doing a lot of hiking lately which cuts into my reading time but it has been so nice to get outside and enjoy the beautiful Bruce Trail (so amazing what landscape a glacier can carve)! Sad to hear that book stores are closed but hoping we can all slow the spread.

I finished:
Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life which was inspiring and talked about octogenarians in blue zones like Okinawa, Japan.

The Forgotten Daughter which was a sequel and a well-written and researched fictional tale of a woman who had grown up in a Quebec orphanage which was turned into an asylum at the hands of the premier. The Catholic church and government had a hand in deeming orphans as mentally deficient leaving them to live amongst those with mental health challenges. The story (and the history) is so sad and hard to believe that this happened in Canada. The novel is set in the time of the referendum which is another story line. overall - I would recommend this one!

Time Smart: How to Reclaim Your Time and Live a Happier Life - offered some ideas towards self care and managing time.

Leah's Gift: A Story About Reframing Loss - read for book club as one of our members knows the author. It was a very sad account of the loss of the author's daughter and how she moved forward. it was interspersed with the author's art and a very sad book.

Now I am reading:

Dearly: Poems by Margaret Atwood. I really want to like. it but I am not a huge poetry reader (other than maybe some Robert Frost, Shel Silverstein or Dr. Suess if I am honest). So far, I have liked the poem Passport the best, showing the passage of time and aging process.

Extraordinary Canadians - really enjoying this. it is a collection of stories about some amazing Canadians that we likely know nothing about. it is inspiring and I would recommend reading one chapter at a time. I bought it for my husband who is a fan of Peter Mansbridge but seem to be reading it before him.... oops!

Edited to add that I am also reading (for the second time) Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City for a work book club. it is a book that all Canadians really should read but not an easy topic or read.

@Susan G, the outdoors is therapy! You've been taking in a variety of books. I promote Ikigai in my work, (our reason for being) it supports going after our passions and dreams. Love it!

Happy Weekend everyone!

@Allison Hikes The Bookwoods: I'm starting to get ready for Christmas, too. It's so hard this year. I've settled on gift cards and homemade gifts. I'm currently knitting a scarf and will start baking soon. I also have a few carving pieces finished and painted. Once we decided on homemade gifts (and gift cards....not homemade), things felt more settled somehow.
I hope you're having luck finding what you need and want.

@May: your retreat sounds like a lot of fun. I'm glad you had this opportunity!

@Susan: getting outdoors is a great stress relief and it is so relaxing, too. I'm glad you're able to take the time for these hikes. They sound lovely.

I didn't post last week, so here are the books I've finished over the past two weeks.

I'm taking part in a Novella Tournament in another group. For that, I have read:
Ru
The Driver's Seat
Passing

I enjoyed all three of these. The one I will probably vote on for the Tournament is The Driver's Seat. It was dark and so well written. It kept me guessing throughout.

I also read The Sun Also Rises and finished The Swerve: How the World Became Modern.

I'm currently listening to A Time for Everything, which is very good and an easy listen while out jogging.

Hey everyone, I have been too distracted to dig into any serious reading , our libraries have been shut down once again, so reading through some of those books I have had in the house forever, like The Knife of Never Letting Go which was better than I expected.

However I was very excited to find out that I won a giveaway for Kristin Hannah's new book The Four Winds, I will definitely dig into this one when it arrives

You lucky!!

I wanted to say you lucky so and so, tell us how the book was :)

Heather, I'm sorry to hear that your libraries are closed again. Do they have curbside pick-up?

Congratulations on your Giveaway win!

Petra wrote: "Heather, I'm sorry to hear that your libraries are closed again. Do they have curbside pick-up?

Congratulations on your Giveaway win!"

Nope, no curbside-we can't even return books we have out.

Congratulations on your giveaway win! So sorry that your libraries are closed again.

@Wanda - that is awesome! We will be doing a work book club read on self-care in the new year so if you (or anyone else) has some great suggestions (preferably Canadian) that would be appreciated!

@Petra - love the idea of homemade gifts! somehow seems to comforting and perfect for this Christmas that will likely be so different for all of us. Also - I loved Ru!!

@Heather(Gibby) - congrats on your win... I don't hear so many people winning the giveaways these days. that is awesome!