12th Annual CanBook Challenge
I’ve decided to participate in this year’s CanBook Challenge, which is a challenge that’s new to me but has been around for an impressive 12 years now. The goal is to read and review at least 13 Canadian books between July 1st, 2018 to July 1st, 2019 (Canada Day to Canada Day). Any format or genre is acceptable, and the book can either be written by a Canadian or just be about the country.
I’m a naughty Canadian who doesn’t read nearly enough books from his own Country, which is something I’ve been trying to remedy these last few years with varying degrees of success, so this is the perfect little push for me.
These are the Canadian books I currently have on my shelves. There’s a decent chance that none of the books here will end up read this year, but it’s a good starting point.
- The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett
- The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
- The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
- Journey to the Edge of the World by Billy Connolly (Scottish author, Canadian travelogue)
- An Innocent in Scotland by David W. McFadden (Canadian author, Scottish travelogue)
- The “Hobbit” Companion by David Day
- The Soup Sisters Cookbook by Sharon Hapton
- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
- The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skibsrud
- The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
- Food Artisans of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands by Don Genova
- The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
Books Reviewed
- Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis
- Packing My Library: An Elegy and Ten Digressions by Alberto Manguel
- Sailing Alone around the World by Joshua Slocum
- Property Values by Charles Demers
- The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
- All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai
If any of you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear them!
18 Comments
Bookstooge
I realize what I am about to ask can seem obnoxious, but I am not trying to be.
What is the point of something like this? I get the whole challenge part, we always do better when striving FOR something. But once it gets outside of pure numbers (ie, I want to read 100 books this year) then the challenge seems so arbitrary that any meaning is pointless.
That is me looking in on what you are doing. Can you explain the “why”, just for you mind you, not everyone 🙂 I would like to understand.
Rob
No worries, not obnoxious at all.
For me, i just enjoy having a little reminder to vary my reading a little. When I started blogging, I joined a couple of challenges around reading the classics. There were a lot of books that I meant to get to but just wasn’t in the habit of picking up. I think partly because I participated in those challenges, classics are now just a part of my everyday reading.
Most of these things do a monthly wrap-up where the participants’ reviews are posted, and I’ve found a lot of weblogs and book recommendations through those. I do one for food-related books, and I only read 5 or 6 a year, but I do enjoy seeing what other food books people are reading. I could definitely just browse through those wrap-ups after the fact, but it’s nice to be a bit more involved.
The challenge part is actually the least important aspect for me, and I kinda wish another name caught on that sounded a bit less American Gladiators, as I’m not really going to stress too much if I’m a couple books behind. It’s more about making a point to explore a particular genre or theme around books.
I also just like having an excuse to list out books occasionally.
Bookstooge
Thanks! That really does help 🙂
Rob
No problem!
ireadthatinabook
I enjoyed The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie when I read it. I would recommend it if you want an easy read on a warm summer day.
Rob
I can see that very situation coming up soon. Thanks!
james b chester
I’ve read The Sister Brothers and The Blind Assassin and loved them both. I’d say start with the Brothers ad then go for the Assassin.
Rob
Yes, I have been looking forward to both of those. Not sure why I haven’t picked them up yet. I think I’ll be reading The Sister Brothers in the next few months.
Ruthiella
Sisters Brothers gets my vote! I read it a few years ago and really liked it. I keep meaning to pick up a copy of this follow up Major Domo but haven’t managed it yet. So many books, so little time!
Rob
Perfect, thanks! I’ve heard a lot of good things about that book now.
thebookwormdrinketh
Ha ha ha!!! It’s SO FUNNY that you posted this! I decided that I wanted to review a Canadian book for Canada Day… Long story short I found THE WEIRDEST Canadian novel ever… Okay, that’s probably not true. But, it’s WEIRD! My post goes up tomorrow and I can’t wait to see the reactions to it. It won the Govenor General’s Literature Award people, IT’S NOT MY FAULT! Ha ha! … I hope everyone doesn’t un-follow me. This may be a test of my readership! 😂😂😂🐻🇨🇦🍁🍻
Rob
Oh, now I’m very intrigued! I love weird, so I’ll stick around.
thebookwormdrinketh
Ha ha ha!!! You may change your mind!! 😂😂 Hopefully not. I hope people understand, I DID IT FOR CANADA! 🇨🇦🍁😅
Geoff W
Honestly you should just read all the Atwood 😀 If she’s not she should be a National Treasure! I’ve actually got Bartlett’s on my shelf or kindle too, but haven’t gotten around to it yet.
Rob
True, I really should! I’ve actually only read The Handmaid’s Tale (which I loved) and Good Bones and Simple Murders (which was okay), so I definitely need to read through more of her novels.
Geoff W
Oh you have to read the MaddAddam trilogy. It’s another speculative one that’s so close to possibly happening it’s scary.
Christina Gibbs
Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series is quite fun! I’m eagerly waiting #10. And “Water for Elephants” was excellent, too. Happy Canada Day!
Rob
Thank you! I’m looking forward to diving into the Flavia de Luce series this summer. I’ve been hearing nothing but good things about them since I first mentioned them.