The 2nd Canadian Book Challenge- 1st Update

Well done! Only one month in and already 99 books have been read collectively (compared to about 20 for the 1st month the last time around).

Those of you familiar with the first edition of this challenge will notice that the headings are a little different this time. I scrapped the currency birds in favour of province/territory headings. No, I'm not ranking them in order of preference, so no angry letters from Ontarians, please! I've placed them in the order that they joined confederation or were finally recognized, therefore if you've read all 13 books, you're a Nunavummiut since they were the 13th to join Canada. In cases of a tie, I simply chose the order as presented in this Wikipedia article. I hope it's not too confusing to find a Joan Clark book listed under Northwest Territorians and so forth-- it's based entirely on the number of books you've read, not the author's birthplace.

Anyway, here's a list of the books and reviews read so far. Please visit the links. If anyone spots an inaccuracy in their number of books, missing titles and so forth, let me know. There's a lot more participants this time around and so, it's a bit more difficult to manage. That said, I'll fix any discrepancies as soon as they're brought to my attention. And please remember to give me the heads up when and if you finish a review-- it'll make my job a LOT easier.

Nunavummiut (13 Books)

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians (12 Books)

Albertans (11 Books)

Saskatchewanies (10 Books)

Yukoners (9 Books)

Prince Edward Islanders (8 Books)

HistoriaFS
- Going Inside by Alan Kesselheim*
- Laughing on the Outside: The Life of John Candy by Martin Knelman*
- Rilla of Ingleside by Lucy Maud Montgomery*
- Anne of Ingleside by Lucy Maud Montgomery*
- Anne's House of Dreams by Lucy Maud Montgomery*
- Anne of The Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery*
- The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill*
- Unknown Shore by Robert Ruby*

British Columbians (7 Books)

Paul P
- Famous Last Words by Timothy Findley*
- As For Me And My House by Sinclair Ross*
- Beautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen*
- Pilgrim by Timothy Findley*
- The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence*
- Effigy by Alissa York*
- Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood*

Northwest Territorians (6 Books)

Pooker
- Innercity Girl Like Me by Sabrina Bernardo*
- The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews*
- Beautiful Girl Thumb by Melissa Steele*
- An Audience of Chairs by Joan Clark*
- Where The Pavement Ends by Marie Wadden*
- Naomi's Road by Joy Kogowa and illustrated by Matt Gould*

Kathleen
- Kiss The Sunset Pig by Laurie Gough*
- Psyche's Children by Catherine Joyce*
- The Lidek Revolution by James Stark*
- Pure Springs by Brian Doyle*
- Speak Ill of the Dead by Mary Jane Maffini*
- Without Vodka by Aleksander Topolski*

Manitobans (5 Books)

New Brunswickers (4 Books)

Monica
- Conceit by Mary Novik*
- Forage by Rita Wong*
- Porcupine by Meg Tilly*
- The Alchemist's Dream by John Wilson*

Traveler One
- Random Passage by Bernice Morgan*
- Kiss The Joy As It Flies by Sheree Fitch*
- Late Nights On Air by Elizabeth Hay*
- The Mountain and The Valley by Ernest Buckler*

Elizabeth
- Kit's Law by Donna Morrissey*
- Latitudes of Melt by Joan Clark*
- A Student of Weather by Elizabeth Hay*
- The Calling by Inger Ash Wolfe*

Nova Scotians (3 Books)

Jo-Ann
- Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis*
- Thumb In The Box by Ken Roberts*
- Dippers by Barbara Nichol and illustrated by Barry Moser*

Ripley
- The Killing Circle by Andrew Pyper*
- The Line Painter by Claire Cameron*
- Indigenous Beasts by Nathan Sellyn*

Joanna
- The Only Snow in Havanna by Elizabeth Hay*
- The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou*
- Wolf Tree by Alison Calder*

HistoriaSA
- Get Out of Bed! by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Allan and Lea Daniel*
- We Share Everything by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko*
- Look At Me! by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko*

Sam
- Consumption by Kevin Patterson*
- The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway*
- No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod*

Steve
- King Leary by Paul Quarrington*
- The Game by Ken Dryden*
- Midnight Hockey by Bill Gaston*

Quebecers (2 Books)

Raidergirl
- The Birth House by Ami McKay*
- Crow Lake by Mary Lawson*

Wanda
- Mercy Among The Children by David Adams Richards*
- The Skating Pond by Deborah Joy Corey*

Violette
- Blood Lies by Daniel Kalla*
- Bone To Ashes by Kathy Reichs*

Monodon1
- Life of Pi by Yann Martel*
- The Cure For Death by Lightning*

Lillian
- Memories Are Murder by Lou Allin*
- Pandemic by Daniel Kalla*

Richard
- Ontological Necessities by Priscilla Uppal*
- Time Was Soft There by Jeremy Mercer*

Gautami
- Shelf Monkey by Corey Redekop*
- The Time In Between by David Bergen*

Jo
- Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood*
- The Game by Teresa Toten*

Teddy
- Look for Me by Edeet Ravel*
- Horseman's Grave by Jacqueline Baker*

Nathan Smith
- A Secret Between Us by Daniel Poliquin*
-The Wars by Timothy Findley*

Ragdoll
- Away by Jane Urquhart*
- Loose Girl by Kerry Cohen*

Corey
- The Killing Circle by Andrew Pyper*
- The Order of Good Cheer by Bill Gaston*

Bybee
- Unless by Carol Shields*
- Fifth Business by Robertson Davies*

Joy
- Charley's Web by Joy Fielding*
- Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery*

Ontarians (1 Book)

Gypsysmom
- Prospero's Daughter by Constance Beresford-Howe*

Orchidus
- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery*

Tracy
- The Birth House by Ami McKay*

DebbieS
- An Imperfect Offering by James Orbinsky*

Remi
- Selected Poems (1972) by Al Purdy*

Literary Mom
- Late Nights On Air by Elizabeth Hay*

Chris
- Loyalists and Layabouts by Stephen Kimber*

Jake
- Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler*

Mary Ellen
- Margarita Nights by Phyliss Smallman*

Bookfool
- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery*

Nan
- The Pioneers of Inverness Township by Gwen Rawlings*

Nicola
- The Seance by Iain Lawrence*

Stephanie
- Crow Lake by Mary Lawson*

Mrs. Peachtree
- Stella Fairy of the Forest by Marie-Louise Gay*

Now...let's give some stuff away, shall we? Back on Canada Day, I wrote that there'd be a secret prize for one lucky winner, picked randomly from all those who chose a book of poetry for the Canadian Book Challenge and read it during the month of July. That winner is Joanna who reviewed Alison Calder's Wolf Tree. She's won a prize pack from poet Susan McMaster including Until The Light Bends book and cd, Learning To Ride, The Hummingbird Murders, and uncommon prayer:





(Joanna, email me with your mailing address below. I've read "Uncommon Prayer," and if the rest of the books--and cd-- is just as good, you're in for a treat! Special thanks to Susan for donating such a generous prize.)

This month's prize is Conceit, kindly donated by the author (and a 2nd Canadian Book Challenge participant) Mary Novik.


"Pegge Donne is still a rebellious girl, barely in her teens and already too clever for a world that values learning only in men, when her father, the famous poet John Donne, begins arranging marriages for his five daughters—including Pegge."

"Mary Novik's Conceit [published by Doubleday Canada] was called 'a magnificent novel of 17th-century London' by The Globe and Mail and 'the book that critics have been drooling over' by The Ottawa Citizen. Conceit has been warmly welcomed by book clubs. It won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, was long-listed for the Giller, and was chosen as a Book of the Year by both Quill & Quire and The Globe and Mail."

Also reviewed this month by Monica (see above).

To win Conceit, email me jmutford(at)hotmail(dot)com and tell me 5 books that have been read for the 2nd Canadian Book Challenge, that were not read for the 1st. From those that enter correct responses, I'll be choosing a random winner on the 7th of August, 2008.