The 2nd Canadian Book Challenge- 4th Update

Four months in and we're already up to 381 books!

Congrats to Historia for reading yet another 13 books (this time for a single author approach), as well as to Steve and JK for reaching 13. Well done! Welcome as well to newcomers Heather, Laurie, Wayne, Mark and Carla.

Here are the standings so far (* indicates a new review). Some highlights this month include a barrage of Lucy Maud Montgomery books (thanks to Becky who reviewed 7 and 3M who read 1), one of my personal favourites, Barney's Version (thanks to JK), one of September's prizes, Whale Song (thanks to Wanda), still more Gargoyle and Yellowknife reviews (thanks to Jo) and two reviews of each (for your comparing pleasure) of The Tenderness of Wolves, King Leary, Water For Elephants, The Flying Troutmans, Bookweird, The Secret World of Og, Anne of Avonlea, and Coventry (as well as a trio of books by Douglas Coupland and a couple of books each by Robertson Davies and Charles de Lint). Of course, there's the usual great assortment of genres, well and lesser known authors and titles, and so on. Thanks to everyone for your wonderful reviews. Keep those conversations happening!

Nunavummiut (13 Books...or more!)

HistoriaSA
- Up, Up, Down by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko*
- Playhouse by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko*
- Alligator Baby by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko*
- The Sandcastle Contest by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko
- Class Clown by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko
- Just One Goal by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko
- More Pies! by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko
- No Clean Clothes! by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko
- Boo! by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko
- Smelly Socks by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko
- Get Out of Bed! by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Alan 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

Steve
- The Channel Shore by Charles Bruce*
- Barometer Risingby Hugh MacLennan*
- The Clockmaker by Thomas Haliburton*
- My Famous Evening by Howard Norman*
- Rockbound by Frank Parker Day
- Roger Sudden by Thomas Raddall
- The Mountain and the Valley by Ernest Buckler
- The Film Club by David Gilmour
- Nikolski by Nicolas Dickner
- What Happened later by Ray Robertson
- King Leary by Paul Quarrington
- The Game by Ken Dryden
- Midnight Hockey by Bill Gaston

JK
- Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler*
- A History Of Reading by Alberto Manguel*
- The Wars by Timothy Findley*
- Too Close To The Falls by Catherine Gildiner
- The Underpainter by Jane Urquhart
- The Rules of Engagement by Catherine Bush
- Happenstanceby Carol Shields
- The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
- lullabies for little criminals by Heather O'Neill
- Late Nights On Air by Elizabeth Hay
- A History of Forgetting by Caroline Adderson
- JPod by Douglas Coupland
- The End of East by Jen Sookfong Lee

August
- Cockroach by Rawi Hage
- Rust and Bone by Craig Davidson
- Once by Rebecca Rosenblum
- Adult Entertainment by John Metcalf
- Flight Paths and the Emperor by Steven Heighton
- Dancing Nightly in the Tavern by Mark Antony Jarman
- Red Plaid Shirt by Diane Schoemperlen
- The Girls Who Saw Everything by Sean Dixon
- Degrees of Nakedness by Lisa Moore
- The Tracey Fragments by Maureen Medved
- Exotic Dancers by Gerald Lynch
- Stunt by Claudia Dey
- A Week of This by Nathan Whitlock

HistoriaFS
- Paddle To The Arctic by Don Starkell
- When We Were Young editted by Stuart McLean
- The Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor by Sally Armstrong
- I Married The Klondike by Laura Beatrice Berton
- After by Francis Chalifour
- 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

Kathleen
- Jeux D'adresseseditted by Julie Huard, Michel-Remi Lafond, and Francois-Xavier Simard*
- Slow Lightning by Mark Frutkin
- 13 by Mary-Lou Zeitoun
- Book of Longing by Leonard Cohen
- Run of the Town by Terrence Rundle West
- Volkswagen Blues by Jacques Poulin
- Natasha and Other Stories by David Bezmozgis
- An Acre In Time by Phil Jenkins
- 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

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians
(12 Books)

Nicola
- My Name Is Number 4 by Ting-Xing Ye*
- The Shadow of Malabron by Thomas Wharton*
- Bookweird by Paul Glennon*
- Night Runner by Max Turner
- Getting the Girl by Susan Juby
- Jolted by Arthur Slade
- Starclimber by Kenneth Oppel
- Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
- The Horseman's Grave by Jacqueline Baker
- Newton and the Time Machine by Michael McGowan
- The Shooting of Dan McGrew by Robert W. Service and illustrated by Ted Harrison
- The Seance by Iain Lawrence

Albertans (11 Books)

Saskatchewanies (10 Books)

Wanda
- Whale Song by Cheryl Kaye Tardif*
- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen*
- Ramasseur by Richard deMuelles
- Passion Fruit Tea by Elenore Schonmaier
- Turtle Valley by Gail Anderson-Dargatz
- a week of this: a novel in seven days by Nathan Whitlock
- The Birth House by Ami McKay
- Baltimores Mansion by Wayne Johnston
- Mercy Among The Children by David Adams Richards
- The Skating Pond by Deborah Joy Corey

PookerX
- Frogs and Other Stories by Diane Schoemperlen*
- Sisters of Grass by Theresa Kishkan
- The Outlander by Gil Adamson
- A Certain Mr. Takahashi by Ann Ireland
- 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

Yukoners (9 Books)

Joy
- Forty Words For Sorrow by Giles Blunt*
- Hate You by Graham McNamee*
- The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
- Runaway by Alice Munro
- Moral Disorder by Margaret Atwood
- Gallows View by Peter Robinson
- The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
- Charley's Web by Joy Fielding
- Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Traveler One
- Easton by Paul Butler*
- Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam*
- Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill*
- Lesser Blessed by Richard Van Camp*
- The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
- 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

Paul P
- Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb
- The Wars by Timothy Findley
- 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

Prince Edward Islanders (8 Books)

PookerY
- Phantom Lake: North of 54 by Birk Sproxton*
- This Business With Elijah by Sheldon Oberman*
- More by Austin Clarke*
- Murmel, Murmel, Murmel by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko
- Nikolski by Nicolas Dickner
- The Rez Sisters by Tomson Highway
- Yellowknife by Steve Zipp
- Consolation by Michael Redhill

British Columbians (7 Books)

Becky
- Anne of Avonleaby Lucy Maud Montgomery*
- Rilla of Ingleside by Lucy Maud Montgomery*
- Rainbow Valley by Lucy Maud Montgomery*
- Anne of Ingleside by Lucy Maud Montgomery*
- Anne's House of Dreams by Lucy Maud Montgomery*
- Anne of Windy Poplars by Lucy Maud Montgomery*
- Anne of the Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery*

Raidergirl
- A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews*
- Exit Lines by Joan Barfoot
- The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence
- The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
- Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson
- Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
- The Birth House by Ami McKay

Jo
- The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland*
- Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson*
- Yellowknife by Steve Zipp*
- Watching July by Christine Hart*
- The Green Beauty Guide by Julie Gabriel*
- Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
- The Game by Teresa Toten

Jo-Ann
- Some of the Kinder Planets by Tim Wynne-Jones*
- Hero of Lesser Causes by Julie Johnston
- Lisa by Carol Matas
- Ticket to Curlew by Celia Barker Lottridge
- Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
- Thumb In The Box by Ken Roberts
- Dippers by Barbara Nichol and illustrated by Barry Moser

Corey
- Brother Dumb by Sky Gilbert*
- The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews
- Entitlement by Jonathan Bennett
- Cockroach by Rawi Hage
- Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere by John McFetridge
- The Killing Circle by Andrew Pyper
- The Order of Good Cheer by Bill Gaston

Teena
- The Canadian Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine by Sherry Torkos
- Down The Coal Town Road by Sheldon Currie
- The Story So Far... by Sheldon Currie
- Lauchie, Liza & Rory by Sheldon Currie
- I've Got A Home In Glory Land by Karolyn Smardz Frost
- The War On Women by Brian Vallee
- Truth and Rumors: The Truth Behind TV's Most Famous Myths by Bill Brious

Richard
- Spook Country by William Gibson
- Pear Tree Pomes by Roy Kiyooka
- The Witness Ghost by Tim Bowling
- Forage by Rita Wong
- Slash by Jeannette Armstrong
- Ontological Necessities by Priscilla Uppal
- Time Was Soft There by Jeremy Mercer

Northwest Territorians (6 Books)

Violette
- Small Ceremonies by Carol Shields*
- Burden of Desire by Robert MacNeil
- Barrington Street Blues by Anne Emery
- Black Ice by Linda Hall
- Blood Lies by Daniel Kalla
- Bone To Ashes by Kathy Reichs

Kailana
- Coventry by Helen Humphreys*
- Extraordinary Canadians: Lord Beaverbrook by David Adams Richards
-The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews
-Don't Lets Go The Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
-Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland
-Traveling Music by Neil Peart

John
- King Leary by Paul Quarrington*
- The Secret World of Og by Pierre Berton*
- Beneath The Naked Sun by Connie Fife
- A Theft by Saul Bellow
- Arctic Migrants/ Arctic Villagers by David Damas
- White Eskimo by Harold Horwood

Sam Lamb
- The Body's Place by Elise Turcotte*
- Streak of Luck by Richelle Kosar*
- Latitudes of Melt by Joan Clark*
- A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews
- The Given by Daphne Marlatt
- A Map of Glass by Jane Urquhart

Sandra
- At A Loss For Words by Diane Schoemperlen
- Mister Sandman by Barbara Gowdy
- Twice Born by Pauline Gedge
- Quintet by Douglas Arthur Brown
- Coventry by Helen Humphreys
- Remembrance of Summers by J. M. Kearns

Manitobans (5 Books)

Joanna
- The Secret World of Og by Pierre Berton*
- Clauda by Britt Holmstrom
- The Only Snow in Havanna by Elizabeth Hay
- The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou
- Wolf Tree by Alison Calder

Melanie
- the Retreat by David Bergen*
- Blasted by Kate Story
- The Brutal Heart by Gail Bowen
- Prarie Bridesmaid by Daria Salamon
- Saltsea by David Helwig

Lara
- That Scatterbrain Booky by Bernice Thurman-Hunter*
- Ontario Murders by Susan McNicoll
- Jacob Two-Two Meets The Hooded Fang by Mordecai Richler
- Stolen by Kelley Armstrong
- Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

Nathan Smith
- Bookweird by Paul Glennon*
- Belle Moral by Ann-Marie MacDonald
- The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
- A Secret Between Us by Daniel Poliquin
-The Wars by Timothy Findley

Ariel
- Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen*
- Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet by Joanne Proulx
- The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
- At A Loss For Words by Diane Schoemperlin
- The End of East by Jen Sookfong Lee

Framed
- The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney*
- Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs*
- Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast by Bill Richardson*
- Barometer Rising by Hugh MacLennan
- Niagara, A History of The Falls by Pierre Berton

Ragdoll
- Whetstone by Lorna Crozier*
- The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews*
- Quick by Anne Simpson*
- Runaway by Alice Munro
- Away by Jane Urquhart

Tara (find reviews in her sidebar)
- King Leary by Paul Quarrington*
- Brown Girl In The Ring by Nalo Hopkinson*
- Lullabies For Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill
- Living Room by Allan Weiss
- Elizabeth and After by Matt Cohen

Remi
- The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews*
- The Killing Circle by Andrew Pyper
- Fast Forward and Other Stories by Delia de Santis
- The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland
- Selected Poems (1972) by Al Purdy

Sam
- Yellowknife by Steve Zipp
- Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs
- Consumption by Kevin Patterson
- The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
- No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod

Monica
- A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
- Conceit by Mary Novik
- Forage by Rita Wong
- Porcupine by Meg Tilly
- The Alchemist's Dream by John Wilson

Shereadsbooks
- Yellowknife by Steve Zipp
- The Wars by Timothy Findley
- Great Canadian Short Stories edited by Alec Lucas
- The Fire Dwellers by Margaret Laurence
- The Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro

New Brunswickers (4 Books)

3M
- Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen*
- Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery*
- Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) by Ann-Marie MacDonald
- Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Mary Ellen
- Still Life by Louise Penny*
- The Impact of a Single Event by R. L. Prendergast
- The Whirlpool by Jane Urquhart
- Margarita Nights by Phyliss Smallman

Bybee
- JPod by Douglas Coupland*
- Anne of The Island by Lucy Maud Montgomery
- Unless by Carol Shields
- Fifth Business by Robertson Davies

Gypsysmom
- Murther and Walking Spirits by Robertson Davies*
- Itsuka by Joy Kogowa
- Since Daisy Creek by W. O. Mitchell
- Prospero's Daughter by Constance Beresford-Howe

Callista
- Dear Toni by Cyndi Sand-Eveland*
- Leslie's Journal by Allan Stratton*
- The Reading Solution by Paul Kropp*
- Pact of the Wolves by Nina Blazon and translated by Sue Innes*

Ripley
- Inside Out Girl by Tish Cohen
- The Killing Circle by Andrew Pyper
- The Line Painter by Claire Cameron
- Indigenous Beasts by Nathan Sellyn

L.Hill
- Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
- Surfacing by Margaret Atwood
- As For Me and My House by Sinclair Ross
- A Bird In The House by Margaret Laurence

Teddy
- Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje
- Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
- Look for Me by Edeet Ravel
- Horseman's Grave by Jacqueline Baker

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)

Lesley
- The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney*
- The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson
- Open Secrets by Alice Munro

Gautami
- Sir Cook, The Knight? by Erik Mortensen*
- Shelf Monkey by Corey Redekop
- The Time In Between by David Bergen

Laurie
- All Families Are Psychotic by Douglas Coupland*
- Sailor Girl by Sheree-Lee Olson
- What We All Long For by Dionne Brand

Tanabata
- Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence by Nick Bantock*
- Dingo by Charles de Lint*
- How To Be a Canadian by Will Ferguson and Ian Ferguson

Scribacchina
- By Grand Central Station I Sat Down And Wept by Elizabeth Smart*
- The Actual by Saul Bellow
- The Song of Kahunsha by Anosh Irani

Lizzy
- Helpless by Barbara Gowdy*
- Catholics by Brian Moore*
- Late Nights On Air by Elizabeth Hay

Bookfool
- Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland
- The Best of Robert Service by Robert Service
- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Chris
- Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
- Yellowknife by Steve Zipp
- Loyalists and Layabouts by Stephen Kimber

Tracy
- A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews
- Rollbackby Robert J. Sawyer
- The Birth House by Ami McKay

Scott
- Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
- A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Icefields by Thomas Wharton

Nan
- Nova Scotia by Tanya Lloyd Kyi
- Tottering in My Garden by Midge Ellis Keeble
- The Pioneers of Inverness Township by Gwen Rawlings

Quebecois (2 Books)

Cheryl
- Six Seconds by Rick Mofina*
- Honour Among Men by Barbara Fradkin

Linda/CT
- Map of Glass by Jane Urquhart
- Caedman's Song by Peter Robinson

April
- The Birth House by Ami McKay
- The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart

Stacy
- My One Hundred Adventures by Polly Horvath
- All-Season Edie by Annabel Lyon

Orchidus
- The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Lee
- Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb
- The Droughtlanders by Carrie Mac

Joanna
- Claudia by Britt Holmstrom
- The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou

Claire
- The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
- Song of the Paddle by Bill Mason

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

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

Ontarians (1 Book)

Susan
- Wolf Moon by Charles de Lint*

Heather
- Kiss of the Fur Queen by Tomson Highway*

Paul R
- Fifth Business by Robertson Davies*

Jules
- The Moons of Jupiter by Alice Munro*

Carla
-Coventry by Helen Humphreys*

Wayne
-Beaverbrook: A Failed Legacy by Jacques Poitras*

Lisa
- Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen

Kayleigh
- Alice, I Think by Susan Juby

DebbieS
- An Imperfect Offering by James Orbinsky

Literary Mom
- Late Nights On Air by Elizabeth Hay

Jake
- Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler

Stephanie
- Crow Lake by Mary Lawson

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

(If these standings are not correct, please let me know. As well, if you've missed the explanation of the provincial/territorial headings and can't figure out why you're listed under a particular province, please refer to this post.)

And once again, it's prize time. This month prize comes from Jen of ECW Press along with an announcement of even more prizes to come. First off, it's Brad Kelln's In Tongues of the Dead.

"In the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Yale University there lies a 400-year-old document that no one has been able to decipher. Twenty years ago the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) secretly placed a guard to watch over the document.

The guard, Father Ronald McCallum, is overwhelmed when an autistic child visiting the library appears to read from the manuscript’s pages. Finally its secrets will be revealed! Father Benicio Valori, priest and clinical psychologist, is sent halfway around the world to verify the boy’s ability to read the manuscript.

When the manuscript is stolen, things begin to unravel. It becomes apparent the Vatican has sent others to investigate with orders to stop at nothing from keeping the document’s secrets from being exposed. Fearing for the child’s life, Benicio flees the country to Canada and trusted friend and psychologist, Dr. Jake Tunnel."

To win In Tongues of the Dead you can enter as many times as you're able to increase your chances. Look at the new reviews above (i.e., those marked with an *) and tell me how a specific book could be used in another book challenge (past or present). I know some people prefer to keep their challenges separate, but I encourage people to multitask. For instance: This month I read King Leary which also could have been used towards the Book Awards Reading Challenge as it won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour and the Canada Reads 2008 competition. (Some lists of great reading challenges are posted here and here, though you may know of some that are not listed there. Joy also hosts a lot, if you want to check out her site.) Email your answers to jmutford [at] hotmail [dot] com. I'll draw a winner on November the 14th.
But, not to worry if you don't win this particular ECW title. They've also added a prize pack for the challenge finale in July. Head back to the main post to see what titles are being offered up.
In other news, if you haven't already seen it, the local paper did a story on the Book Mine Set, focusing in particular on the 2nd Canadian Book Challenge. Oddly, this paper was read by someone all the way back in Gander, Newfoundland who then interviewed me about the challenge for their local CBC Radio morning show. Despite my getting up at 5:30 to do a phone interview, I think it pretty well but I don't even know if it's aired yet! It would be nice to add a few Newfoundlanders to the Challenge other than myself!
Until next month, have fun celebrating, promoting and exploring Canadian Books.