Tag Archives: Canada Reads

Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill (book review)

By monnibo | Published: November 26, 2010

I’ve been hearing about Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neill for a few years now in the Canadian Lit scene as it was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award and won the 2007 Canada Reads. When it popped up again in the recent Top 40 Canada Reads books, I decided to go pick up a copy. I’m certainly glad I did. At 12-years-old, Baby vacillates between childhood comforts and adult temptation: still young enough to drag her dolls around in a vinyl suitcase yet old enough to know more than she should about urban cruelties. Motherless, she lives with her father, Jules, who takes better care of his heroin habit than he does of his daughter. Baby’s gift is a genius for spinning stories and for cherishing the small crumbs of happiness that fall into her lap. But her blossoming beauty when she turns 13 captures the attention of a charismatic and dangerous local pimp who runs an army of sad, slavishly devoted girls—a volatile situation even the normally oblivious Jules cannot ignore. You know that nagging feeling you get when you’ve forgotten to finish something, but can’t quite place it? That’s how I felt whenever I wasn’t reading this book. It’s beautifully written, well-told, compelling, and sometimes painful. Baby, the main character, is so innocent and sweet and you can’t help but love her. Baby’s coming-of-age story is saddening because no one should lose their childhood the way she has. Yet it’s impossible not to fall in [...]

Posted in Books, Reviews | Also tagged book, book review, canadian author, canadian book, canadian book awards, heather oneill, lullabies for little criminals, montreal | 3 Comments

Literary Award Season is Upon Us

By monnibo | Published: October 28, 2010

It’s a very exciting time for book people this time of year. All the major prizes are announcing their long lists, or shortlists, or winners. Lots of great book chatter happening. I’ll sum things up as best I can. In Canuckland (aka Canada), the three big literary prizes are: The Scotiabank Giller Prize, The Governor General’s Awards, and The Rogers’ Writer’s Trust Award. Both the GG’s and the Writer’s Trust awards have multiple categories (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, etc.), while the Giller’s are specifically for fiction. Here’s some more Canadian book award news: The Giller’s announced their shortlist on October 5, whittled down from the longlist announced September 20. The Giller longlist included Room by Emma Donoghue, and the shortlist includes Annabel by Kathleen Winter. They’re also having a reader contest to Guess the Giller. The Giller winner will be announced on November 9, 2010. The Canada Council for the Arts funds, administers and promotes the Governor General’s Awards. The GG’s have 14 categories (seven each in English and in French). The shortlist was announced on October 13 and the winners will be announced November 16, with award presentations on the 25th (with the Governor General present). The Writer’s Trust Award shortlist for fiction includes both Emma Donoghue and Kathleen Winter. A selection of finalists will read at the International Festival of Authors on October 27 in Toronto. CBC Literary Awards are for unpublished French and English books, the only award of it’s kind. Submissions close on November 1, 2010. Speaking [...]

Posted in Books, Sharing | Also tagged 3-day novel contest, amazon.ca first book award, bc book prizes, book awards, book prizes, canadian literature, canlitawards, cbc, cbc canada reads, cbc radio, giller prize, governor general's award, hans christian andersen literature prize, international books, literary, man booker prize, national book award, writers trust award | 1 Comment

Canada Reads 2011 Recommendations

By monnibo | Published: October 22, 2010

Canada Reads will be celebrating it’s 10th anniversary in 2010/2011 and have decided to change things up a bit. Before, Canada Reads picked five Canadian public figures and had them champion books for a week-long debate in February. The books were announced in October to give everyone time to read them. This year, Canada Reads has opened it up to the public: what book would you like to see championed during Canada Reads? There are also some more solid rules than before: It has to be written by a Canadian author It has to have been published in the past 10 years, It has to be fiction (mainly because it’s hard enough to compare novels, much less different genres) It has to be selected from a list All the books being recommended are currently being voted on (via the Canada Reads website, Facebook and Twitter). The votes will result in the top 40 essential Canadian novels of the past decade (to be announced Tuesday, October 26). Next, it will be whittled down to the 10 Canada Reads selections on November 9th. Normally it’s 5 books, but this year it’s 10 for their 10th anniversary. I honestly don’t know how they’re going to pick the champions… or get us to. —————- My Recommendations: I went through all of my recent reviews (back to 2007) and found several books that I think could be enjoyed by a wide audience. I also noticed some themes in the books I selected: they’re often about [...]

Posted in Books, Challenge, Sharing | Also tagged annabel, cathleen with, cbc, cbc canada reads, february, having faith in the polar girls prison, kathleen winter, lisa moore, stephen galloway, the cellist of sarajevo | 1 Comment

The Outlander by Gil Adamson (book review)

By monnibo | Published: July 2, 2010

book review for The Outlander by Gil Adamson

I wanted to read this book after I listened to the Canada Reads debates in 2009. It wasn’t the winning book (that was The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill), but the positive things said about The Outlander by Gil Adamson stuck with me. (Note: Gil is short for Gillian, and therefore pronounced like ‘Jill’) In 1903 a mysterious young woman flees alone across the West, one heart-pounding step ahead of the law. At nineteen, Mary Boulton has just become a widow—and her husband’s killer. As bloodhounds track her frantic race toward the mountains, she is tormented by mad visions and by the knowledge that her two ruthless brothers-in-law are in pursuit, determined to avenge their younger brother’s death. Responding to little more than the primitive fight for life, the widow retreats ever deeper into the wilderness—and into the wilds of her own mind—encountering an unforgettable cast of eccentrics along the way.

Posted in Books, Reviews | Also tagged book review, canadian author, canadian book, canadian book awards, gil adamson, the outlander | 1 Comment

Book Awards Galore!

By monnibo | Published: March 17, 2010

The BC Book Prizes announced the 2010 Finalists on Thursday, March 11. Yes, this is self-promo since I work with the BC Book Prizes, but I really believe in what we do so I don’t care! There are some great authors and illustrators listed for seven different awards. We also organize a free Soirée and right now we’re planning our 7th annual BC Book Prizes On Tour. This tour takes finalist authors all over the province — we’re planning three legs: Northern BC, Kootenays, Okanagan and Vancouver Island. Sign up for email newsletters on our website to get all the updates. Canada Reads 2010 also concluded the debates on Friday, March 12. The winner was Nikolski by Nicolas Dicker, translated by Lazer Lederhendler. In my review of Nikolski, I mention I was pleasantly surprised by the translation. However, I’d like to comment that the Canada Reads debates weren’t as intriguing for me this year compared to last year. I remember painting my bedroom last March/April and listening to the debates. I kept thinking “oh I want to read that” for each of the books. I loved The Book Of Negroes and still really want to read Fruit: A Novel About A Boy and His Nipples by Brian Frances and Outlander by Gil Adamson. I think that this year they spent too long debating what makes a book “Canadian”, which was never really the point of Canada Reads. I guess that they [CBC/Canada Reads] need to make their criteria less vague [...]