I really liked Three Day Road as well. Imagine my surprise when I got to Perth and found Through Black Spruce in the local library.

For Margaret Laurence, I'd recommend The Diviners. And for Atwood, I liked The Edible Woman.

Thomas King - Green Grass, Running Water or Medicine River
Gail Anderson-Dargatz - The Cure for Death by Lightning
Joy Kogawa - Obasan
Ami McKay - The Birth House (loved it)

I've heard Vincent Lam's Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures is good.

Theres a series by Anthony Bidulka about a gay private detective from Saskatoon, Russel Quant. Havent read one yet, but heard him being interviewed recently on CBC and it sounded interesting. A sort of Canadian Mme. Ramotswe perhaps ?

^^

Yeah, well, I recall reading it in university and it wasn't as tedious as some of the other required reading...and its subject matter--the Japanese-Canadian experience during World War II--might be interesting to folks who aren't familiar with that particular episode of Canadian history.

It is a beautiful, lyrical, book. It is also a good read for newcomers to Canada as they can understand how the country has changed from the old colonial mentality of the 40s and 50s to to the liberal democracy it is now.

I heard a radio program featuring Kogawa a few years ago. After the discussion of her work (I think she had just published a new book of poetry) the show was opened up to a phone-in.

One caller was a teacher and she said she used Obasan as a reader for international students. She told how two Chinese students approached her and said, "We were brought up to hate the Japanese but after reading this book we cannot hate them anymore."

There was a silence that seemed to last forever, then a little small voice said, "Oh, I've helped people to stop hating." That was pretty much all the interviewer got out of her for the rest of the broadcast.

Wow. Thanks for sharing that. That's a testament to the power of literature when the written word can extinguish hate instead of contributing to it.

Hi GreenTea3, my new friend!!
As I'm sure you know, KW has the "One Book One Community" idea where each year a book is promoted in the libraries, book stores etc to "...celebrate books and writing, To promote Canadian authors and books, To build a sense of community through the shared experience of reading." A nice idea. I read the book from 2005, Robert J. Sawyer’s "Hominids" which I enjoyed, not having read much sci-fi-ish stuf. THe Book of Negroes was last year's choice. I haven't read it but everyone who I know who has, loved it. This year's recommendation is The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis. Check out the website: http://oboc.ca/ However, I will stick to my mountaineer's biographies. I have scaled Everest many times (from my sofa).

Hey TLR luvvie, Mwah mwah,

I didn't know about that so thanks for the link. I was going to go to Waterloo library with one of my brood as they had a parent and child meet where you could both read the same book and discuss it, although sadly it didn't happen as I had a load of studying to do (trying to make myself sound brainy for the likes of oink and el richo).

Now, today I've learned about another author, Rich Meyrick. He's originally from Britain but now lives in our region in Canada. He was actually at my kids camp today reading some chapters from his book Jaspa's Journey - The Great Migration (might be suited to quirky ole me, don't you think Oink?!). My kid loved it and I'm going to buy it this weekend to support the local author.

Here is a link if anyone else might be interested for themselves or their kids.
http://www.jaspasjourney.com/index.htm

Just checked out the website - fantastic!!!! Thank you for this info. I see the author will be at Kidspark on Sunday (a fun kids festival in Kitchener - for any local newbies with kids). Hope to see you there!!!

Currently reading Canadian History for Dummies, authored by Will Ferguson. I liked his intro.

"The three big themes of Canadian history are keeping the Americans out, keeping the French in, and trying to get the Natives to somehow disappear."

That does sound promising.

*Snort*

Hi,

This is my first posting on this forum. It was actually my wife who spotted this thread and suggested I reply to it, since I happen to be a British ex-pat, and the author of "Jaspa's Journey: The Great Migration" mentioned here. (I feel like I'm in one of those AA meetings you see on TV shows!)

I’m really pleased to say that, as promised, TLR came down to Kidspark and we had a nice chat... I hope your kids also enjoyed the book, TLR. I spend most weekends doing book signings across Ontario, and I often visit schools during the week, and it'd be great to meet some more of you out there.

As Ex-pats, you might also be interested to learn that I've just sent the sequel, "Jaspa's Journey: The Pride of London", off to the publisher, so fingers-crossed they like it!

Cheers,

Rich

Andy Russell - Trails of a Wilderness Wanderer
If you like books about the outdoors/nature/pioneering I think you'll love this. He describes growing up at the feet of the Rocky Mtns and a lifetime spent guiding, trapping, and preserving a way of life that is now rare. One friend to whom I lent this book kept it a long time even though he's a fast reader, and when I asked why he replied that he was deliberately spacing out the chapters because he didn't want it to end. It includes a hilarious section about two British 'remittance men' who lived in his district when he was a child. Also, if you're interested in horses the relationship between wranglers and their pack animals and mounts alone would make this a worthwhile read.
Should someone from here read it, (or if someone already has), I'd like their opinion to compare.