Oh, Canlit! (Or: Oh, Lit-de-Can!)

On the sixth day of My Twelve Days of Challenges, I’m bookchatting about three Canlit-based reading projects: Canadian Book Challenge 3, Canada Reads, and Canada Reads Indie.

Canada Reads: Nicolas Dickner’s Nikolski (2005)
Translated French-English, Lazer Lederhendler (2008)
Marina Endicott’s Good to a Fault (2008)
Ann-Marie MacDonald’s Fall on Your Knees (1996)
Wayson Choy’s The Jade Peony (1995)
Douglas Coupland’s Generation X (1991)

Two of these were re-reads and my Canada Reads reading is a staple, so I’d reserved time for these. (I’m a bit obsessed with reading all of the Canada Reads choices and I have a few to catch up on.)

But this was the first year for Canada Reads Indie, so I hadn’t planned for enough time to re-read two of those as well:
Carrie Snyder’s Hair Hat
Rebecca Onstad’s How Happy to Be.

My 2010 Canada Reads Indie reads for 2010
(hosted by Pickle Me This):
Martha Ostenso’s Wild Geese (1925)
Ray Robertson’s Moody Food (2002).
Ray Smith’s Century (1986)

This upcoming season, however, I’ve got time saved for both sets of books, re-reads and all.

I didn’t track my regular Canlit this year, only the Ethel Wilson themed reading that I did for the Canadian Reading Challenge 3:

Hetty Dorval (1947)
The Innocent Traveller (1949)
The Equations of Love (1952)
Swamp Angel (1954)
Love and Salt Water (1956)
Mrs. Golightly and Other Stories (1961)
Ethel Wilson: Stories, Essays and Letters (1985)
Ethel Wilson by Desmond Pacey
The Other Side of Silence: A Life of Ethel Wilson by Mary McAlpine
Ethel Wilson: A Critical Biography by David Stouck

These ten reads confirmed my status as an Igloo. I *had* to be an Igloo. You understand that, right?

If I toss out the ‘high’ and the ‘low’ on the challenge rating scale (on 1 to 10, in terms of how hard it was to read each set)…I’d be at a 5 for how challenging these were. (The ‘1’ would be Ethel Wilson’s <i>The Innocent Traveller</i>, completely charming and a true joy to read and the ’10’ would be Ray Smith’s <i>Century</i>, which forced me to read aloud every word.)

But I guess you already know that I loved (nearly) every minute of it, because I’m back for more servings of each of these challenge dishes. Curious? You can check them out here: Canadian Reading Challenge 4, Canada Reads 2011, Canada Reads Indie 2011.
Did any of these Canadian books made an appearance on your bedside table this reading year?
Or, have any of them nudged themselves up the stack, making motions towards 2011?