Finally.
The Globe and Mail, which disbanded its seasoned book beat team of Martin Levin and Jack Kirchhof last January, has some interesting reading suggestions. The idea was to ask a number of Canadian writers what they would suggest as reading to explain/describe/celebrate the Canadian province where they live.
The whole sheebang got big headlines on the front page (although not on the web edition,) not usually placement that books get in the Globe and Mail these days. Doing that is a lot of Canada Day hoo ha, but when we'll take what we can get these days, won't we? There also is a list of "the editors' picks" of best best-sellers. The editors, by the way, are Jared Bland and Lisan Jutras, who took over in March.
Over at the Toronto Star Emily Donaldson and Alex Goode come up with a list with a little more substance. Their choices include The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer and Once We Had a Country by Robert McGill. I particularly like the short synopsis: "Set during the Vietnam War, the protagonist of McGill’s long-awaited second novel is an American schoolteacher who is abandoned by her draft-dodger boyfriend after the two come to Ontario to establish a commune."
The National Post did its summer reading list a week ago, it seems. Heading the list put together by Mark Medley is Pure by Andrew Miller. We read this historical novel--a real page turner--in one of my reading groups, and while I enjoyed it at the time, I've been worrying about it as I continue my reflection on historical fiction in general. The basic question is: would the story work if it weren't for the detailed description of pre-Revolutionary Paris? Haven't decided.
And what am I reading at the moment on this lovely summer Sunday afternoon? Something decidedly not current: Origins Reconstructed: In Search of What Makes Us Human by Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin. It's 20 years old, but contains a lot of still accurate information--and it's told as an adventure story.
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