In my year in review post I mentioned I bought a number of Canadian books and I also had a number sent to me, so I thought I would show you those books! A couple that were sent to me I’ve already read so don’t appear here. Included in my best of list was Danial Neil’s The Sum of One Man’s Pleasure and I also read Lesley Choyce’s latest John Alexander book, The Resurrection of John Alexander MacNeil. It was wonderful to be back with John Alex and thank you so much to Fernwood (Roseway) Publishing for sending!
The other books showing above that were sent by publishers or authors were:
- No, You’re Crazy by Jeff Beamish. I loved Jeff’s Sneaker Wave so happily accepted No, You’re Crazy. It’s about a teenager named Ashlee and her struggle with mental illness and a difficult home life, it’s a thriller that is supposed to delve into neurodiversity and faith.
- Rose Addams came in the package with Danial Neil’s book – I did ask for it because it looks like something I really want to read. Rose is reaching her sixties and her family is complicating her ability to find her own self amongst their issues and struggles.
- ECW Press offered Gin, Turpentine, Pennyroyal, Rue by Christine Higdon and Far Creek Road by Lesley Kreuger but I had just run out and bought Christine Higdon’s book because I so loved her debut, The Very Marrow of Her Bones. I’m currently reading Gin, Turpentine and loving it just as much so it’s a wonderful book to close out my reading year! So I happily accepted Far Creek Road which takes place in the 60s and talks about the unraveling of a neighbourhood and McCarthy-era paranoia all told from the point of view of a nine-year-old. Sounds great!
I ran out and bought Last Winter by Carrie Mac because the marketing of the book said it was as “unforgettable as Frederik Backman’s Beartown“. Now, you know how much I loved and lived in Beartown last year so I considered this a must have! Right away! Must have this. I was going to start reading it but then noted it’s very low ratings on Goodreads and paused, disappointed in myself for buying into the marketing that I know fails me most of the time! Now, I know sometimes those low ratings on GR don’t always match my feelings about a book, but it did give me pause at the time. I’m just going to have to pick it up and give it a try in the new year and make up my own mind about it.
I will read anything by Lesley Crewe at this point. After reading and adoring The Spoon Stealers and Nosy Parker I am looking to fill my shelves with everything written by her. This one sounds absolutely wonderful and I cannot wait to read it!
- I bought The Whispers by Ashley Audrain at Shoppers Drug Mart! Love the 25% off.
- I ordered The Broken Heart of Winter by Judy LeBlanc from Biblioasis Bookstore because it’s published by Caitlin Press. The books I’ve read by Caitlin Press have always been these beautiful things – like the book by Donna Milner, A Place Called Sorry. I even wrote in my review how gorgeous the book was. Imagine my extreme disappointment to find Broken Heart to look almost like an ARC. Bummer.
Ever since reading Ragged Company, every time I walk into a bookstore I look for Richard Wagamese books to add to my shelf. I know, it’s incredible that I haven’t read him before Ragged Company, but I am doing everything to fix that. So far, Medicine Walk and A Quality of Light were available at the bookstore to buy. Tomson’s Highway’s Kiss of the Fur Queen was also sitting there all alone, the only copy, on the bookstore shelf so I bought it. It’s one that’s going to leave hard marks all over me, but a necessary read for certain.
I’m certain there will be plenty more CanLit added to my shelves in 2024, but I’d really like to make these ones a priority first.
(I’m also going to beef about this WordPress Blocks bullocks. They give you options of Lists, Paragraphs, Media and Text combined and it all comes out as one jumbled mess with no lists – there are bullet points next to where I’ve listed books, but they don’t show up in the live post. So you know, I tried. Sorry it looks messy to read here.)
