Why Are We In Afghanistan Again??

I was listening to a very interesting morning interview on CBC Radio(Vancouver I think)with Sally Armstrong. Years ago I read an article this same esteemed journalist/Member of the Order of Canada wrote in Homemaker's Magazine (which she edited) about the plight of Afghani women... in today's interview she talked about some of the same things and did a quick review of the history of Afghanistan. One reason to be in Afghanistan (apart from the NATO invitation) is to support the women of that country to have a voice...
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I invite you to check out all the Canada Reads Books at my Canada Reads Books store and read along with me...

Contender in the Battle of the Books, Canada Reads 2010: Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture

Here is an interview with Douglas Coupland (video) on CBC with Sheila Rogers. This was broadcast back in 1991 following his book, "Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture".
Following are audio pieces about Douglas Coupland/Generation X:

• Q & A Podcast with Douglas Coupland
• Douglas Coupland reads a comic scene from the book "Generation X" wherein he complains about his aging parents.

Read Chapter 1 (PDF) of Douglas Coupland's book, "Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture"
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I invite you to check out all the Canada Reads Books at my Canada Reads Books store and read along with me...

Contender in the Battle of the Books, 2010: The Jade Peony

Here is an excellent interview with Wayson Choy, writer of "The Jade Peony", talking about his book in a CBC interview back in 1996. 

Following are audio pieces of Wayson Choy/"The Jade Peony".

• Wayson Choy introduces and reads an excerpt from his novel, "The Jade Peony."
• CBC's interviewer Sarah Cooper talks to Wayson Choy about The Jade Peony and about Samantha Nutt who will defend his book in the Canada Reads debates. *Wayson refers to a book from his childhood that influenced his thinking (and subsequently, his writing). The book, "Beautiful Joe", was a book that my grandmother read to me as a child... I was thrilled to hear Wayson mention it, and thrilled one Christmas to receive this book as a gift at a workplace Christmas party, in one of those give-away-your-junk gift-giving games! I'm going to reflect a little more about "Beautiful Joe" in my life... _____________________________________________ 

I invite you to check out all the Canada Reads Books at my Canada Reads Books store and read along with me...

Canada Reads 2010 Contender : Good To A Fault

Good To a Fault: A Novel

Here is Marina Endicott, author of "Good To A Fault", one of the Canada Reads 2010 selections, talking briefly about her novel and a little about other aspects of her life (answering questions that have been posed by a hidden interviewer).


Here are various audio pieces by/about Marina Endicott's "Good To A Fault"

• Simi Sara reads from "Good To A Fault" (Simi Sara defends the book panel)
• Marina Endicott talks about her novel and about what it means to have "Good To A Fault" in Canada Reads
• Marina Endicott reads from her novel,"Good To A Fault". In this scene, Lorraine is in the hospital with cancer while her husband, Clayton, has disappeared. He has left their children with a woman, Clara, whom Lorraine barely knows.

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I invite you to check out all the Canada Reads Books at my Canada Reads Books store and read along with me...

2010 Contender in the Canada Reads Battle of the Books- Nikolski

Here is an audio interview by CBC Radio's Tim Belford with the author of "Nikolski", Nicolas Dickner in March 2008.

Here are various audio pieces about Nicolas Dickner/"Nikolski":

• Michel Vezina's Podcast. Michel will defend "Nikolski" in Canada Reads 2010
• Michel Vezina reads from "Nikolski"- Joyce learns that perhaps her mother is not dead after all!
• Nicolas Dickner talks about his first novel "Nikolski" on this podcast
• Nicolas Dickner reads from his novel "Nikolski". In this scene the narrator talks about his job.

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I invite you to check out all the Canada Reads Books at my Canada Reads Books store and read along with me...

2010 Contender in the Canada Reads Battle of the Books- Fall On Your Knees

Click here to listen to/watch a delicious 30-minute interview with Ann-Marie Macdonald with CBC's Pamela Wallin (now Senator Wallin)in 1997. Ms. Macdonald is the author of "Fall On Your Knees" one of the contenders in the 2010 Battle of the Books. She describes writing this, her first novel. 
Following are audio clips of Ann-Marie Macdonald/"Fall on your Knees":

• Ann-Marie Macdonald reads from the opening pages of her novel "Fall on your Knees"
• In this podcast, Ann-Marie Macdonald talks about having her novel "Fall on your Knees" in the 2010 Canada Reads debate

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I invite you to check out all the Canada Reads Books at my Canada Reads Books store and read along with me...

My Decision to Read Again...

Apparently Canadians like to read...fiction.  The CBC-sponsored "Canada Reads" competition is a sort of Great White North version of the Oprah's Book Club.  So far, only fiction has made it on to the list.

That's okay with me.  I'm a lazy old hippie chick who took a lot of Canadian Lit. classes way-back-when (including a token French-Canadian Lit. class-- in English-- but it was very enlightening).  I used to LOOOOVVEEE reading fiction... and then I became a serious adult with a job that didn't seem to allow for the frivolity of fiction.  So, I've devoted umpteen years to trying to "get into" non-fiction and now, my dears, I am going to gorge on Canadian fiction.  There is so much I have to catch up on... I just know that people have been writing books since, say, Margaret Lawrence's Stone Angel.  So, here goes.  I plan to read the books from the 2010 Canada Reads competition, and then, if time permits, to read the books from other years as well.  I feel like I've just stepped out of a big old cryonic tray in the back of some cosmic freezer... (before we knew about "climate change" I would guess)...  I hope this is going to be as much fun for you as it is for me!  Join me!
Check out all the  Canada Reads Books at my Canada Reads Books store and read along with me... (you don't even need to be Canadian )