Canada Reads 2009 / Giveaway

My First Giveaway!

thatsthebook42 Comments

This is part of the book giveaway carnival being hosted over at bookroom reviews.

So I thought I would give this a shot. I’ve been the recipient of a few prizes when others have done giveaways and thought it’s been more than time for me to host one of my own. I’ve been trying to think of the best thing I could giveaway. After giving it significant thought I’ve decided to giveaway a copy of the winning novel in this years Canada Reads 2009, or if you already have the novel you may select one of the other contenders.

To celebrate great Canadian writing you need to tell me what your favorite Canadian novel is and if you really want you can tell me why it’s your favorite.

The novels up for Canada Reads this year are:
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant by Michel Tremblay
Fruit by Brian Francis
Mercy Among the Children by David Adams
The Outlander by Gil Adamson

Canada Reads runs on CBC from March 2-6 so the winner will be selected the following day. All the best to everyone who enters. I must also say I hope to hear about some great Canadian novels that I haven’t read yet.

42 thoughts on “My First Giveaway!”

  1. If the giveaway is open internationally I’d love to be entered. My favourite Canadian novel is Life After God by Douglas Coupland. It’s one of my favourite books ever. I love the writing. I love the strange little illustrations. I love how it captures the loneliness, the despair, the hope and the beauty of our lives.

  2. My favorite Canadian novel(s) are the Anne of Green Gables books. I really want to visit PEI. Runner up is The Blind Assassin.

    Thanks for hosting a giveaway!

  3. This is a really tough question because my favorite novels period are Canadian. I guess being Canadian I am biased?

    I think I would have to say “The Robber Bride” by Margaret Atwood. I’m a huge Atwood fan and love a number of her books (although I never could get into “The Blind Assassin”) but “The Robber Bride” always really resonanted with me. I’m bad at remembering plots, etc so I remember things by how I felt. I was totally engrossed in this book and found myself identifying with every single character (of the main female characters). I love how Atwood creates such strong, yet vulnerable women. They always feel so real to me.

    Anyway, love your blog and glad you’re feeling better and able to update!

  4. The first book that came to mind was Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, which was among my favourite books as a child. But as I thought more about it, I realised that quite a few of the authors I enjoy reading are Canadian, such as Margaret Atwood and Douglas Coupland. And while they have some incredible books in their repertoire, I have to pick Carol Shields’ The Stone Diaries, which retriggered my love for reading. My high school lit teacher introduced that book to us, and I just couldn’t wait to read more.

  5. I read Mercy and Outlander for Canada Reads but the others haven’t arrived from the library in time. Mercy Among the Children is my latest favourite Canadian lit. But you want other suggestions so Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden is definitely at the top of my list, a five star read. I recommend it highly. I would like to be entered for the draw please. Thank you.

  6. Count me in too please! 🙂

    My favorite Canadian novel is Anne of Green Gables. I’ve loved the whole series since I was a child and visiting PEI is a dream of mine.

    joanna.loves.books at gmail dot com

  8. My favourite Canadian novel is The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence – but my favourite Canadian BOOK is Literary Lapses by Stephen Leacock – it’s amusing stories rather than a novel.

  10. What a fantastic giveaway!! My favourite Canadian writer is a toss up between Jean Little and Stuart McLean. However I recently read The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson and he’s definitely up-and-coming on my list of Canadian authors!

  11. My favourite Canadian novel would be anything by Alice Munro. I know it’s kind of a standard response but her books are so wonderful and really make you think about life. I find that I totally relate to her characters, and the landscapes are so familiar. I also loved Tales from Firozsha Baag by Rohinton Mistry (who wrote A Fine Balance, also good). “Tales…” struck me as one of the best short story collections I’d read in a long time.

  12. Well, OK – I’m going to have to admit that I’ve never paid attention to where an author lives, so I have no idea whom my favorite Canadian author might be. However, The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill is on my “I really want to read this” list so maybe Mr. Hill will be my favorite Canadian author!

  15. Since I just found out by reading a previous commenter’s comment that Kelly Armstrong is Canadian, I am going to second that she is my favorite!

    Thanks

  16. I’m terrible at choosing favourites, so this is a favourite-for-today rather than a favourite-for-all-time, but I re-read The Englishman’s Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe not long ago and really liked it.

  17. I grew up with my mom reading Anne of Green Gables to me so that brings back nice memories.

  18. My favorite Canadian author is Charles de Lint, and though I like most of his books, my favorite is Medicine Road.

    Thanks for hosting!
    🙂 velocibadgergirl at gmail dot com

  19. Very seldom has an authors’ nationality made a real impression on me. I’m very open and tend to pick from a wide range of books from the newly arrived shelves. I certainly would love to read the winning novel. I have heard of The Outlander and The Gargoyle but haven’t read them yet. Thanks for the opportunity

  22. I would love to enter this contest. I don’t read nearly enough Canadian literature, I’m afraid, but it’s not for lack of interest. My favorite book by a Canadian author is The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald. The book touched me personally and is one I doubt I will forget for a long time to come.

    literaryfeline(at)gmail(dot)com

    Thanks for hosting the giveaway!

  23. I’m sure I’ve probably read a lot of Canadian authors and not known it. My favorite that I know is Canadian is The Violets of Usambara by Mary Soderstrom.

    akreese (at) hotmail (dot) com

  25. One of my favorite Canadian novels is “Entitlement” by Jonathan Bennett. I also love Margaret Atwood and Miriam Toews. Thanks for the giveaway 🙂

  26. Canada has so many amazing authors; a testament to the diverse voices and expriences of it’s people and plural and open culture! As a child (and even as an adult) LM Montgomery’s ‘Anne of Green Gables’ and her various tales of PEI stands out (has made me want to visit PEI for decades now). I love Margaret Atwood and her numerous books, Rohinton Mistry and his ‘A Fine Balance’ as well as ‘Family Matters’… Then there is MG Vassanji and his ‘The Book of Secrets,’ ‘The In-Between World of Vikram Lal,’ ‘Uhuru Street,’ which hits a very personal note for me and my cultural background.

    Please enter me and thank you!

  27. Awesome giveaway! I actually have a lot of favorite Canadian authors and books but I’m going to say Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood is an all time favorite. It is the first book I read by her and it has stuck with me.

    teddyr66 at yahoo dot com

  28. I don’t pay a lot of attention to where an author is from, but have recently read Pierre Berton’s book about cats he’s had throughout his life. The stories and manner in which he writes just draw you right in. I loved that book!

    Please enter me.

  29. Hmm… Jean Little has some great stuff. And of course Robertson Davies (Fifth Business, etc.) is absolutely delightful!

  30. My favs are the Anne of Green Gable’s books. I read them and then as soon as she was old enough, shared them with my teenage daughter. She loved them also, and I am hoping she will save them to share with her own daughters someday.

    thanks for sharing

    ceashark at aol dot com

  31. I’m not sure if i can enter I’m from the states but,My fave author is LM Montgomery I’m currently reading the 2nd book in the series. I’m going to try and read all of them. ezziriah (at)gmail (dot)com

  32. When I was little, I read the Anne of Green Gables Books. Have to go with them as t hey were my first intro to canadian novels

  33. I’m really not sure which books I ave read by Canadians – I guess I should read the author bios more often! I did love The Anne of Green Gables series as a kid, but I know I must have read a lot since then!

  34. If it’s open to all then i am in.

    I just read a book by a Canadian (sure I must have read others too, but dunno which ones) it was The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway and I loved it

  35. My favourite Canadian novel is Clara Callan… it is set in 1930’s Ontario through letters and diaries.. The main character (Clara, surprise surprise) is just so very real. As for who will win the contest this year, I am torn between Mercy and Negroes… one of those two I think.

  36. My favourite Canadian novel is Anne of Green Gables. It’s kinda dorky, but that book is completely timeless…

  39. Do the Tek books by William Shanter count? I wouldn’t call them great literature by they are entertaining.

  40. My favourite Canadian book is Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. I also super loved Peter Behrens’s The Law of Dreams. As for my most recent reads, this year, I liked Anthony De Sa’s Barnacle Love and Claudia Dey’s Stunt. Thanks so much for this giveaway, please enter me! I already have a copy of The Book of Negroes (which I also loved, by the way) so any of the other ones will be appreciated.
    dreamsongpoem at gmail dot com

  41. My favorite Canadian book is MERCY AMONG THE CHILDREN by David Adams Richards. I reserved it at the library when it was first published, and I read it slowly savoring every page. It was my introduction to this Canadian author, and after reading MATC, I went back and read his previous works. I continue to read his books, but MERCY AMONG THE CHILDREN is my absolute favorite thus far. Not everyone in my book group was as impressed as I was when I suggested it for discussion. One member thought the ending unreal and fantasy. If this is what she thought, she truly did not understand the book at all. I cannot tell you the ending because it would be a spoiler.

    Irene

  42. I hope I’m eligible to enter since I’m south of the border now…

    My favorite Canadian book is “The Tin Flute” by Gabrielle Roy. It’s set about 75 years ago in a much different French Canada and is a lovely, bittersweet coming of age story. Now I think I will have to go reread it….

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