Canadian Book Challenge Number 2

OK I have decided that I will do the second Canadian challenge. Which is to read 13 Canadian books in the next 12 months. That should be manageable.

Now last time we were supposed to read one book from every province and territory. But I didn't do that. I did what John calls the Free Spirit challenge - reading any Canadian book I felt like.

Here are the themes for this year.

1. From Sea To Sea To Sea- Books from each province and territory

2. The Prize Pack- Books that have won awards (Gillers, Governor General, Stephen Leacock, etc)

3. New Canadians- Many of our best authors weren't born here (Carol Shields, Michael Ondaatje, etc). Why not celebrate with 13 books they've added to the great Canadian library?

4. The Lesser Knowns- Want to introduce people to authors who haven't gotten the recognition they deserve? This approach would aim to pick 13 books published by small firms or even self-published.

5. Missed Books- Check out the list of books read for the 1st edition of this Challenge. Try to pick 13 books that no one read the first time around.

6. The Double Double- Pick 13 books that also fit the criteria for another book Challenge that you've signed up for.

7. The McClung- How about 13 Canadian books written by women?

8. The Individuals- Many of our authors have been quite prolific, having written 13 or more books. Want to devote the challenge entirely to Lucy Maud Montgomery? Margaret Atwood? Robert Munsch? It's 13 books by a single author.

9. The Provincial/Territorial- Host a sub-challenge if you like! 13 Albertan books, for example, would still fit the mandate for the 2nd Canadian Book Challenge.

10. The Genres- 13 poetry books? 13 picture books? Non-fiction? Sci-fi? If you can find 13 books and define a genre, you can do this approach.

11. Publishers Choice- Pick 13 books all by a single publisher.

12. Titles- 13 books with Canada (or some version of) in the title (ex. Eve Wiseman's Kanada, Will Ferguson's Why I Hate Canadians, or Douglas Coupland's Souvenir of Canada)

13. The Free Spirit- Just pick 13 Canadian books and have fun!

Something tells me I will be doing the Free Spirit Challenge - again.

Here are my first three books - as listed last year and never read.

Unknown Shore: The Lost History of England's Arctic Colony
By Robert Ruby.
Baffin Island, Nunavut

Causeway: A Passage from Innocence
By Linden MacIntyre
Nova Scotia

Emperor of the North
By James Raffan
North Western Territories

I also have the following books which I must read as well.
Yellowknife by Stephen Zipp
The Lost Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill