Showing posts with label 13th annual Canadian Book Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 13th annual Canadian Book Challenge. Show all posts

Saturday, March 6, 2021

Disgusting Critters

This was written February 29, 2020.  I think I intended to add cover images, and that is why it has been sitting in draft for over a year.  I've decided to just post it as is.

 

The Slug by Elise Gravel is part of the "Disgusting Critters" series.  It's a kids book published by tundra.  Cute with little factoids told in a lighthearted way.  It has a nice mix of fonts and font sizes, and goes back and forth between a dark brown and a faded red/pinkish text color on a pale green (with brown tones) background.

The Toad by Elisa Gravel is also part of the "Disgusting Critters" series.  Like The Slug, the pages are a pale green with brown tones.  The font is dark brown and hot pink.  Toads seem pretty fascinating, and the book is pretty quick, so this book may require further reading after.  This book focuses on the common toad in particular, but mentions a Suriname toad whose babies come out of her back? ... cray-cray.  The book also mentions the environmental impact on toads and their benefits in our environments, which is an important message these days.

Yet another entry of the “Disgusting Critters”series by Elisa Gravel, The Spider has a variety of factoids about spiders - they are NOT insects - including that some spiders can spin their silk to hold air for breathing under water. The text and illustrations has some additional colors with pink, red, and a yellow-green.

Elise Gravel is from Montreal, making these Canadian Book Challenge books.


Friday, September 20, 2019

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley


Book 7 in the Flavia de Luce books, As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust has Flavia attending a boarding school in Canada.  This is the first of the books to be set in Canada despite Alan Bradley being a Canadian author. (Alan Bradley is originally from Ontario, although he has lived in Malta - Gozo - and apparently currently lives on the Isle of Man.)  I wasn't sure how the change in location would influence the story.  What happened is Flavia spent less time solving the crime in a lab (which she has scarce access to) and more time trying to navigate (both location, people, and social structure) while nosing out information to solve the murder. 

Jayne Entwistle did her usual excellent job of narration.  Flavia spoke less, and except for rare glimpses of other characters like Dogger and Mrs. Mullet, most voices are Canadian.  This seems obvious (duh, the book is set in Canada), but it was most apparent when the long loved characters had their brief voiced moments.  Just as Flavia was homesick, I missed them too.

I enjoyed the story overall, but I'm looking forward to the change the next book will bring.  I won't say more, lest there be spoilers.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

13th Canadian Book Challenge

I am joining the 13th Annual Canadian Book Challenge.  I did not quite make the 13 books last challenge (I have no excuse... er, I have many excuses, but no good ones).  Anyway, I have from July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2020 to read 13+ Canadian books AND review them.  Usually, there are some mini-challenges along the way as well (I especially haven't been good at that portion).  If you are interested in signing up, visit here.  This year's challenge is being hosted by Canadian Bookworm.

Here we go...

  1. The Long Way Home by Louise Penny (Read by Ralph Cosham).  Louise Penny is a Canadian (Québec) Author.
  2. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust (Read by Jayne Entwistle).  Alan Bradley is a Canadian (Ontario) Author.
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The Long Way Home

It was time for me to revisit Gamache and the people of Three Pines.  I had halted in part because the storyline had become so difficult to process emotionally (a sign of good writing, I suppose), and in part when I learned that the narrator Ralph Cosham had passed.

But it was time to move on, and time to listen to the last of the Gamache books that Cosham did narrate, The Long Way Home (Chief Inspector Gamache, Bk 10).

This story is all about where Clara's husband Peter has gone to, and along the way, how everyone is living within their new positions and life roles after great turmoil, upheaval, and change of the past several books - Gamache, Beauvoir, and the several of the residents of Three Pines have adjustments to work through.  Which brings us back to Peter.  Clara and Peter had a trial separation of 1 year, and Peter was supposed to return to figure out where they go for now.  But he hasn't, and something must be wrong - but what?

There is a lot of symbolism in this story - in the title, the book cover, and the "clues" Peter has left behind.  

I do really enjoy this series.  During this particular book, I laughed throughout and cried once (I cannot say more without spoilers).  I will miss Ralph Cosham, but he did a beautiful job with this last book (and all those proceeding it). 

Going forward, I will be quicker to listen to The Nature of the Beast (Chief Inspector Gamache, Bk 11) and the other books in the series.  I hope narrator Robert Bathurst is a good fit (Louise Penny says he is), and I look forward to my next visit with Gamache and the residents of Three Pines.