Day Zero, Goal #20

I like book clubs. I have one, we read a book and meet on the first Sunday of the month. I like the community of group reading, and I like exploring novels I'd never pick up on my own. Outside of book club, I'm trying to get through the BBC's 100 list (another DayZero goal!) and, annually, conquer CBC's Canada Reads booklist.

I first learned about CBC's Canada Reads program last year, from a very awesome English professor that had us listen to the podcasts as part of our coursework. It was a little late then to read the books they had picked for the 2009 series, so I just listened to the discussions -- though I did manage to read "The Outlander" (sucky) and "The book of Negroes" (awesome, no wonder it was the winner!) later in the year.

This year, however, I was ready. I looked up the list months ago, and as of today, I've read all 5. I loved them, though some were better than others. Some were way better than others. Having read the lot, allow me to make a guess to the success of each novel, and which one ought to reign supreme:

In last place, Generation X by Douglas Coupland. Seriously, after finishing all the books of Canada Reads 2010, the only thought one can have about Generation X is, "now, how did that get in there?"

Second last is Good To a Fault by Marina Endicott. Weak characters, poor plot, boring. Stay awake. Or don't, it doesn't really get better. It's only win over Generation X is it's actually a story, but that doesn't mean it's a good one.

In the middle is the Jade Peony by Wayson Choy. It's a beautiful book, but it's abrupt. My real complaint is that it ends so soon, just as you've fallen in love with it. I wanted more, but it was good while it lasted.

The runner up is Nikolski by Nicolas Dickner. I had to read it all in one weekend to keep the family tree straight, but I found a million little side stories rolled into one very endearing. I loved these characters, and I loved their lives, and I loved the story the whole way through.

In first place, the book that should (will!) win CBC's Canada Reads 2010 is Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald. It's scandalous, it's romantic, it's painful, it's raw. It's real. It was the longest novel of the lot by far, but I wanted it to go on 200 pages more. I think I could have watched the family's history unravel for centuries. I got swept up in it, which what I always want in a novel.

It was a good year!



(I don't have my own picture, as 4 of the books were borrowed from the library and the last from a friend!)