Canada Books

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel Beginning of Was. Author Ania Szado takes the reader on an intensely emotional roller-coaster ride in her gripping, well-crafted story of love remembered, lost and found, of one woman's harsh journey through grief that pushes to the limit, to her eventual salvation from despair, the beginning of healing and reconciliation. For Marta Fett, "was" begins with the death of her five-year-old daughter, Asha, in a car accident which also kills her drinking husband and Asha's father, Kurt. The story is told in a smooth interplay of flashbacks to Marta's own traumatic youth, the cruel, sweet recollections of her Asha, and her life in the present as a homeless desperate charity case helping out in a rectory and a dying old woman's home. Ania Szado is a master craftsman with words. Her sentences are rich in imagery and metaphor, her use of words meticulously accurate and expressive. I admire her clever subtlety and amazing ability to tease, as when Marta writes on a piece of paper which she hides inside the hem of a First Communion gown in the final pages of the novel - on one side is the word "believe," and on the other side, "in despair." Which side is to be read first? I LOVE this book and very strongly recommend it.

This is a lovely, short novel, about a woman who must come to
terms with the grief over the loss of her young daughter. The mysteries
of the novel unravel themselves slowly as you begin to gain a
complete picture of the history that haunts the main character and learn
more about the people around her. And just when you think the
journey is complete, something completely surprising happens
toward the end of the novel that is enlightening and incredibly moving.
The writing style is highly imagistic and lyrical, it took a little getting
used to but this is a book mostly about grief and emotions and the
language of the novel conveys these emotions beautifully. A wonderful
novel about coming to terms with life's greatest pains and losses.
Very strongly recommend.

I live in eastern Canada and I saw John Dalla Costa being interviewed on LIVE AT FIVE by Starr Dobson. I was so impressed I had to read the book immediately. And I'm glad I did. It's like a mini bible of the truth of being generous. Most of us can readily say, "Thank you, I'm so thankful!" but hard to say, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" This is just one of the several things I've learned in this book. Another example: Giving an old coat to Salvation Army is charity. To give your new coat to the Salvation is being generous. Authors Lucinda Vardey & John Dalla Costa co-writes this book and they are also husband and wife. Highly recommend. It's a must book to sit in the bathtub or read anywhere to give you inspiration. Then, of course, act upon what you've learned from the book.

This lovely book, although not overtly "religious" until the last
chapter, explicitly offers to a wide audience a spiritual way of giving,
receiving and circulating. Generosity is a profound attitude
that can percolate the whole of life; Lucinda and John offer real-life cameos of generative generosity and show a myriad practical ways in which we can be generous without our own agenda, and offer ourselves to receive the blessings of the Spirit; how circulation in our communities and in the world happens as a result. Like the Light, it shows us our darkness as well as offering illumination. There are challenges here for us all: to be open-hearted, adventurous, fearless, forgiving: to live with "a thinking heart" . The authors tell us that the most generous words in the world are "Thank you" and "I'm sorry"; on the cover is printed a little "Thank you". How beautiful.
Thank you, Lucinda and John, thank you for this book.

this book is extremally well written and has many, many details i would truely recommend this book for not just beginners but everbody . it does not leave out anything and is definitly thone of the best books ive ever read. you should definitely read this book .

this book is extremally well written and has many, many details i would truely recommend this book for not just beginners but everbody . it does not leave out anything and is definitly thone of the best books ive ever read. you should definitely read this book .

Very informative book in full color.
I lots of anchorages I did not know about.

Probably one of the best guides for anchorges on the lower BC coast.

The only way to safely express the feelings Bill Clinton's conduct produces is the editorial cartoon. The man just defies words. So this was a vintage year for cartoonists - and it shows. The cartoons in this book are just great. They canalise wrath into laughter, but also - on social issues - create the awareness that some matters are too serious to be laughed at.

A very good reason to buy this book: it features some of my own work. Really, this is reason enough to buy this excellent volume. Trust me.

Farley's Follies (as the author renames this collection in his foreword) is an enchanting encounter with our Northern Neighbors. After the introduction of the sailing librarian father, and his floating boat-mobile, I was thoroughly locked into the magical land of travel via armchair. Clever illustrations could have (should have?) included a map as these stories take the reader all over Canada: Ontario, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and the tundra of Hudson Bay. Depression refugees, trading the re-invented fishing boat for the prairie ark/schooner, pet owls, a magic mutt, naturalist training, an artic expedition, sailing adventures, amazingly tolerant and encouraging parents, and letters home from WW2, the reader watches the man emerge in this an exceptional compilation.-Mamalinda

Like most Americans, I had never heard of Farley Mowat until I made the association of the Disney film "Never Cry Wolf" with his name on a book spine one day. I loved the movie, so I figured I might as well try out the book.

I adored Never Cry Wolf, but you often hear that a writer has one good book in him (or her), and after that it is all downhill. Furthermore, I looked in the library catalog and Mowat had dozens of titles! I had no idea which ones to try, they had odd titles! So I picked up this reader, to get an idea which of the titles I might want to pick out.

After reading this collection, I decided I wanted to read them all. Mowat is simply the best Canadian writer, and one of the top of this century, in my humble opinion. I have now read five of his books, and my collection continues to grow. Even the books that are represented as children's books (like The Dog Who Wouldn't Be) are a joy to adults as well.

Mowat has the keen eye of observation that Mark Twain had, but without the viciousness of the satire... he is much more coy and subtle in his musings on families and nature. Many of his works involve the Arctic north, Saskatchewan, the high seas, and animals; but I have yet to find a poorly written chapter in any of his works.

If you want some proof that Mowat is worth buying, pick up this Reader and see for yourself. I read a few small portions to my writers club as samples of excellent writing, and they loved it. It reads smoothly, like a storyteller would speak, like a Garrison Keilor tale.

He is a controversial figure, is my understanding. Purportedly, he is not allowed to visit the United States, because in one book he claimed to shoot his rifle at overflying US warplanes. Who knows if this is true; Mowat admits to a bit of freedom in embellishing a tale; which is only right, since it is more fun that way. Don't worry about these details, just read some of it and enjoy it.

The above review is misplaced and was meant to be a review
for another publication of this author's entitled:
Peter Mills of Windsor, Connecticut.

Helen Ullmann is an experienced genealogist and author. Her research and resources are impeccable. Having several of this author's publications, I'm always assured of accuracy of information. This book is most interesting historical review of northern New England and the life and times of that era.

This is a phenomenal story. The author's 22-year passion of research results in a read that you don't want to put down. The fact that it is all based on reality makes it even more enthralling. This is a wild tale.

This would also be a useful read for anyone researching the history of the Canadian penal code and the 'ticket-of-leave' precursor to modern, more liberal ideas, about the potential for rehabiliation in criminals.

I'm very glad I got into this book - highly recommended.

The Big Red Fox is the story of Canada's most notorious bank robber.Also a fascinating look at the underworld.A behind the scenes look at how we are often manipulated by the media.A brilliant time capsule.And it's all true.This is a must read for all crime ,history or true story fans.Just could not put it down.

If you've read "Row to Alaska By Wind & Oar" by Pete and Nancy Ashenfelter, you will enjoy this book more. It's the same place only in 1937 and rowed by a woman just out of college using a dugout canoe and oars. The book was only recently finished having been a lifetime project for the author. But it's full of really nice B&W photos of the journey and enough detail that if you were planning this trip it would give you an idea about where the dangerous water lies and the kind of things you might want to bring. A great armchair adventure.

In 1937 one Betty Carey embarked on the ultimate adventure, rowing from Puget sound Alaska by dugout canoe but her adventure didn't end there. Her explorations of the Inside Passage and adventures with loggers, lightkeepers, fishermen, missionaries and other residents recounted in Bijaboji: North To Alaska By Oar creates an astounding adventure story armchair readers won't want to miss.

This was such a great addition to "The Best Hikes of Colorado" that I had previously purchased. These "superguides" are my favorite, by far. Everything is spelled out for you, the difficulty, the length of the ride, what you will see along the way and directions on how to get there. They even put maps of each area so you could go off on a different path and change your ride. I LOVE the removable pages and the plastic sleeve so you can take the page with you!

This is a must-have book for anyone who enjoys biking in Colorado! The maps are very well laid out, removable, with a plastic pouch included to store them in on your bike, and every great trail and road for biking is in there.