I am really excited to be participating as an Avid Reader in the Canadian Book Club Awards this year!
Haven't heard of these awards? No worries, this year was the first I heard about it too! I'll fill you in on all the details
Book Criteria:
Self-published, traditionally published, and hybrid-published books are welcome
Books must be published in English
Books must be published within the last 6 years (2018-2024)
Authors must have the copyright to their book
Books must be published and available for purchase in physical form on Amazon (ebook-only publications are not eligible)
Categories
Non-Fiction
Non-Fiction: Memoirs
Fiction
Business/Self-Help
Spirituality/Wellness
Children’s
Children’s: Early Readers
Cookbooks
Thriller/Mystery
Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Romance
YA (Young Adult Fiction)
Poetry
Anthology/Short-Story
(I am an avid reader for both the Non-Fiction: Memoirs and the Children's categories!)
How the judging process works:
All entries will be judged by the Canadian Book Awards Avid Reader Group (That's me!). This group of book-loving Canadians varies in careers, age, ethnicities and backgrounds. The Avid Reader Group is responsible for electing the final three books in each category.
Finalist books will be judged by Verified Readers across Canada who will read and review each book in their chosen category. Verified Readers will vote for their #1, #2 and #3 choices. Once the finalists are announced, the Verified Readers will have three months to purchase, read, and vote on their decision.
As I read the books in my categories I will be taking notes (mostly just plusses and minuses for now) and sharing them in this blog post! Once the finalists are announced, I'll do specific instagram posts/reviews on my top choices, but I don't want to risk influencing anyone's vote in the mean time! So pop back in over the next few weeks and especially after the finalists are announced in September to follow along!
Here is the criteria Avid Readers are encouraged to consider:
Professionalism (PR): Is this book well-edited? Does the book's layout help or hurt how the book reads? (Ie. Is there appropriate paragraph and chapter spacing to help the reader enjoy the story.)
Character/Narration (C/N): Are the characters (fiction) or narrators (non-fiction) likeable and/or easy to follow?
Pacing (PA): Is this story dragging, or do you find yourself wanting to get to the next page to see what unfolds?
Accessibility for buyers(A): How easy is this book to purchase? Is it available on Amazon or *just* an author's personal website.
Accessibility and number of book formats are not a criteria of the award; however, book accessibility does influence purchasing decisions, and the harder a book is to find, the harder it is to judge and share!
Non-Fiction: Memoirs Category
August 18, 2023
Born Blue
Nicole Ribbens
ISBN-13:9781954233164
Publisher:The Self Publisher Agency
Published date:March, 2022
Pages: 215
Description:
A mother seeking redemption in the face of trauma finds community in the most unexpected places. Nicole Ribbens unearths the courage to become a medical advocate, an equal partner, and best of all, her own source of strength. In this beautifully rendered narrative, Ribbens faces fear, a crisis of faith, and the very real potential that her infant son might die. Written with hope and honesty, Born Blue traces one woman’s unconventional journey into motherhood, marriage, empowerment, and gratitude. A true story of bravery and resilience in the face of grief and uncertainty. Internal battles of expectations and advocacy as partner, daughter, caregiver, and mother— you’ll find yourself in these pages. Born Blue is Nicole Ribbens’ first book.
PR: Well edited
C/N: Great descriptions, nice narration, likeable narrator
PA: Quick and interesting
A: Not super accessible - not on Amazon.ca or indigo, is available on author's website: https://nicoleribbens.com/born-blue in paperback form
Plusses: Well written, great descriptions, good context, hard to put down
Minuses: Seems American? Less accessible.
August 20, 2023
Mom on Wheels
Marjorie Aunos
Publisher : Ingenium Books Publishing Inc. (May 30 2022)
Language : English
Paperback : 214 pages
ISBN-10 : 1990688047
ISBN-13 : 978-1990688041
When involved in a major collision, Marjorie Aunos’ was sure she was going to die. Thoughts of death consumed her as her car hit black ice and spun out of control toward an oncoming truck. As she waited for paramedics to extricate her from the mangled wreck, unable to feel anything below her neck, she pictured her sixteen-month-old son. And decided to live.
PR: well edited
C/N: Thematic based narration (vs. chronological memoir narration)
PA: Fairly short/quick read, a bit disjointed due to style of writing (thematic chapters - Nonfiction vs memoir style)
A: Amazon.ca - paperback and kindle verson, Indigo - Kobo only
Plusses: Disability advocacy and ableism content, diverse own voice author, Canadian (Quebec) setting,
Minuses - Not my favourite type of memoir writing style, less emotional connection with author
The Beatles, Babies and Broken Bodies
Pat Zehr
What does it take to be a frontline healthcare worker? Dedication, perseverance, strength, passion: the standard superlatives of a hero. Add being a nurse in Canada’s northern region and practising medicine as a woman, and the backstory gets more dramatic. From vivid descriptions of the far north to dealing with misogyny in medical school and beyond, Pat Zehr’s poignant memoir is especially relevant today.
Publisher : FriesenPress (Aug. 16 2022)
Language : English
Paperback : 288 pages
ISBN-10 : 1039143865
PR: Well written and edited
C/N: Super likeable narrator
P: Perfect pacing
A: Available on Amazon for both paperback and kindle (super reasonably priced Kindle)
Plusses: Super cool and unique Canadian content
Minuses: Can't think of any!
This memoir shares Zehr's career journey and the many interesting stories that came with each stage of it, many of which go nicely with a Beatles tune.
Zehr began her nursing career in NWT and fell in love with northern health care, something that is challenging in its own unique way. The book chronicles her career path and the anecdotal commentary and case files that made her life interesting along the way. Later, once she completes a degree in medicine she returns to a different northern town, Sault Ste. Marie where she is one of only a handful of OB/GYNs in a small town. Throughout the story, Zehr demonstrates her knowledge both of medicine in a practical sense, but also a deep understanding of the challenges Canada's medical system has faced and continues to face over the last several decades. Through her writing, she advocates a stronger system to provide equitable care across the country, no matter how far north the medical centre may be!
Zehr's memoir also explores themes such as feminism and sexism in the medical field, work-life balance issues in the medical field, and the importance of caring for physician health so that doctors can stay healthy and keep their communities healthy. I think my favourite part about the story though was the patient vignettes woven throughout. It is one of the things I love most about medical memoirs because you almost get several short memoirs in one. I love the snippets of people's lives, often in their most stressful or traumatic moments, and getting the chance to just peek in on that moment from the perspective of someone who is not only witnessing it, but also has a strong understanding of what events may have led to this problem occurring. The author does a great job of sharing these stories, some of which date back several decades!
This was my top selection in this category and is definitely one I would recommend!
Making the Rounds
Patricia Grayhall
What was it like to survive an illegal abortion, come out as a lesbian, and train to become a doctor in the late 1960s and early ’70s—before Roe v. Wade, before Title IX, and in a largely homophobic nation?
Publisher : She Writes Press (Oct. 11 2022)
Language : English
Paperback : 344 pages
ISBN-10 : 1647422736
ISBN-13 : 978-1647422738
PR: Well edited
CN: Well written, interesting narration
PA: Good
A: Available as both paperback and ebook on Amazon
Plusses: Super interesting story, nice length
Minuses: Set in America
A Guitar Player on the Yukon Border
Paul Lucas
Paul Lucas is a professional guitarist whose focus on jazz and original music has kept him on the stage for over 50 years. The unusual part of his story is that much of this time was spent in the ‘outback’ of British Columbia, Canada. Born in South Shields, England, he moved with his family to B.C when he was nine. His was a musical, theatrical family and Paul began to see a future in music when he was in university. A composer, performer, teacher, and author of several instruction books, his love of the wilderness kept drawing him into the mountainous back country. In 1979 Paul left the comforts of Vancouver music scene to build a cabin on the Yukon border, choosing to live a ‘wood and water’ life off the grid. This book is about the work, the people, and the adventures of a guitar player living in the North. You can't make this stuff up!
Publisher : Independently published (Dec 23 2022)
Language : English
Paperback : 260 pages
ISBN-13 : 979-8370875205
PR: Not very despite being physical copy
C/N: Fairly flat, not super intriguing
P: slow
A: Available on Amazon, author sent me a copy!
Pluses: Physical Copy available to me, set in Canada
Minuses: Not overly interesting, publishing doesn't look super professional, strange spacing on pages
I did love that the author sent out a physical copy of the book, sometimes it can be nice to have a real physical copy rather than another kindle version that just gets lost in my list of a million books. That being said, the "professionalism" category for the awards was perhaps a little more obvious when having a physical copy. The book looks self published. Between the font choices, and the weird spacing on the pages, it may have actually had a better chance as a digital copy where I could write off the weird formatting as a kindle error. Beyond that, the book just wasn't super interesting to me and I found it hard to get into.
I love that it is Canadian, and that it is set in Canada's Northern Territories, making it a great contender for these book club awards, but the story just didn't hit where it needed to and so I'm not surprised that this one didn't make it into the top selections for the category. It did not make my top 5 either.
Being Different
Ada Glustein
Here is a brilliant and beautifully told story by a woman–the child and grandchild of Jewish immigrants–who has struggled in various ways with “being different.” She brings insight and wisdom to her love of teaching and of children, as shown in wonderful stories of how not just her students, but she too continues to learn.
Publisher : Awareness Press (Nov. 24 2022)
Language : English
Paperback : 354 pages
ISBN-10 : 1738784312
PR: Pretty well done
C/N: Nice.
P: Good
A: Available on Amazon as paperback and ebook
I first started reading Being Different by Ada Glustein it was as an #avidreader with the @canadianbookclubawards but after about 10% I knew it wasn't going to be in my top 5 recommendations and decided to set it aside unsure if I would pick it back up. Over the last few days I was looking back at the book list and realized that the later part of the book talked about the author's experience as a teacher, so I wanted to go back and try to finish the book.
I started re-reading and found that while there were moments in the early parts of the memoir that were interesting, for the most part I found the first half a little dull. I think it was the theme based writing rather than chronological (though much of the themes were written in chronological order) that left me bored. I didn't feel an emotional connection to the narrator and while there were definitely tidbits I was glad I read, I did find myself skimming... until I got to part 3.
The third part of the book (approx the last 30%) was about her days as a teacher, especially in her early career in Kindergarten to Grade 2 multiage contexts in Toronto and Vancouver. Here was were I started to connect with the author. I realized that the pendulum was swinging in education when she was getting into it the same way it has been swinging recently. I saw lots of the things I love about my teaching practice in the way she taught, in the 70s! She also commented on the swing to phonics around 2000, which is currently happening again and can be frustrating for the same reasons she found!
If I could comment only on third part of the book, I would definitely give this book a higher rating, but even still, the theme-based writing and only a short section I was so engaged in made it not live up to my hopes and expectations. I'm glad I picked it back up, but it still doesn't have a spot on my top 5 list so my initial judgement was fair.
Interesting discussion - I like the quote: "Was I a Jewish Canadian, as I wanted to be, or was I a Canadian Jew, as my father dictated?" For non-Jewish Canadians, these two things may seem the same, but clearly for the author there was a difference.
Plusses: Canadian content, interesting diverse perspective
Minuses: In the final hours before the voting deadline, this book could not hold my attention long enough to read it through before passing on to the next one. While I do intend to finish it, I knew it wouldn't be one of my top 5 choices.
The Art of Losing it
Rosemary Keevil
When her brother dies of AIDS and her husband dies of cancer in the same year, Rosemary is left on her own with two young daughters and antsy addiction demons dancing in her head. This is the nucleus of The Art of Losing It a young mother jerking from emergency to emergency as the men in her life drop dead around her; a high-functioning radio show host waging war with her addictions while trying to raise her two little girls who just lost their daddy; and finally, a stint in rehab and sobriety that ushers in a fresh brand of chaos instead of the tranquility her family so desperately needs.
Publisher : She Writes Press (Oct. 6 2020)
Language : English
Paperback : 328 pages
ISBN-10 : 1631527770
PR: Well done
C/N: I was hooked from page 1, and then connected with the author (narrator) throughout the story
P: Well done
A: Available on Amazon as paper back and ebook
Plusses: Canadian, easy to relate to, sandwich generation, interesting story and topics such as health care, addiction, parenting, AIDs
Minuses: The description of the book did not draw me in as much as some of the others.
I read this one as an #avidreader for the @canadianbookclubawards and despite the description not pulling me in as much as some of the other books I had to read on that list, this one ended up being one of my favourites from the memoir category. The emotional journey this book takes readers on is intense. I had to put it aside for a few days because my emotions got a little too big when I started having some flashbacks to my own grief and trauma around loss of family members. Whereas, I think I thought this book would be the story of an addict with the preamble of how she got there, it was actually a story of loss (ha, the title, duh), and the longterm impact grief has on people, especially traumatic and complex grief.
My official thoughts for the awards were that it was really well written and professional, I was hooked from page one and really connected with the author. She shared a story that was full of raw emotion and painful memories and did it in a way that was interesting to read but also so real and relatable.
I Feel Your Stare
Cheryl Gillespie
Imagine yourself in a position of maneuvering through aspects of our everyday living we simply take for granted.
Would we see our existence as a beautiful opportunity to explore and live our moments fully, or spend our time lamenting our perceived hardships? Throughout I FEEL YOUR STARE you will be transported to a place in time whereby Cheryl Gillespie’s descriptive scenes allow the reader a glimpse into a life of an individual assuming control of her future, and who excels far beyond the most hopeful of expectations. ~Mary McGinley
Publisher : Fingertip Books (July 22 2022)
Language : English
Paperback : 242 pages
ISBN-10 : 0995005621
PR: A bit confusing
C/N: Easy enough to connect with
P: lots of back and forth
A: Available as paperback on Amazon, not sure about ebook
Pluses: Canadian content
Minuses: Went back and forth across themes and time periods so it was very confusing, description made me hope for more.
Ninety Nine Fire Hoops
Allison Hong is not your typical fifteen-year-old Taiwanese girl. Unwilling to bend to the conditioning of her Chinese culture, which demands that women submit to men’s will, she disobeys her father’s demand to stay in their faith tradition, Buddhism, and instead joins the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then, six years later, she drops out of college to serve a mission—a decision for which her father disowns her. After serving her mission in Taiwan, twenty-two-year-old Allison marries her Chinese-speaking American boyfriend, Cameron Chastain. But sixteen months later, Allison returns home to their Texas apartment and is shocked to discover that, in her two-hour absence, Cameron has taken all the money, moved out, and filed for divorce. Desperate for love and acceptance, Allison moves to Utah and enlists in an imaginary, unforgiving dating war against the bachelorettes at Brigham Young University, where the rules don’t make sense—and winning isn’t what she thought it would be.
Publisher : She Writes Press (Sept. 21 2021)
Language : English
Paperback : 368 pages
ISBN-10 : 1647421896
PR: a bit confusing to follow
C/N: likeable, easy to connect with
P: Jumps all over the place, but good pace between jumps
A: Available on amazon in both paper back and ebook (at similar price!)
Pluses: Some really powerful writing/quotes
Minuses: American, jumps back and forth a lot
Around the World in Black and White
Alana Best
When Alana and Roland, a spirited Canadian couple with an insatiable desire to live life to the fullest, embark on an epic yearlong travel adventure around the world with their newborn son and ten-year-old daughter, they think they’re prepared for whatever might come their way.
Publisher : She Writes Press (Aug. 29 2023)
Language : English
Paperback : 416 pages
ISBN-10 : 164742531X
PR: Some editing errors noted
C/N: At times I had a hard time connecting with narrator
P: Several periods of dull moments with interesting points interspersed
A: Available on Amazon as ebook or paperback
Plusses: Canadian content
Minuses: Pacing - there were lots of moments I wanted to DNF, but did enjoy it around the 15% and 30% marks. Ultimately I put it down at 45% with not enough time to finish and knowing it would not be in my top 3. Description led me to think it would be more about race than it was (in the first half at least). Most race discussions were very short and anecdotal. I didn't love the whole bringing a newborn to Asia idea and the fact that she travelled for the most part without her 10 year old daughter felt weird.
Living While Human
Arwinder Kaur
DNF - Could not access in the google drive, but was interested in based on description
IKE: The Dog Who Saved a Human
Jason Dorland
DNF - potential trigger
Fuse
Hollay Ghandery
DNF - weak description, lack of time
My notes from my kindle:
Biracial Identity Disorder - what happens when a person experiences no fixed identity - is something I'd like to learn more about. This book is ok. Too much time hopping makes it kind of boring. There was a lack of focus on specific topics.
From Coal Oil Lanterns to Facetime
Donalda Dawn Dube
DNF - Lack of interest
Magic Travels
Patrick McLaren
DNF - lack of interest
Love and Salt Air
Lisa Hartley
DNF - Potential trigger
Childrens' Category
August 18, 2023
Dinosaur Encounter
Lisa Tasca Oatway
PR: well edited, good spacing, decent font
C: Fun, loveable and wacky family of 6, easy for children of multiple ages/genders to relate to
PA: a bit slow
A: Amazon, Chapters - paperback, kindle/kobo, hardcover
Publisher : Tellwell Talent (Dec 13 2021)
Language : English
Hardcover : 138 pages (short 4-5 page chapters)
ISBN-10 : 0228864712
ISBN-13 : 978-0228864714
Plusses: Canadian content, educational content (timezones, landmarks, dinosaurs), fun characters, easy to follow
Minuses: higher level vocabulary (though some is defined ex. predator), not overly interesting
September 11, 2023
Little Girl
My first thoughts after finishing the book basically summarize my entire review: "Omg I am speechless. I love this book."
When Hieu arrives in Canada as a refugee, the immigration clerk removes part of her name because it is “too long”. When Hieu arrives at school, her teacher changes her name to Helen because there are “too many vowels” and her name is “not a proper name” or even a word! Hieu experiences selective mutism at school as she tries her best to listen to her mother and teacher and be polite to the other children who tease her, but she continues to stay silent, until one day she says her name.
This book is incredibly well written, it has a powerful message and the beautiful water colour illustrations help tell the story, giving some of Hieu’s emotions visualizations. I immediately ordered a copy for my classroom library and couldn't wait to share it with my kiddos.
My kids thought it was so wrong that the immigration officer took off part of her name. They also were so upset that the teacher thought there were too many vowels in Hieu's name. We counted all of the vowels and consonants (it turned into a great literacy lesson haha) in all four of her names and decided the number of vowels was normal and that it was not very nice of the teacher to say her name was not "proper". We also talked about refugees (one student shared that one time he went to Mall of America and went on fun rides... I'm thinking we will need to come back to the concept of refugees later) and how hard it would be to adapt to a new country and new language. Overall I think my students enjoyed the book and it is one we could go back and reference later in the year.
PR: Super well done
C: I fell in love with Hieu immediately
PA: great pace, though I have thoughts on the ending*.
A: Available at amazon, indigo and my local bookstore (but needed to be ordered in)
*I thought the ending was absolutely the most powerful moment of the book and it really was a huge part of why I loved the book in the first place. After reading it to my students though, I realized that maybe it isn't quite the right ending for a picture book. My kids kept asking "When will we finish the book" not realizing that it had ended. I mean, they are 6 and a little lost 100% of the time so I'm not THAT surprised this ending confused them, but it did make me rethink it a bit.
My Votes:
Memoirs
1 The Beatles, Babies and Broken Bodies - Pat Zehr
2 Born Blue - Nicole Ribbens
3 Making the Rounds - Defying Norms in Medicine - Patricia Grayhall
4 Mom on Wheels - Marjorie Aunos
5 The Art of Losing it - Rosemary Keevil
Children's
Little Girl - Hieu Pham
Three Canadian Pigs: A Hockey Story - Jocelyn Watkins
Igor Beaver - Don Smith
Get Outside - Jessica Gold
Picture Day to Remember - Natalie Paruzel-Gibson
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