What I read in January

[blue_lotus13]

1. The Crooked Good by Louise Halfe- A beautiful collection of poetry about Cree ancestors. However, I liked some of her earlier books better.

2. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane- I read this in preparation for the upcoming movie. Lehane is a master plotter and has a great use of dialogue. I think the movie should work although I'm not sure how they will handle the plot twists.

3. Sundre- a novel-by Christopher Willard- A really gorgeous, poetic novel about life in southern Alberta. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this to people who aren't fans of poetry.

4. Girl on the other side by Deborah Kerbel- Recommended by a friend. A YA book about two girls from varying social economic classes. I was a little disappointed by this one.

5. Half the Sky- Nicholas D. Kristop and Sheryl WuDunn- A great primer on the oppression of third world women and what can be done to help them. Some people have said this book is overly simplistic, but I think it really explains the issues and is worth reading.

6. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer- I had mixed feelings about this one. I read about food and agriculture all the time and spend a lot of time with farmers. I think there were some good messages in this book, but I don't think I was as shocked as others were by it. I've also come to terms with what is right for me in terms of meat eating, and I'm comfortable with my decision.

7. Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman- There were some good essays in here, but I'm not sure why I keep on reading everything that Klosterman writes because I definitely have issues with him. Yet there's something about him that keeps me coming back.

8.Precious by Sapphire- Strangely, this was one case where I liked the movie better than the book. I loved the use of voice in this book and thought the story and voice were strong. It just ENDS though.

9. Home and Away, an anthology of ALberta's poets edited by Dymphny Dronyk and Angela Kublik- A collection of Albertan poets write about the ideas of home. A varied and beautiful collection.

10. The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger- I was surprised by how much I liked this one! It's the story of real-life Victorian woman Lucy Duff Gordon, who goes to Egypt to recover from tuberculosis. She is accompanied by her maid, Sally. The story is told from Sally's point of view. Through a series of misadventures, Sally stands to lose everything. Winner of the GG this year. Highly recommended.

11. Yes means Yes- edited by Jessica Valenti- This great collection of essays examines female sexuality and rape culture and how we can move towards an understanding of female sexual empowerment. Some of the essays are better than others, and some are hard to read, but it's definitely worth your time. Highly recommended!

12. Fall on your knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald- Read for our Canada Reads challenge at Roughing it in the books

13. Thanks but this isn't for us- by Jessica Page Morrell- Morrell is a writing coach and acquisitions editor who outlines and dissects mistakes commonly made by writers. This was a straight forward, no-nonsense and very useful book. I've already ordered my copy. Highly recommended.

14. Toby:A Man by Todd Babiak- I think this is the most personal of Todd's books. It's set in Montreal and features the adventures of a man named Toby, who begins to lose everything, and think about what's really important. Sad and funny at the same time.