Month in Review

Oh how I love autumn. The changing colour of the leaves, the cooler weather that calls out for chunky sweaters, watching the rain fall from my window while I sip on a cup of tea. It's safe to say that autumn is my favourite season.

September was an exciting month for Canadian literature as the award season picks up. The Giller Prize longlist was announced. Many people were shocked that Emma Donoghue's Room wasn't on the list. Having read it now, I am also surprised, but I'm just beginning the Giller longlist so I can't yet compare it to the others.

Room did make the list for the Roger's Writer Trust Prize for Fiction, just announced yesterday. She is joined by Kathleen Winter for Annabel, Michael Winter for The Death of Donna Whelan, Michael Helm for Cities of Refuge and Trevor Cole for Practical Jean.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend The Word on the Street here in Toronto. It's a large book and magazine festival held every year and is a dream for readers. I picked up a couple of books from Barefoot books for my kids and a Jamaican Eats magazine for myself!

I didn't get a lot of time to look around this year as I spent my day volunteering with an amazing organization. S.T.E.L.L.A.A. is a non-profit organization that collects new and used books for libraries in Africa. If you are in Toronto I highly suggest you check out their website. You can drop off any of your old books for this worthy cause, or become involved in a book drive with your school or company.

Some of my favourite reads this month - Room by Emma Donoghue, In A Strange Room by Damon Galgut, Getting to Happy by Terry McMillan and of course Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella.

How was your September?

Comments

  1. Hannah @ Every Little ThingSeptember 30, 2010 at 10:57 AM

    Mine was interesting :) I haven't read Room yet. Maybe I will!

    Hannah
    "Every Little Thing"(book blog)
    http://abouteverything-hannah.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. HeatherSeptember 30, 2010 at 9:24 PM

    I didn't get as much read this month as I wanted to, though I did get finished Moby Dick. That was a long one. Next month I want to finish a bunch of ARCs and get to Room.

    ReplyDelete
  3. SusanOctober 1, 2010 at 2:18 PM

    Funny how Fall goes together so nicely with good books and a cup of tea. I posted about it last week!(http://bedsidetablebooks.wordpress.com/)
    Missed our Word on the Street here in Vancouver but am looking forward to the Readers and Writers Festival.Always enjoy hearing a writer's perspective in person. Great book choices for this month - most on my to read soon list. Cuddle up and enjoy the autumn weather of October!

    ReplyDelete

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