"Were you aware that 75% of the population of Canada lives south of the geographic location of Bellingham?" This was how a WWU professor of Canadian History liked to start each new class. He would then pull down a map and prove it was true.

A wise woman, the one who sold me my first horse and taught me how to ride, gave me a copy of Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy by Rich Dobson. It's the true story of the men who brought cattle to the Chilcotin area in British Columbia. One summer my mother and I went to a dude ranch in the area which furthered my love of pack trips into the mountains, a love that would last a life time. Great reading! And, there are two more in the series. :-)

Margaret Craven's book I Heard the Owl Call My Name was rejected by American publishers, so was first published in Canada. It was a huge success, and was finally published in the U.S. where it reached #1 on the NY Times best seller list. A young vicar has been sent to work at a First Nation village in British Columbia. (He is terminally ill, but his bishop has not told him this). It is a story of conflict: old religion and new, age and youth, old traditions and a new way of life, and of acceptance.

I've read a lot of Farley Mowat. His writing could make me cry, as in And No Birds Sang (mentioned in an earlier blog) or laugh, as in The Dog Who Wouldn't Be. When he was mocked by cats on the picket fences too many times, Mowat's dog learned to walk along the top most supporting rail so he could chase them. Needless to say, the cats were very surprised! One of my favorite bits is about how Mowat, who did not want to move to the Saskatoon and was determined to run away as soon as possible. They arrived late at night so it was not until the morning when he realized how pointless that would be. The land in their new home was flat and barren. He'd be visible for days!

I had a hard time deciding where to include Callahan's Crosstime Saloon by Spider Robinson as it fits nicely into Canadian authors, science fiction, or, with my all time favorite books. (I've decided to divide these up, as listing them all at once might just be too much)! ;-) Callahan's is a neighborhood pub. Sort of. The regulars include ET's, time travelers, vampires .... but everyone is welcome. A patron may talk, or not, as they wish. Problems are solved, sympathy is given, and the puns are many (consider yourself warned!) Be sure to check out 'The Time-Traveler' for an unexpected twist.

My introduction to the Vinyl Cafe was as a radio show on CBC FM. Hosted by Stuart McLean, it included a section about Dave and Morley and their kids and how they deal with the events of everyday life. I'm not doing it justice here, this is story telling at it's best as they cope with a sick guinea pig, Dave tries to toilet train the cat, and Morley deals with buying her son hockey equipment (including his first jock strap). Funny, sad, heart-warming, and sometimes all too familiar. I love both the radio show and the books. Be sure to get the books from Canada, at least one of them was published by a U.S. publisher who opted to 'americanize' it a bit, which was not only unnecessary, but removed some of the Canadian charm that makes the stories so good. Titles include Stories From the Vinyl Cafe, Home from the Vinyl Cafe, and Vinyl Cafe Unplugged.

Nancy Pearl (author of Book Lust) has put forth that there are four elements in a good book: story, character, setting, and language. All books have one or more of these, and how you respond to them depends on the balance, and, obviously, what you like (strong characters, powerful language, etc.) For me, Louise Penny has them all. Some of her writing has been so moving that I've photocopied the paragraph and tucked in it my collection of favorite quotes. The first in the series is Still Life. Here you meet the characters you'll come to know and love, lead by Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec. The village of Three Pines seems to be one of those places that folks stumble upon when they most need a refuge and so is populated with diverse, interesting people. Penny is another of my all time favorite authors.

Max Ferguson used to be a regular on the CBC FM every Saturday morning. He retired years ago so I was surprised and pleased to recently discover he'd written a book! Just like the radio show, And Now .... Here's Max: an Irreverent Memoir of the CBC by Max Ferguson has an introduction from Shelagh Rogers. It really is an irreverent memoir all right, about the early days at the CBC, but sadly only covers about the first 20 years or so. I would have enjoyed learning more about the show of his I loved so much. This new reprint has a nice appendix that explains who many of the people he knew and worked with were, including Lorne Green, best known to many of us as 'Pa Cartwright' , who started as a radio announcer.

When my Canadian friend comes for a visit later this year, she has to come North to get here!

Reading Hermit With Dog