30 Sept 2016

We Can(ada) Read Wrap-Up!

30 September 1 Comments
Thank you everyone for participating in this First Annual We Can(ada) Read! Yup, that's right, I'm going to do this every year! I want to extend a heart-felt thank you to all the bloggers and authors who wrote me posts to feature on here! You can see all the posts on the kick-off page, which you can access here.

However, there are so many more Canadian YA authors than what could be featured (and believe me, we had a packed schedule), so here is a list of other Canadian YA authors (that I know of):



The giveaway for a Canadian YA book ends on October 8th, so if you're just finding out about this now, DON'T WORRY! You still have time! Until next year, folks!

29 Sept 2016

We Can(ada) Read: Sophie @ Sailing Through Books discussing Martine Leavitt!

29 September 0 Comments
We Can(ada) Read is by Canadianfor EVERYONE to learn more about some amazing Canadian authors! We have 16 Canadian bloggers highlighting 16 Canadian authors plus you can hear about what it's like to live in Canada and write CanLit from 8 Canadian authors, most of which are 2016 debuts! For a full schedule of events during We Can(ada) Read, please click HERE!




Sophie is the seventeen years old Canadian book blogger behind Sailing Through Books. She’s a big fan of Neil Gaiman, Andrew Smith and Rick Riordan. Known for saying things as they are, Sophie writes honest reviews about the books she reads and shares her love of reading with fellow bookworms through discussion posts and other bookish shenanigans!

Connect with the Blogger:
“Reality is just this game people play together, something their brain decides on, and the minute their brain gets iffy about reality, they realize everything they know about the world is just their own made-up version of it, and that would mean everyone is walking around in their own made-up world, all alone, and reality is just something we invent together to make us feel not so alone. It scares people when some of us check out of the game.” 
This is the best explanation of schizophrenia I have ever come across, and it comes from a little, wonderful book named Calvin.

By show of hand, who here has read a book discussing the topic of mental illness?
Pretty much everyone, right?

28 Sept 2016

We Can(ada) Read: Guest Post from Scarlett Kol!

28 September 2 Comments
We Can(ada) Read is by Canadianfor EVERYONE to learn more about some amazing Canadian authors! We have 16 Canadian bloggers highlighting 16 Canadian authors plus you can hear about what it's like to live in Canada and write CanLit from 8 Canadian authors, most of which are 2016 debuts! For a full schedule of events during We Can(ada) Read, please click HERE!


Scarlett Kol is the author of MIDWINTER, a YA paranormal coming late 2016 from Rebelight Publishing. She grew up in Northern Manitoba reading books about creatures that make you want to sleep with the lights on. As an adult she's still a little afraid of the dark. Scarlett lives just outside Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada with her husband and two kids, but if you need to find her she's likely freezing at the hockey rink.

Connect with the Author:

Built Northern Tough


Growing up in northern Manitoba there was a phrase I've heard over and over for my entire life – "You're tough, you're from Thompson." Even after moving hundreds of kilometers away from my hometown, I still hear it and have on occasion been known to use it to describe myself.

27 Sept 2016

We Can(ada) Read: Alice from Alice's Book Vault discussing Kelley Armstrong!

27 September 0 Comments
We Can(ada) Read is by Canadianfor EVERYONE to learn more about some amazing Canadian authors! We have 16 Canadian bloggers highlighting 16 Canadian authors plus you can hear about what it's like to live in Canada and write CanLit from 8 Canadian authors, most of which are 2016 debuts! For a full schedule of events during We Can(ada) Read, please click HERE!



Growing up in Canada with her nose stuck in a book, Alice has always had a love for reading. With a love for fantasy and romance, she grabs anything she can get her hands on. When at home you can find her snuggled on the couch with a blanket and a good book. Alice will spend hours talking to you about Harry Potter, Kelley Armstrong, or her puppy, Luna.

Connect with Alice:
When I heard that Jamie was hosting We Can(ada) Read for the month of September, I jumped at the chance to flail and gush about my favourite Canadian author: Kelley Armstrong.

The first time I read a Kelley Armstrong novel was in 2008 when I picked up The Summoning. When I started reading this novel I honestly could not put it down. This was the first time in my memory when I wanted to read, no, needed to read so bad that I didn’t even want to stop reading while driving. It took all of my willpower to not pick up the book at red lights and continue reading until the light turned green. (Note to all readers: DO NOT READ WHILE DRIVING). I read until I finished this novel and then devoured everything else Kelley Armstrong had written at that point. She quickly became my favourite author as nothing I had read had let me down.


26 Sept 2016

We Can(ada) Read: Interview with Megan Crewe!

26 September 0 Comments
We Can(ada) Read is by Canadianfor EVERYONE to learn more about some amazing Canadian authors! We have 16 Canadian bloggers highlighting 16 Canadian authors plus you can hear about what it's like to live in Canada and write CanLit from 8 Canadian authors, most of which are 2016 debuts! For a full schedule of events during We Can(ada) Read, please click HERE!


Like many authors, Megan Crewe finds writing about herself much more difficult than making things up. A few definite facts: she lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband and son (and does on occasion say “eh”), she’s always planning some new trip around the world, and she’s spent the last six years studying kung fu, so you should probably be nice to her. She has been making up stories about magic and spirits and other what ifs since before she knew how to write words on paper. These days the stories are just a lot longer.

Megan's novels have been nominated for multiple awards and published more than ten different languages. They include the paranormal GIVE UP THE GHOST, post-apocalyptic the Fallen World series, the sci fi Earth & Sky trilogy, and the contemporary fantasy A MORTAL SONG.

Connect with the Author:

What is your favourite part about being a Canadian author?

Megan CreweI love that as a Canadian author, I’m a “local” author throughout the entire country, and I’m welcomed as such anywhere in the country I go. ☺ Booksellers, librarians, and teachers from coast to coast have been incredibly supportive of my books and career.


What do you think Canadian authors can exclusively bring to the table?

Megan CreweI think we can offer a North American perspective that comes from a different angle than a writer from the United States. We’re very close to the action of international politics and social issues, but a little on the sidelines, not exactly a major player. I feel that gives us both insight into what’s going on and enough distance to see things people who are in the thick of it might not. And that can lead to stories that tackle issues in a way other authors aren’t or won’t.

25 Sept 2016

We Can(ada) Read: 2017 CanLit Releases! Part 2

25 September 0 Comments
We Can(ada) Read is by Canadianfor EVERYONE to learn more about some amazing Canadian authors! We have 16 Canadian bloggers highlighting 16 Canadian authors plus you can hear about what it's like to live in Canada and write CanLit from 8 Canadian authors, most of which are 2016 debutsFor a full schedule of events during We Can(ada) Readplease click HERE!
Today I'm telling you about the 2017 CanLit books from non-debut authors! This is part 1 of 2, so check back next Sunday for even more!

UTOPIA

Author: Cory Doctorow
Series: N/A
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date: 2017

Summary:
A story about what happens when advancements in technology make peace and abundance for all a possibility, allowing humans to simply walk away from the systems of work and coercive authority that have run the world since agriculture began.

24 Sept 2016

We Can(ada) Read: Serena & Sasha from The Writing Duo discussing Eve Silver!

24 September 0 Comments
We Can(ada) Read is by Canadianfor EVERYONE to learn more about some amazing Canadian authors! We have 16 Canadian bloggers highlighting 16 Canadian authors plus you can hear about what it's like to live in Canada and write CanLit from 8 Canadian authors, most of which are 2016 debuts! For a full schedule of events during We Can(ada) Read, please click HERE!



Sarena and Sasha Nanua are twin sisters living in Ontario, Canada. They love reading books in their spare time and enjoy science fiction and fantasy novels. They have been writing books since they were nine years old and are currently studying English and Professional Writing at the University of Toronto. The Gemstone is their first novel. Visit us at sarenasashabooks.com!
Connect with Serena & Sasha:
Hi everyone! We’re both very excited to be here discussing an awesome author who you might know for her kickbutt YA series: The Game Trilogy (RUSH, PUSH, and CRASH!).
 

The first time I picked up an Eve Silver book, it was from the library. It was 2013, and I had just recently heard about a new buzzing YA series called The Game Trilogy. The book centres on a sort of virtual reality “game” with aliens, but the lines of the game and reality begin to blur … and Jackson, one of the main characters in this “game” is also hiding his own secrets.

23 Sept 2016

We Can(ada) Read: Jesse from Books at Dawn discussing Morgan Rhodes!

23 September 0 Comments
We Can(ada) Read is by Canadianfor EVERYONE to learn more about some amazing Canadian authors! We have 16 Canadian bloggers highlighting 16 Canadian authors plus you can hear about what it's like to live in Canada and write CanLit from 8 Canadian authors, most of which are 2016 debuts! For a full schedule of events during We Can(ada) Read, please click HERE!



My name is Jesse Nicholas and I live in Toronto, Ontario. I am an aspiring writer and I'm currently working on my first story. Along with writing, I enjoy music (mostly KPOP), travel, trashy TV, and I'm an avid reader of anything in the Young Adult genre. I am currently posting reviews on the YA novels I read on my blog, and spend hours upon hours coming up with ideas for a future stories.

Connect with the Blogger:
Morgan Rhodes is a fantastic representation of Canadian YA literature for a couple reasons. She is one of the very few Canadian authors who have an EPIC fantasy series, Falling Kingdoms. Sure that may not be the most amazing reason, but there are so few Canadian authors with a YA fantasy series as expansive as hers. 

The second reason is she is putting Toronto and Canadian culture on the map for her spin-off series, A Book of Spirits and Thieves which is set in modern day Toronto. It's very seldom that we Canadian's get to read a book and know exactly where the story takes place, from the streets to the landmarks. I know I am not the only one who can relate to that.

As an added bonus Morgan Rhodes agreed to a Q&A with me. In it you can find out more about her two fantasy series, what it means to be Canadian to her, and what's coming next for her! Check it out:

Jesse: In 5 words describe the Falling Kingdoms series.


Morgan Rhodes: Royals. Rebels. Love. Death. Magic.

22 Sept 2016

We Can(ada) Read: Elizabeth from The Kindred Reader discussing L.M. Montgomery

22 September 0 Comments
We Can(ada) Read is by Canadianfor EVERYONE to learn more about some amazing Canadian authors! We have 16 Canadian bloggers highlighting 16 Canadian authors plus you can hear about what it's like to live in Canada and write CanLit from 8 Canadian authors, most of which are 2016 debuts! For a full schedule of events during We Can(ada) Read, please click HERE!



My name is Elizabeth and I blog at The Kindred Reader. I was born and raised in small town Canada where during long winter months and long summer days I absolutely fell in love with reading. Now as a university student studying chemistry and education, I love to introduce people to the stories I loved, especially fantasy and science fiction.

Connect with the Blogger:
Montgomery and Anne are perhaps one of the first Canadian stories (that could be considered YA) that took off, and they are also one of the most enduring. For over a hundred years readers have been falling in love with Anne! These stories helped people to realize that a story about a precocious teenage orphan could sell and touch hearts, that there is value in the stories of young people.

21 Sept 2016

We Can(ada) Read: Interview with Danielle L. Jensen!

21 September 1 Comments
We Can(ada) Read is by Canadianfor EVERYONE to learn more about some amazing Canadian authors! We have 16 Canadian bloggers highlighting 16 Canadian authors plus you can hear about what it's like to live in Canada and write CanLit from 8 Canadian authors, most of which are 2016 debuts! For a full schedule of events during We Can(ada) Read, please click HERE!


 
Danielle L. Jensen is the USA Today bestselling author of the acclaimed Malediction Trilogy: Stolen Songbird, Hidden Huntress, and Warrior Witch (Angry Robot Books).

Danielle was born and raised in Calgary, Canada. At the insistence of the left side of her brain, she graduated in 2003 from the University of Calgary with a bachelor’s degree in finance. But the right side of her brain has ever been mutinous; and in 2010, it sent her back to school to complete an entirely impractical English literature degree at Mount Royal University and to pursue publication. Much to her satisfaction, the right side shows no sign of relinquishing its domination.

Connect with the Author:

What is your favourite part about being a Canadian author?

Danielle L. Jensen: It’s a small club, especially in the YA space. I feel like we all know/know of each other, which creates a natural connection between us.


What do you think Canadian authors can exclusively bring to the table?

Danielle L. Jensen: Canadian spelling? Joking, of course! The YA market is dominated by American authors, so I believe authors from other countries inject different perspectives as well as cultural diversity.

20 Sept 2016

We Can(ada) Read: Top Ten Canadian Songs To Listen To While Reading CanLit!

20 September 3 Comments
We Can(ada) Read is by Canadianfor EVERYONE to learn more about some amazing Canadian authors! We have 16 Canadian bloggers highlighting 16 Canadian authors plus you can hear about what it's like to live in Canada and write CanLit from 8 Canadian authors, most of which are 2016 debuts! For a full schedule of events during We Can(ada) Read, please click HERE!

Today is a little different than past posts you've seen on We Can(ada) Read! Instead of a post about books, this is a post about Canadian music. I've put together a playlist of songs to fit into the Canadian lifestyle! These are all Canadian artists for you to listen to while you read some Canadian literature! It has a lot of my favourite Canadian artists and songs, including Tegan and Sara, Serena Ryder, and Drake. I hope you like it!