Kendra Shannon

“If you wonder why Canada is able to take more immigrants per capita than any other country and make them full citizens...with quite a bit of success, while other countries stumble over far smaller numbers, the answer is not that we are nicer, smarter...The answer lies, first, in the culture of minorities common among Aboriginals and in their idea of society as an expanding and mutating circle.”

“Each time [an Aboriginal language] disappears, the First Nation in question loses access to its culture...I lose access to part of my culture. So do you. A door closes forever on our possible understanding of this place.”

A detailed and critical look at Canadian culture, life, policy, business, and government.

The collection of Napi stories is very interesting. And the introduction includes some very useful context of how the stories were used and developed. The author gives some insight into the character of the “trickster” in Aboriginal story telling and how the listeners interpreted the lessons. But I feel like the author is overly concerned with including every single variation from every tribe and getting the story as close to the original as possible. The very nature of oral story telling is that stories are fluid and change with each teller. I think the book would have felt more natural had the author explained this in the intro and then let the stories speak for themselves.

Literally scanned copies of Kurt's journals, personal notes, letters etc. It's interesting and more of a coffee table book than something you would want to sit down and read cover to cover. I felt a bit weird reading so many very personal things...like I was invading his privacy.

4.5 this book is a story full of rich emotions. It is heartbreaking and beautiful.

A wonderful collection of the history, experiences, and creations of the women who explored and pioneered the Canadian Rockies. Having just moved to Jasper, Alberta, I enjoyed reading about the history of my new home, making my surroundings and activities all the more rich with meaning.

It took me a long time to read this book because I really wanted to understand anarchism. As a socialist, I find it interesting because socialism and anarchism share many fundamental ideas. Chomsky presents well researched, well thought out, and well written ideas. I don't agree with him but it was illuminating. I'm glad I read this because I now understand more about anarchism than I did before.

Knowing that I am a diehard Clash fan, a very generous friend gave me this book. I was over the moon. It's gorgeous.

I read this book when I was young and I just loved it! I wanted to read it again before seeing the movie. I loved it again!

I love listening to the music a book like this describes as I read. With “Our Noise” I found myself discovering a great band I'd never heard of (Lambchop), rediscovering great bands I hadn't listened to for awhile (Polvo, Archers of Loaf) and getting into bands I'd heard of but never got around to listening to (Spoon). I really enjoyed the way the book was laid out as well. The author set the scene with a short background paragraph and then he let the people involved tell the story, interview style. It was fun to read and I loved that so many old photos and posters were included. A great history of great music!

This is an important read for any soccer fan, male or female. It shows first hand the incredible obstacles female players face as they pursue their dream to play pro. The author speaks with players from around the world who play in leagues around the world and illuminates a wide range of issues in the women's game: money, sexism, motherhood, even religion. The book talks about the struggles of domestic teams, leagues, and national sides. We see the successes and heartbreaks of a diverse group of players. Ultimately it ends with hope for the women's game as we end up in Portland with the Thorns and their fans, a place where pro soccer (men's and women's) has rooted and taken hold in the city.

This book is a quick easy read. The story is incredible but the writing is somehow trite and clichéd. It is very interesting to see how the author moved through so many ideological changes and how he tried to manage all of his relationships though his complicated spying life. There are a few short stories that don't seem to advance the plot and I wondered why they were included. Overall I would recommend reading this book.

I read this book very slowly, mostly because I didn't want it to end. It is filled with so many ideas about politics and history, language and literature, travel and home, religion, love, friendship, and dreams.

I love the art, it's beautifully drawn. I'm using this series to learn/practice French and I find it easy to follow and fun to read!

This book went on for way too long.

As an English teacher, I had so much fun reading this book! I have never before read such an excellent explanation of the sense of anxiety I feel while reading anything in brackets.

Such a great memoir. Viv Albertine recounts her experiences growing up, in the music scene with the Slits, and life after the band. I love Viv Albertine's writing style, all in the present tense, so you feel like you're experiencing things with her. Her style is so matter of fact but expresses her emotions about the situations she experiences...almost like speaking with a friend. She's not afraid of the emotions she feels and is so honest and alive. I absolutely loved this book.

There wasn't any information here that I hadn't already known or experienced, having worked at a record store in that time. But the book is well written and it was nice to have the overview and history of the shift to digital music in one place. The book focused mainly on the artist/label relationship and I would have liked to hear more from music producers and engineers about how their role changed and how they adapted their techniques and studios during this time.

This is my favourite work of fiction. I have read it many times and every time I do, I love it more.