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John Keats once said:

Give me books, fruit, French wine and fine weather and a little music out of doors, played by someone I do not know.

Thanks for the thought John, now that is exactly how I plan to spend my Thursday evening this week. Why? Because this is the date I have chosen to commence my CanLit journey. I will start reading Pélagie-la-Charrette by New Brunswick author Antonine Maillet and I can’t wait. It obviously won’t be like my usual hot vampire romance novels but I’m ready to take a break from Stephenie Meyer, J.R. Ward and Sherrilyn Kenyon  and say “hey, what’s up Antonine?!” 

You will recall that a couple of weeks ago, I made a to-do list to be completed prior to starting to read my first book and thus officially starting this self-imposed challenge. Here’s where I’m at:

1. I have created a reading and writing schedule for the next 12 months. It will be between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on weekdays and 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on weekends.  Will I read and write everyday?Probably not but when I do, it will be during those hours;
2. I have picked a date to start reading:  Thursday, October 1st, 2009;
3. I contacted three people from the Northwest Territories but nobody is returning my emails and calls  I was so lucky with Nunavut because I had the opportunity to meet (via email) Sue MacIsaac who has been a tremendous help in my quest to select a book from that territory. However, my spirit is not broken and I will keep trying.  As for Newfoundland, I got back in touch with an old colleague and friend from my tour guiding days on the Hill. He is from Newfoundland and was gracious enough to take the time to send me some recommendations. Thanks to both Sue and Kevin for all your help and I can’t wait to read a classic from your part of Canada!
4. I figured out that I was missing three French books (two from Quebec and one from Manitoba). I couldn’t find them new on Chapters.ca or Amazon.ca so I went to Quebec’s equivalent bookstore which is called Librairie Renaud Bray. I was ecstatic when I received these three books in brand spanking new form. If you need to order French books online, I highly recommend them. I am still missing Klee Wyck by Emily Carr and The Ecstasy of Rita Joe by George Ryga but I just ordered them on Chapters.ca. Then I will order my Nunavut and Newfoundland books once I make a final decision on which one I am reading.

So that’s it folks. I’m going to find me a nice bottle of French wine and prep for the big day.