ann y.k. choi
Toronto-based author and educator
That time of year
One of the things I wanted to do during this holiday break was catch up on my reading. I have far more books than I could possibly get through in one calendar year. I keep buying them, intending to read them later. I also get a lot of books as gifts.
Of the books I did get to this year, Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negros, was my favourite. It was published in 2007, and I wish I had gotten to it sooner! Hill’s protagonist, Aminata Diallo, who was abducted as a child from her village in West Africa and sold into slavery, continues to haunt me. The story had such an effect on me that I couldn’t pick up another book for two weeks.
I also thought Ins Choi’s play, Kim’s Convenience, was brilliant. The story hit close to home. Both Ins and I, although we have never met, immigrated to Canada in1975, and had families that worked in variety stores in downtown Toronto. I wrote about this play in an earlier blog.
Now that it is 2013, there are several lists of ‘the best books of 2012’ published everywhere. Here are a few to check out.
- Goodreads – Best Books of 2012
- Best Books of 2012 – The New Yorker
- Best of 2012 – ChaptersIndigo
- The Best Reading of 2012 – The Toronto Star
- The Best Canadian Books of 2012 – CBC Books
- Best Books of 2012 – Fiction Award Winners
ann y.k. choi 
I recommend this site too: http://www.fictionawardwinners.com/
It collects “best of the year” lists (and literary award winners) and ranks fiction and non fiction titles according to numbers of appearances. Hilary Mantel’s latest book was the top one this year.
Hi Saad. Thanks for sharing the link. I’ve added it to the list above. Happy new year.
I noticed that Lawrence Hill is Canadian. I haven’t read a lot of books by Canadian writers. Do you have a favourite? Could you recommend a book?
Have you read anything by David Adams Richards? David was my writing mentor at the Humber School for Writers. He helped me get through the first draft of the book that I am currently working on.
Among his many accomplishments, he has won two Governor General awards, a Giller, and two Gemini awards (writing for Canadian T.V.)…
See http://canadian-writers.athabascau.ca/english/writers/darichards/darichards.php for more information.
Did you see Kim’s Convenience when it was playing in Toronto? I heard it was amazing. Am wondering if it will play anywhere else.
No, I haven’t seen the play yet. I had tickets when it was playing at the Soulpepper Theatre, but something came up. My brother ended up taking my daughter. They loved it.