Having seen this book featured on Wired Online, I was super excited to get my free copy from a Goodreads giveaway.

At the end of it all, however, I was underwhelmed by this book. It felt more like reading a really interesting textbook than a page-turner, even a nonfiction one. It contains tons of useful tidbits and concepts – Dunbar’s number, Levy flight pattern, Three Degrees of Influence Rule – fun experiments and little known information about things I thought I knew a lot about, but still I had to plow through and keep reading.

I had the impression too that the focus of the book would be online social media and the connections society is making there, but that topic is really an aside and used, in the last chapter, more as one big proof to reinforce all of the points made throughout the book.

Connected was the sort of book that I had to read when someone else was in the room. That way I could read aloud the enlightening data and interesting statistics to my companion which would lead us down a merry path of fascinating discussion. Too bad the book’s own exploration of the same topics was usually bland.

In better social-connectedness news, I finally figured out how to add Google friend connect to my WordPress blog, so over in the sidebar there is a nifty little gadget that will let you “follow” me around and hang on my every word. hehe

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There was never a Queen like Balkis,
From here to the wide world’s end;
But Balkis talked to a butterfly
As you would talk to a friend.

There was never a King like Solomon,
Not since the world began;
But Solomon talked to a butterfly
As a man would talk to a man.

She was Queen of Sabaea–
And he was Asia’s Lord–
But they both of ‘em talked to butterflies
When they took their walks abroad!

~ from The Butterfly that Stamped,
by Rudyard Kipling

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Reading challenges are encouraged and undertaken everywhere on the blogs and podcasts that I love, but up until now, I’ve  shrugged them off as overwhelming. Who has the time to read books in addition to what is already on your nightstand? was my usual objection. Funny how you always eat your words.

Days later I started drafting a post that included the one thought…

“I’m unfailingly drawn to women’s voices: in music, literature and television.”

This is usual blogging practice for me. Catch one phrase out of the soup, digest, ruminate, flesh it out later. This particular thought was odd however because though I felt very strongly about it and noticed the pattern in my life – for example my “girls” playlist in iTunes – I had no idea what else needed to be said… yet.

Enter Lily, one of my Chicks on Lit friends and book blogger, who posted on Sunday about a brand new challenge called Women Unbound, a real blog community effort, that is set to run from November of this year to November of next. My imagination was instantly captivated and recognized that I had been given the means to delve further into undiscovered thoughts. Awesome.

Women Unbound now has it’s own blog where you will find all the rules of participating and pretty buttons to decorate your blog if you’d like to participate. The general theme is fairly obvious, but…

Participants are encouraged to read nonfiction and fiction books related to the rather broad idea of ‘women’s studies.’  The definition according to Merriam-Webster is the multidisciplinary study of the social status and societal contributions of women and the relationship between power and gender.

And there are different levels of commitment, which I like!

• Philogynist: read at least two books, including at least one nonfiction one.
• Bluestocking: read at least five books, including at least two nonfiction ones.
• Suffragette: read at least eight books, including at least three nonfiction ones.

Ever since discovering the challenge, I’ve been pouring over my to-read shelf over at Goodreads, my own physical bookshelves as well as all of the other participants reading lists to find just what suited me best. I’ve even saved the hashtag search for #unbound on Twitter as it’s a good resource and place to chat. Best of all, here is the complete list of participants. Watch it, there will be some amazing reviews.

At the end of it all, I’ve made my own challenge reading shelf at Goodreads that you can check out, but I’ve copied and pasted my choices here as well. The results are a combination of classics I’ve always wanted to read, fantasy I wasn’t ready for once upon a time but am now, science fiction, lots of southern (read: home) influence, one Canadian and one from my profession.

I’m thrilled and am diving into The Handmaid’s Tale first, as I picked up a hardcover copy last time I was at the Goodwill 1/2 off sale and it is one of the November reads for the Chicks. And yes, I’m going for my Suffragette badge of honor. I have the sudden urge to put Mary Poppins on! lol

I always said that my mom raised me to be a good feminist. Here goes!

Nonfiction:

The Maternal Is Political, Shari MacDonald Strong (Editor)

The Vagina Monologues, Eve Ensler

The Curse of the Good Girl, Rachel Simmons

Notes on Nursing, Florence Nightingale

A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf

Fiction:

The Color Purple, Alice Walker

Kindred, Octavia Butler

The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley

The Children’s Book, A.S. Byatt

The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood

The Awakening, Kate Chopin

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Having recently finished President Obama’s The Audacity of Hope and had the flames of love rekindled in hope for the future of my home country, True Patriot Love was a welcome and introspective look at the national identity of my other home. Mr. Michael Ignatieff looks back through four generations of his family at the role each played in shaping the Canadian identity.

“Family traditions are more than arguments with the dead, more than collections of family letters you try to decipher. A tradition is also a channel of memory through which fierce and unrequited longings surge, longings that define and shape a whole life. “

If you are reading this from America, you might be asking yourself “What Canadian identity?” with an incredulous look on your face. My answer to that would be “Exactly!” Ever since stepping foot in this expansive land, I have known deeply that something about it was fundamentally different than the US. But you have to look deeply to find it. Because for all exterior purposes, Canadians look just like Americans and the few minor differences have become cliches and frequent targets of comedians, eh?

With a swift pace that carries you along willingly, his retelling is filled with historical detail and the romantic imaginings of the bigger picture he is trying to paint. The theme of the book is carried very well throughout. The Canada that was always undescribable to me is, after this reading, much more at my fingertips. And political situations that used to make me scratch my head have suddenly come into the light.

“Because we remain a land of hope and opportunity, and new Canadians see in our unfinished destiny an image of their own unfinished destines.”

I particularly admire his humility upon what he calls “The Inheritance” of all these generations upon himself and what he feels is his responsibility to go forward for the good of Canada. The last chapter bears this same name and where every other chapter has drawn each ancestor in a larger than life fashion, Mr. Ignatieff chooses not to detail the accomplishments of his own years. Rather he looks forward to what he believes are the next hurdles for Canada as a nation.

Excellent and inspirational. I really liked it.

“The next morning… Grant awoke, rubbed his eyes and stepped out into bright sunshine. They had broken through the forest cover and he was standing on the edge of the Prairies.

‘I found myself in Paradise,’ Grant scribbled excitedly into his diary.

A vast whispering ocean of green grass, waist high, sprinkled with wildflowers, yellow, lilac and white, stretched to the horizon, perfectly flat, under a vast blue sky. The elemental stillness was broken only by the whispering grass and snatches of birdsong. There was not a building, not a fence, not a column of smoke in sight.”

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In my continual efforts to improve relations across the border, I’d like to introduce you all to the favourites (with a u!) of a Canadian trick or treat bag. These treats make our ghouls, goblins and super heroes sooo happy.

Specimen #1: Coffee Crisp from the Nestle company “makes a nice light snack.” How surprised I was to discover that my love of all things coffee does not extent to this chocolate bar. The kids love them however, and my son lined them up along the floor parallel to the Kit Kat. I think it started as two different piles that eventually reached and reached and just barely touched each other. What a nice pictorial metaphor of north meeting south.

#2  is Aero, also from the Nestle company. Bubbles, lots and lots of bubbles!

This third picture includes Oh Henry and Crispy Crunch. The latter is the Canadian version of Butterfinger, but imho doesn’t hold a candle to the peanut-buttery wonder I grew up with. hehe

And finally, the eternal debate: what is a Rocket and what is a Smartie?

The first picture shown above contains what I grew up knowing as the little tablets of pure sugar called Smarties. No way man, here they are called Rockets. Because the name Smarties is reserved and beloved by all Canadians as a slighty different but no less tasty version of an M&M.

That Peter Puck in the picture is the only treat that was new to me. Apparently Hanna Barbara invented this little guy in 1973 at the request of an NBC sports executive. He was featured in little shorts intended to teach kids about the game of hockey and that would play during commercial breaks of NHL games. He’s really quite adorable. Check out this recently reinvigorated Canadian icon turned Halloween candy and his short videos on the CBC website.

Hope I’ve helped defer any international incidents of a Halloween nature.  Happy chocolates everyone!!!

ps. no i was not rifling through the candy bags this morning. it is my children’s halloween ritual to sort and organize their loot then trade like mad with each other. two crispy crunches for that mars bar?

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