Canada Day Books

I remember reading this and Whistle for Willy as a child. I was very happy to share these stories with my son. We both enjoy the unique illustrations and the easy to follow storyline. Classic.

My mom read to me every night as a child and our library of children's books were immense. I have vivid memories of approx 10 books out of hundreds and this is one of them. I agree with another reviewer that this book captures the quiet and stillness of a snowy winter day in the city. It is a simple book but my daughter loves it as much as I did back in the 80's.
The other notable books from my childhood were

Harold and the purple crayon

Animalia

Goodnight Moon

Runaway bunny

Go! Dog Go!

And this whole monster series that I can not recall the exact names of....something like Monsters ABC and one about manners....I dunno.

I really love Snowy Day though...

Ezra Jack Keats crosses social and cultural boundaries in this book when he creates a story where the hero is a black boy in a big city. The book is a vibrant story of a little boy named Peter and the excitement of the first snow of the season.

The story is simple and easy to read, but the illustrations are what bring this book to life. Ezra Jack Keats uses collage and marbling techniques to illustrate this book. The vibrant colors help us with the mood of the story. When Peter is happy the sky is a brilliant blue, but then he becomes angry and the sky turns black. We can sense Peter's excitement when the sky is grey with swirls. Keats uses the colors and textures of his illustrations to set the mood and help us understand the story.

The Snowy Day is a Caldecott winner from 1963. This picture book would be perfect for any child in early childhood. In addition, an elementary teacher may use this book with older students (grades 2-5) as an example of how illustrations can set the mood. In addition this book would make a great think aloud on making predictions, connections, or asking yourself questions.

I had long forgotten this book from my childhood, and when a friend recently brought a copy over as a gift for my daughter, I gasped in delight.
The memories came flooding back as I turned each page to reveal the familiar artwork, still as fresh and engaging as it was so many years ago.
I hope my daughter grows to love this book as much as I did as a child, and I'm so excited to have been re-introduced to such a fantastic story.

So this is pretty much one of the best books ever written. The story is sweet and magical in the way of nature, and the pictures are just to die for with Keats' imaginative and surprisingly expressive design that still has not quite been beaten since. The book, story and pictures together, provides a warm, homey feeling that immediately shows a life. Keats deserved this Caldecot.

I read this book on the heels of Chris Rose's "1 Dead in Attic: After Katrina." Chris Rose mentions this book toward the end of his, and I thought reading a positive story would be a good balance after reading the details of post-Katrina New Orleans. The story of 9/11 and the people of Gander, Newfoundland is fascinating and uplifting, but the book itself is poorly written. Perhaps it is because the author is a reporter, but the emotional impact that should have been there just wasn't. The sentence structure and word choices made me think I was reading an elementary school student's report on what happened rather than a professional's rendition. Had the content of the tale not been so wonderful, I'd have given this book even a lower star rating. I rarely think a movie is better than a book, but in this case, I kept wishing for a movie version.

Over 6,000 diverted passengers disembarked in Gander, Newfoundland on Sept. 11, 2001. Various newspaper accounts (most notably the Wall Street Journal) have told the tale of the Newfies' unsurpassed hospitality in the week that followed. Here, Jim DeFede does a nice job collecting the personal experiences of 180 individuals involved in events in Gander that week. We hear from passengers, pilots, Gander air traffic controllers, town mayors, school principals and the townsfolk who put their lives on hold to help out.

As a slice of life story, this is nice reading. As a historical accounting, this is not the place to come. This book cries out for a map. I just finished Peter Robb's A Death in Brazil: A Book of Omissions. A big part of what made that book work was a Alex Snellgrove's excellent hand-drawn maps in which all places mentioned in Robb's text are noted on the maps. See a place mentioned...flip to the map...flip back to the text. Works great. Would have worked here. Also, I'd have liked an appendix with some stats - a list of the flights by carrier, flight number, number of passengers, origination and intended destination. That would have been a very useful addition to the narrative.

Most amazing book I've read. Most Americans were unaware that all of incomming flights at the time of the bombings were diverted to the nearest airports not within USA borders. This story is wonderful and shows how the human race really cares about one another. It was hard to put down.

So many reviews have been written about this book, I'm not sure I can add anything that hasn't already been said. But I'd like to try! This is a very heartwarming book, in the best (almost unbelieveable) way. People didn't just go out of their way to help stranded travellers on 9/11 and in the days following, they gave up their linens, their food, their homes...and this is in a depressed area with a 16% unemployment rate. Each and every resident jumped in to give their all, staying up all night to cook (and, in one case, just sitting up to watch over people while they slept, in case they felt insecure). Businesses gave up inventory. Drivers turned over their cars to complete strangers. School bus drivers, who were on strike, poured in to drive anyone and everyone. No effort was too large or too small for these generous people. When someone was disappointed that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police didn't actually wear the uniforms that are so well known, a local RCMP officer got permission from his superiors to don the duds and had his picture taken with thrilled travellers. Although written in a plain, straight-forward style, this book holds up well. I read it when it was first published, and just re-read it today. It feels just as good now as it did then! It's all about the people - they're simply the best!

This book tells a memorable story of how people cope and reach out to others in a time of crisis. It also makes you want to discover Newfoundland for yourself. If you need a uplifting view of the world, this book is a must read.

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BURMESE DAYS is my least-favorite Orwell novel - not because it is badly written (in some ways it features his very best descriptive prose outside of 1984) - but because it is the only book he ever wrote which lacked an overt political purpose. By his own admission, Orwell was at his best when he was writing politically, and at his worst when he was "betrayed into purple passages" by his love of language for language's sake. And while BURMESE DAYS is most definitely an anti-imperialist work from start to finish, it was penned mainly so that Orwell could exorcise the demon of his own years in the Southeast Asia from his head. As he later wrote, "The scenery of Burma so haunted me I later had to write a novel just to get rid of it."

BURMESE DAYS is the story of a young British official named Flory working in the jungles of Burma during the middle 1920s. What Flory actually does for the Empire isn't relevant to the story; suffice to say that he's simply one of the many lower middle-class Englanders who were able, by virtue of being white and in the East, of living in a style they never could have afforded in England - horses, mistresses, servants, whisky, club life. Despite the petty priveleges he cannot bring himself to relinquish, however, he hates the Empire and the psychological burdens it imposes on those who serve it - especially the necessity of isolating oneself from the naitives (whom Flory likes much better than the drunken, racist, morally decayed British officials he is forced to associate with). The plot of the novel revolves around two separate, yet linked storylines: the first is Flory's politically inconvenient friendship with a Burmese doctor, whose nomination to the hitherto whites-only club is the cause of much ugliness, gossip and plotting; the second is his clumsy pursuit of a husband-hunting Englishwoman whom he sees as a refuge from his terrible isolation. Both situations put Flory through an emotional wringer, as he awkwardly tries to protect his friend and at the same make a vital emotional connection with a woman who is much, much less than she appears.

Please don't mistake me: I love Orwell and here is much to recommend the book. The atmosphere of Imperial Burma in the 20s - the heat, the humidity, the sleepless nights, the hunting parties, the boring, endlessly recycled conversations, the [...] everybody keeps and nobody talks about, the gin-drinking, the hypocrisy and loneliness - is expertly captured by Orwell's pen. The descriptions of Burma are unbelievably vivid, and Flory himself is a refreshingly weak and complicated protagonist - strong enough to have subversive opinions but not quite strong enough to stand up for them. And yet BURMESE DAYS is one of those books that is a bit less than the sum of its parts - most of the individual scenes work, and Orwell's descriptive prose is often startlingly beautiful - but taken as a whole the book doesn't precisely know what it is trying to accomplish. Is it just a novel, with anti-imperialism as recurring subtext, or is it an anti-imperialist screed in novel form? The fact that this question can be asked at all shows how much Orwell grew as a thinker in the years after it was published.

This is by far the best book I have read in a long, long time. Orwell's mastery of the English language is apparent and the words flow so elegantly from cover to cover, it will be over before you know it. The story is powerful and interesting.

If you liked 1984 or Animal Farm, you need to read this too. While less famous than his later works, this novel is excellent in every sense of the word.

The book is an easy read with insights into the current state of Burma's (Myannmar) affairs. The colonial dismantling of traditional social structures with the resulting chaos is common throughout the world. George Orwell prophecies the future of Myannmar with this book and "1984". A common joke in Myannmar is " We have many dentists but no one goes because in Burma we are not allowed to open our mouths" This is a good book to read before reading Emma Larkin's "FInding George Orwell in Burma"

With his very first novel, Orwell earned an honorable position on the crowded shelves of Raj Lit. It was a kind of self-liberation, so he could drop the subject henceforth.
He had spent 5 years in Burma as a police officer. Why had he done that? His family was of the shabby genteel class, and his father's pension from the imperial service in India was barely enough to carry him through school. So he skipped university and did what the people in his novel do: sign up for the colonies in the hope of reasonable wealth and career.
When he quit after 5 years, he had some explaining to do. He did it with this novel.
Most first novels are autobiographic to some extent, but Orwell did something different: he figured out what he himself would have become had he stayed. His 'hero' Flory is an alter ego under the hypothical assumption of having stayed for 15 years instead of quitting after 5.
Flory has a different job, but that doesn't matter much. He is a deeply lonely and frustrated man without prospects. He is disgusted with himself and with his social crowd, the sahiblog, who enforce conformism in the most primitive way. They are generally a disgusting group of people.
Flory meets a young woman who seems the answer to his loneliness problem. For her, he might be the solution to her problem, which is the expectation of spinsterhood in poverty. They misunderstand each other thouroughly and make a huge mess of it.
The personal tragedy of Flory is framed by stories of imperial intrigues, by local officials playing Machiavelli and by the sahibs sinking into delirium tremens.
I read it first when I was working and living in other parts of the by then former Raj. I think everything would have been different if the poorpeople, the sahiblog, had had airconditioning. They might have been able to use their brains more.

An aspect of this work which has not been emphasized by reviewers is the singularly excellent description of morphine addiction found in Joseph Boyden's novel. My understanding is that a close relative of Mr. Boyden's was an army doctor during WW1 thus the extraordindarily detailed knowledge which the author has brought so effectively into this work. In truth, medicine needs to be taught not only from textbooks but also from works of art. "Three Day Road" should be included in medical curricula in order that doctors get a much needed 'gut feel' about opiate addiction. Once read, never forgotten: that is the power of Boyden's work.

I read a great deal, fiction and nonfiction. Three Day Road is one of the best novels I have ever read. The protagonists are complex and rich, and the microscopic details of World War I trench warfare widen into a vision that transcends time, place, and character. I read it two years ago and bought it because I wanted a copy. I think of it often. You will too.

This is such a painful, graphic and well written book. It is not easy reading however, it gives a deep picture of war and it's everyday misery and the pain. Told from the point of view of a Cree Indian, the story is unique for the insight into Native American contributions to the "Great" War and how the daily, boring grind of war uniquely affects Native Americans.
It is a story of hope,addiction and the amazing ability of the human being to overcome physical and mental pain against all odds.

I do not often read fiction involving wars, particularly World War I or II, as the books are usually "been there, done that." However, I picked this up on a recommendation from a friend and read it in about 3 days. Great, different approach that I really enjoyed. Give it a whirl, you won't be disappointed.

This was a great story of two young Indian men and an Aunt. The young men battling through the horrors of warfare and trying to gain the respect of the discriminating Canadians, English and French. Author swings back and forth from childhood in Northern Canada to the war scenes. The men become accomplished scouts and snipers and succumb to addictions of killing, drugs and heartbreak in the efforts to stay alive. Best story I've read in some time.

The second book in the Watch series that mainly follows Alisa; Anton is still here but not in the capacity that we have grown accustomed. This is do to this book is from the perspective of the Day Watch (Dark Others). This gets us more in touch with the other sides characters and even sheds light on why dark and light others don't mix....or shouldn't? You get to learn a lot more about Alisa the right hand of Zebulon and even how Zebulon's mind works. I liked this one more because it was a way quicker read for me but that's mainly because most characters were introduced in the first and the plot lines of the stories pushed me on. The format is that of the original, with three stories making up one book. But they always end up going full circle and they conclude so you don't have to worry about being kept hanging.

I won't write a summary of the book, as that's already been done in countless reviews, but I will leave you with this: If you enjoyed the first book, then you will also enjoy this second installment in the series.

Day Watch was a fantastic read that I couldn't put down. The book gives you perspective into the Dark ones; you soon realize that the Light ones aren't "good" and the Dark Ones aren't "evil", there are hints of good and evil in both factions.

Can't wait to get my hands on Twilight Watch.

As with Twilight Watch, this is an excellent book to own and read. My Wife, ReynaVoop recommended this as well as Twilight watch, and she's never been wrong about the quality of the books.

Day Watch is the second greatest story created the first would be Night Watch. The books are pheononminal!

It seems as though any author whose prose are at least grammatically sound can receive fawning praise in the modern fantasy ghetto. Sergei Lukyanenko's 'sequel' to The Nightwatch is simply put a very poor novel. Its characters are flat, its plot structure mind-numbingly repetitive (particularly when considered in light of the previous novel) and it's fantastic mechanisms lacking in both originality and credibility.

Sadly, the first story in the three-story book shows real promise. The character, a charismatic young witch, is credible, thoughtful and thought-provoking. Her actions are realistic, sufficiently selfish to have an edge of reprehensibility. Her occasional cruelty is justifiable in the context of her life and story, and the tale of her downfall is all the more poignant due to the fact that her characterization and even her own internal monologue make it clear that she is not actually evil. She is, in a word, a great anti-hero. Suffice it to say she does not show up again.

The rest of the stories are chock-full of deus ex machina, horrendously thin exposition and a storytelling style that is best described as 'plot-by-coincidence'. It's simply not acceptable as a second novel from a writer who has, if anything, taken a step backward from his first.

This book should be owned by anyone who has ever done any kind of art or disciplined activity. The effort to take one photograph per day for a season instead of the thoughtless reliance on technology teaches an important lesson, one that we all could benefit from. It shows what slowing down and really looking means. And the layout and design are impressive.

If you haven't seen the DVD (Public TV?) program of this project, you should-great insights into what Brandenburg was after as a photographer-the great and the struggles. WOnderful book and photos!

I'm a verbal type; I'd rather read a beautifully written description of a frozen lake than stare at a picture of it anytime. Even knowing that, my mother gave me this book several years ago, and I fell in love. I sat with it for hours, seeing, dreaming, and I still take it down often to do the same again. The photographer, Jim Brandenburg, set himself the challenge of taking only one photograph each day for three months, in the boreal forest where he makes his home. The result is a portrait of life as many of us can never experience it: not just "calendar shots," but pictures that show the cruelty of man, the certainty of death, the very simple beauty of a single bright leaf burning on the dark, still waters of an evening pond. Some photos are amazing in themselves and some seem ordinary in the extreme, but it is important to take them as a whole, and see what you learn from the journey.

It's a nice conceit. A great outdoor photographer sets for himself the task to taking one, but only one, photograph each and every day for an entire season.

One can see all kinds of implications. Once the photographer finds a subject he must get it right the first time because he isn't allowed a second chance. Exposure, focus, composition - everything must be right and as good as he can get it. Moreover he is continually in peril. Should he pass by a good shot in the morning in expectation of a better shot in the afternoon? And what happens when no better shot is in the camera as sunset approaches? We can easily believe Jim Brandenburg when he says that the exercise was a transforming experience.

But the question for viewers of this book is whether the pictures are a transforming experience for us. Unfortunately, they were not for me.

I understand that some of the pictures were bound to be underexposed or out of focus. Plants blow in the wind; animals move. But while I examined the photographs in this book, I also looked at other work by Brandenburg. These other collections were always quite impressive, providing new ways of looking at the world. Many of the pictures in "Chased by the Light" showed a keen sensibility for the light. The silhouettes of loons and a small island with trees against the backlight of a clouded dawn were breathtaking. The photograph of a raven's feather against a lichen background with a few beaded drops of water on the feather caught my eye.

But for every great photograph, there was one that was pedestrian and one that was discardable. I certainly didn't need to see an out-of-focus mink or trees in the forest with no true subject.

To be fair to Brandenburg, this project was apparently not undertaken for publication but rather as an exercise for his own development. It was his editor who wanted to publish after seeing the photographs. To the editor's eye, at least, the pictures were enlightening and well worth the effort.

The greatest value of this book was not in the photographs but in the speculation in which I engaged about why this book was not outstanding. Is photography a stochastic process with each photograph taken possibly leading to an even greater photograph? Did forcing himself to elect when to take his daily picture cause Brandenburg to sacrifice opportunities, or even limit his willingness to take risks. Does the order of presentation of photographs have synergistic effects, which were lost, because this book almost demanded only chronological order? Does forcing the viewer to look at pictures that would otherwise be discards detract from the impact of good pictures?

For me this book was conceptual art. I found the idea of the task transformed my view of photography. The pictures themselves did not.

I gave this book to my parents several years ago and still leaf slowly through its pages whenever visiting their home in northern Minnesota. For amateurs and professionals alike, his is a fascinating photographic concept: your own property? a favorite park? your family? or pet? a holiday?

I am just finishing reading this book and am impressed with the approach of not dieting, changing lifestyle. This is a much better approach.

I'm sorry, Mr. King. Just because you keep repeating the phrase "this is not a diet" doesn't make it so. The first half of this book has some interesting high falutin' sounding science. If the research actually supports the information there it is worth a read. Despite that, ultimately his advice can be summed up as: Eat less and exercise more. I think we're all on board with that!

He recommends consuming five small meals a day, two of which should be protein shakes (which are no doubt available for purchase through his website). Reminds one of Ultra Slim or, even worse, Optifast. How is that NOT a diet? I don't think anyone wants a "lifestyle change" that includes drinking two liquid meals a day. He also advises a fairly strict 40-30-30 breakdown of carbs, protein and fat at every meal. And calorie counting.

Folks, moderate your intake of the foods you already KNOW you shouldn't over-indulge in and move your body 30-45 minutes a day as a minimum. Don't bother with this or any other diet book. As the old adage goes, if it sounds too good to be true it probably isn't.

There's no doubt that Brad King knows his nutrition, but this book is just too deep in biochemistry than it needs to be. One almost needs a degree in science to comprehend the first half of his book! Believe me, it is NOT an easy read! There are no real everyday meal samples to try and follow. I was very disappointed and got very little out of it. Don't bother and save your money.

I don't buy diet books. I checked this one out of the library, read it, and had to own it. The 'ah-hah' moments people talk about are geniunely enlightening. If you want meal plans, recipes, and the standard info usually included in these books, this is not for you. If you want to understand how your body got to be the way it is and how you can be in charge of changing it radically for the better, read this book. I love the concept of managing fat loss (not just weight loss) and the strategies offered to make this happen. This information has helped me reclaim my pre-pregnancy body (bodyfat is down to 24% from 38%). The book is based on science and is a scientific read to a certain extent, but it's very clearly explained. I will be living according to these principles for the rest of my life (and not in a coffee-and-Twinkies body, either)!

Our 'oh please?' reviewer seems suspiciously keen to push an alternative author's book. His (or her) critique is based on FatWars' deficiencies as a diet book. In this regard the anonymous reviewer is correct: if you want a diet book, Fat Wars isn't the book for you.

If, on the other hand, you want to understand your body and its complex response to the foods you put into it and the exercise (or the lack thereof) that you subject it to, and actually take advantage of nature's in-built health and fitness mechanisms, then pick this up and read it. I was recommended it by my personal trainer, and have since recommended it to many other people. It's not simple, and it's not a quick fix. But it is well researched and (more to the point) effective.

I'm not sure that I'll ever get up at 5 AM to work out, have my final meal of the day by 8pm and be in bed by 10 to take full advantage of my circadian rhythms. But I have made a number of the changes to my lifestyle which Brad King recommends, which have left me feeling fitter and healthier.

As a colleague of mine used to say: only results count. I'm happy with this book because it delivers results.

We found this book to be a great resource for trying to cover all areas of the park in only 5 days. We were able to do some hiking in all the main areas of the park and really get to take in some of the great beauty of the park that you just can't see from the road!

Used this a lot to plan day hikes and did many of the listed hikes while at Glacier in July 2008. Distances, times seemed reasonably accurate and comments a good synopsis for the trail. Doesn't rate hikes, "easy", "difficult", etc; but most in Glacier are in the easy-intermediate range anyway. Relatively small size made it easy to take along or fit in pants pocket. Trails in Glacier are well used/marked so you don't really need it during hiking, but I liked it for planning my hikes or referencing when having to change plans during the day. Maybe only thing to add are a few pictures, which can help decide if you want to take a certain trail or not.

Time is at a premium on vacation. I feel that we will see some great views in Glacier using this book and stay within our vacation time period. Thanks for writing this with all the details given. Very helpful.

Best Easy Day Hikes for Glacier and Waterton Lakes National Parks is a bit misleading as a title. While there are easy hikes, some are far from it. For example, one hike is nine miles long with a 1200-foot climb while another is over 14 miles long. Fortunately, the distances and elevation changes are clearly marked in the description so it is easy to select those you are willing and able to tackle while leaving the others for the more adventurous. There are also maps for each hike but it sometimes took me a while to use them. The actual trail wasn't always well defined within the larger area portrayed on the map and I often found the trailheads especially difficult to spot. It was not a major problem as I always worked it out in the end but it is an area that could use a bit of improvement.

There are 28 hikes listed and they are broken down into 5 geographic areas of the two parks. My wife and I did 2-3 hikes from each area and found the descriptions to be both helpful and largely accurate. The book is small enough to easily fit in a hip pocket and held up very well during a full week of heavy usage. Color photos would have been a nice addition but that would have made the book both larger and heavier which is not ideal for a pocket guide. Overall, this was a great purchase at an extremely reasonable price.

Its construction is not as durable as one would like for a reference to carry with you while hiking, but what can one expect for that small an asking price? However, the descriptions and maps for each hike are easy to understand--even for the novice hiker. 25 easy hikes are included in the book, with distance, degree of difficulty, time required, and elevation change included. There are no pictures in the book, but still its very well done.

I don't really understand why there are such rave reviews about this book. It's very good, and I hope I give no one any offence, but there was a point where I just wanted to rip my hair out. He teaches himself to read, with a little help. He decides to play the violin, and does that independently... There is nothing this little guy can't do, I suppose. I liked the book- I'm just shocked that it got a "perfect" rating. It was interesting, but not very well developed. The writing uses allusion like he's stuck teaching Gray's "elegy". The Jason- thing was pendantic.

2005 winner of "Canada Reads", Rockbound is an abridged audiobook version of the classic novel first published in 1928. Set upon Nova Scotia's south shore, it follows an 18-year-old who comes to the windswept island of Rockbound to claim his inheritance with nothing but rags on his back. Navigating the treachery of two warring clans, he gradually settles into life, marrying and having a son. He keeps a secret love for the island's schoolteacher, but he cannot be prepared for the wickedness of his great-uncle and self-proclaimed "king" of Rockbound. Superbly narrated by Shakespearean actor Richard Donat, who skillfully adds color and flavor to the Nova Scotia dialect of the Rockbounders, Rockbound is an enduring parable of treacherous times, where the sudden turning of a man's heart can be as deadly as the shift of wind near a rocky coastline. Highly recommended. 3 CDs, 3 1/2 hours.

I wanted to read this book just because of the positive word of mouth the book gets and I believed it would be interesting. What I was not prepared for was the difficult slang that the author used through most of the book. Ok so it makes the book authentic, but I found my self getting frustrated at times and I do not read a book to get frustrated. The book is about a fishing family in what must be one of the worst weather locations on the planet. Cold, wet, and dark, no wonder the folks there were in such a perpetual bad mood.

I must say that the book has a way to suck you into the story. There is so much nasty under current that I kept reading just to find out the next tough stretch. I also loved all the detail of the fishing industry in the early 1900's. It is fitting that such a difficult profession was the occupation of this group of islanders. Overall I did enjoy the book. It had a ton of historic detail and great characters. I just did not like the difficult slang.

This is a book chaulk full of your history the way you've not likely heard it told. Truly a must read for any maritimer.
Put a log on the fire, find a comfy chair, a glass of port and enjoy a trip to your roots.

This is Canadian fiction at its best. Set in the early 1900's, prior to World War one, this book follows the life of David Jung; from his early Youth when he arrives on Rockbound Island to stake his claim though his struggles and strifes to become the uncrowned King of the Island.

Rockbound is a lonely place, beaten by storms, layered in fog, in constant winter weather. And it is the setting for Jung's struggles with the powerful North Atlantic, island politics, and family struggles. the conflicts are not just with the phyiscal world -- the horrible power of the ocean and its storms-- but also the internal strife.

What the book does best is cross the line between fiction and nonfiction. Yes this is fiction but there is truth here, and you can tell the author knows of what he writes about. The eternal struggle of man against both nature and society are beautifully protrayed here.

Much of Montgomery's work was published in magazines (including most of the Anne books.) This is a collection of such pieces, and they can be annoyingly similar if read one after another. However, as something to read piecemeal, it's enjoyable.

"After Many Days" is one of my favourite thematic volumes of LMM's short stories. These stories deal with people who set things "right" after years of misunderstanding or absence. "In the Old Valley" and "Between the Hill and the Valley", both stories of love which survives time and separation, are among my favourite LMM stories out of any collection. There are no surprises in this book - if you are familiar with LMM's work you will find more of the same here. This collection stands out from the others for its honest poignancy, which strikes me anew every time I read it.

L.M. Montgomery is most likely the only author whose every book I relish. She can weave sentences together and ideas to make the most delicious plots. Being a VERY avid Montgomery reader, I read all her works. After Many Days has wonderful stories and does not lose that Avonlea-like feeling of the Anne Shirley books. You won't be disappointed if you ever read this book.

After Many Days is an awesome book! If you liked the Anne series, you will probably love this book. It is full of short stories about events and times that have passed by. They are all extremely touching, and have an advantage over some of her other books, because you can read a whole story in a matter of a few minutes.