Amazon.ca and 49th Shelf Introduce 100 Canadian Books to Read in a Lifetime

A curated list of some of Amazon.ca and 49th Shelf's favourite Canadian reads

Readers can cast their own votes for "100 Canadian Books to Read in a Lifetime: Reader Picks" via Goodreads

SEATTLE, Sept. 30, 2014 /CNW/ - Today, Amazon.ca and 49th Shelf announced 100 Canadian Books to Read in a Lifetime. This curated list features a selection of literature written by Canadian authors. The list was chosen by an editorial team from Amazon.ca, as well as 49th Shelf, the website devoted to showcasing Canadian authors and their books. The list of 100 Canadian Books to Read in a Lifetime is available at www.amazon.ca/100canadianbooks.

"A single list of books can't be a complete representation of a country's literature," said Craig Riggs of 49th Shelf. "We worked together with Amazon.ca to develop this list as a starting point and a way for readers to explore a wider selection of Canadian writing. We are now opening the list up for reader input so it can continue to take shape as readers weigh in with their own thoughts on the 100 Canadian Books to Read in a Lifetime."

A few fun facts about the list:

• Something old, something new: The oldest book on the list is The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery (originally published in 1926) and the newest title on the list is This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (published May 2014).
• Eight decades worth: The list includes novels that span more than eight decades of literary contributions.
• The great debate: Books on the list that inspired the most internal debates were Swing Low: A Life, by Miriam Toews, and Beautiful Losers, by Leonard Cohen.
• Literary unity: A few books that were unanimously chosen were Paul Quarrington's Whale Music, Andrew Kaufman's All My Friends are Superheroes, and George Elliott Clarke's Execution Poems.
• First novel, second list: Five books on the list are past Amazon.ca First Novel Award winners or finalists, including Obasan, by Joy Kogawa (winner, 1981), The Jade Peony, by Wayson Choy (finalist, 1995), Fall On Your Knees, by Ann-Marie Macdonald (finalist, 1996), Come Thou Tortoise, by Jessica Grant (winner, 2009), and Annabel, by Kathleen Winter (finalist, 2010).
• Fiction's big footprint: The genre most represented on this list is fiction, with 44 novels included.

"Canadian literature is rich and diverse and narrowing the list to 100 was no easy task," said Alexandre Gagnon, country manager for Amazon.ca. "We are thrilled to recognize some of our favourite books and are committed to continuing to support Canadian authors. We hope those who read the books on our list will be delighted by all of the literary contributions by Canadians and we can't wait to see how readers vote."

To see a complete list of the 100 Canadian Books to Read in a Lifetime (listed alphabetically by title), visit www.amazon.ca/100canadianbooks or www.49thshelf.com/100books. Cast your own votes for the "100 Canadian Books to Read in a Lifetime: Reader Picks" at Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/78944.100_canadian_books_to_read_in_a_lifetime.

About Amazon
Amazon.com opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, and Fire TV are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.

About 49th Shelf
49th Shelf is a website (49thShelf.com) that brings together more Canadian books than any other source in the world-with more than 70,000 titles in its database; a popular blog; countless book lists by editors, authors, and 49th Shelf members; and an avid community of social media fans (@49thShelf on Twitter). 49th Shelf is devoted to celebrating Canadian books and to making it easy for readers to find them.

SOURCE: Amazon.ca

Andrew Gouveia, NATIONAL Public Relations, 416-848-1385, [email protected]