Lisa’s Review: How to Be a Canadian



How to be a Canadian by Will Ferguson and Ian Ferguson

My Rating: 3 of 5 stars

First off, thank you Mary R for allowing me to guest post on your blog, giving me a forum for my reviews for the 7th Annual Canadian Book Challenge . As a Canadian (and now American) living in the US for 16+ years, I’m looking forward to this reading challenge.

With a road trip planned to Nova Scotia a few weeks ago, I knew it would be a good opportunity to stock up on some new reading material and also take advantage of many hours of passenger time in a vehicle to complete my first book of the challenge. After a quick search of my bookshelf to find something I already owned that qualified for the challenge, I picked out How to Be a Canadian – a book I bought about 12 years ago and had not yet read – it seemed like a perfect selection to kick things off.

How to be a Canadian (Even if You Already Are One) is an entertaining, satirical guide to many things Canadian. In this quick, light read, the Ferguson brothers cover a wide range of topics including Learning the Language (How to Talk Like a Canadian), Sports and/or Recreation (How to Watch TV Like a Canadian), Art and Stuff (How to Be as Cultured as a Canadian), and my personal favorite Twelve Ways to Say "I'm Sorry". Throughout the read I found a few laugh-out-loud moments, many moments of amusement that put a smile on my face, and another many moments thinking 'Hey, that's not true!' before mentally kicking myself to say 'Lisa, remember this is satire'. So overall, what I was expecting from this book - a quick, easy, entertaining read - is exactly what was delivered.