Margaret Atwood is one of the most famous, if not THE most famous, Canadian writer. She has written more than 50 books, her work has been published in more than forty-five countries and she has won innumerableinnumerable: too many to be counted literature awards. The genre she is mostly known for is dystopiandystopian: a fictive state or society where there is great suffering or injustice fiction, like The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), Oryx and Crake (2003) and her most recent work The Testaments (2019).

The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel about a woman called Offred who lives in fictional Gilead, a state that is highly religious, patriarchal and totalitarian. She is part of the suppressed social class of the “handmaids” who are forced to produce children for the ruling class of men. Atwood says that while the novel is a work of fiction, none of the events described in the book are fictive. She explains further that “it’s a response to ‘it can’t happen here.’ 

The Handmaid’s Tale was turned into a TV series produced by Bruce Miller for the American streaming service Hulu in 2016. While the first season is directly based on the book, the subsequentsubsequent: following seasons imagine what would have happened after the book, and they take a closer look at what could have led to such a totalitarian state in the first place.

In 2019 Margaret Atwood wrote a sequelsequel: a continuation of a formerly published book/film etc. called The Testaments which is set 15 years after The Handmaid’s Tale. She coordinated what happened in The Testaments with the events in the TV series. Now, it looks like Hulu is working on a spinoffspinoff: a product marketed by its association with a popular tv program/movie etc. series based on this new book.

Canadian viewers can currently watch The Handmaid’s Tale on Crave. When you watch the series, pay attention to the expressions. Both the book and the series use religious-sounding greeting formulas and other expressions that are not actually common in the English language. For example, instead of “Hello, how are you? – I’m well, thanks,” residents of Gilead say: “Blessed Be the Fruit. – May the Lord open.” Can you find more?

If you can’t decide whether to read the book or watch the series first, we would suggest reading the book first. And if you’re not sure if you’re comfortable reading a whole novel in English, you could try to find a sample chapter online to try. 

Another fun activity would be to check if the conversations in the first season match the ones in the book exactly. A little hint: Listen for expressions like “old what’s-his-face”, “tough luck” and “they smoked them out” in the first episode. Which did you prefer: the book or the TV series? Let us know on social media or write to us at lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca.

With the exception of coastal BC, it gets just as freezing cold in the rest of Canada as it does in Quebec. Many Canadians are outdoor enthusiasts, even in winter. While skiing in the fresh powderpowder = powder snow, very soft and fluffy snow at one of the Rocky Mountain ski resorts is probably on the bucket listbucket list = list of things one wants to achieve/do in their lifetime of any alpine skier, cross-country skiing or snowshoeing are more accessible (and less expensive), as you can practise these sports pretty much anywhere. If you’re more into(to) be into sth. = be interested in something the motorized kind of skiing, there are fantastic snowmobile trails all over the country.

Of course there is also Canada’s national winter sport: hockey. Maybe you like to skate and play on the ice yourself? You’ve got your choice of natural lakes or artificial ice rinksice rink = an area especially for hockey, skating or curling. Or maybe you would like to watch an all-Canadian NHL game in English? Your best chances are early in the season when the Canadian teams play mostly each other.

If you prefer to spend the cold season indoors, you are not alone. A lot of people love to get their arts and crafts on(to) get your (sth.) on = (to) do something in winter. You could join a craft meetup which gives its participants a chance to work on their knitting, crochet or embroidery projects. Working with fabrics, especially quiltingquilting = sewing a blanket with a geometrical pattern made from small pieces of fabric, is a traditional hobby in all of North America. Early European settlers did not have much fabric, so they used the small remnants to sew patchwork blankets as protection against the cold. Pottery and wood-working have also become more and more popular in recent years.

A lot of good books appear in autumn, so how about joining a book club? Maybe it is hard for you to find an English book club in Quebec but there are a lot of book clubs online that cover a huge variety of topics. Another idea would be to challenge yourself to read a certain number of books in English. A great app to keep track of your books and discover new ones is Goodreads. Speaking of apps – LIKEWISE is a great resource for getting recommendations for books, TV shows, movies and podcasts. What makes it unique is that it relies on human suggestions and not algorithms. When does that ever happen in this day and age? 

Last but not least, there are always streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney+ that let you watch movies in English (with English subtitles, if that helps you). If you’re a movie buffmovie buff = someone who is very interested in films, fall is the season for you because most films that are expected to win prizes launch this time of the year.

Do you have other suggestions? What are your favourite winter activities? Let us know on social media, or email us at lesbonsmots@lesateliers.ca.

The way she describes the village and its quirkyquirky: unusual, different inhabitants creates the image of a peaceful, harmonious and shelteredsheltered: protected life. But no matter how sheltered they are, they all have to deal with unpleasant events every once in a while. In the case of Three Pines, these unpleasant events are often a bit more common than the national average.

Louise Penny often uses themes in her books inspired by the arts, music, or poetry. For example, an excerpt from Leonard Cohen’s song “Anthem” can be found in her second book “A Fatal Grace” but also as the title of her tenth book, “How the Light Gets In” , with the theme of the beauty of imperfection.

One of her recurring themes makes me gigglegiggle: (to) laugh lightly in a silly way every time. There is the character of Ruth, an elderlyelderly: old, advanced in age , rather rude poet with a pet duck. The title of one of her books is I’m FINE. Gamache’s wife, a librarian, notices that FINE is an acronym (an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word) and not the adjective fine. So they ask Ruth what it stands for. Her answer: F**cked up, Insecure, Neurotic, and Egotistical. From then on, the characters refer to this meaning of I’m fine/FINE fairly regularly.

Earlier this year Louise Penny announced that she was collaborating with Hillary Clinton on “State of Terror”, a political thriller which will be published on October 12. And if that wasn’t exciting enough, in early September she broke the newsbreak the news: announce something new that the Three Pines series will become a TV show starring British actor Alfred Molina as Armand Gamache. Fans of the novels have been waiting for this news for a very long time. It is currently being filmed here in Québec and will be released on Amazon Prime sometime in 2022.  

A last fun fact about Louise Penny: Her books were translated into 23 languages before they were translated into Québec French. If you love mysteries with a side of philosophy and psychology, I highly recommend checking her out. 

Suitable for English students intermediate and up.

The name of the series is also its main location, a fictional small town somewhere in the boonies(to) live in the boonies: (to) live in a very rural and remote area in Ontario where the formerly rich Rose family finds itself after having lost all their wealth. Their only remaining asset is the rundownrundown: (to) be in a poor, neglected state Rosebud motel where Johnny Rose and his eccentric wife, Moira, now have to live (or rather survive) together with their spoiled children, David and Alexis, who are in their twenties.

Over six seasons, we follow them as they try everything they can to move out of Schitt’s Creek. They make friends with quirkyquirky: unusual, different town residents who can be as lovely as they are annoying. 

A fun fact is that the creators of the show, Eugene and Dan Levy, who play Johnny and David Rose are also father and son in real life. Additionally, Sarah Levy, Dan’s sister, plays the role of local café-owner Twyla. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that the series captures family dynamics especially well, for example the way siblings make fun of each other. This might also explain the success of the quote “Ew, David!” that became a popular meme on social media and can now be found printed on t-shirts, toques and all kinds of merchandise.

Did I make you curious? Here are a few expressions you can listen for in the first episode: 

• The town might be your saving grace. 
• Thank you for giving us the lay of the land. 
• That train has left the station.

You can stream Schitt’s Creek for free on CBC Gem , and it is suitable for intermediate and advanced English learners. There is the option to turn on subtitles in English, if you prefer to watch it that way.

According to the Statista website, the most popular hobby/interest of 2021 in Canada was music. Usually (in non-pandemic times), there are a lot of different music festivals all over Canada. Whatever floats your boatwhatever brings you joy, you will find something: for example, there is the Ottawa Bluesfest which, despite its name, showcases bands from all kinds of genres and not just blues bands. While the Shambala Music Festival in BC is the highlight of the year for fans of electronic music, generally folk fests are very popular in Alberta and the Prairies with the biggest, and arguably the best, being the Winnipeg Folk Festival.

Of course, there are other festivals as well, if music is not your main interest. The Calgary Stampede has been around since 1912 and promotes a traditional western lifestyle with rodeos and (controversiallikely to cause an argument) chuckwagon raceshistorically a vehicle pulled by four horses with a kitchen, today used for horse races. Vancouver hosts the world’s largest fireworks competition at the Honda Celebration of Light festival. For film enthusiasts, the Toronto International Film Festival is the bee’s kneesfantastic. Many of the films that premiere at this festival receive awards at the Golden Globes and Oscars later on.

If festivals aren’t your cup of teaSomething that interests you. Often used in the negative as a polite way to say you don’t like something., there’s always the stereotypical Canadian pastime: camping. Whether you’re glamping in a yurt in one of the national parks with the luxury of a proper bed, going on a road trip in your RV or camping in a hammock tent on a multi-day hike in the backcountryremote, isolated area of the Rocky Mountains, there really is something for everybody.

Speaking of hiking, of course it does not have to be a multi-day hike like the West Coast Trail on the Pacific Ocean in BC, but how about the short North Head Trail on the Atlantic coast in the city of St. John’s in Newfoundland? Or maybe biking (downhill through a dense forest or cycling along the Trans Canada Trail?) or going on an ATV adventure is more your thingsomething that interests you?

Of course there is the whole world of water sports. Canada borders on three oceans: the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Arctic Ocean. And as if that isn’t enough, there are over two million lakes and rivers here. You can kayak, canoe, surf, stand-up paddleboard, sail, boat, fish, float, and raft on or dive in many of them.Did any of these suggestions pique your intereststimulate your interest? Or maybe you prefer to do winter activities? Stay tuned for “Canadian Hobbies, Part II” coming soon!