The "Give a Canadian Book" meme began with an email and a blog post by writer Steve Pitt, and grew from there to make the rounds on Twitter and Facebook. And it's not hard to see why the idea has caught on-- the following argument is pretty persuasive:

"Have you noticed lately that most of the holiday gifts filling up Canadian store shelves are no longer made in Canada? Even gifts bearing the most recognizable Canadian symbols seem to come from some distant land. When Canadians buy foreign made gifts most of their money leaves the country taking jobs away from other Canadians.

One exception is Canadian books. Canadian books are written by Canadians for Canadians. Behind every Canadian writer is a Made in Canada team of editors, graphic designers, lay-out artists, publicists, printers, warehouse staff, delivery drivers and book sellers. Every year the Canadian book industry pumps hundreds of millions of dollars into the Canadian economy which creates jobs and pays taxes.

Canadian books also offer unbelievable choice. From Romance to Home Renos, Humour to Who-dunnits, Canadian books are second to none anywhere in the world. No matter what the age, gender or personal interests are of all the people on your gift list, there is a perfect Canadian book for each of them."

And really, there is no better place than The 49th Shelf for you to discover that perfect Canadian book for your special someone. At 49thShelf.com, you'll find thousands upon thousands of listings for Canadian books, with new ones being added all the time. Great authors and books are being introduced to you on our blog three days a week. We feature great new books on our front page every week, and our recommended reading lists break down those great new books in remarkable specificity: we've got Books for Dads, Books About Motherhood, Books About Seniors, a host of picture book lists, Books for Older Teen Boys and Books with Spirited Girls. We've got lists of books set in Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Niagara Falls and the Annapolis Valley. There is a huge list of art books published by the public galleries of Canada. We've got a whole bunch of lists of award-winning books, including some you might not have even heard of yet. Our lists feature expert recommendations by writers including Ami McKay, Marina Endicott, Alison Pick, Charlotte Gray, Jared Bland, Jacob McArthur Mooney, Charlotte Gill, Kathleen Winter, and Dan Francis. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Giving a Canadian book this holiday season is not just a great gesture, but with The 49th Shelf, it's also easy. We look forward to helping you create your shopping lists over the next few weeks, ensuring that happy faces greet the unwrapping of all those books tucked under the tree.