Canada Reads American Style

Rebecca is excited to chat with Dr. Kasia Van Schaik about her latest book, Women Among Monuments: Solitude, Permission, and the Pursuit of Female Genius,  published on February 17, 2026 by Dundurn Books.  https://www.dundurn.com/books_/t22117/a9781459752627-women-among-monuments : A lyrical meditation on the enduring obstacles women artists and writers face in a world still unaccustomed to recognizing female genius. What does it take for a woman to don the mantle of genius — a title long reserved for male artists? From her studies in Montreal to a dead-end job in Berlin, a midnight tour of Paris, a bankrupt art residency on the Toronto Islands, and a mysterious sculpture garden in the Karoo desert, South African—Canadian author and professor Kasia Van Schaik considers what it means for a young woman to call herself an artist and claim a creative life. Drawing on a diverse web of literary and cultural sources and artistic icons — from Georgia O'Keeffe to Ana Mendieta, Gertrude Stein to Jamaica Kincaid, Leslie Marmon Silko to Bernadette Mayer — Women Among Monuments asks, What, beyond a room of one's own, are the necessary conditions for female genius? Where does the inner flint of artistic permission come from? What is the oxygen that keeps it burning? In her memoir interwoven with incisive biographies of female solitude, constraint, and perseverance, Van Schaik blazes a trail for more inclusive artmaking practices, communities, and monuments.   Books and Authors mentioned: The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Along by Olivia Lainy Ginny Ross series (Amelia Earhart) by Heather Stemp  Voyage in the Dark; Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson https://www.unb.ca/faculty-staff/directory/arts-fr-english/van-schaik-kasia.html https://gillerprize.ca/scotiabank-giller-prize-spotlight-kasia-van-schaik/ https://www.instagram.com/kasia_writes https://electricliterature.com/why-i-left-men-for-books/    

Rebecca and Tara both share a book in which the main character is seeking a return to community. And Tara brings more horror to the podcast! Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle):  Anne of Windy Willows by L.M. Montgomery (British edition) Walls: Travels Along the Barricades by Marcello Di Cintio Patrick Bird Mysteries: Opposite Sully's Gym #2 (03-31-26); The Road to Heaven #1 by Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson Searching for Terry Punchout by Tyler Hellard The Breakwater (04-26-26) by Leslie Shimotakahara The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History; Big Jim and the White Boy: An American Classic Reimagined by David F. Walker; illustrated by Marcus Kwame Anderson Tara (@onabranchreads): Breathing is How Some People Stay Alive by Alison Gadsby The Winter Witch by Jennifer Chevalier Conversations with Birds by Priyanka Kumar Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito Tell Me Pleasant Things about Immortality: Stories; The Woo-Woo: How I Survived Ice Hockey, Drug Raids, Demons, and My Crazy Chinese Family by Lindsay Wong The Chorus Beneath Our Feet by Melanie Schnell Women Among Monuments: Solitude, Permission, and the Pursuit of Female Genius by Kasia Van Schaik Is This a Cry for Help? by Emily R. Austin Definitely Thriving (03/17/26) by Kerry Clare   If you have any comments or suggestions that you would like to share with Rebecca and Tara or you are interested in joining their monthly virtual book talk, please email them at craspod2019@gmail.com    

Rebecca welcomes Canadian Tyler Hellard, the author of Searching for Terry Punchout, a funny, heartwarming novel published in 2018 by Invisible Publishing that will be defended on CBC's Canada Reads by Steve “Dangle” Glynn beginning April 13, 2026. (https://invisiblepublishing.com/product/searching-for-terry-punchout/?srsltid=AfmBOorr4I4nKSYii0VC97AkHUZzFN7b4XOqjmVDik46RSnQWhXeiC6B) : A 2026 CBC Canada Reads Selection Shortlisted for the 2019 Amazon Canada First Novel Award Shortlisted for the 2019 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize Garden State meets King Leary in this slapshot debut novel. Adam Macallister's sportswriting career is about to end before it begins, but he's got one last shot—a Sports Illustrated profile about hockey's most notorious goon, the reclusive Terry Punchout—who also happens to be Adam's estranged father. Adam returns to Pennington, Nova Scotia, where Terry now lives in the local rink and drives the Zamboni. Going home means drinking with old friends, revisiting neglected relationships, and dealing with lingering feelings about his father and dead mother—and discovering that his friends and family are kinder and more complicated than he ever gave them credit for. Searching for Terry Punchout is a charming and funny tale of hockey, small-town Maritime life, and how, despite our best efforts, nothing can save us from becoming our parents. https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/meet-the-canada-reads-2026-contenders-9.7040200 https://tylerhellard.com/    

Rebecca welcomes award-winning Canadian author Marcello Di Cintio for his third podcast visit to discuss his latest book, Precarious: The Lives of Migrant Workers, published by Biblioasis in September 2025.   A Globe 100 Best Book of 2025 • One of The Hill Times' Top 100 Best Books in 2025 • Winner of the 2024 Dave Greber Freelance Writers Book Award https://www.biblioasis.com/shop/new-releases/precarious-the-lives-of-migrant-workers/ In 2023, after weeks of investigation, United Nations Special Rapporteur Tomoyo Obokata came to a scathing conclusion: Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker program is “a breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.” Workers complained of excessive hours and unpaid overtime; of being forced to perform dangerous tasks or ones not specified in their contracts; of being physically abused, intimidated, and sexually harassed; and of overcrowded, unsanitary living conditions that deprived them of their privacy and dignity. In Precarious: The Lives of Migrant Workers, Marcello Di Cintio ranges across the country speaking to those who have come from elsewhere to till our fields, bathe our elderly, and serve us our Double Doubles, uncovering stories of tremendous perseverance, resilience, and humanity, but also of precarity and vulnerability. He shows that vast swathes of our economy depend on the work of people we don't see, while expanding our awareness of what migrant work now entails, and revealing that our mistreatment of the most vulnerable among us diminishes our own dignity.   Please check out Rebecca's previous interviews with Marcello: January 11, 2021 - Pay No Heed to the Rockets: Life in Contemporary Palestine June 28, 2021 - Driven: The Secret Lives of Taxi Drivers   https://www.instagram.com/marcello.di.cintio/    

Join Tara for a captivating interview with Alice Fitzpatrick and discover her connection with Carol Burnett and notable Canadian poet George Bowering.   Alice is the author of the Meredith Island Mysteries, which include Secrets in the Water and A Dark Death.  The Meredith Island Christmas Mystery, A Killing Cold, will be released June 2026. The traditional mystery appeals to Alice's fascination with what makes seemingly ordinary people commit murder. She lives in Toronto, Ontario, but dreams of a cottage on the Welsh coast.   Books for your TBR: Ruth Galloway series; Harbinder Kaur series by Elly Griffiths Magpie Murders series; Moonflower Murders series; Marble Hall series by Anthony Horowitz Helen Dexter - Seaview Hotel series by Glenda Young Cait Morgan series; WISE Enquiries Agency series by Cathy Ace Christine Lane Mystery series by Dianne Scott   https://www.alicefitzpatrick.com/ https://www.alicefitzpatrick.com/newsletter https://www.stonehousepublishing.ca/

With the announcement of the five titles and defenders, Rebecca and Tara make their predictions for the winner of the 25th Anniversary edition of CBC's Canada Reads! Per the CBC website: "This year's edition will air April 13 to 16 on CBC TV, CBC Radio, CBC Listen, CBC Gem and CBC Books. It will also be on YouTube and available as a podcast."   https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/meet-the-canada-reads-2026-contenders-9.7040200   The defenders, titles, and authors: Filmmaker and actor Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers champions A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt Hockey YouTube personality and podcaster Steve “Dangle” Glynn champions Searching for Terry Punchout by Tyler Hellard Musician and writer Tegan Quin champions The Cure for Drowning by Loghan Paylor Broadway actor and kids TV host Josh Dela Cruz champions Foe by Iain Reid BookTok star Morgann Book champions It's Different This Time by Joss Richard   If you have any comments or suggestions that you would like to share with Rebecca and Tara or you are interested in joining their monthly virtual book talk, please email them at craspod2019@gmail.com    

Rebecca and Tara are back with Book Chat #31.  Included are the books they are currently reading as well as their first recommendations of the New Year!    Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): Patrick Bird Mysteries: Opposite Sully's Gym #2; The Road to Heaven #1 by Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson The Breakwater; Sisters of the Spruce by Leslie Shimotakahara To Touch the Water; The Solace of Open Spaces; A Match to the Heart: One Woman's Story of Being Struck by Lightning by Gretel Ehrlich Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Women Among Monuments: Solitude, Permission, and the Pursuit of Female Genius by Kasia Van Schaik Precarious: The Lives of Migrant Workers; Driven: The Secret Lives of Taxi Drivers; Pay No Heed to the Rockets: Palestine in the Present Tense by Marcello Di Cintio   Tara (@onabranchreads):  Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts by Margaret Atwood Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #20: The Black Wolf by Louise Penny The Haunting of Modesto O'Brien; The Wintermen trilogy by Brit Griffin The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig How about This by Michael Mirolla   If you have any comments or suggestions that you would like to share with Rebecca and Tara or you are interested in joining their monthly virtual book talk, please email them at craspod2019@gmail.com  

Welcome to the podcast's first Hidden Gems episode of 2026! This is a special feature Rebecca and Tara offer in which they invite guests to recommend authors or titles that may be new to their listeners. Today's guest is author and retired professor Garnett Kilberg Cohen from Chicago, IL. Garnett is the author of four short story collections: Cravings; Lost Women, Banished Souls; How We Move the Air; and Swarm to Glory. Her chapbook, Passion Tour, was published by Finishing Line Press. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker online, Rumpus, The Gettysburg Review, Witness, The Literary Review, StoryQuarterly, The Antioch Review and elsewhere. Check out Rebecca's interview with Garnett on Feb 13, 2024: https://canadareadsamericanstyle.podbean.com/e/interview-garnett-kilberg-cohen-and-cravings/ Garnett's Hidden Gems: The Registry of Forgotten Objects: Stories by Miles Harvey Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan Down the Steep by A.D. Nauman The Adventures of Cancer Bitch by S.L. Wisenberg French Girl by Jesse Lee Kercheval Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel You've Told Me Before by Jennifer Moses Simone in Pieces by Janet Burroway https://garnettcohenauthor.com/ https://anotherchicagomagazine.net/2025/06/06/review-of-jesse-lee-kerchevals-french-girl-by-garnett-cohen/    

It's that time of year again when Rebecca and Tara try to predict which five books will make CBC's Canada Reads Short List for 2026!  Adding to the excitement is that this year is the 25th anniversary of the debate, so they are hoping for an entertaining look back to find the one book all of Canada should read! https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/canada-reads-2026-longlist-9.7029177 A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt Celestina's House by Clarissa Trinidad Gonzalez Crossroads by Kaleb Dahlgren  Everything Is Fine Here by Iryn Tushabe Foe by Iain Reid Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid It's Different This Time by Joss Richard Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang Never Been Better by Leanne Toshiko Simpson Oxford Soju Club by Jinwoo Park Restaurant Kid by Rachel Phan Searching for Terry Punchout by Tyler Hellard Slice The Water by PP Wong  The Cure for Drowning by Loghan Paylor The Hunger We Pass Down by Jen Sookfong Lee @canadareadsamericanstyle @onabranchreads

Happy New Year!! Rebecca and Tara summarize the success of their 2025 goals and introduce new challenges for 2026!   If you have any comments or suggestions that you would like to share with Rebecca and Tara or you are interested in joining their monthly virtual book chat, please email them at craspod2019@gmail.com

Rebecca and Tara hope you had a fantastic year of reading! And they wrap up their 2025 by answering the following questions: Favorite non-fiction book Favorite quote Happiest book A book that made you cry Most surprising read Most read genre Most read author Favorite reading experience What book do you wish you had buddy read Scariest/creepiest book Favorite fictional character Favorite setting or location First and last book of 2025 If you have any comments or suggestions that you would like to share with Rebecca and Tara or you are interested in joining their monthly virtual book chat, please email them at craspod2019@gmail.com

Rebecca and Tara close out 2025 with their 30th Book Chat! Rebecca is all about Narnia and C.S. Lewis and Tara ruminates on whether to DNF or finish the book she is currently reading. Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): Stories for Winter and Nights by the Fire by British Library Women Writers The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis Tara (@onabranchreads): Turning to Birds: The Power and Beauty of Noticing by Lili Taylor Call Me Ishmaelle by Xiaolu Guo 107 Days by Kamala Harris Grace & Henry's Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman Rabbit Foot Bill by Helen Humphreys the blades of grass are dreaming by Hollay Ghadery https://www.anstrutherpress.com/new-products/the-blades-of-grass-are-dreaming-by-hollay-ghadery If you have any comments or suggestions that you would like to share with Rebecca and Tara or you are interested in joining their monthly virtual book chat, please email them at craspod2019@gmail.com

Tara has a fascinating chat with Liisa Kovala, a Finnish Canadian author, book coach, and former teacher about historical fiction, cozy mysteries, sisu, her book coaching, podcast, and coffee. Her latest novel is, Like Water for Weary Souls. https://www.liisakovalabookcoach.com/ "In Nolin Creek, the water runs deep and the secrets run deeper. In the harsh landscape of a Depression-era Northern Ontario mining town, Finnish immigrant sisters Hanna and Essi Kivi scrape together a living as domestic workers, sharing a room in a disreputable boarding house owned by a protective madame. ​When Hanna's body is discovered in the icy waters of Nolin Creek, the police call it a tragic accident. But Essi knows better. Her sister would never have risked crossing unstable ice—not after they lost their youngest sister Martta to drowning years before. ​Haunted by guilt and driven by loyalty, Essi begins to unravel the secrets Hanna kept hidden. As Essi digs deeper into her sister's final days, she discovers that in a town built on desperation and dreams for a better future, everyone has something to hide. ​A gripping tale of love, family, sisterhood, and the search for truth." Recommended Reading List: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie https://www.youtube.com/@liisakovala https://liisakovalawomenwriting.substack.com/ https://www.instagram.com/liisakovala/        

Rebecca reveals her 2025 secret reading goal to Tara! And she and Tara offer their best reading recommendations for the holiday season!  Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): Prince Caspian (The Chronicles of Narnia #4) by C.S. Lewis The Godfather by Mario Puzo An English Murder by Cyril Hare A Holiday By Gaslight: A Victorian Christmas Novella by Mimi Matthews Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan Henry Tara (@onabranchreads): Starry Starry Night by Shani Mootoo The Christmas Jigsaw Murders by Alexandra Benedict Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lalli The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen Grace & Henry's Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman The Family Game by Catherine Steadman Yours for the Season by Uzma Jalaluddin Small Things Like These by Claire Foster The Dead of Winter: Beware the Krampus and Other Wicked Christmas Creatures by Sarah Clegg If you have any comments or suggestions that you would like to share with Rebecca and Tara or you are interested in joining their monthly virtual book chat, please email them at craspod2019@gmail.com  

Rebecca is excited to chat with professional explorer Adam Shoalts about his latest book, Vanished Beyond the Map: The Mystery of Lost Explorer Hubert Darrell. https://adamshoalts.com/literature/: Voted by over 200 Independent Bookstores as one of the “Must Read Books” of the Year (Canadian Independent Booksellers Association) Globe and Mail #1 National Bestseller/Toronto Star #1 National Bestseller CBC #1 National Bestseller "In 1910, legendary explorer Hubert Darrell vanished in the uncharted wilderness of the Northwest Territories. A prospector who had been swept up in the Klondike Gold Rush, Darrell later made his name as a wanderer who ventured where few others dared. Famed for his solo journeys, contemporaries regarded Darrell as the hardiest explorer of his day. While his disappearance sparked headlines, soon Darrell's name would also vanish from history, just as surely as he had in the wild. Yet Darrell left behind a trail of letters, journals, and hand-drawn maps. With these faded clues, Adam Shoalts retraces Darrell's forgotten routes through the wilderness, searching for cabin ruins and old campsites. Part detective story, part biography, and part first-person adventure narrative, Vanished Beyond the Map combines expeditions with historical research to solve one of exploration history's enduring cold cases—the mystery of Hubert Darrell." Public Events: https://adamshoalts.com/upcoming-book-events/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adam_shoalts/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@adamshoalts  

Rebecca and Tara return after a two-month hiatus and are ready to share the best of their recent reads!   Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): My Life: Growing Up Native in America edited by IllumiNative The Horse and His Boy (The Chronicles of Narnia #3) by C.S. Lewis The Road to Heaven (Patrick Bird Mystery #1) by Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson Mad Dog and the Sea Dragon by Lisa de Nikolits Foster by Claire Keegan Vanished Beyond the Map: The Mystery of Lost Explorer Hubert Darrell   Tara (@onabranchreads): Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach The Whistler by Nick Medina As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories edited by Terese Mason Pierre Days of Feasting and Rejoicing by David Bergen Wolk, Moon, Dog: A Novel by Thomas Wharton The Pugilist and the Sailor by Nadia Ragbar The Upending of Wendall Forbes; The Undertaking of Billy Buffone by David Giuliano Machine Without Horses by Helen Humphreys   If you have any comments or suggestions that you would like to share with Rebecca and Tara or you are interested in joining their monthly virtual book chat, please email them at craspod2019@gmail.com  

Tara chats with a special guest, the prolific and award-winning Canadian author Merilyn Simonds regarding her latest book, Walking with Beth: Conversations with My 100-year-old Friend. https://merilynsimonds.com/ "In the spring of 2021, Merilyn Simonds asked her friend Beth Robinson if she'd like to go for a walk. Simonds had just turned 70, still active, still writing, but entering what struck her as a mysterious, even frightening stage of life. Beth, a smart, vibrant woman who'd held a job until she was 99, lived on her own and was as awake to the world as a person half her age. Who better to ask what might come next? During three years of weekly walks, the conversation between the two women only deepened, as they opened up about their heart-felt passions, the lingering influence of their pasts, and their hopes and fears for the future. In Walking with Beth, Simonds shares these intimate exchanges, delving into corners of older women's lives that are rarely seen or spoken about so openly. As Simonds looks forward into a future that seems unknowable, Beth looks back, offering her experience in surviving the later-life blows that batter us all, and more importantly, her wisdom about how to enrich every passing day." Recommended Books: The Age of Creativity: Art, Memory, My Father, and Me by Emily Urquhart Code Noir: Fictions by Canisia Lubrin We, the Kindling by Otoniya J. Okot Bitek  

Rebecca is excited to speak with award-winning Canadian author Barbara Joan Scott about her debut novel, The Taste of Hunger.   https://freehand-books.com/product/the-taste-of-hunger/#tab-description "In Saskatchewan in the late 1920s, a fifteen-year-old Ukrainian immigrant named Olena is forced into marriage with Taras, a man twice her age, who wants her even though she has refused him. Stuck in a hardscrabble life with a husband she despises, starved for a life of her own choosing, at every turn Olena rebels agains her husband and her fate. As Olena and Taras drag everyone around them into the maelstrom that is their marriage, they set off a chain of turbulent events whose aftershocks reverberate through generations."   Book Recommendations: All of Baba's Children by Myrna Kostash Endling; Good Citizens Need Not Fear: Stories by Maria Reva Late Breaking; All Saints: Stories; Holy Writ by K.D. Miller Gilead; Home; Lila; Jack; What are We Doing Here? by Marilynne Robinson   https://www.barbarajoanscott.com/  

Rebecca is excited to welcome back to the podcast Canadian author Lucy E.M. Black regarding her new historical novel, A Quilting of Scars, with its unforgettable main character, Larkin Beattie.  https://nonpublishing.com/a-quilting-of-scars "Filled with the pleasure of recognizable yet distinctively original characters and a deftly drawn sense of time and place, A Quilting of Scars brings to life a story of forbidden love, abuse and murder. Pulsing with repressed sexuality and guilt, Larkin Beattie reveals the many secrets he has kept hidden throughout his lonely life. The character-driven narrative is a meditation on aging and remorse, offering a rich account of the strictures and rhythms of farming in the not-so-distant past, highlighting the confines of a community where strict moral codes are imposed upon its members and fear of exposure terrifies queer youth. As Larkin reflects upon key events, his recollections include his anger at the hypocrisy of the church, and the deep grief and loneliness that have marked his path. There is a timelessness to this story which transcends the period and resonates with heart-breaking relevance." https://lucyemblack.com/books/a-quilting-of-scars-book/ A Quilting of Scars Discussion Questions As many of you know, Rebecca highly recommends four of Lucy's books: The Brickworks, Eleanor Courtown, Stella's Carpet, and A Quilting of Scars. Lucy's Reading Recommendations: In the Bear's House by Bruce Hunter Kate and the Composers by Joanne Culley  

Tara is excited to chat with Canadian author David Giuliano, who lives on the north shore of Lake Superior. His storytelling has been compared to Miriam Toews and Elizabeth Strout in its emotional insight and narrative warmth. His books include The Undertaking of Billy Buffone, winner of the 2022 Bressani Prize; the bestselling Postcards from the Valley; and the cancer memoir It's Good to Be Here. His latest book is The Upending of Wendall Forbes from Latitude 46 Publishing. Reading recommendations: Aliens on the Moon by Thomas King My Friends by Fredrik Backman In Winter I Get Up at Night by Jane Urquhart https://davidgiulianoca.wordpress.com/ https://latitude46publishing.com/ https://www.instagram.com/davidwgiuliano/  

Tara chats with Emily Weedon, a Canadian author and screenwriter, currently living in Toronto. Her web series Chateau Laurier was the most awarded web series in 2023 and won a Canadian Screen Award. Her debut novel Autokrator reimagines gender and power in society against the backdrop of a dystopian world. Her new novel, Hemo Sapiens, will be released into the world on September 30, 2025 from Dundurn Press. It is an erotic noir thriller that reimagines vampires through a lens of female sexuality and anthropology.     Books mentioned for Currently Reading: The Wolves of Eternity by Karl Ove Knausgård The Problem with Having a Body by Jessica Popeski All the Little Monsters: How I Learned to Live with Anxiety by David A. Robertson Runs in the Blood by Matthew J. Trafford https://toronto.thewordonthestreet.ca/   https://emilyweedon.com/ https://www.instagram.com/emily.weedon.creates/ https://canadareadsamericanstyle.podbean.com/e/interview-emily-a-weedon-and-autokrator/

Tara speaks with Canadian author Jen Sookfong Lee regarding her latest novel, The Hunger We Pass Down, which is available September 30, 2025 from Erewhon Books. Jen was born and raised in Vancouver's East Side and now lives with her son in North Burnaby. Her memoir, Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart, was a finalist for the 2024 Forest of Reading Evergreen Award and the City of Vancouver Book Award, was named a best book of 2023 by the Globe and Mail and Apple Books Canada, and was a Today Show recommended read. Jen is also the author of The Conjoined, long listed for the International Dublin Literary Award and a finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize; The Better Mother, a finalist for the City of Vancouver Books Award; The Shadow List; and Finding Home. In addition to writing, Jen also acquires and edits books for ECW Press.  Recommended titles: Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie Gilbert Variations on a Dream by Angelique LaLonde http://sookfong.com/ https://www.instagram.com/jensookfonglee/    

Rebecca and Tara are back with their "monthly" chat about the books they've read and recommend. Please check out the link below to the Instagram post by Hollay Ghadery on her River Street Writes account regarding independent and small press books sold through Indigo. Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): The Laundryman's Boy by Edward Y.C. Lee A Song for Wildcats by Caitlin Galway Brushed Aside: The Untold Story of Women in Art by Noah Charney The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson The Taste of Hunger by Barbara Joan Scott Tara (@onabranchreads): Walking with Beth: Conversations with My Hundred-Year-Old Friend; Woman Watching: Louise de Kiriline Lawrence and the Songbirds of Pimisi Bay by Merilyn Simonds Behind You by Catherine Hernandez Green by Zachari Logan, published by Radiant Press https://radiantpress.ca/ May It Have a Happy Ending: A Memoir of Finding My Voice as My Mother Lost Hers by Minelle Mahtani A Mouth Full of Salt by Reem Gaafar Speech Dries Here on the Tongue: Poetry on Environmental Collapse and Mental Health -- Rasiqra Revulva (editor), Amanda Shankland (editor) The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia https://www.differentdrummerbooks.ca/ Post shared by Hollay Ghadery on Instagram (@river_street_writes): https://www.instagram.com/p/DNUPOihN91t/ If you have any comments or suggestions that you would like to share with Rebecca and Tara or you are interested in joining their monthly virtual book chat, please email them at craspod2019@gmail.com  

Rebecca is excited to speak with Korean Canadian author Jinwoo Park. Born and raised in Seoul, he has lived in various parts of North America and the UK since the age of 11 and is now based in Montreal. Jinwoo obtained his bachelor's degree from McGill in 2013, followed by a master's in political economics from the London School of Economics in 2014, and a master's in creative writing at the University of Oxford in 2015.  In 2021 he won the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Writers' Award for his first manuscript, Oxford Soju Club, which will be published by Dundurn Press in September 2025. He has also been actively working as a literary translator after winning the Emerging Translator Award from the Literature Translation Institute of Korea in late 2023. Jinwoo is also an avid book reviewer and is active on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Authors and books recommended: Chung Serang (정세랑)  Oh Seong-eun (오성은)  The Hypebeast by Adnan Khan The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim https://www.tiktok.com/@jinwoopark0721 https://www.instagram.com/jinwoopark0721/ https://www.youtube.com/@jinwoopark0721 https://www.dundurn.com/books_/t22117/a9781459755109-oxford-soju-club      

Welcome to the latest episode of Hidden Gems in which Rebecca and Tara invite guests to recommend authors or titles that may be new to us. Rebecca is excited to introduce author Marion Agnew whose debut novel, Making Up the Gods, from Latitude 46 Publishing, was released in October, 2023.  Kirkus Reviews calls it “A complex, heart-warming tale of love, absolution, and fortitude.” Marion began writing creative nonfiction in the late 1990s, after her mother's diagnosis with Alzheimer's. Her essays were collected in Reverberations: A Daughter's Meditations on Alzheimer's, published in 2019 by Signature Editions. It was shortlisted for the Louise de Kiriline Lawrence Award. A dual citizen of the US and Canada, Marion lives and writes in Shuniah, a community north of Thunder Bay, on Lake Superior, in Robinson-Superior Treaty Territory of the Anishinaabe and Métis peoples. Rebecca interviewed Marion about Making Up the Gods on July 8, 2024. Recommended books: Good to a Fault; Close to Hugh by Marina Endicott Lambsquarters: Scenes from a Handmade Life; Shepherd's Sight: A Farming Life by Barbara McLean McLean and Wils interview: https://www.tvo.org/video/barbara-mclean-with-her-husband-retired-doctor-thomas-wils  The Lightkeeper's Daughters by Jean E. Pendziwol We're All in This Together by Amy Jones https://www.marionagnew.com/ https://latitude46publishing.com/ https://www.instagram.com/marionagnew/ https://www.entershinebookshop.ca/collections/all-books  

Rebecca is excited to interview Canadian author Caitlin Galway on this latest episode. Caitlin is a novelist and short fiction writer whose work can be classified as literary realism, surrealism, and magical realism. A Song for Wildcats, her new short story collection published by Dundurn Press, has been named an Indigo Best Book of 2025, and was featured as a must-read in The Globe and Mail, and a most anticipated book in The Toronto Star. She has been the recipient of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council. https://caitlingalway.wixsite.com/caitlin-l-galway https://www.dundurn.com/authors_/t156375/p149069-caitlin-galway https://www.instagram.com/c.l.gals/ Caitlin's books: A Song for Wildcats: A Song for Wildcats Heatstroke The Islanders The Wisp The Lyrebird's Bell Bonavere Howl Other books discussed: Her Body Among Animals by Paola Ferrante We Do Not Part by Han Kang Oxford Soju Club by Jinwoo Park The Immortal Woman by Su Chang  

Tara welcomes Alma Sarai, a Canadian artist, actor, musician, and arts advocate, to promote Tottering Biped Theatre's summer production of "The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged)" at Dundurn Castle Park in Hamilton, ON in August 2025.  Alma graduated from the Theatre and Drama Studies program at the University of Toronto Mississauga, a joint program with Sheridan College. She has been deeply involved with Tottering Biped Theatre (TBT) since 2016, serving as Associate Artistic Director and Associate Producer. Alma has performed in every "Shakespeare by Nature" production since its inception, portraying roles such as Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, among many other roles in numerous plays. Since 2020, she has also been the producing Director of TBT's Summer Shakespeare Project, an annual festival held at Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, co-led with Trevor Copp. Books mentioned: Ruff by Rod Carley Inkheart by Cornelia Funke How to Make Love in a Canoe: Sex in Canada by Jeff Pearce Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench, Brendan O'Hea The Great White Bard: How to Love Shakespeare While Talking About Race by Farah Karim-Cooper Whenever You're Ready: Nora Polley on Life as a Stratford Festival Stage Manager by Shawn Desouza-Coelho Event details: The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged) August 12-30, 2025 @ 7:00 pm (Tues-Sat)   The Carnival of Animals (live music and mime) August 17, 24, 31, 2025 @ 7:00 pm (Sun)   Dundurn Castle Park , 610 York Blvd, Hamilton, ON https://www.totteringbiped.ca/      

Join Rebecca and Tara as they review the progress they've made (or not) on their 2025 reading goals.  Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): Currently reading: A Lost Lady by Willa Cather 2025 Goals: Complete Anne of Green Gables and The Chronicles of Narnia series and read more Redwall; read children's books that have "mischievous, clever, independent girl characters"; track "mood reads"; plus, a secret goal! Tara (@onabranchreads): Currently reading: The Queen's Spade by Sarah Raughley 2025 Goals: Carol Shields Prize for Fiction; Agatha Christie; Helen Humphreys; weed physical TBR; read more short stories If you have any comments or suggestions that you would like to share with Rebecca and Tara, please email them at craspod2019@gmail.com  

Rebecca is excited to speak with Pakistani-Canadian author Saad Omar Khan about his debut novel, Drinking the Ocean, published by Wolsak & Wynn in 2025. Saad was born in the United Arab Emirates to Pakistani parents and lived in the Philippines, Hong Kong, and South Korea before immigrating to Canada.  He is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the London School of Economics and has completed a certificate in Creative Writing from the School of Continuing Studies at the University of Toronto. His short fiction has appeared in Best Canadian Stories 2025 and other publications. Saad lives outside of Toronto and is currently working on his second novel. Books mentioned: Ley Lines by Tim Welsh Stella Maris; Blood Meridian; All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin The Sheltering Sky; Travels: Collected Writing 1950-1993; The Stories of Paul Bowles by Paul Bowles Abdullah Ansari of Herat: An Early Sufi Master by A.G. Farhadi https://www.saadomarkhan.com/ https://www.instagram.com/s.omar.khan/ https://bookstore.wolsakandwynn.ca/collections/all/products/drinking-the-ocean https://www.biblioasis.com/shop/fiction/short-fiction/best-canadian-stories-2025/ https://augursociety.org/  

Rebecca and Tara share their latest vacation highlights as well as their favorite reads over the past month. Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): https://www.thehenryford.org/ A Song for Wildcats: Stories by Caitlin Galway Stella's Carpet by Lucy E.M. Black  Oxford Soju Club by Jinwoo Park A Psalm for the Wild-Built; A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers Drinking the Ocean by Saad Omar Khan The Fairy-Tale Detectives (The Sisters Grimm #1) by Michael Buckley Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton Tara (@onabranchreads): https://therooms.ca/ The Hunger We Pass Down by Jen SookfongLee The Yellow Wall-Paper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane Pale Shadows; Paper Houses by Dominique Fortier; translated by Rhonda Mullins Sleepers and Ties by Gail Kirkpatrick Written on the Dark; The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay Tracking Giants: Big Trees, Tiny Triumphs, and Misadventures in the Forest by Amanda Lewis Hemo Sapiens by Emily A. Weedon If you have any comments or suggestions that you would like to share with Rebecca and Tara, please email them at craspod2019@gmail.com  

Rebecca is excited to speak with Chinese-Canadian author Su Chang.  Su was born and raised in Shanghai and is the daughter of a former and reluctant Red Guard leader, which was the paramilitary arm of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution beginning in the 1960s. Today, they will be talking about her debut novel, The Immortal Woman, published by House of Anansi in March of this year.  It has already garnered a lot of attention and praise from CBC, Indigo Books, and Amazon, to name a few high-powered sources. Highlighted books: Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar Who's Irish? by Gish Jen Play by Jess Taylor A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith Kilworthy Tanner by Jean Marc Ah-Sen A Song for Wildcats by Caitlin Galway The Book of Records by Madeleine Thien https://www.instagram.com/suchangwrites/ https://www.suchangauthor.com/ https://houseofanansi.com/products/the-immortal-woman?_pos=3&_sid=2cb7b9933&_ss=r   If you have any comments or suggestions that you would like to share with Rebecca and Tara, please email them at craspod2019@gmail.com    

Rebecca and Tara introduce a new feature, Sharing Our Shelves, that may appear again from time to time in which they each review the other's To Be Read shelf and pick their co-host's next book to read. Rebecca selected Tear by Erica McKeen for Tara and Tara selected Stella's Carpet by Lucy E.M. Black for Rebecca. Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): A Psalm for the Wild-Built; A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers The Living Great Lakes by Jerry Dennis A Feast of Wolves by Wilson Coneybeare Stella's Carpet by Lucy E.M. Black Tara (@onabranchreads): The Midnight Project by Christy Climenhage Tear by Erica McKeen If you have comments or suggestions that you would like to share with Rebecca and Tara, please email them at craspod2019@gmail.com Happy Reading!

Tara chats with author Harman Burns, a Saskatchewan-born trans woman, writer, filmmaker, and sound artist. Her work has been published in Rebelle Zine, Untethered Magazine, and Metatron Press, and her story “Among Strange Machines” was shortlisted for the Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction. Her debut novella, Yellow Barks Spider was published in 2024 by Radiant Press. She currently resides in Vancouver on the unceded, ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. Books and authors mentioned: Little Fish; A Dream of a Woman by Casey Plett Johnny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead Kai Cheng Thom Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann Zulaikha by Niloufar-Lily Soltani Spirals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife of Seashells by Helen Scales House of Chains (Malazan Book of the Fallen #4/10) by Steven Erikson https://www.instagram.com/harman.burns/ https://radiantpress.ca/shop/p/yellowbarksspider      

Rebecca and Tara are finally back after a six-week break with lots of great titles to share! Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle):  One of Ours by Willa Cather Oxford Soju Club by Jinwoo Park King Leary by Paul Quarrington Pay Dirt by Sara Paretsky Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell Blue Horses by Mary Oliver If I Wanted a Boat" "Watering the Stones" "Franz Marc's Blue Horses" "Garnett Kilberg Cohen and Cravings" podcast, February 13, 2024 Tara (@onabranchreads): https://riverbookshop.com/ in Amherstburg, Ontario The Immortal Woman by Su Chang The ANNEthology: A Collection of Kindred Spirits Inspired by the Canadian Icon, compiled by Judith Graves and edited by Robin Sutherland Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey Notes Towards Recovery by Louise Ells “Dr. Louise Ells and Lies I Told My Sister” podcast, February 1, 2025 Our Green Heart: The Soul and Science of Forests by Diana Beresford-Kroeger The Weeping Degree: How Astrology Saved Me from Suicide by Kelly Watt No Credit River by Zoe Whittal Songs for the Brokenhearted by Ayelet Tsabari The Ghost Orchard by Helen Humphreys  

Tara chats with author Joanne Jackson about Canadian Prairie authors. Saskatchewan Hidden Gems: --Beatrice and Virgil; The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel --Life on the Refrigerator Door; Polly Diamond series by Alice Kuipers --Going to Beautiful; Russell Quant Mysteries by Anthony Bidulka --Snake in the Raspberry Patch by Joanne Jackson --A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews --Author Gail Bowen https://www.joannejackson.ca/ https://www.instagram.com/joannejacksonauthor/    

Rebecca is joined by friend of the podcast Zeralda to answer the Five Questions for Reader Repartee: How did you become a reader? What book do you wish you could read again for the first time? Which author, living or dead, would you like to meet in person and why? What fictional character would you like to meet and why? What are you currently reading? Responses: The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny The Iliad by Homer Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy The Last Ranger by Peter Heller Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woo My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman by Patrick Hutchison  

Rebecca and Tara again welcome host Ali Hassan for their annual wrap up of the CBC's Canada Reads debates! https://standupali.com/ https://standupali.com/my-book https://www.instagram.com/standupali Recommended books: American War; What Strange Paradise; One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad A History of Burning by Janika Oza   THIS YEAR'S WINNER: A Two-Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby and Mary Louisa Plummer; championed by Indigenous advocate Shayla Stonechild THE RUNNERS-UP: Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew; championed by "Pastry Nerd" Saïd M'Dahoma Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper; championed by actor Michelle Morgan Jennie's Boy by Wayne Johnston; championed by author Linwood Barclay Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey; championed by Olympic Gold Medal swimmer Maggie Mac Neil https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads  

Rebecca and Tara discuss Day THREE of CBC's Canada Reads debates! STILL IN: Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew; championed by "Pastry Nerd" Saïd M'Dahoma Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper; championed by actor Michelle Morgan A Two-Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby and Mary Louisa Plummer; championed by Indigenous advocate Shayla Stonechild NOW OUT: Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey; championed by Olympic Gold Medal swimmer Maggie Mac Neil Jennie's Boy by Wayne Johnston; championed by author Linwood Barclay https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads   Please note that on DAY FOUR Rebecca and Tara will be live on YouTube wrapping up the debates with Jolene (@bookwormadventure girl) on Thursday, March 20 @ 7:30 pm EDT: https://www.youtube.com/@canadareadsamericanstyle Also, make sure to check out Jolene's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BookwormAdventureGirl  

Rebecca and Tara discuss Day TWO of CBC's Canada Reads debates! STILL IN: Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew; championed by "Pastry Nerd" Saïd M'Dahoma Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper; championed by actor Michelle Morgan Jennie's Boy by Wayne Johnston; championed by author Linwood Barclay A Two-Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby and Mary Louisa Plummer; championed by Indigenous advocate Shayla Stonechild NOW OUT: Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey; championed by Olympic Gold Medal swimmer Maggie Mac Neil https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads    

Rebecca and Tara discuss Day One of CBC's Canada Reads debates! Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew; championed by "Pastry Nerd" Saïd M'Dahoma Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper; championed by actor Michelle Morgan Jennie's Boy by Wayne Johnston; championed by author Linwood Barclay A Two-Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby and Mary Louisa Plummer; championed by Indigenous advocate Shayla Stonechild Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey; championed by Olympic Gold Medal swimmer Maggie Mac Neil https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads    

Rebecca and Tara share their latest good reads AND make their final predictions for CBC's 2025 Canada Reads debates which begin on Monday, March 17. Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice by Tommie Smith and Derrick Barnes; illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall; illustrated by Hugo Martinez Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller Tara (@onabranchreads): The Bones of Ruin Trilogy: The Bones of Ruin; The Song of Wrath; The Lady of Rapture by Sarah Raughley.  (Check out Tara's interview with Sarah on October 2, 2024) The Queen's Spade by Sarah Raughley How to Survive a Bear Attack: A Memoir by Claire Cameron Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert by Bob the Drag Queen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B59wqgYNEM Beautiful Ugly; Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney Canadian author of thrillers--Nicole Lundrigan 2025 Canada Reads titles: Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper Jennie's Boy by Wayne Johnston A Two-Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby and Mary Louisa Plummer Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey Also mentioned: Baltimore's Mansion: A Memoir by Wayne Johnston  

Rebecca and Tara share some of their favorite books that others have recommended to them AND they wonder if they have convinced you to read any of their recommendations.   Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall; illustrated by Hugo Martinez Stories Left in Stone: Trails and Traces in Cáceres, Spain by Troy Nahumko The Undertaking of Billy Buffone by David Giuliano (interviewed 6/25/22) A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers Dearborn by Ghassan Zeineddine Salt Houses by Hala Alyan Pay No Heed to the Rockets: Palestine in the Present Tense by Marcello Di Cintio (interviewed 1/11/21) Tenth of December by George Saunders Nora Watts series by Sheena Kamal (interviewed 12/6/22) The Street by Ann Petry Black Water Sister by Zen Cho Tara (@onabranchreads): Daughter of Daring: The Trick-Riding, Train-Leaping, Road-Racing Life of Helen Gibson, Hollywood's First Stuntwoman; Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol; The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O'Meara Yellow Barks Spider by Harman Burns Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano Fungal: Foraging in the Urban Forest by Ariel Gordon Ordinary Notes by Christina Sharpe Cravings by Garnett Kilberg Cohen (interviewed 2/13/24) Unwind series by Neal Shusterman https://www.riverstreetwriting.com/ https://www.instagram.com/river_street_writes/  

Rebecca and Tara have come up with a new feature for the podcast called, “Hidden Gems with…”. In which they ask authors to share their top book recommendations.  Rebecca is excited to kick off the inaugural episode with Sheena Kamal and her Crime Fiction picks!    Sheena is an author, essayist, and screenwriter.  She wrote the critically acclaimed Nora Watts thriller series (The Lost Ones, It All Falls Down, and No Going Back).  As well as a YA novel titled, Fight Like a Girl.  You may have heard Rebecca and Tara rave about her novels many times on the podcast, so they encourage you to listen to Sheena's past interview on December 6, 2022. Crime Fiction Hidden Gems: Wakeland series by Sam Wiebe: Invisible Dead Cut You Down Hollywood North Hell and Gone Sunset and Jericho The Last Exile  Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang Rachel Getty & Esa Khattak series by Ausma Zehanat Khan The Unquiet Dead The Language of Secrets Among the Ruins A Dangerous Crossing A Deadly Divide "Hammerhead" Jed series by A.J. Devlin Cobra Clutch Rolling Thunder Five Moves of Doom Bronco Buster Johnny Delivers by Wayne Ng Aunties series by Jesse Q. Sutanto Dial A for Aunties Four Aunties and a Wedding The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite https://www.sheenakamal.com/ https://www.instagram.com/sheenakamalwrites/  

Tara chats with Joanne Jackson, an award-winning author of three novels: The Wheaton (2019); A Snake in the Raspberry Patch (2023), winner of the Crime Writers of Canada's Best Crime Novel set in Canada and short listed for the Saskatchewan Book Awards; and her latest novel Sunset Lake Resort (2024) published by Stonehouse Publishing. Regardless of what weather Saskatchewan throws at her, she can often be found walking outside. Joanne's recommendations: The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins The Husband's Secrets by Liane Moriarty. https://www.joannejackson.ca/ https://www.instagram.com/joannejacksonauthor/ https://www.stonehousepublishing.ca/store/sunset-lake-resort  

Rebecca and Tara chat about their latest reads, some of which include CBC's Canada Reads titles for the 2025 debates airing March 17-20 on CBC TV, CBC Radio, and CBC Books (website and YouTube). Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle):  How We Move the Air by Garnett Kilberg Cohen Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper American War; What Strange Paradise; One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew The Immortal Woman by Su Change Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey Lost Women, Banished Souls by Garnett Kilberg Cohen Tara (@onabranchreads): Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology  Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country by Louise Erdrich God Isn't Here Today by Francine Cunningham Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell  

Rebecca and Tara celebrate some of their favorite Love Stories in all their different forms in honor of Valentine's Day.   Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead Cam & Beau by Maria Cichosz The Magic of Ordinary Days by Ann Howard Creel https://www.hallmarkfamily.com/the-magic-of-ordinary-days Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf Griffin & Sabine Trilogy: Griffin & Sabine; Sabine's Notebook; The Golden Mean by Nick Bantock Tara (@onabranchreads): The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard At a Loss for Words: Conversation in an Age of Rage by Carol Off The Outlander; Ridgerunner by Gil Adamson Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin The River by Peter Heller The Brickworks by Lucy E.M. Black Leaving Earth by Helen Humphreys The Widow's Guide to Dead Bastards by Jessica Waite  

Rebecca is excited to speak with author Dr. Louise Ells.  Louise is the author of Lies I Told My Sister, published in 2024 by Latitude 46 Publishing.  She was born and raised in Northeastern Ontario. After years of travel, she moved to Cambridge, England where she earned her PhD in Creative Writing. Louise teaches at universities and colleges in England and Canada and currently lives north of Toronto, where she can often be found in her library surrounded by books and snuggled up with her cats. https://www.louiseells.ca/ https://www.instagram.com/louiseellsauthor/?hl=en https://store.latitude46publishing.com/products/lies-i-told-my-sister Recommendations: Waiting for a Star to Fall by Kerry Clare A Mind Spread Out on the Ground by Alicia Elliott Treed: Walking in Canada's Urban Forests; Fungal: Foraging in the Urban Forest by Ariel Gordon Cottagers and Indians by Drew Hayden Taylor Death of Persephone: A Murder by Yvonne Blomer Poet Joy Williams Vandals by Alice Munro: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1993/10/04/vandals  

Tara is excited to chat with Adelle Purdham, who is an educator, parent disability advocate and author of the memoir-in-essays I Don't Do Disability and Other Lies I've Told Myself published by Dundurn Press in 2024. It was named a Fall 2024 Most Anticipated Memoir & Biography by Indigo and 49th Shelf. Her prose and poetry appear in literary journals, anthologies, magazines, newspapers and online. Adelle has an MFA in Creative Nonfiction and is a qualified French teacher. She currently woks as a Seasonal Part-time Faculty member at Trent University where she teaches creative writing in her hometown, Nogojiwanong (Peterborough), ON. https://adellepurdham.ca/ https://www.instagram.com/adellepurdham/?hl=en https://www.dundurn.com/ Recommended titles: Shut Away: When Down Syndrome Was a Life Sentence by Catherine McKercher An Astonishment of Stars: Stories by Kirti Bhadresa The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros  

Rebecca and Tara discuss CBC's Canada Reads Short List, how well they did in selecting what would make the short list, and who they predict will win based on the slightest amount of research possible and their gut feelings. https://www.cbc.ca/books/meet-the-canada-reads-2025-contenders-1.7431920 The Contenders: Olympic gold medalist Maggie Mac Neil champions Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey Podcaster and wellness advocate Shayla Stonechild champions A Two-Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby, with Mary Louisa Plummer Heartland actor Michelle Morgan champions Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper Thriller writer Linwood Barclay champions Jennie's Boy by Wayne Johnston Pastry chef Saïd M'Dahoma champions Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew  

Rebecca and Tara are back for their first book chat of 2025!  They share the titles they've read recently and want to recommend.  Stay tuned to the end where a bit of CBC's Canada Reads pops into the discussion. Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): Anne of the Island (Anne of Green Gables) by L.M. Montgomery Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1); A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (Monk & Robot, #2) by Becky Chambers Lies I Told My Sister by Louise Ells https://www.louiseells.ca/ Arctic Predator: The Crimes of Edward Horne Against Children in Canada's North by Kathleen Lippa Tara (@onabranchreads): Sunset Lake Resort by Joanne Jackson Grandfather of the Treaties: Finding Our Future Through Wampum Covenant by Daniel Coleman A Different Hurricane by H. Nigel Thomas The Reinvention of Love by Helen Humphreys  

Rebecca is excited to speak with Canadian author Erin Steele.  Her queer coming-of-age and addiction memoir, Sunrise over Half-Built Houses: Love, Longing and Addiction in Suburbia (Caitlin Press) was published in Canada in 2024 and will be available in the US on February 21, 2025.  Erin also writes “On Being Human” on Substack.  She was a 2022 Writing by Writers fellow and is published in Human Parts, WordWorks, and other online publications.  She lives in Kelowna, BC Canada.   https://erinsteele.com/ https://www.instagram.com/erinsteelewrites/ https://caitlinpress.com/Contributors/S/Steele-Erin