Canada Reads American Style

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/