Canada Reads Inspired

Tara welcomes Canadian (Nova Scotia) author Corinne Hoebers to discuss her latest novel, Tethered Spirits: Wiaqtaqne'wasultijik na Kjijaqmijinaq, OC Publishing, 2025. Corinne explains how she worked with the Mi'kmaq community to ensure historical accuracy while also telling the story of her own 1753 settlers of Lunenburg ancestors.

From Goodreads: "Against the violent backdrop of the French and Indian (Seven Years) War, two German siblings come to learn about and understand the Mi'kmaq. Christian, now named Bear Cub, lives with the ancient People and develops a deep bond with his chosen brother, Eagle Feather, while his new family's way of life is increasingly threatened. On the outskirts of Lunenburg, Hanna, his younger sister, befriends a Mi'kmaw Elder and questions her papa's ownership of the land they are settling. Christian immerses himself in the Mi'kmaw language and the ways of the land, prepared to defend the People alongside Eagle Feather. Christian's father and older sister, Elisabeth, refuse to accept his new way of life; nor will they recognize the humanity of their perceived enemy. Christian is caught between two diverse families and cultures- the one to which he was born and to whom he feels obligated, and the one he has grown to love and respect. Settlers and Mi'kmaq alike struggle on land that is the ancestral home to one and promised to the other, a struggle that resonates to this day."

https://corinnehoebers.mywriting.network/

 

Recommended titles:

• The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
• John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace by Jonathan Aitken
• The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity by William Paul Young
• The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

 

Tara is joined by Canadian author JoAnn McCaig and they discuss her latest novel, Beneficiary, published in May 2026 by University of Calgary Press.

https://shelflifebooks.ca/item/r5ypYwSBQz_hNTMssW3i2g

"Seren was doomed to a country club cage and a leash of pearls until out of the blue on a Tuesday night in 1969, she found herself suddenly saying "no." More than fifty years later, she looks back on her life and each choice that followed, beautiful, tragic and completely her own.

Leaving her family for the freedom of the 1970s, Seren began a quest to discover how to live in this world as her true self—a quest that would take her from the heady countercultural milieu of communal houses on Vancouver Island through marriage and motherhood, divorce, and an unexpected inheritance that changed everything. Suddenly wealthy, Seren must wrestle with money, with class, and what it means to have more than most.

What does it mean to live truly, through tragedy and heartbreak? How do we create ourselves in a world that keeps changing? What does it mean to have money when so many people don't? A richly written, fiercely feminist novel imbued with real bravery, Beneficiary weaves the past and the present in a rich tapestry of life."

Suggested Reading:

• Ripeness; Summerwater; My Good Bright Wolf: A Memoir by Sarah Moss
• Scary Monsters; Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser
• Lampedusa by Steven Price

https://joannmccaig.com/

https://www.instagram.com/shelflifebooks/

https://shelflifebooks.ca/

 

 

Rebecca is excited to chat with Canadian author Théodora Armstrong about her debut novel, Welcome to Sunny Town, published by Freehand Books in May 2026. 

https://freehand-books.com/product/welcome-to-sunny-town/#tab-description :

In this striking debut novel, a young artist rashly moves overseas to teach ESL and to find herself, and gets more — and less — than she bargained for.

It’s the turn of the 21st century and Maggie is looking for reinvention. Fresh out of art school with — as her undergraduate advisor put it — a lack of vision for her future, Maggie follows a talented classmate to Japan, leaving behind a fractured family and a toxic relationship with her professor. Little does she know, not only her own life, but the entire world around her is about to change.

Upon arrival in Japan, Maggie meets a group of maladjusted foreigners and immediately becomes enmeshed in their volatile friendships and personal dramas. Despite having no real qualifications whatsoever, she gets a job teaching English at Language Love Academy where she meets Keiko, an overzealous, middle-aged student and self-proclaimed language lover. When Keiko offers to teach Maggie Japanese, an unlikely friendship develops between them, and before long Keiko has become a ballast amid the disruptive forces in Maggie’s life overseas. Have Maggie and her friends come to Japan to disappear or find themselves? Are their friendships and hook-ups real or just another illusion? Maggie struggles to discern whether she is sinking deeper into her hapless life abroad or gaining a foothold on a real future for herself.

Welcome to Sunny Town is a striking, at times darkly satirical novel that cracks open a popular rite of passage, critically examining teaching overseas and the worldwide ESL industry. Bringing to mind the work of Elif Batumen, or Ottessa Moshfegh, Armstrong’s debut novel paints a deft portrait of twenty-somethings yearning for identity, connection, and freedom abroad during the turbulent years of the early aughts.

Recommended reading:

• Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata; translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori
• The Diving Pool: Three Novellas by Yoko Ogawa; translated by Stephen Snyder
• "The Cafeteria in the Evening and a Pool in the Rain by Yoko Ogawa; translated by Stephen Snyder: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/09/06/the-cafeteria-in-the-evening-and-a-pool-in-the-rain

https://theodoraarmstrong.ca/

https://www.instagram.com/theodorafranc

Rebecca and Tara are back with their monthly book chat in which they share a few of their latest best reads. Rebecca's month was not as enjoyable as she had hoped, but Tara ends on a high note with a five-star recommendation!

 

Rebecca:

• Solito by Javier Zamora
• Black Out Loud: The Revolutionary History of Black Comedy from Vaudeville to ‘90s Sitcoms by Geoff Bennett
• The Peace Thieves by Brent Van Staalduinen

 

Tara:

• The Collected Stories of Carol Shields by Carol Shields
• Beneficiary by JoAnn McCaig
• Night Terminus by Ellis Scott
• Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
• When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O’Neill
• Sorry, Not Sorry: An Unapologetic Look at What Make Canada Worth Fighting For by Mark Critch
• Everlasting; Starling House; The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

 

Be sure to check out Rebecca (@canadareadsinspired) and Tara (@onabranchreads) on Instagram and YouTube (Canada Reads Inspired) for their inaugural Summer Reading Bingo Challenge, which ends on September 5, 2026.  A random winner will receive a $50 gift card to the Independent Bookstore of their choice.  The drawing is not affiliated with Instagram or YouTube.

 

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

CANADA READS INSPIRED 2026 SUMMER READING BINGO CHALLENGE:

• Rebecca and Tara have filled in the boxes with books they’ve read or that are on their TBR (the Bingo card and list of titles will be pinned to Rebecca and Tara’s Instagram accounts)
• The Challenge will begin June 5 and run through September 5, 2026
• When you complete a bingo line, dm Rebecca (@canadareadsinspired) or Tara (@onabranchreads) on Instagram or email them at  craspod2019@gmail.com with a screenshot or list of titles
• You may enter more than one Bingo line; one completed line equals one entry
• If you have already read a book on the card, you can count it towards your bingo
• At the end of the Challenge, they will draw the name of one winner and that person will receive a $50 gift card from the independent bookstore of their choice.
• The giveaway is not affiliated with YouTube or Instagram

2026 BINGO TITLES: 

• Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards – Indigenous fiction, 368 pages
• Breathing is How Some People Stay Alive by Alison Gadsby — short stories, 200 pages
• The Distance of a Shout by Michael Ondaatje – poetry, 240 pages
• Nowhere by Jon Claytor – graphic novel, 445 pages
• Doubles by Nora Gold – novella, 86 pages
• Lies I Told My Sister by Louise Ells – literary fiction, 268 pages
• Opposite Sully’s Gym by Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson – mystery, 320 pages
• Detective Aunty by Uzma Jalaluddin – cozy mystery, 329 pages
• Lilac People by Milo Todd – LGBT historical fiction, 303 pages
• The Hunger We Pass Down by Jen Sookfong Lee — horror, 367 pages
• Finding Flora by Elinor Florence – historical fiction, 384 pages
• All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whittaker — crime fiction, 576 pages
• I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together by Maurice Vellekoop – graphic novel, 496 pages
• Vanished Beyond the Map by Adam Shoalts – non-fiction, 288 pages
• Legendary Frybread Drive-In by Indigenous authors – YA short stories, 352 pages
• Nosy Parker by Lesley Crewe – historical fiction, 264 pages
• Outsider by Brett Popplewell – non-fiction, 384 pages
• Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson — memoir, humour, 363 pages
• Palm Meridian by Grace Flahive – LGBT romance
• Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey — literary fiction,320 pages
• Pennies by Lora Senf – middle grade horror, 384 pages
• Chasing Summer by Frankie Scott – romance, 368 pages
• Suddenly Light by Nina Dunic – short stories, 240 pages
• Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo — literary fiction, 498 pages

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 go down rabbit holes that include a 50,000 couplet epic poem, graveyards, and a blood-sucking lamprey that is found in all five Great Lakes.

Don't forget to join the Canada Reads Inspired Summer Reading Bingo Challenge beginning June 5, 2026.  Check out their YouTube live (6/5/26 at 10 am EDT) for more details:

https://www.youtube.com/@canadareadsinspired

Rebecca (@canadareadsinspired):

• Black Out Loud: The Revolutionary History of Black Comedy from Vaudeville to '90s Sitcoms by Geoff Bennett
• Poets and Pahlevans: A Journey into the Heart of Iran
• Seldom Seen Road by John Degen

https://www.kingorama.com/

https://www.glfc.org/sea-lamprey.php

Tara (@onabranchreads):

• An Evening with Birdy O'Day
• Somebody is Walking on Your Grave: My Cemetery Journeys by Mariana Enriquez; translated by Megan McDowell

https://nikidesaintphalle.org/nikis-sculptures-le-cimetiere-de-montparnasse/

https://ilgiardinodeitarocchi.it/en/about/materials-crew/

https://www.rottnestisland.com/learn/history/aboriginal-history

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 their (mostly) monthly book chat in which they share their favorite recent reads.  Rebecca provides a teaser for their next Rabbit Holes podcast and Tara shares her love for author Jenny Lawson and her taxidermy menagerie.

Rebecca:

• Black Out Loud: The Revolutionary History of Black Comedy from Vaudeville to ‘90s Sitcoms by Geoff Bennett
• Pennies by Lora Senf
• Run Away with Me by Brian Selznick
• Doubles by Nora Gold
• Class Lessons by Lucy Black
• Seldom Seen Road by John Degen
• Welcome to Sunny Town by Théodora Armstrong

Tara:

• Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker
• Chrysalis by Anuja Varghese
• Cannon by Lee Lai
• Day of Epiphany by Jerome J Bourgault
• The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts by Kim Fu
• A Little Feral by Maria Geisbrecht
• Wild Life by Amanda Leduc
• How to Be Okay When Nothing is Okay by Jenny Lawson

Check out Rebecca and Tara on Instagram:

@canadareadsinspired

@onabranchreads

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 Dr. Nora Gold to the podcast to discuss her latest work, Doubles, a novella published by Guernica Editions in May 2026, as well as the importance and relevance of novellas in the literary canon.

https://guernicaeditions.com/en-us/products/doubles

"Doubles takes place in 1968 in an institution for troubled youth, and is told from the perspective of a brilliant, spunky, 12-year-old girl who is obsessed with math. Engagingly written and often funny, this novella explores how a sensitive young teenager changes over a six-month period from a polite, quiet “good girl” into a delinquent. Although set in the past, Doubles has direct relevance to today, with our recently heightened awareness of the harsh reality in some of our residential institutions during that era (including for Indigenous children, but not only)."

Recommended:

https://bookshop.org/lists/stunning-novellas

Embers by Sándor Márai; Carol Brown Janeway (translator)

https://www.noragold.com/

https://www.noragold.com/portfolio/jewish-fiction-com/

https://www.instagram.com/noragold1818/

 

 

Tara sits down for a chat with Canadian author Alison Gadsby, a first-generation Canadian living in Tkaronto, about her debut collection of short stories, Breathing Is How Some People Stay Alive, published by Guernica Editions in spring 2026.

https://guernicaeditions.com/en-us/products/breathing-is-how-some-people-stay-alive

"Breathing Is How Some People Stay Alive blurs the lines between horror, catastrophic speculative fiction, and psychological realism in a collection that might best be described as weird fiction. These connected stories offer dark reconstructions of lives brimming with desperate loneliness. They allow us to bear witness to the life-altering love of sisters, brothers, mothers… the life-altering love that buoys them as they struggle to stay afloat in the wake of childhoods they merely survived."

https://alisongadsby.ca/home/

https://junctionreads.ca

Books and Authors mentioned:

• Weird Babies by Jaclyn Desforges
• Tell Me Pleasant Things about Immortality by Lindsay Wong
• Lesser Known Monsters of the 21^st Century by Kim Fu
• Rafael Has Pretty Eyes by Elaine McCluskey
• Widow Fantasies by Hollay Ghadery
• Every Night I Dream I'm a Monk, Every Night I Dream I'm a Monster by Damian Tarnopolsky
• Last Woman; Bad Endings by Carleigh Baker
• A Song for Wildcats by Caitlin Galway
• A Fast Horse Never Brings Good News by Cary Fagan
• Coexistence by Billy-Ray Belcourt
• Layaway Child by Chanel Sutherland
• Remaindered People & Other Stories by Pratap Reddy
• Skin by Catherine Bush
• Chrysalis; Kiss of Crimson Ash by Anuja Varghese
• Smash & Grab by Mark Anthony Jarman
• Death by a Thousand Cuts by Shashi Bhat
• Flights by Olga Tokarczuk
• The Longest Way to Eat a Melon by Jacquelyn Zong-Li Ross
• Pizza Before We Die: An Eyewitness Account in Gaza by Hassani Kanafani
• Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead by Mai Nguyen
• Wonderland Road by Carrianne Leung
• Stan on Guard by K.R. Wilson
• The Lost Queen by Heidi von Palleske

"Poet pals" going on tour with Alison:

• Sublunary by Lisa Richter
• Ajar by Margo LaPierre
• Inside Every Dream, a Raging Sea by Liz Worth

 

Rebecca and Tara cover CBC's 2026 Canada Reads DAY THREE debate. Less surprises perhaps, but more great content!

 

Join them live on Thursday, 4/16/26 @ 11:30am EDT on their YouTube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@canadareadsamericanstyle/streams

Their good friend Jolene, from Bookworm Adventure Girl, will be joining them to discuss the final day of this year's competition in which the ONE BOOK that all of Canada should read will be announced!

https://www.youtube.com/@BookwormAdventureGirl

 

Then join Rebecca and Tara live on YouTube on Friday, April 17 @ 9:45am EDT with their special guest, Canada Reads Host, Ali Hassan!

 

https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/meet-the-canada-reads-2026-contenders-9.7040200 :

• 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

 

Rebecca is back from vacation and she and Tara discuss CBC's 2026 Canada Reads DAY TWO debate.  Listen to Tara's DAY ONE wrap up on her Instagram live: @onabranchreads.

https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/meet-the-canada-reads-2026-contenders-9.7040200 :

• 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

 

Tara welcomes back Canadian author Finnian Burnett to discuss their latest novella-in-flash, Redshirts Sometimes Survive.

https://offtopicpublishing.com/product/redshirts-sometimes-survive-by-finnian-burnett/?srsltid=AfmBOoqqrDjkjomUw5LV1p4n7BFWy7-l2RrTh5Ty2L2VoSYamvlByFX8

"A neglected boy clings to an action figure like a lifeline. A trans man meets his childhood hero. An introvert finally finds her voice at a protest. Queer fans, lonely children, awkward convention-goers, and disillusioned adults seek out their favourite starships and captains for solace and strength. In these interconnected flash stories, the outcasts, the rebels, the bullied, and the weird find themselves, one other, and a place to call home.

By turns moving, thoughtful, and wry, Redshirts Sometimes Survives offers connection and comfort. Being a redshirt doesn’t mean you’re doomed. Sometimes, it means you survive."

 

Books discussed:

• The House in the Cerulean Sea; Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune
• The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun
• Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
• Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid
• The Book of Delights by Ross Gay
• Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White
• Ravens Don’t Get High Blood Pressure and Other Tales of Queer Love; The Life and Dead Trees (two works in progress); The Clothes Make the Man; The Price of Cookies by Finnian Burnett

https://www.instagram.com/finnianburnett/

https://finnburnett.com/

 

Rebecca and Tara discuss their impressions of the 2026 CBC's Canada Reads books and defenders for this year's debate. Don't forget to check out Rebecca's interview with author Tyler Hellard and Searching for Terry Punchout on February 10, 2026.

https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/meet-the-canada-reads-2026-contenders-9.7040200

https://www.cbc.ca/books/thenextchapter

 

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 for adults or the new one for youth books starting in May 2026, please email them at craspod2019@gmail.com

 

 

Rebecca is excited to chat with Canadian author Leslie Shimotakahara about her latest novel, The Breakwater, which will be published by Cormorant Books in April 2026.

https://www.cormorantbooks.com/Books/T/The-Breakwater

"One morning in Toronto, Cathy Matsumoto’s father, Yasuo, calls to announce he intends to visit a dying cousin in British Columbia.

Cathy’s never heard of this mysterious relative before, but she begrudgingly agrees to plan a family trip with her father and daughter, Tessa, to Victoria, the hometown Yas was forcibly evicted from when Japanese Canadians were interned during World War Two. It's only in BC that Cathy learns this “cousin” is actually Yas’s younger brother, Stum, who’s been languishing in psychiatric care, abandoned, ever since Yas committed him to Essondale Asylum before the war.

Yas tries to fend off probing questions from his daughter and granddaughter, but revisiting old haunts brings back memories of the brothers’ boyhood rivalry and coming-of-age near Victoria’s Chinatown, when Yas’s resolve to hold their fractured family together clashed against Stum’s troublesome turn toward a life of gambling, crime, and consorting with prostitutes.

In this heartbreaking family story, two brothers, both old men not far from death, must at last confront long-buried family secrets — and their lingering effects on subsequent generations."

 

Recommended Books:

• Flashlight by Susan Choi
• Worldly Girls: A Memoir by Tamara Jong
• It Must Be Beautiful to Be Finished: A Memoir of My Body by Kate Gies

https://leslieshimotakahara.com/

https://www.instagram.com/leslieshimotakahara

 

It's Book Chat time! Rebecca had a meh reading month and Tara crushed it!! 

Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle):

• Director's Choice: Flint Institute of Arts by Tracee J. Glab
• Poets and Pahlevans: A Journey into the Heart of Iran; Walls: Travels Along the Barricades by Marcello Di Cintio
• Lost: Amelia Earhart's Three Mysterious Deaths and One Extraordinary Life by Rachel Hartigan

Tara (@onabranchreads):

• No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes
• Bang Crunch by Neil Smith
• The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel
• Villain Hitting for Vicious Little Nobodies by Lindsay Wong
• The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
  • "A Fine Old Firm"
• Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature by Becky Siegel Spratford
• A Truce That is Not Peace by Miriam Toews
• Redshirts Sometimes Survive by Finnian Burnett
• The Tinder Sonnets by Jennifer LoveGrove
• Shoebox by Sean Paul Bedell
• Good Guys by Sharon Bala
• Stag Dance; Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

 

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