Canada Reads American Style

Book Chat #17

Rebecca and Tara share their latest reads and links to their new feature on YouTube: Reading From Our Shelves!

Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): 

• Somehow by Anne Lamott
• Imagining Imagining: Essays on Language, Identity & Infinity by Gary Barwin
• Autokrator by Emily A. Weedon
• I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity by Izzeldin Abuelaish
• James by Percival Everett
• The Last Slave Ship: The True Story of How Clotilda Was Found, Her Descendants, and an Extraordinary Reckoning by Ben Raines
• Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston
• Eleanor Courtown; The Brickworks; Stella's Carpet; The Marzipan Fruit Basket by Lucy E.M. Black
• Making Up the Gods by Marion Agnew

Tara (@onabranchreads): 

• Cold; Chasing Painted Horses by Drew Hayden Taylor
• Coexistence: Stories; A Minor Chorus by Billy-Ray Belcourt
• A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland
• Nosy Parker; The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe
• Followed by the Lark by Helen Humphreys
• Walden by Henry David Thoreau
• A House with Good Bones; Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

Reading From Our Shelves:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObgtKpEdnRE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lek38hy8jCA&t=93s

 

 

Interview - Sydney Hegele and Bird Suit

Rebecca is excited to speak with Sydney Hegele, a queer Anglo-Catholic writer from the Greenbelt in Southern Ontario. They are the author of Bird Suit (Invisible Publishing, May 7, 2024) and The Pump (Invisible Publishing 2021), which was the winner of the 2022 ReLit Literary Award for Short Fiction and a finalist for the 2022 Trillium Book Award. Their essays have appeared in Catapult and Electric Literature, EVENT, and have been featured by Lithub, The Poetry Foundation, and Psychology Today. Their essay collection Bad Kids is forthcoming with Invisible in Fall 2025. Sydney’s work often explores small-town queerness, environmental justice, mental illness, religious life, and the complicated relationships between these things. They live with their husband and French Bulldog on Treaty 13 Land (Toronto, Canada).

https://www.sydneyhegele.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sydneyhegele/

Titles mentioned:

• Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” by Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker (Foreword)
• Play by Jess Taylor

•  Imagining Imagining: Essays on Language, Identity and Infinity by Gary Barwin

Interview - Heather Stemp and the Ginny Ross series

Rebecca is excited to chat with Heather Stemp, author of the Ginny Ross historical fiction series for tween and teen readers.  Rebecca also recommends it for adult fans of Anne of Green Gables.

Heather’s paternal roots lie in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland.  After 30 years as an English teacher, she retired to research her family history, discovering her Aunt Ginny’s friendship with Amelia Earhart in the process.  As a result, she began writing the Ginny Ross Series.  Amelia and Me was shortlisted for the 2014/2015 Red Cedar Award.  Under Amelia’s Wing was shortlisted for the 2021 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People and the 2022 Red Maple Award.  Beyond Amelia, will be released April 16, 2024.

When not writing, Heather loves traveling with her husband, Don, and spending time at the cottage with her grandchildren and grand dogs.

https://www.heatherstemp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/authorheatherstemp/

https://visitatchison.com/highlight/amelia-earhart-festival

https://visitatchison.com/highlight_type/amelia-earhart

When the Dikes Breached by Martha Attema

Winterkill by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

Dreadfall Water series by Thomas King 

 

Interview - Vince Ditrich and the Tony Vicar series

Tara chats with Vince R. Ditritch, the author of the Tony Vicar series which includes The Liquor Vicar, The Vicar's Knickers, and The Vicar Vortex.  He is also the drummer and manager of the band Spirit of the West.  He has circled the world, earned more than a dozen gold and platinum albums, and been enshrined in several Halls of Fame.  Vince currently lives on Vancouver Island.

 

 

100th Co-Host Celebration

Rebecca and Tara celebrate their 100th episode as co-hosts by sharing ten facts about themselves and their top three podcasts.  Interestingly, they both had near death experiences and divulged youthful criminal secrets.

Rebecca:

• I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity by Izzeldin Abuelaish
• Podcast episodes: Mark Tewksbury -- March 14, 2022 and April 30, 2022; Ali Hassan most recently on March 17, 2024; Adam Shoalts on December 11, 2024

Tara:

• The Hapless Milliner (Miss Austin Investigates #1) by Jessica Bull
• Podcast episodes: Keegan on July 24, 2022; Vince Ditrich mid-April 2024

 

 

Book Chat #16

Rebecca and Tara discuss their latest reads!

Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle):

• There There; Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
• The Street by Ann Petry
• The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West
• Sisters of the Spruce by Leslie Shimotakahara
• My Ántonia by Willa Cather
• Wrong Time Wrong Place by Gillian McAllister

Tara (@onabranchreads):

• Peril in Pink by Sydney Leigh
• The Song of Achilles; Circe by Madeline Miller
• Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces by Elamin Abdelmahmoud; Commotion (CBC Radio One)
• Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey
• Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World; The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed; The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant
• The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys
• World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Fumi Nakamura (illustrator)
• Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper
• A Man Downstairs by Nicole Lundrigan

 

CBC’s 2024 Canada Reads Wrap Up with Host Ali Hassan

Rebecca and Tara chat with CBC's Canada Reads host Ali Hassan about the 2024 debates!  Ali's website includes information about his stand-up comedy, public events, acting, memoir, hosting, podcasts, etc.  He may be the busiest man in Canada! 

https://standupali.com/

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

https://www.loveclosely.com/

https://allpoetry.com/Do-Not-Ask-My-Love

Prairie Edge by Conor Kerr:

https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/prairie-edge

 

CBC's 2024 Canada Reads Wrap Up with Sarah

Rebecca chats with the podcast's good friend Sarah from Nova Scotia to find out what she thought of the 2024 Canada Reads debate.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sareshears/

 

CBC's 2024 Canada Reads DAY THREE Wrap Up

Rebecca and Tara discuss CBC's 2024 Canada Reads DAY THREE!

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

 

Rebecca and Tara will be doing a live YouTube Wrap Up on DAY FOUR (3/7/24) with Jolene at 2:00 pm ET: https://www.youtube.com/@canadareadsamericanstyle/streams

 

Connect with Jolene on YouTube:

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

CBC's 2024 Canada Reads DAY TWO Wrap Up

Rebecca and Tara discuss CBC's 2024 Canada Reads DAY TWO!

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

https://www.johnkingbooksdetroit.com/

 

Rebecca and Tara will be doing a live YouTube Wrap Up on DAY FOUR (3/7/24) with Jolene at 2:00 pm ET: https://www.youtube.com/@canadareadsamericanstyle/streams

 

Connect with Jolene on YouTube:

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

 

CBC's 2024 Canada Reads DAY ONE Wrap Up

Rebecca and Tara discuss CBC's 2024 Canada Reads DAY ONE!

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

 

Rebecca and Tara will be doing a live YouTube Wrap Up on DAY FOUR (3/7/24) with Jolene at 2:00 pm ET: https://www.youtube.com/@canadareadsamericanstyle/streams

 

Connect with Jolene on YouTube:

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

 

Love It - Hate It

Rebecca and Tara ask the question: Why are we able to talk about a book for 30 minutes that we didn't like and yet struggle to articulate clearly what we loved about a five-star read?

Books discussed:

• The Meaning of Leaving by Kate Rogers
• Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
• The Double Life of Benson Yu by Kevin Chong
• Road Ends by Mary Lawson
• Greenwood by Michael Christie

 

Book Chat #15

Rebecca and Tara share what they are currently reading and their latest reading recommendations!

Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle):

• Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries by Julia Spencer-Fleming
• Fifteen Thousand Pieces by Gina Leola Woolsey
• Amelia & Me #1; Under Amelia's Wing #2; Beyond Amelia #3: (Ginny Ross Series) by Heather Stemp
• Bird Suit by Sydney Hegele

Tara (@onabranchreads):

• The Song of Achilles; Circe by Madeline Miller
• https://www.cardcarryingshop.com/
• Who's Afraid of Gender by Judith Butler
• Love and Rain by Carmela Circelli
• Leaving Earth by Helen Humphreys
• Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
• Denison Avenue by Christina Wong, Daniel Innes
• Shut Up You're Pretty by Téa Mutonji

Interview - Garnett Kilberg Cohen and Cravings

Rebecca chats with award-winning author Garnett Kilberg Cohen, the author of four short story collections: Cravings (October 2023); Lost Women, Banished Souls; How We Move the Air; and Swarm to Glory.  Her chapbook, Passion Tour, was published by Finishing Line Press.

Garnett's writing has appeared in The New Yorker online, Rumpus, The Gettysburg Review, Witness, The Literary Review, StoryQuarterly, The Antioch Review and elsewhere.

https://garnettcohenauthor.com/

Short Stories and Author Recommendations: 

• Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose by Alice Munro
• Lauren Groff
• Edna O'Brien
• Edwidge Danticat
• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
• A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Black History Month

Rebecca and Tara celebrate Black History Month with their picks and TBR!

Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): 

• Fifteen Thousand Pieces by Gina Leola Woolsey
• Driving the Green Book: A Road Trip Through the Living History of Black Resistance by Alvin Hall 
• The Last Slave Ship: The True Story of How Clotilda Was Found, Her Descendants, and an Extraordinary Reckoning by Ben Raines
• South to America: A Journey Below the Mason Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry
• Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America by Michael Harriot
• Lies About Black People: How to Combat Racist Stereotypes and Why it Matters by Omekongo Dibinga
• Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall; illustrated by Hugo Martínez

Tara (@onabranchreads)

• Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice
• https://edenmillswritersfestival.ca/moon-of-the-turning-leaves/
• In the Upper Country by Kai Thomas
• Dread Nation; Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland
• James; The Trees by Percival Everett
• The African Samurai by Craig Shreve
• Frying Plantain; River Mumma by Zalika Reid-Benta
• George and Rue by George Elliott Clarke