Back to Search
Alexandra from the BIA here, bringing you a full list of must-reads as we are officially entering curl up with a book season! To prepare, I've teamed up with two local bookstores, Second Look Books + Movies and KW Bookstore to bring you some fall reading suggestions and descriptions of what to expect. All books are available to buy at one of the two locations. Read on for blurbs, and get reading!
The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys
Genre: Historical Fiction
”Fleeing war-torn London in 1941, gardener Gwen Davis leaves the "wild, lovely clutter" of the city for the safe haven of the English countryside. Unwilling to watch her beloved city crumble under the assault of incendiary German bombs, she accepts a position at a requisitioned estate in Devon, supervising the farming of potatoes for the war effort.”
Get it at: A Second Look Books + Movies
Waterloo You Never Knew: Life on the Margins by Joanna Rickert-Hall
Genre: History/Non-Fiction
”Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth century, Waterloo, Ontario, could be any small Canadian community. Its familiar histories privilege the “great accomplishments” of those who built the institutions we know industry, government, and education. But what of those who were marginalized, weird, and wonderful ― real people who lived between the boundaries of mainstream existence?”
Get it at: A Second Look Books + Movies
Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy
”Jared can't count on his mom to stay sober and stick around to take care of him. He can't rely on his dad to pay the bills and support his new wife and step-daughter. Jared is only sixteen but feels like he is the one who must stabilize his family's life, even look out for his elderly neighbours. But he struggles to keep everything afloat...and sometimes he blacks out. And he puzzles over why his maternal grandmother has never liked him, why she says he's the son of a trickster, that he isn't human. Mind you, ravens speak to him--even when he's not stoned. You think you know Jared, but you don't.”
Get it at: A Second Look Books + Movies
Indians on Vacation by Thomas King
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Humour
"Meet Bird and Mimi in this brilliant new novel from one of Canada’s foremost authors. Inspired by a handful of old postcards sent by Uncle Leroy nearly a hundred years earlier, Bird and Mimi attempt to trace Mimi’s long-lost uncle and the family medicine bundle he took with him to Europe. By turns witty, sly and poignant, this is the unforgettable tale of one couple’s holiday trip to Europe, where their wanderings through its famous capitals reveal a complicated history, both personal and political.”
Get it at: A Second Look Books + Movies
In the Cut by Susanna Moore (19+ recommended)
Genre: Thriller/Smut
“Almost three decades from its first publication, a spare, tightly written erotic thriller. Dark, moody, and well ahead of what has now become improper in modern fiction and television. Proper literary smut!” (19+ recommended)
Get it at: KW Bookstore
Was by Geoff Ryman
Genre: Fantasy
”If you enjoy Wizard Of Oz, both the Frank Baum sourcebooks AND iconic trippy film, you’ll treasure the places this fabulist novel transports. Modern fantasy, pushes all the right culture-nerd buttons.”
Get it at: KW Bookstore
The Collected Stories by Grace Paley
Genre: Short Stories
“American, near-Contemporary of Alice Munro, Grace Paley also mastered the form of the short story. Observationally wry, penetrating, and damn-well humane, you’ll know plenty of these characters, though you’ve never met…”
Get it at: KW Bookstore
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Genre: Historical Fiction
“Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of the powerful businessman Mr. Hosokawa. Roxane Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening—until a band of gun-wielding terrorists takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, a moment of great beauty, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different continents become compatriots, intimate friends, and lovers.”
Get it at: A Second Look Books + Movies
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
Genre: Historical Fiction
“At the heart of this vibrant saga is a vast ship, the Ibis. Her destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean shortly before the outbreak of the Opium Wars in China. In a time of colonial upheaval, fate has thrown together a diverse cast of Indians and Westerners on board, from a bankrupt raja to a widowed tribeswoman, from a mulatto American freedman to a free-spirited French orphan. As their old family ties are washed away, they, like their historical counterparts, come to view themselves as jahaj-bhais, or ship-brothers. The vast sweep of this historical adventure spans the lush poppy fields of the Ganges, the rolling high seas, and the exotic backstreets of Canton.”
Get it at: A Second Look Books + Movies
Visit either store for more book suggestions and enjoy the beautiful fall weather DTK!
Contact Us