Your cart is currently empty!
What We’re Reading for the Holidays
Our idea of cozying up for the holidays includes a big ol’ pile of books (no surprise). Here’s what we’ll be reading in our downtime this holiday season.
Lauren’s Pick
The Employees
by Olga Ravn, translated by Martin Aitken (Book*hug Press)
I hope to read Olga Ravn’s International Booker-nominated The Employees over this holiday break. Is it counterproductive to read a book about a band of interstellar employees under the thumb of (very) late capitalism when I’m supposed to be relaxing this holiday season? (Is the very idea of “counterproductive” exactly what Ravn is talking about?) All that aside: the promise of a critique of workplace productivity and LinkedIn-speak, in a sci-fi wrapper, that’s slim enough to tackle in a snowy afternoon, is exactly what I want in a holiday read.
Tan’s Pick
We Speak Through the Mountain
by Premee Mohamed (ECW Press)
Since I am currently reading The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed, my holiday pick is of course the sequel, We Speak through the Mountain. Set in post-apocalyptic Alberta, this series has already garnered an Aurora Award and rave reviews from Booklist, Publishers Weekly and the Quill and Quire. I’m loving it so far, and I can’t wait to find out what happens to Reid in the fabled domed-city and to learn more about the climate-ravaged world she lives in.
Mandy’s Pick
The Cobra and the Key
by Sam Shelstad (Touchwood Editions / Brindle & Glass)
Susan Sanford Blades’s Gift Guide picks this year was a reminder that I’ve had Sam Shelstad’s The Cobra and the Key on my list for a while now. I’ve heard so much about it, and I can’t wait to dig into its quirky, hilariously clever satire of writing advice in the form of a novel. Its protagonist, a budding writer named Sam Shelstad who works at Value Village while he tries as he might to become a successful novelist, doles out writing gems in his guide for aspiring fiction writers. Gems like, “When experimenting with animal characters, however, it’s important to remember that they see the world differently from humans. For instance, a lot of animals can see in the dark.” I mean.
Laura’s Pick
The Raw Light of Morning
by Shelly Kawaja (Breakwater Books)
I heard Shelly Kawaja read from this novel awhile back, and I’ve been wanting to read it ever since. The stakes couldn’t be higher, in this fast-paced coming-of-age story that grapples with a young woman’s truth amidst past trauma and violence. Michael Winter called this debut, “a sailor’s warning, an unrelenting sky redder than a stop sign, that illuminates the dark underbelly of family and small town sea-coast life.”
Barb’s Pick
Misguided: My Jesus Freak Life in a Doomsday Cult
by Perry Bulwer (New Star Books)
This holiday season I’d like to add a little non-fiction to my list. Growing up in the ’80s, cults were a real fear (think Jim Jones, David Koresh, Charles Manson) and also endlessly fascinating. Perry Bulwer has written a book, Misguided: My Jesus Freak Life In a Doomsday Cult, based on his years in the Children of God cult run by David Berg. Published by New Star, Bulwer takes the reader on an extraordinary trip through the world of biblical literalism, fundamentalist end-time fantasies, paranormal spirituality, evangelical extremism, ritual abuse, and liberally interpreted biblical teachings that were used to justify licentious sexual doctrines, evangelical prostitution, and worse.
Tagged:
9781550819465, 9781554202058, 9781770415935, 9781771667609, 9781772010039, 9781990071126, Biblioasis, Bookhug Press, Brindle & Glass, ECW Press, Misguided, New Star Books, Olga Ravn, premee mohamed, sam shelstad, Shelly Kawaja, staff picks, the annual migration of clouds, The Cobra and the Key, The Employees, The Raw Light of Morning, touchwood editions
