18 books you heard about on CBC Radio this week
Here's a roundup of all the great author interviews and book coverage from CBC Radio from Nov. 17-Nov 23, 2018.
The Acts of My Mother by András Forgách
What it's about: The new book from Hungarian writer András Forgách was inspired by a shocking revelation: Forgách's mother had worked as an informant for Hungary's Communist regime. The Acts of My Mother combines fiction, memoir, poetry and official records. The result is an intensely personal exploration of his parents' lives, set against the backdrop of the Cold War in Hungary.
Heard on: Writers & Company
Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
What it's about: In this collection of stories, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah envisions a cast of ordinary characters placed in extraordinary circumstances. From exposing prejudice in the justice system to characterizing racism as sport, Adjei-Brenyah sheds light on the everyday injustices — big, small and often absurd — that Black people face in the U.S.
Heard on: q
In Extremis by Lindsey Hilsum
What it's about: Marie Colvin was a long-serving reporter for the U.K. newspaper The Sunday Times, covering war zones from Chechnya to Iraq to East Timor. When she wasn't filing reports from the trenches, she rubbed shoulders with world leaders. Lindsey Hilsum, Colvin's friend and fellow war correspondent, has written a book about the enigmatic reporter's life called In Extremis: The Life of War Correspondent Marie Colvin.
Heard on: The Current
How to Walk on Water and Climb Up Walls by David Hu
What it's about: David Hu studies animal movement that has been honed by millions of years of evolution. In his new book, How to Walk on Water and Climb Up Walls: Animal Movement and the Robots of the Future, Hu explores the many ways animals move through the world. He also looks at the sometimes extreme lengths that researchers have to go through to understand how they do it.
Heard on: Quirks & Quarks
Antisocial Media by Siva Vaidhyanathan
What it's about: Siva Vaidhyanathan is a professor of media studies at the University of Virginia. His book Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy explores the role Facebook has played in shaping society and influencing politics. Vaidhyanathan was recently on The Current to make a case for why governments should regulate Facebook.
Heard on: The Current
Cujo by Curtis Joseph and Kirstie McClellan Day
What it's about: Curtis Joseph grew up in an institution for mentally ill patients run by his adoptive parents and then went on to spend 19 seasons playing in the NHL as a goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. He delves into how his childhood paved the way for his hockey career in his new autobiography Cujo: The Untold Story of My Life On and Off the Ice.
Heard on: The Current
Be With by Mike Barnes
What it's about: When Mike Barnes became his mother's caregiver after she began showing signs of dementia, he started writing daily reflections about the stress he experienced. These reflections eventually formed the basis of his new book, Be With: Letters to a Caregiver, a collection of vignettes and reflections on caring for his mother.
Heard on: Tapestry
Wit's End by James Geary
What it's about: James Geary explores the history of wit and its role in science, politics, art and more in his new book Wit's End. Geary, a writer based on Boston, spoke to As It Happens about the power of puns and why we shouldn't punish those who are fans.
Heard on: As It Happens
America, the Farewell Tour by Christopher Hedges
What it's about: Christopher Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the author of America, the Farewell Tour. He believes that America may well be in its last act. Addiction, income disparity and hollowed-out towns and cities are becoming the norm, he argues, while the political and financial sectors increasingly merge with each other to the exclusion of anyone else's interests or needs.
Heard on: Ideas
Marge in Charge by Isla Fisher
What it's about: Isla Fisher, the star of movies like Wedding Crashers, The Great Gatsby and Confessions of a Shopaholic, is also the author of a series of children's books. It's called Marge in Charge and it's about an eccentric and mischievous babysitter named Marge.
Heard on: q
Passing for Human by Liana Finck
What it's about: Liana Finck is a cartoonist whose work has appeared in The New Yorker and is very popular on Instagram, where her cartoons explore themes like relationships, gender dynamics, anxiety, politics and the things that weigh us down. Finck has written a graphic memoir Passing for Human, which is about her quest for self-understanding and self-acceptance.
Heard on: q
Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
What it's about: Hey, Kiddo is Jarrett J. Krosoczka's graphic memoir about growing up as the son of a heroin addict. Krosoczka joined guest host Saroja Coelho from Houston to talk about his early life, how art became a refuge and how he knows what young readers can handle.
Heard on: q
Madame Victoria by Catherine Leroux, translated by Lazer Lederhendler
What it's about: Madame Victoria is a collection inspired by the real-life story of a woman's skeleton found in the woods near Montreal's Royal Victoria Hospital in 2001. The woman deemed 'Madame Victoria' was never identified, but in a series of stories translated from the French by Lazer Lederhendler, Leroux imagines the many different versions of this mysterious woman's life.
Heard on: The Next Chapter
Machine Without Horses by Helen Humphreys
What it's about: Helen Humphreys's novel Machine Without Horses explores the real life and the imagined internal life of Megan Boyd, a famous and famously private salmon-fly dresser from Britain. Boyd was a craftswoman who worked for 60 years out of a bare-bones cottage in a small village in the north of Scotland.
Heard on: The Next Chapter
Gush edited by Rosanna Deerchild, Ariel Gordon and Tanis MacDonald
What it's about: It's known by many names. The visitor. The monthly. Aunt Flow. Moon Time. The Old Testament says a woman in menses is unclean. In many Indigenous societies, this is a sacred time — a time of power for women. In a new anthology called Gush, over 100 women and nonbinary writers share their take on menstruation through poetry, comics, fiction and essay.
Heard on: The Next Chapter
Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson
What it's about: Autobiography of Red is a verse novel by acclaimed poet Anne Carson. It is based on the Greek myth of Geryon and Hercules. Geryon is a young boy who is also a monster who eventually manages to escape his family and seek love and refuge with a young man named Herakles.
Heard on: The Next Chapter
They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib
What it's about: Hanif Abdurraqib's first collection of essays, They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us, pays tribute to the power of music to inspire empowerment and strengthen community. The title is a phrase Abdurraqib saw written down at the memorial of 18-year-old Michael Brown, and stuck with him as he finished this book. Abdurraqib's reflections on pop culture are intensely personal, political and compelling.
Heard on: The Next Chapter
Undaunted by Jackie Speier
What it's about: Jackie Speier was shot five times during the Jonestown massacre in 1978. She went on to become a U.S. congresswoman. Forty years later, Speier recounts her story of survival in her new book Undaunted: Surviving Jonestown, Summoning Courage, and Fighting Back.
Heard on: The Current