10 books coming out in November we can't wait to read
CBC Books | | Posted: November 1, 2019 2:30 PM | Last Updated: November 1, 2019
From Canadian poetry to memoirs from around the world, here are the new releases we are excited about in November.
Try Not to Get Too Attached by Robin Richardson
Robin Richardson illustrates a series of brief, poetic meditations on the nature of being human. Drawn with felt pen and pencil crayon, Richardson explores the acuteness of loss, fear and euphoria throughout Try Not to Get Too Attached.
Richardson is a poet whose books include Sit How You Want, winner of the 2019 Trillium Book Award for poetry.
When you can read it: Nov. 5, 2019
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
Carmen Maria Machado examines her story of domestic abuse in her memoir In the Dream House. She uses narrative tropes like haunted houses and bildungsroman to understand the volatile progression of her relationship with this woman. Machado also reflects on the stereotype of utopian lesbian relationships, exploring the history of abuse in queer relationships.
Machado is an award-winning writer from Philadelphia. She won the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Prize for her short story collection Her Body and Other Parties.
When you can read it: Nov. 5, 2019
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
In The Starless Sea, graduate student Zachary Ezra Rawlins discovers a peculiar book in the stacks at his Vermont school. It contains stories of unrequited love, prisoners and — most mysteriously — a story from Zachary's childhood. As Zachary delves into the book's origins, he discovers an endangered otherworldly realm of lost cities and whispered stories.
Erin Morgenstern is a bestselling author from Massachusetts. The Starless Sea is her sophomore novel, following The Night Circus.
When you can read it: Nov. 5, 2019
Pass Me By by Kyle Simmers & Ryan Danny Owen
Described as a "romantic tragedy," Pass Me By tells the story of a man's decline after being diagnosed with dementia. Ed is the retired resident of a rural town in northern Canada and often spends his days fishing and meeting his friend Rory for a meal at the local diner. As Ed loses touch with the present, he finds himself reliving a period of his youth spent touring the country with a glam rock band in the 1970s.
Kyle Simmers and Ryan Danny Owen are both visual artists from Calgary.
When you can read it: Nov. 6, 2019
What the Eagle Sees by Eldon Yellowhorn & Kathy Lowinger
What the Eagle Sees is a follow-up to 2017's Turtle Island. It looks at historical events to reflect an underrepresented Indigenous perspective of our collective past and how to move on in the present and future. Academic Eldon Yellowhorn again works with author Kathy Lowinger to continue an examination of the lasting impact of settler culture on the Indigenous community.
Yellowhorn is an academic and author from the Peigan Indian Reserve (Piikani Nation). Yellowhorn explores the mythology and folklore of his Indigenous ancestors and in how the past informs the present in his books.
What the Eagle Sees is for readers aged 11 and up.
When you can read it: Nov. 12, 2019
Beyond the Known by Andrew Rader
Beyond the Known is a book about exploration. It looks at major periods of discovery — such as in ancient Greece and Rome, the age of European exploration and the scientific revolution — to show how being curious and inquisitive can lead to unimaginably great things.
Andrew Rader is a Mission Manager at SpaceX. Beyond the Known is his fourth book.
When you can read it: Nov. 12, 2019
Be My Guest by Priya Basil
Priya Basil explores what it means to be a host and to serve food to others in the memoir Be My Guest. She draws from her own Sikh heritage, as well as her time spent in Kenya, India, Britain and Germany, to create a portrait of identity, immigration, food and hospitality.
Basil is a writer based in Berlin. Her previous books include the novels Ishq And Mushq and The Obscure Logic of the Heart.
When you can read it: Nov. 15, 2019
Safe Harbour by Christina Kilbourne
Safe Harbour is a YA novel that looks at homelessness through the eyes of a teenager. Fourteen-year-old Harbour lives in a tent in a Toronto ravine with her dog and a dwindling food supply. She has a mysterious that past involves an absent father and a 36-foot sailboat. After meeting a fellow homeless girl named Lise, Harbour is forced to accept the harsh realities of her circumstances.
Based in Bracebridge, Ont., Christina Kilbourne is the author of novels Detached and Dear Jo.
Safe Harbour is for readers aged 12-15.
When you can read it: Nov. 16, 2019
Disturbance by Philippe Lançon, translated by Steven Rendall
Philippe Lançon, a contributor to the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo, describes the terrorist attack that killed 12 of his colleagues and left him gravely injured. In the aftermath, Lançon struggles to move on and turns to writers like Proust, Thomas Mann and Kafka for answers.
Lançon's Disturbance won the 2018 Prix Femina, Prix du Roman News and Prix Renaudot Jury's Special Prize.
When you can read it: Nov. 22, 2019
Portia White by George Elliott Clarke, art by Lara Martina
Iconic Canadian poet George Elliott Clarke tackles the biography of another Canadian icon: his great-aunt Portia White. White was born in Nova Scotia, a descendent of the Black Loyalists and American slaves, and went on to become an acclaimed opera singer, performing for Queen Elizabeth II in 1964. In Portia White, Clarke tells the story of her life in one long, epic poem.
Clarke was Canada's parliamentary poet laureate and was the fourth poet laureate of Toronto (2012-2015).
When you can read it: Nov. 30, 2019