Hunter Street Books owner Michelle Berry shares what titles are popular in Peterborough, Ont.

This interview originally aired on May 11, 2019.

Michelle Berry opened up Hunter Street Books, an independent bookstore, in Peterborough, Ont., on a whim just over two years ago. Here are a couple of books Berry says her loyal customers love to read.

The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld

"It's a kids' picture book and it's bought by adults for adults, as well as by adults for kids. It's about grief. It's about a little boy who knocks down his wonderful creation. The little boy has all these animal friends who always tell him how to deal with loss. He doesn't respond to any of that, but the rabbit, as the title says, just listens. He listens to what the boy wants and needs.

"It's all about what we really need — the universal truth — that sometimes people just need to listen to make things right. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful."

Lands and Forests by Andrew Forbes

"This is a book of short stories by a Peterborough author. He's previously written an essay book on baseball and a book of short stories and this is his new one. It's a collection of stories that have important settings — the settings are almost as important as the characters all the way through. Forbes puts these dysfunctional, sad, thoughtful characters in the natural world. A lot of it feels like it takes place in Peterborough; there are kayak trips, forest fires, deserts, etc. We see the settings reflected in the characters. The settings often change the characters. It's a really powerful book."