10 Canadian books we're excited to read in September
CBC Books | Posted: September 4, 2018 1:50 PM | Last Updated: November 1, 2018
A new month means new books. Here's a collection of Canadian titles we're excited to read this September.
Monsters by David A. Robertson
What it's about: Monsters is the second book in David A. Robertson's supernatural Reckoner series. The books follow a teenager named Cole Harper, who has returned home to Wounded Sky First Nation after spending a decade away. In Monsters, Cole learns that a creature is stalking Blackwood Forest and the local health clinic is being kept on lockdown by a strange organization.
When you can read it: Sept. 1
Something for Everyone by Lisa Moore
What it's about: Lisa Moore is one of Canada's most accomplished fiction writers. Her novels include February — which won Canada Reads 2013 — Caught and Alligator. Something for Everyone is her third short story collection, which showcases an eclectic array of stories.
When you can read it: Sept. 4
Sadie by Courtney Summers
What it's about: Sadie lives in an isolated small town where she is raised and provided for by her older sister Mattie. When Mattie is found dead and the police botch the investigation, Sadie becomes determined to track down the killer herself. At a gas station, a travelling radio personality named West McCray hears about Sadie's story and starts a podcast about her investigation. The podcast in the book, The Girls, is available to listen to as a, well, podcast.
When you can read it: Sept. 4
The Death and Life of Strother Purcell by Ian Weir
What it's about: Famed lawman Strother Purcell disappeared in 1876 when he pursued his outlaw half-brother into a vicious storm on the B.C. mountains. Purcell turns up 16 years later, much worse for the wear, in a San Francisco jail. He's visited by Barrington Weaver, a failed journalist, who wants to write Purcell's story.
When you can read it: Sept. 4
Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal
What it's about: Aminder Dhaliwal's debut book Woman World takes place after a birth defect has caused men to go extinct. Women unite under the flag of "Beyoncé's Thighs" and set out to build civilization anew. Only one, Grandma, has memories of the ancient society, a time of "That's What She Said" jokes. Dhaliwal began publishing this hilarious strip on Instagram, where she amassed over 120,000 readers.
When you can read it: Sept. 11
The Real Lolita by Sarah Weinman
What it's about: Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 book Lolita, the controversial novel of a professor who falls obsessively in love with his 12-year-old stepdaughter, has sold over 60 million copies worldwide. The novel was based on the real abduction of an 11-year-old American girl named Sally Horner. Sarah Weinman pores over news articles and conducts interviews with Horner's living relatives to chronicle the young girl's life, including her kidnapping and rescue, in mid-century America. She also investigates how much Nabokov knew about Horner's case and the ways he hid it when publishing what is considered both an infamous and classic novel.
When you can read it: Sept. 11
Theory by Dionne Brand
What it's about: The unnamed narrator of Theory is constructing all-encompassing thesis on the past, present and future of art, culture, race, gender, class and politics. Their dissertation is inevitably impacted by three passionate love affairs, one following the other, that re-shape and reorient the narrator's life and work.
When you can read it: Sept. 18
All Things Consoled by Elizabeth Hay
What it's about: Award-winning novelist Elizabeth Hay channels her considerable writing abilities into nonfiction in this new memoir All Things Consoled. The book is about her aging parents with whom she had a challenging relationship growing up. As Hay shifts from eldest daughter to primary caregiver, old resentments rise to the surface, eventually giving way to greater understanding.
When you can read it: Sept. 18
How to Invent Everything by Ryan North
What it's about: Humorist Ryan North has just the thing for someone who has been flung thousands of years into the past by a faulty time machine. His new book is a how-to guide for all of history's key scientific breakthroughs — from farming to buttons to birth control. North is a New York Times bestselling author and comic creator, whose previous work includes Marvel's The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl series.
When you can read it: Sept. 18
river woman by Katherena Vermette
What it's about: The author of the novel The Break and the Governor General's Literary Award-winning poetry collection North End Love Songs returns to poetry with river woman. The collection explores colonialism and the multigenerational trauma and loss it inflicted. It also explores the relationship between reclamation, love, nature and healing.
When you can read it: Sept. 25