8 Canadian books that will make you laugh this summer
CBC News | Posted: July 12, 2023 12:53 PM | Last Updated: July 12, 2023
From rom-coms to funny memoirs, satires and hilarious novels, these Canadian books will make you smile this summer.
Is There Bacon in Heaven? by Ali Hassan
While actor and comedian Ali Hassan grew up around all different cultures and can fit in with anyone, his Muslim Pakistani heritage always finds a way of shining through. In his hilarious memoir based on his stand-up comedy sets, Is There Bacon in Heaven? explores what it's like to be culturally Muslim and the questions of belief and identity that arise when following his passions.
Ali Hassan is an actor, comedian, host of CBC Radio's Laugh Out Loud and frequent guest host of q and As It Happens. He is also the host of CBC Books' Canada Reads. He has recurring roles on Run the Burbs, Odd Squad and Working Moms.
LISTEN |Ali Hassan answers the Proust Questionnaire:
Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron
Jana Goes Wild is a romantic comedy about a woman named Jana who finds herself in an unideal situation — she is attending a destination wedding that her ex Anil is also at. However, although they had broken up on not-so-nice terms, Jana soon realizes that she might be falling for Anil again. With the backdrop of the Serengeti and wandering safari animals, hilarious chaos ensues as Jana tries to make it seem like she's got it all together.
Farah Heron is a writer based in Toronto. She is also the author of the books The Chai Factor, Accidentally Engaged and Tahira in Bloom.
Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
Really Good, Actually is a laugh-out-loud novel that follows Maggie, a 20-something woman trying to navigate heartbreak, divorce and online dating. Inspired by her personal experiences and filled with funny and sharp observations, Heisey explores the art of moving on, proving the process is a lot messier, nonlinear and interdependent than many of us would like to admit.
Monica Heisey is a comedian who has written for print and television, including shows like CBC's Schitt's Creek and Baroness von Sketch Show.
LISTEN | Monica Heisey discusses mixing heartbreak and humour in her novel Really Good, Actually:
Some Maintenance Required by Marie-Renée Lavoie, translated by Arielle Aaronson
Some Maintenance Required is a funny coming-of-age story about taking responsibility and owning your life. It's 1993 and Laurie's final year of school. She works part time at a restaurant and cares for her neglected, potty-mouthed neighbour named Cindy. Laurie devours books and has big dreams, but struggles to keep her car running. As she experiences a budding romance, Laurie's eyes are opened to a more complicated world of class differences and circumstances beyond her control.
Marie-Renée Lavoie is a writer from Québec. Some of her other books include A Boring Wife Settles the Score, Autopsy of a Boring Wife and Mister Roger and Me (La petite et le vieux in French), which won Radio-Canada's Le combat des livres in 2012.
Arielle Aaronson is a French to English translator of novels, films and more. She has previously translated Marie-Renée Lavoie's A Boring Wife Settles the Score and Autopsy of a Boring Wife. Aaronson lives in Montreal with her family.
Reasonable Adults by Robin Lefler
Reasonable Adults is a charming romantic comedy about a young woman named Kate Rigsby. Kate takes a job at an arts retreat in Muskoka cottage country after her life falls apart. She imagines three idyllic months in an artistic wonderland as she plots her next chapter. But reality isn't anything like she expected. Can Kate pull it together? And can she successfully avoid her gorgeous — and off-limits — new coworker?
Robin Lefler is a writer from Kitchener, Ont. Before she wrote fiction, she worked in the tech industry. Reasonable Adults is her first novel.
We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu
In We Were Dreamers, a witty and honest memoir, Simu Liu details his journey from China to Canada to Hollywood, where he becomes the star of Marvel's first Asian superhero film, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Born in China, Liu's parents brought him to Canada when he was just four years old. As he grows up, he gets top marks in school, participates in national math competitions and makes his parents proud. But less than a year out of college and disillusioned with the life laid out for him, Liu is determined to carve out his own path.
Liu is an actor and writer best known for his work on Marvel's Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and the CBC sitcom Kim's Convenience. He lives in Los Angeles and Toronto.
LISTEN | Simu Liu's real-life immigrant superhero origin story:
Jameela Green Ruins Everything by Zarqa Nawaz
Jameela Green Ruins Everything is a satirical novel about a young woman named Jameela Green, whose biggest dream is to see her novel become a bestseller. When that dream doesn't come true, she becomes involved in her local mosque, which inadvertently leads her to infiltrating an international terrorist organization. Jameela Green Ruins Everything explores success, searching for meaning and community, and the failures of American foreign policy.
Zarqa Nawaz is a film and TV producer, writer and former broadcaster based in Regina. She is best known for being the creator of the hit CBC comedy series Little Mosque on the Prairie. She is also the author of the memoir Laughing All the Way to the Mosque, which was shortlisted for the 2015 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour. Nawaz also wrote the 2022 CBC TV series called Zarqa.
LISTEN |Zarqua Nawaz on Jameela Green Ruins Everything:
How to Take Over the World by Ryan North
How to Take Over the World is a guide for supervillains with a keen interest in world domination. In this introduction to the science of comic-book supervillainy, Ryan North details various evil schemes that harness the potential of today's most advanced technologies. The book also considers how one might save the world from some of its greatest threats by exploring emerging techniques to combat cyberterrorism, communicate across millennia and extend human life spans.
North is a writer and comics creator from Toronto. North's work on the comics Adventure Time, Jughead and The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, have received three Eisner Awards. He has also written two "choose-your-own-path" books, To Be Or Not To Be and Romeo and/or Juliet, parodying Shakespeare's famous tragedies. His recent book How to Invent Everything, is a guide on how to rebuild modern civilization for lost time travellers.