10 books you heard about on CBC Radio recently
Check out some of the books discussed on national CBC Radio programs between Nov. 5-12, 2024.
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
Heard on: Bookends with Mattea Roach
Creation Lake tells the story of Sadie, an undercover agent tasked with sabotaging a young group of activists. But as the writings of a radical thinker named Bruno start to infiltrate her mind, Sadie starts to rethink her choices and the consequences of her transient life.
Rachel Kushner is a bestselling American novelist. Her previous books include Telex From Cuba, The Flamethrowers and The Mars Room.
Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst
Heard on: Bookends with Mattea Roach
Our Evenings tells the story of Dave Win, the son of a white British dressmaker and a Burmese father he's never met, from his time growing up in small-town England in the 1960s to the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020.
Alan Hollinghurst is an English novelist, poet, short story writer and translator. He's known for his novels, which document the lives of gay men and the world around them, including The Swimming-Pool Library, Booker Prize-winner The Line of Beauty and The Sparsholt Affair.
Taylor Swift Style by Sarah Chapelle
Heard on: The Next Chapter
Taylor Swift Style: Fashion Through the Eras is a critical review of the mega pop star's fashion evolution alongside her career. Chapelle has been writing about Swift's style for the past 13 years on her Instagram and blog, Taylor Swift Style. In her book, Swift's definitive fashion eras, Easter eggs and trends are documented and analyzed.
From the hints the pop star will drop through her street style and the costuming of her music videos, Taylor Swift Style gives insight to the visual impact of the artist for Swifties and pop culture fans alike.
Sarah Chapelle is a Vancouver-based fashion writer, blogger and social media influencer with an audience on Instagram of over 349,000 followers as @taylorswiftstyled. Her writing has been featured in publications such as Harper's Bazaar and People Magazine. Taylor Swift Style is her first book.
What I Mean to Say by Ian Williams
Heard on: Q with Tom Power
Poet and Giller-Prize winning author Ian Williams is this year's Massey lecturer. In What I Mean to Say, the award-winning Canadian writer and professor has chosen to focus on the topic of conversations — more specifically, our inability to have them in an age of increasing polarization, cancel culture and emerging forms of online communication.
Williams is the author of seven books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. His novel, Reproduction, won the Scotiabank Giller Prize. He is a professor of English at the University of Toronto, director of the Creative Writing program, and academic advisor for the Massey College William Southam Journalism Fellowship.
The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny
Heard on: The Next Chapter
In the 19th installment of the Inspector Armand Gamache series, The Grey Wolf follows Chief Inspector Gamache and his allies as they pursue a deadly threat from Three Pines, Quebec, across the province and beyond. What starts as one murder evolves into a desperate mission to track a creature that has the potential to devastate cities and towns including Three Pines. Dealing with betrayal, suspicion and loyalty, Gamache must rely on his instincts to unravel the mystery before it's too late.
Louise Penny is a former CBC broadcaster and journalist. She is now the author of the Inspector Armand Gamache mystery series and recipient of the 2020 Agatha Award for best contemporary novel for the 16th installment in the series, All the Devils are Here. She collaborated with former U.S. secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton to write the political thriller State of Terror. Penny was named to the Order of Canada in 2013.
Modern Whore by Andrea Werhun
Heard on: Q with Tom Power
Modern Whore is a memoir written by, writer, performer and producer Andrea Werhun about her time spent as a sex worker. The book combines lush photography by Nicole Bazuin with Werhun's words to paint a nuanced picture of life as a sex worker — in all the sexy, silly and heartbreaking detail.
Sean Baker is an American filmmaker who's best known for directing independent films about the lives of marginalized people. His latest film, Anora, won this year's Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Andrea Werhun is a former sex worker and the author of the memoir Modern Whore, which was adapted into a short film directed by Nicole Bazuin. She was a consultant on the award-winning film Anora, which was also inspired by her memoir and produced by Sean Baker.
There's Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib
Heard on: The Next Chapter
There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension is a collection of ruminations on the meaning of success, who is perceived to deserve it and the concept of role models all through the lens of basketball in the 1990s.
Through themes of comfort, hope and solidarity, Abdurraqib paints the rich history of the golden era of basketball through a personal telling of his own experience with the sport growing up.
Abdurraqib is an Ohio-based American poet and writer. His essay collection A Little Devil in America won the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Obama previously included A Little Devil in America on his 2022 Summer Reading List.
The Cure for Drowning by Loghan Paylor
Heard on: The Next Chapter
Kit McNair was born Kathleen to an Irish farming family in Ontario and, a tomboy in boy's clothes, doesn't fit in with the expectations of a farmgirl set out for them. When Rebekah, a German-Canadian doctor's daughter comes to town, she, Kit and Kit's older brother Landon find themselves in a love triangle which tears their families apart. All three of them separate and join different war efforts but all eventually return home — and they'll have to move forward from their challenging and storied past.
Loghan Paylor is an Ontario-born author currently based in Abbotsford, B.C. They have an MA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and their short fiction and essays have previously appeared in publications including Room and Prairie Fire. The Cure for Drowning is their debut novel.
Twenty-Four Seconds From Now by Jason Reynolds
Heard on: Q with Tom Power
Twenty-Four Seconds From Now…., captures the inner world and emotions of Neon, a young Black man, as he experiences the anticipation, vulnerability and excitement of having sex for the first time. Through Neon's narration and inner thoughts, award-winning author Jason Reynolds wants to challenge the image of "the kid in school who's hyper advanced and walks around like he knows everything and has done everything by the time he's 16 years old."
Jason Reynolds is an award-winning American author and one of the winners of the 2024 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by Bettany Hughes
Heard on: Ideas
Throughout her career, historian and documentary producer Bettany Hughes has always maintained her sense of wonder at the cultures and the monuments humanity has brought into existence.
Her latest book, The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, focuses on the seven ancient monuments that back in the 4th century BCE were listed as a set worthy of wonder — awe-inspiring structures that epitomized human imagination and ambition. Those wonders include the Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the lighthouse of Alexandria, and the Temple of Artemis, among others.
Bettany Hughes is an award-winning English historian, author and broadcaster. She is also a tutor for Cambridge University's Institute of Continuing Education and a Research Fellow of King's College London.
