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McNally Robinson Booksellers have joined forces with independent booksellers from across the country to create a new curated collection of recommendations to add to your fall reading list and to our regular feature, \u201cWhat to Read\u201d. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019The Booksellers\u2019 List\u2019 is a new venture,\u201d explains McNally Robinson co-owner Chris Hall, describing how these booksellers would get together seasonally to create a list of recommendations on behalf of the Independent Booksellers Association. \u201cThe publishers themselves will be getting behind it, so it\u2019s kind of exciting. The authors are excited and we\u2019re excited!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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A few of the selections on the Booksellers\u2019 List also comprise Hall\u2019s five monthly picks for Classic 107 listeners.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pick a Colour by Souvankham Thammavongsa\u00a0
\n‘Pick a Colour’ by Souvankham Thammavongsa. (Knopf Canada)<\/p>\n
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For the inaugural Bookseller\u2019s List, the Independent Booksellers Association found the most agreement on this title by the former Giller Prize winner. The novel centres around Ning, a retired boxer who works in a nail salon where all the employees are called Susan. The Susans listen to the troubles of their clients as they work, but Ning is caught up in her own memories and regrets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very sharp, very complex, very slightly subversive of this world that many of us enjoy privileges we don\u2019t even think about and know about,\u201d says Hall. \u201cThat\u2019s the kind of writing we\u2019re definitely looking for. And I was very pleased when we got down to the details that my fellow independent booksellers are like-minded in such a way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wolf, Moon, Dog by Thomas Wharton\u00a0
\n‘Wolf, Moon, Dog’ by Thomas Wharton. (Random House Canada)<\/p>\n
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This novel begins thousands of years ago when a young wolf, separated from his pack, meets a strange, two-legged creature. Together, they strike an alliance that is the origin point for man\u2019s relationship with dog, which is then revisited throughout the book in different incarnations from ancient Egypt to ancient Greece to the space race and beyond.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hall points out the unique blend Wharton creates between books with commercial appeal and intellectual stimulation. \u201cI\u2019m always looking for that combination,\u201d he says, noting that this book also makes an appearance on the Booksellers\u2019 List. \u201cWhen you hit that sweet spot between a really great plot that pulls you through, but then it\u2019s also got you thinking and looking up at the ceiling going, \u2018Wow!\u2019, that\u2019s the best kind of book for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Trial of Katterfelto by Michael Redhill\u00a0
\n‘The Trials of Katterfelto’ by Michael Redhill. (Knopf Canada)<\/p>\n
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With this book, Redhill returns to the world of novels for the first time since capturing the Giller Prize for Bellevue Square back in 2017. His latest offering follows an 18th century magician and amateur scientist who travels the English countryside with a bag of tricks designed for him by a colleague (whose voice narrates the book). One day, he stumbles across a metal horn with a disembodied woman\u2019s voice lamenting the more-modern troubles of the climate catastrophe and social unrest. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a novel that blows your mind a little bit,\u201d says Hall, \u201cone that conflates centuries of time, forces the reader to stare up at the ceiling and wonder what is it that we are doing to this world.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Cree Word for Love by Tracey Lindberg and George Littlechild\u00a0
\n‘The Cree Word for Love’ by Tracey Lindberg and George Littlechild. (HarperCollins Canada)<\/p>\n
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Lindberg teams up with visual artist Littlechild to jointly consider a teaching from an elder in their culture that the idea of love as it is understood by settler society does not exist. \u201cThrough her fiction and his iconic painting,\u201d says Hall, \u201cthey respond by travelling through themes of love within a family, ties of kindship, desire for romantic love, strength in the face of loss, the importance of self-love, as well as just the deep exploration of a meaning of what \u2018all my relations\u2019 means. It\u2019s a powerful story. It\u2019s lots of connection, strength… what does it mean to live lovingly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Days of Feasting and Rejoicing by David Bergen\u00a0
\n‘Days of Feasting and Rejoicing’ by David Bergen. (Goose Lane Editions)<\/p>\n
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The celebrated Winnipeg author returns with a story that takes readers all the way to Thailand and Bali. The latter location is where we meet Christine and Esther, who are on vacation when Christine drowns in the ocean. When the police arrive, they mistake Esther for Christine, which is when Esther sees an opportunity to claim a new life for herself \u2013 a perfect solution for someone who would rather be anyone else.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGreat psychological drama, lots of tension and suspense, a character who seems to be kind of blithely unhindered by questions of truth and morality,\u201d lists Hall of the qualities that make this book worthy of the \u201cWhat to Read\u201d list and Bergen worthy of being McNally Robinson\u2019s Author of the Month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Of the five books selected, three of the authors will be presenting their works live at McNally Robinson\u2019s Grant Park location. David Bergen will be live in the store on September 22, Thomas Wharton on October 3, and Souvankham Thammavongsa on October 21. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Classic 107 listeners can hear Chris Hall\u2019s picks for \u201cWhat to Read\u201d on Morning Light with Nolan Kehler just after 8:30 a.m. on the first Friday of each month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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