★ Imperfections

As they say in the fashion world, if you’ve got it, flaunt it. In this sharp, ribald, and surprisingly moving debut novel, Bradley Somer shows he has it and definitely flaunts it. Imperfections is a ... Read More »

February 21, 2013 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

The Scottish Banker of Surabaya

By Ian Hamilton

Now five books in, Toronto writer Ian Hamilton’s thriller series featuring Hong Kong–born, Toronto-based accountant Ava Lee has carved out a devoted following. Part of its appeal is due to a twice-yearly release schedule, which ... Read More »

February 19, 2013 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

S.E.C.R.E.T.

By L. Marie Adeline

E.L. James has a lot to answer for. After turning what began as Twilight fan fiction into the fastest-selling paperback series of all time, James convinced publishers there was an eager market for her brand ... Read More »

February 11, 2013 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

Wide World in Celebration and Sorrow: Acts of Kamikaze Fiction

By Leon Rooke

Wide World in Celebration and Sorrow is the latest addition to Leon Rooke’s impressive oeuvre. The 20 stories that comprise Wide World are diverse in character and setting, though unified in the outlandishness of their ... Read More »

February 4, 2013 | Filed under: Fiction: Short

The Art of Sufficient Conclusions

By Sarah Dearing

Fathers are complicated creatures, absentee fathers in particular. The daughters they leave behind often attempt to define themselves within the context of an absence, resulting in bad relationship choices, insecurities, and an insufferable state of ... Read More »

January 21, 2013 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

Born Weird

By Andrew Kaufman

In Andrew Kaufman’s third novel, five siblings with the surname Weird feel they don’t quite fit into the world. The Weirds don’t have the exaggerated strangeness of some of Kaufman’s previous characters, like The Waterproof ... Read More »

January 14, 2013 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

The Blue Guitar

By Ann Ireland

After suffering a breakdown at an international competition, guitarist Toby Hauser retreats from performance and settles into domestic life with his partner, Jasper. A decade after his collapse, Toby decides to venture back into the ... Read More »

January 7, 2013 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

★ The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America

By Thomas King

Novelist Thomas King describes his brilliantly insightful, peevish book about native people in North America as a “a series of conversations and arguments that I’ve been having with myself and others for most of my ... Read More »

January 3, 2013 | Filed under: Native Peoples

Poet to Poet: Poems Written to Poets and the Stories that Inspired Them

By Julie Roorda and Elana Wolff, eds.

Poet to Poet is a sangria pitcher of ars poetica. Each of the 74 contributors has written a poem inspired by, and dedicated to, another poet. One of the collection’s strengths is the sheer boundlessness ... Read More »

January 3, 2013 | Filed under: Poetry

All Souls’

By Rhea Tregebov

Rhea Tregebov opens her seventh poetry collection by telling us about a visitation she had that unexpectedly put an end to a period of literary silence: “You thought all the poems had grown up / ... Read More »