Books of the year 2013: authors’ choice

We asked four authors whose titles appeared in Q&Q‘s 2012 Books of the Year list to make their 2013 picks.

Click on the thumbnails to discover favourite titles from Caroline Adderson, Julie Devaney, Tamara Faith Berger, and Kyo Maclear.

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99050 I'm a huge fan of Isabelle Arsenault's art and a great admirer of Fanny Britt's writing. I could join the chorus and wax on about the beauty and sensitivity of their graphic novel Jane, the Fox & Me (Groundwood Books), but what I want to tell you is that it's the perfect book for Tillie. Tillie is my best friend's 11-year-old daughter. She's funny, smart, and a kick-ass athlete. Being 11, she knows a little bit about the cruelty that girls can inflict on each other. (Do you actually like that shirt you're wearing?) I suspect that, like many girls, Tillie has slipped between being the tormented and the tormentor, the exiled and the exiler: just like Britt's HélÃ¨ne and GeneviÃ¨ve. I gave Jane, the Fox & Me to Tillie believing that sometimes a book is not just a book, but also a life raft “ a quiet haven in a roiling sea of noise and nonsense, and a form of transport to kinder shores. ” Kyo Maclear, author of the picture book Virginia Wolf (Kids Can Press), a Q&Q Book of the Year in 2012 Kyo Maclear https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/Author-Maclear-90x90.png https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/Author-Maclear.png https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/Author-Maclear.png 500 491 [] https://stage.quillandquire.com/books-year/2013/12/10/books-of-the-year-2013-authors-choice/slide/author-maclear-2/ author-maclear-2 0 0

99049 In Blood, Marriage, Wine & Glitter (Arsenal Pulp Press), a memoir about trans life and parenting, S. Bear Bergman lovingly recounts how his family came to be. Bergman opens his heart, welcomes readers in, and grounds us with the disclaimer that even our somewhat unusual story is just a story. Witty, wise, and accessible, the book provides clear answers to anyone who has asked trans people pointed questions about parentage and gender without realizing the painful implications. And yet while Bergman details the ostracization that often accompanies trans lives, in this recounting, he is tired of the pity narrative. In its unflinching, raw authenticity, Bergman's memoir speaks to the shared truths of intimacy in broad human connections, offering a salient cultural intervention while remaining an everyfamily tale. ” Julie Devaney, author of My Leaky Body (Goose Lane Editions), a Q&Q Book of the Year in 2012 Julie Devaney https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/Author-Devaney-90x90.png https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/Author-Devaney.png https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/Author-Devaney.png 500 330 [] https://stage.quillandquire.com/books-year/2013/12/10/books-of-the-year-2013-authors-choice/slide/author-devaney/ author-devaney 0 0

99048 I finished John Goldbach's The Devil and the Detective (Coach House Books) at a bar in Montreal. Goldbach's wickedly cut prose made me think slowly, deeply, and irrationally “ like his protagonist, private detective Robert James “ and maybe drink hard and fast the way he does, too. Robert James is a dreamy drinker “ a hard-ass with his head up his ass. I have never read the male hero this way: atonal, metaphysical, and fun. His esoteric sidekick Darren sucks on matchsticks and prophesizes about pyramids and a vagina. I love how badly this book behaved “ projecting itself outward into double-dealing states of mind, attempting to make sense of all the clear-cut confusion. The Devil and the Detective understands the links between cheekiness, facetiousness, and virtuosity. It's very slick. ” Tamara Faith Berger, author of Maidenhead (Coach House Books), a Q&Q Book of the Year in 2012 Tamara Faith Berger https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/Author-Berger-90x90.png https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/Author-Berger.png https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/Author-Berger.png 447 589 [] https://stage.quillandquire.com/books-year/2013/12/10/books-of-the-year-2013-authors-choice/slide/author-berger/ author-berger 0 0

99047 Caroline Adderson Caroline Adderson https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/Author-Adderson-90x90.png https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/Author-Adderson.png https://stage.quillandquire.com/wp-content/uploads/Author-Adderson.png 399 500 [] https://stage.quillandquire.com/books-year/2013/12/10/books-of-the-year-2013-authors-choice/slide/author-adderson-2/ author-adderson-2 0 0: Caroline Adderson

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