Canada Reads Inspired

Canada Reads Inspired
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Books
  • Updated Monthly

Two friends -- one American, one Canadian -- who share a love for CBC’s Canada Reads and Canadian literature! https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads

  1. Oct 8

    Interview - Jessica Hamilton and The Woods

    Tara interviews the perfect guest for the month of October--Australian born and Canadian raised author Jessica Hamilton to discuss her latest novel, The Woods, published by Simon & Schuster, August 2026. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Woods/Jessica-Hamilton/9781668236369 "We Used to Live Here meets The Amityville Horror in this haunting novel about Alice, a frustrated wife and grieving mother whose life is turned upside down when she moves her family into a secluded house sheltered by ancient woods. After the devastating death of her teenage daughter Lucy, Alice and her family need a fresh start. Their home in the city is full of painful reminders of what they’ve lost, and Alice is worried about the mental health of her other two children, Quinn and Polly, and the state of her marriage. So when she accidentally discovers a gorgeous, renovated bungalow nestled in the shadow of lovely old woods with a FOR SALE sign at the curb, Alice immediately emails the estate agent for a viewing. She can’t believe the list price—until the agent discloses the history of the house. Years earlier, a woman named Justine Gordon murdered her family there, claiming they were imposters and that her real family had been taken by the woods. Undeterred by the sad story, Alice makes an executive decision as the chief breadwinner. Though neither of her kids are happy to leave their friends behind, her mother Beverley thinks the granny flat in the backyard is cramped, and her husband Geoff, a failed novelist, can’t put down the bourbon long enough to help the family unpack, Alice prevails. As her family reluctantly settles in, the cracks in their relationships become more pronounced. And when inexplicable things start happening, including sightings of strange figures in the yard, and Geoff vanishing into the woods one night and returning hours later wearing different clothes and remembering nothing, Alice must confront the possibility that her refuge may be her undoing. Is her menopausal mind playing tricks on her, or is there something ancient and malevolent in the woods?" https://www.jessicahamilton.org/ https://www.instagram.com/jhamiltonauthor/   Recommended Titles: We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough We Used to Live Here; The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer Model Home by River Solomon

  2. Sep 30

    Interview - Aga Maksimowska and Becalming

    Tara welcomes Canadian author Aga Maksimowska, whose latest novel, Becalming, Dundurn Press (2026), "tells the story of two people realizing that happily ever after is not something to be but something to continue to explore, through adversity and outrage, tragedy and inspiration, and love." Her stories and essays have been published in Brick, The New Quarterly, Humber Literary Review, White Wall Review, The Globe and Mail, Today’s Parent, and longlisted for the CBC Short Story Prize. https://www.dundurn.com/books_/t22117/a9781459756038-becalming "Gosia, a high school chemistry teacher, travels to her native Poland to visit her estranged father. Back in Canada, meanwhile, her father-in-law — who has been more of a dad to her than her own — is dying of cancer. Away from her routine, Gosia questions everything in her life, including her long-term boyfriend, Peter. She feels stuck in the terrifying time of early adulthood, in her first grown-up job while managing student debt, monogamy, and existential dread. Is this really it, she wonders? Gosia’s time in Poland gives her the chance to examine her life, and she finds herself pulled homeward to Canada, where she faces the fact that Peter’s father — like her own — is far from perfect. Can she love despite betrayal? Can she find hope in her fiery, complex love for Peter? Is there something more to this life that she didn’t even realize she had?" https://maksimowska.ca/ https://www.instagram.com/agamaksimowska/ Recommended titles: Summerland by Helen Humphreys The Unravelling of Ou by Hollay Ghadery A Little Annihilation by Anna Janko

  3. Aug 24

    Book Chat 36

    Rebecca and Tara are winding down their summer reading with historical fiction, poetry, memoir, a graphic novel, short stories, and horror. Rebecca: The Archive of Alternate Endings by Lindsey Drager Kill Not the Butterfly by Ken Wyder If I Must Die by Refaat Alareer Solito by Javier Zamora Looking for Frank Wills by Wesley Brown The Choir by Carol M. Cram Unnamed Bones by Lora Senf Tara: The Collected Stories of Carol Shields The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt Becalming by Aga Maksimowska The Woods by Jessica Hamilton The Lilac People by Milo Todd Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher If you have any comments or suggestions that you would like to share with Rebecca and Tara or you are interested in joining their monthly virtual book talk, please email them at craspod2019@gmail.com

  4. Aug 12

    Interview - Erin Singer and Dangerland!

    Tara welcomes Canadian author Erin Singer to the podcast and they share a lovely chat about romance and family ties in her first novel, Dangerland!  Erin also divulges that she has seen Carrot Top in suburban Las Vegas, which is, apparently, a thing! https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Erin-Singer/234549770 "Nora Ephron meets The Hangover in this screwball romantic comedy and family drama with a big, beating heart, set in the sun-bleached neon of Las Vegas. Kurt Richter has been in love with Eugenie Zepp since he was eight years old. Now he’s in his fifties, twice divorced, a father of four. The entire neighborhood is suing him, and he’s been estranged from Eugenie for a decade. In other words: perfect timing to declare himself to her. Kurt and Eugenie grew up in Vegas among the glamour and the grit, slot machines in pharmacies, off-Strip tiki bars, all night poker games, shimmering desert heat. They’ve spent a lifetime orbiting each other, building families and making a beautiful mess of them while trying to decide if what they share is destiny or disaster. Now their adult children are back in town with grudges, heartbreaks, and schemes of their own. As secrets surface and loyalties shift, will this be the right time for Eugenie and Kurt, after everything they’ve been through? In this delicious, darkly funny, romantic comedy, everyone is looking for love in all the wrong places and gambling on the biggest games in life—but in Dangerland, there’s always one more chance to win." Reading Recommendations: Tough Love by Tajja Isen (March 2027) Yellow Pine; Battleborn by Claire Vaye Watkins The World Jones Made by Philip K. Dick

  5. Jul 26

    Interview - Corinne Hoebers and Tethered Spirits

    Tara welcomes Canadian (Nova Scotia) author Corinne Hoebers to discuss her latest novel, Tethered Spirits: Wiaqtaqne'wasultijik na Kjijaqmijinaq, OC Publishing, 2025. Corinne explains how she worked with the Mi'kmaq community to ensure historical accuracy while also telling the story of her own 1753 settlers of Lunenburg ancestors. From Goodreads: "Against the violent backdrop of the French and Indian (Seven Years) War, two German siblings come to learn about and understand the Mi'kmaq. Christian, now named Bear Cub, lives with the ancient People and develops a deep bond with his chosen brother, Eagle Feather, while his new family's way of life is increasingly threatened. On the outskirts of Lunenburg, Hanna, his younger sister, befriends a Mi'kmaw Elder and questions her papa's ownership of the land they are settling. Christian immerses himself in the Mi'kmaw language and the ways of the land, prepared to defend the People alongside Eagle Feather. Christian's father and older sister, Elisabeth, refuse to accept his new way of life; nor will they recognize the humanity of their perceived enemy. Christian is caught between two diverse families and cultures- the one to which he was born and to whom he feels obligated, and the one he has grown to love and respect. Settlers and Mi'kmaq alike struggle on land that is the ancestral home to one and promised to the other, a struggle that resonates to this day." https://corinnehoebers.mywriting.network/   Recommended titles: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace by Jonathan Aitken The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity by William Paul Young The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

  6. Jul 14

    Interview - JoAnn McCaig and Beneficiary

    Tara is joined by Canadian author JoAnn McCaig and they discuss her latest novel, Beneficiary, published in May 2026 by University of Calgary Press. https://shelflifebooks.ca/item/r5ypYwSBQz_hNTMssW3i2g "Seren was doomed to a country club cage and a leash of pearls until out of the blue on a Tuesday night in 1969, she found herself suddenly saying "no." More than fifty years later, she looks back on her life and each choice that followed, beautiful, tragic and completely her own. Leaving her family for the freedom of the 1970s, Seren began a quest to discover how to live in this world as her true self—a quest that would take her from the heady countercultural milieu of communal houses on Vancouver Island through marriage and motherhood, divorce, and an unexpected inheritance that changed everything. Suddenly wealthy, Seren must wrestle with money, with class, and what it means to have more than most. What does it mean to live truly, through tragedy and heartbreak? How do we create ourselves in a world that keeps changing? What does it mean to have money when so many people don't? A richly written, fiercely feminist novel imbued with real bravery, Beneficiary weaves the past and the present in a rich tapestry of life." Suggested Reading: Ripeness; Summerwater; My Good Bright Wolf: A Memoir by Sarah Moss Scary Monsters; Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser Lampedusa by Steven Price https://joannmccaig.com/ https://www.instagram.com/shelflifebooks/ https://shelflifebooks.ca/

  7. Jun 30

    Interview - Théodora Armstrong and Welcome to Sunny Town

    Rebecca is excited to chat with Canadian author Théodora Armstrong about her debut novel, Welcome to Sunny Town, published by Freehand Books in May 2026.  https://freehand-books.com/product/welcome-to-sunny-town/#tab-description : In this striking debut novel, a young artist rashly moves overseas to teach ESL and to find herself, and gets more — and less — than she bargained for. It’s the turn of the 21st century and Maggie is looking for reinvention. Fresh out of art school with — as her undergraduate advisor put it — a lack of vision for her future, Maggie follows a talented classmate to Japan, leaving behind a fractured family and a toxic relationship with her professor. Little does she know, not only her own life, but the entire world around her is about to change. Upon arrival in Japan, Maggie meets a group of maladjusted foreigners and immediately becomes enmeshed in their volatile friendships and personal dramas. Despite having no real qualifications whatsoever, she gets a job teaching English at Language Love Academy where she meets Keiko, an overzealous, middle-aged student and self-proclaimed language lover. When Keiko offers to teach Maggie Japanese, an unlikely friendship develops between them, and before long Keiko has become a ballast amid the disruptive forces in Maggie’s life overseas. Have Maggie and her friends come to Japan to disappear or find themselves? Are their friendships and hook-ups real or just another illusion? Maggie struggles to discern whether she is sinking deeper into her hapless life abroad or gaining a foothold on a real future for herself. Welcome to Sunny Town is a striking, at times darkly satirical novel that cracks open a popular rite of passage, critically examining teaching overseas and the worldwide ESL industry. Bringing to mind the work of Elif Batumen, or Ottessa Moshfegh, Armstrong’s debut novel paints a deft portrait of twenty-somethings yearning for identity, connection, and freedom abroad during the turbulent years of the early aughts. Recommended reading: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata; translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori The Diving Pool: Three Novellas by Yoko Ogawa; translated by Stephen Snyder "The Cafeteria in the Evening and a Pool in the Rain by Yoko Ogawa; translated by Stephen Snyder: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/09/06/the-cafeteria-in-the-evening-and-a-pool-in-the-rain https://theodoraarmstrong.ca/ https://www.instagram.com/theodorafranc

  8. Jun 20

    Book Chat 35

    Rebecca and Tara are back with their monthly book chat in which they share a few of their latest best reads. Rebecca's month was not as enjoyable as she had hoped, but Tara ends on a high note with a five-star recommendation!   Rebecca: Solito by Javier Zamora Black Out Loud: The Revolutionary History of Black Comedy from Vaudeville to ‘90s Sitcoms by Geoff Bennett The Peace Thieves by Brent Van Staalduinen   Tara: The Collected Stories of Carol Shields by Carol Shields Beneficiary by JoAnn McCaig Night Terminus by Ellis Scott Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O’Neill Sorry, Not Sorry: An Unapologetic Look at What Make Canada Worth Fighting For by Mark Critch Everlasting; Starling House; The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow   Be sure to check out Rebecca (@canadareadsinspired) and Tara (@onabranchreads) on Instagram and YouTube (Canada Reads Inspired) for their inaugural Summer Reading Bingo Challenge, which ends on September 5, 2026.  A random winner will receive a $50 gift card to the Independent Bookstore of their choice.  The drawing is not affiliated with Instagram or YouTube.   If you have any comments or suggestions that you would like to share with Rebecca and Tara or you are interested in joining their monthly virtual book talk, please email them at craspod2019@gmail.com

See All (100)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Two friends -- one American, one Canadian -- who share a love for CBC’s Canada Reads and Canadian literature! https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads

Information

  • Creator
    Canada Reads Inspired
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2022 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Canada Reads Inspired

You Might Also Like