11 books you heard about on CBC Radio recently

Check out some of the books discussed on national CBC Radio programs between Oct. 30-Nov. 5, 2024.

Hi, It's Meby Fawn Parker

Heard on: Bookends with Mattea Roach

InHi, It's Me,Fawn returns to her mother's farmhouse after her death one that is also inhabited by four other women with interesting and strange beliefs. As she lives in her mother's room and tries to figure out what to do with her possessions, she becomes obsessed with archiving her mother's writing and documents, teaching her more and more about the woman she thought she knew so well.

• Fawn Parker blends her own grief with fiction in her novel Hi, It's Me

Fawn Parker is an author and current PhD student at the University of New Brunswick. Her novelWhat We Both Knowwaslonglisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2022. Her poetry collectionSoft Inheritancewon the Fiddlehead Poetry Book Prize.

LISTEN | Fawn Parker on her latest novel Hi, It's Me:

Bookends with Mattea Roach24:35Fawn Parker: Blending her own grief with fiction in new novel Hi, Its Me

Fawn Parker's latest book centres on a woman navigating life immediately following the death of her mother. The novel is a finalist for this years Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. Fawn and Mattea Roach talk about grief, loss and the real-life inspiration behind Hi, It's Me.

Cicada Summerby Erica McKeen

Heard on: Bookends with Mattea Roach

When a trio of characters living in a lakeside cabin in the summer of 2020 begin reading a book of horror stories, the details start to bleed into real life.

• Erica McKeen uses horror and surrealism to examine complicated grief and the tensions of providing care

Erica McKeen is a writer from London, Ont. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, longlisted for the Guernica Prize and shortlisted for The Malahat Review Open Season Awards. Her first novelTearwon the 2023 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prizes for literary fiction.

LISTEN | Erica McKeen on getting meta in her novel Cicada Summer:

Bookends with Mattea Roach25:50Erica McKeen: Using horror and surrealism to explore grief, care and love in new novel Cicada Summer

When a trio of characters living in a lakeside cabin in the summer of 2020 begin reading a book of horror stories, the details start to bleed into real life. This is the premise of Erica McKeen's latest novel. Erica talks to Mattea Roach about why she uses horror to explore the mundane and complex aspects of everyday life.

The Queenby Nick Cutter

Heard on: The Next Chapter

The Queenis a horror mystery novel that follows lifelong friends Margaret and Charity. Charity Atwater has been missing for more than a month and is presumed dead when Margaret discovers an iPhone on her doorstep containing a text message from her best friend. Set over the course of one impossible day, Margaret must unravel the real story of what happened. As tragedy and disaster follow her pursuit of the truth, secrets are revealed that paint Charity in a whole new light and show Margaret that she never really knew her best friend after all.

• How Nick Cutter blends the horror genre into literary writing

Craig Davidson writes horror under the pen name Nick Cutter. He has written several novels, includingCataract City, which was shortlisted for theScotiabank Giller Prizein 2013,Rust and Bone, which was adapted into an Oscar-nominated feature film,The FighterandSarah Court. His memoirPrecious Cargowas defended byGreg JohnsononCanada Reads2018.

LISTEN | Nick Cutter on his horror mystery The Queen:

The Next Chapter19:22Canadian horror mastermind Nick Cutter talks about his latest novel

The Queen is the latest work from award-winning author Craig Davidson, known by his pen name Nick Cutter and for chilling titles such as The Troop, and Little Heaven.

Revenge of the Tipping Pointby Malcolm Gladwell

Heard on: The Sunday Magazine

InRevenge of the Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell revisits the lessons of his groundbreaking bookThe Tipping Pointand reframes the subject of social epidemics in the current context. Using stories and research, Gladwell highlights a concerning form of social engineering and offers a guide to making sense of modern contagion.

• Malcolm Gladwell returns to The Tipping Point this time, from a darker side

Gladwell has written many nonfiction books includingThe Tipping Point,Blink,What the Dog Saw,David and Goliath,Talking to StrangersandThe Bomber Mafia. Heis also the co-founder of Pushkin Industries, a company that produces the podcastRevisionist Historyamong others as well as audiobooks. Gladwell grew up in Elmira, Ont. and now lives in the U.S.

LISTEN | Malcolm Gladwell revisits his the lessons from his debut book:

The Sunday Magazine51:54Malcolm Gladwell returns to The Tipping Point this time, from a darker side

When Malcolm Gladwell released his debut book The Tipping Point in 2000, only three people showed up to his first publicity event. But it didnt take long for the Canadian journalists exploration of social epidemics and their impacts to catch fire... and soon, reach its own tipping point in the zeitgeist. Nearly 25 years later, Gladwell has returned to his seminal work this time, from a darker perspective. At a recent on-stage event hosted by the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, Piya Chattopadhyay spoke with Gladwell about his latest book Revenge of the Tipping Point, in which he warns that the same tools we have used to make positive social changes can also be used to thwart them.

Behind Youby Catherine Hernandez

Heard on: The Next Chapter

Behind Youfollows the story ofAlma,a film editor for a corny true crime series. At a glance, her lifewith her wife and teenage son seems comfortable and safe. But whenInfamous'latest episode features the Scarborough Stalker who terrorized Alma's own neighborhood when she was a girl Alma is consumed by her long-suppressed past.

In the present day, she must reckon with her understanding ofconsent to stop her young son from making terrible choices toward his own girlfriend. Unfolding in two timelines,Behind Youchallenges and dissects rape culture and champions one girl's resilience into adulthood.

• Catherine Hernandez talks about watercolour painting and quality chocolates

Hernandezis a Canadian writer, author and playwright. Her 2017 novel,Scarborough, was a shortlisted finalist for the 2017 Toronto Book Award, the 2018 Trillium Book Award, the 2018 Edmund White Award and was onCanada Reads2022 defended by actress Malia Baker.

Scarboroughwas also adapted to screen as a feature film andpremiered at TIFF in 2021.Her other books includeThe Story of Us,Crosshairsand the children's booksI Promise,M is for MustacheandWhere Do Your Feelings Live?.

LISTEN | Catherine Hernandez on her latest novel Behind You:

The Next Chapter5:26Catherine Hernandez talks about watercolour painting and quality chocolates

Author, artist and former Canada Reads panellist Catherine Hernandez shares when shes happiest and her favourite town in El Salvador while answering The Next Chapters version of the Proust Questionnaire.

Zegaajimoeditedby Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler and Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm

Heard on: Commotion

Zegaajimo: Indigenous Horror Fictionbrings together 11 Indigenouswriters to tellmacabre stories of the monsters already in our midst, and more. This horror anthology features stories by Karen McBride, Waubgeshig Rice, David. A Robertson, Drew Hayden Taylor and Richard Van Camp, among others.

• This new Indigenous horror anthology promises to 'kindle your worst imaginings'

Nathan NiiganNoodin Adler is the writer of the short story mystery and horror collectionsGhost Lake, which won a2021 Indigenous Voices Award andWrist. He co-editedBawaajiganand is an artist and filmmaker. He is two-spirit, Jewish, Anishinaabe and a member of Lac Des Mille Lacs First Nation. He lives in Vancouver.

Kateri Akiwenzie-Dammis a member ofthe Saugeen Ojibway Nation, Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation, on the Saugeen Peninsula in Ontario. She teaches creative writing, Indigenous literature and oral traditions at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus. Her books include the short story collectionThe Stone Collectionand the poetry collection(Re)Generation: The Poetry of Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm.She is the founder, publisher and art director of Kegedonce Press.

LISTEN | Waubgeshig Rice talks about his approach to writing horror with an Indigenous lens for Zegaajimo:

Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud25:00Tony Hinchcliffe and mixing comedy and politics, and Indigenous horror

After the comedian Tony Hinchcliffe made offensive jokes about Puerto Rico at a Trump rally, artists reacted in anger and it became a rallying cry. Elamin chats with Hershal Pandya, comedy reporter for Vulture, and Raquel Reichard, deputy director of Refinery 29 Somos about comedys role in this years US election. Plus, Waubgeshig Rice joins Elamin to talk about contributing to the book Zeegajimo, a horror anthology with stories by all Indigenous writers and edited by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm and Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler.

There's Always This Yearby Hanif Abdurraqib

Heard on: The Next Chapter

Poet, essayist and sought after pop culture criticHanif Abdurraqib uses his love for basketball as a way to address the deeper questions on his mind in his new book.There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascensionis 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.

• Hanif Abdurraqib's meditation on memory, nostalgia and basketball

Abdurraqib is an Ohio-based American poet and writer. His essay collectionA Little Devil in Americawon the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Obama previously includedA Little Devil in Americaon his2022 Summer Reading List.

LISTEN | Hanif Abdurraqib on memory, nostalgia and basketball:

The Next Chapter16:03Hanif Abdurraqibs meditation on memory, nostalgia and basketball

The poet, essayist and sought after pop culture critic uses his love for basketball as a way to address the deeper questions on his mind in his new book Theres Always This Year.

Going to Seedby Kate J. Neville

Heard on: The Current

In her new book Going to Seed, Kate J. Neville reflects on the value of being idle. The book talksabout the importance of escaping the busyness that builds up around family, work and social demands.

• The benefits of being idle

Kate Neville is a political scientist and associate professor at the University of Toronto. She is also the the author ofFueling Resistance.

LISTEN | Kate Nevilleonwhy down time is an important and natural part of life:

The Current24:06The benefits of being idle

In her new book Going to Seed, Kate J. Neville reflects on the value of being idle. In September, she talked about the importance of escaping the busyness that builds up around family, work and social demands.

Age of Angerby Pankaj Mishra

Heard on: Ideas

Pankaj Mishrareturns to the 18th century to explain the rise of global anger and violence in the 21st century. InAge of Anger,Mishrapoints out that early promises of freedom and prosperity have failed in the face of industrialism and capitalism.Age of Angeris an academic and well-argued book on the origins of modern day rage.

• Nonfiction should bring 'dignity to the idea of truth': award-winning writer Pankaj Mishra

Mishra is a writer based in London and Mashobra, India. He has written eight books of nonfiction, includingAge of Anger,From the Ruins of EmpireandButter Chicken inLudhiana,and two novels,The RomanticsandRun and Hide. He is an opinion columnist for Bloomberg and contributor forThe Guardian, New Yorkerand London Review of Books among other publications.

LISTEN | Pankaj Mishra on the power of nonfiction:

Ideas53:58The Role of Nonfiction in a World of Contested Truths: Writer Pankaj Mishra

Award-winning writer Pankaj Mishra argues that self-serving narratives of Western countries have masked agendas of imperialism and exploitation, resulting in widespread suspicion of liberal democracy itself. He is the winner of the 2024 Weston International Award, which he received in September. After delivering a talk, Mishra joined IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed onstage to have a conversation.

Bone of the Boneby Sarah Smarsh

Heard on: The Current

Sarah Smarsh grew up on a wheat farm in Kansas, and in her new essay collection Bone of the Bone: Essays on America by a Daughter of the Working Class, she tackles the narrative that people from the heartland are just "backwards, bigoted, terrible folks.

• Breaking stereotypes about rural middle America

Sarah Smarsh is an American journalist and writer. Her books include the bestselling 2018 nonfiction bookHeartland, which exploredsocioeconomic class, politics and public policy.

LISTEN | Sarah Smarsh on the misconceptions about peoplefrom the heartland:

The Current23:54Breaking stereotypes about rural middle America

Sarah Smarsh grew up on a wheat farm in Kansas, and in her new essay collection Bone of the Bone: Essays on America by a Daughter of the Working Class, she tackles the narrative that people from the heartland are just backwards, bigoted, terrible folks.

Jesus and John WaynebyKristin Kobes Du Mez

Heard on:Ideas

InJesus and John Wayne,historianKristin Kobes Du Mez traces the history of white evangelical power and their influence on American culture.

• Exclusion, coercion, and MAGA politics: The story of white evangelicals in America

Kristin Kobes Du Mezis an American author, historian andprofessor of history and gender studies at Calvin University in Michigan.

LISTEN | Kristin Kobes Du Mez looks at the evangelical church's influence on America:

Ideas53:59How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation

Donald Trumps victory in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election might have been a surprise to some. But to historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez, it was the latest chapter in a long relationship between white American masculinity and evangelical Christianity. As the 2024 election draws near, Du Mez shares how exclusion, patriarchy, and Christian nationalism are the basis for the evangelical church.