Books

“Fake news” has been the news for years, thanks to a president who helped empower distrust in people and institutions which have experience, expertise, and history in delivering information. But from “fake news” has been the larger discussion of mis- and disinformation, which themselves have been used to weaponize authority. But what exactly does misinformation

It’s a week full of good news for crime fiction lovers. Here in our news column, we’ve got five new titles for you to try with stories featuring serial killers, missing bodies, kidnappings, old family secrets – all the things that keep you turning the pages. Plus, a fantastic collection of short stories by writers

Blackmail, jealousy and murder haunt a luxury ski resort. Can two sleuths crack the case before a blizzard traps them alongside a killer? Darby Piper and Tate Porter are still getting used to working together as PIs when they agree to take on a case brought to them by Tate’s ex-girlfriend, Cecily Madd. Cecily’s husband,

One of the biggest readers’ choice book awards–and one that certainly captures the excitement and attention of the bookish internet–is the Goodreads Choice Awards. It’s an opportunity for Goodreads users to weigh in on the books they think were the best of the best that year. For 2022, it’s clear that the power of BookTok

The Double Agent The problem with being a double agent is that if you put a foot wrong, there is always someone ready—even eager—to kill you. In the case of Alexsi Ivanovich Smirnoff, the situationally heroic hero of William Christie’s The Double Agent, there are not two but three agencies poised to be either his

If you’re a fan of all things Middle-earth, here’s your opportunity to spend the night in the famous Hobbiton. AirBNB is offering three people the chance to win an overnight at The Shire’s New Zealand filming location in March 2023. Although the site has always been open to visitors, this experience is new in celebration

2022. What a year. We have emerged from COVID only to sink into a cost of living crisis, an energy shortage and the potential for World War III. But it’s not all bad – at least there are still bounteous crime fiction novels to enjoy, full of mystery and intrigue, as well as crime shows

The art of letter writing seems all but doomed in our age of digital communication, and one wonders where future literary biographers will turn for the singular insights that a writer’s correspondence affords. Scholars of John le Carré will have no such concerns. Le Carré, real name David Cornwell, who died in December 2020, was

Now that so many of us spend all day on screens, there’s something about using a paper calendar. From bullet journalling to maintaining a wall calendar, having reminders in a physical form can make them more effective — and it’s nice to get a break from screens and pinging reminders. Daily calendars (fun fact: “Page-A-Day

Readers have really taken to Kevin G Chapman’s series of books set in New York and featuring NYPD detective Mike Stoneman. They manage to capture a flavour of the city while also offering some pretty tricksy plotting. Dead Winner is a standalone which features both of those things – and also contains a fleeting glimpse

Science journalist Sabrina Imbler dives deep into the waters of human and marine life in their luminous essay collection, How Far the Light Reaches. In the book’s 10 essays, Imbler cannily observes the lives of sea creatures, drawing out lessons about resilience, survival and wildness and tying those insights to their own experiences as a

‘Tis the season for Best Of lists! We’ve discussed the top books of the year according to the New York Times, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and more, and today Buzzfeed has released their own. It was chosen by nine Buzzfeed contributors, reporters, and writers, including our own Margaret Kingsbury! The list is divided into genres,

The Christmas Book Flood Winter arrives in all its glory in The Christmas Book Flood. Dating back to World War II, Jólabókaflóð (which translates to “Yule book flood”) is the Icelandic tradition of giving books to loved ones on December 24. Author Emily Kilgore’s prose is expressive and poetic. As the book opens, she describes how

For some reason, I’ve interpreted the umbrella of popular science books to mean speculative books with only a whisper of science in them. A better term, I thought, would be accessible science because these books aren’t fluff, but they aren’t hefty science journals, either.  Popular science books are written for the average person. They are

Happy Valley might not be the best title for this hit crime drama. It’s not about a Chinese takeaway and nor does the Calder Valley, where it’s set, seem a particularly happy place. Not in a show dealing with violence against women, rape, suicide, addiction, broken families… But with powerful storytelling, fantastic lead characters and

Evette Dionne’s anticipated second release after her celebrated children’s nonfiction book, Lifting as We Climb, is a bracing essay collection on the dangers of fatphobia and her personal resistance to its claims. The former editor-in-chief of Bitch magazine braids the personal with the political in Weightless: Making Space for My Resilient Body and Soul, breaking

by Joshua Whitehead While in Toronto, a reporter, having researched me thoroughly, asked: “So Josh, can you tell me how the death of your grandmother has influenced your novel?” Being a fledgling writer at the time, I accommodated the request and reluctantly retold the story of my grandmother’s murder in the sixties — at which

A weakening journalism industry is one arm of the octopus which has allowed book bans and censorship to thrive in the current environment. It’s not just the loss of local news, though. Further contributing is the insistence of calling book censorship a matter of “culture war.” Censorship is not, nor has it ever been, a

The grumpy / sunshine trope is nothing new, but watching Wednesday and Enid becoming the best and unlikeliest of friends in the new Netflix show reminded me of just how much I love that dynamic whether in friendships or romances. There’s just something about a hardened, stoic character being soft for that one overly optimistic

Our weekly news column comes to you with five new books you may or may not be willing to kill for. We’ve got four new novels including two with a bit of a Christmas theme, one involving rivals in the crime reporting profession, and an indie spy novel set in Taiwan and China. Plus, a

Documentary filmmaker and historian Ken Burns believes that photographs are portals “not just to a different time and space but also to dimensions and possibilities within myself.” Through photographs and illustrations, these books are guaranteed to transport you. ★ Apollo Remastered Apollo Remastered: The Ultimate Photographic Record is a weighty, large-format coffee table book that

I’ve been keeping close track of the New York Times bestseller lists for several weeks now, and one thing I’ve noticed is just how much it differs from the “buzziest” books. If I was going based off online buzz, I’d think Babel by R.F. Kuang had the longest time on the bestseller list, and if

In The Gentleman’s Book of Vices, Jess Everlee’s soul-stirring debut, a fan obsessed with an illicit book finds true love with his favorite author. Handsome Charlie Price is a respectable accountant by day and a “finely dressed and finely drunk” rake by night. When his exploits land him under a mountain of crushing debt, he

The term Tartan noir might be getting a little tired or over used but gritty Scottish crime fiction still seems to be at the vanguard of British crime writing. Run to Ground is an Edinburgh set police procedural, the third outing for Sergeant Don Colyear. Formerly a community police officer, Don has finally made it

Sam Heughan, known to legions of fans as Jamie Fraser in the popular TV show based on Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, recently decided it was time to walk the rigorous West Highland Way in Scotland, a long-distance hiking trail that runs from north of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands. He wanted a

The staff of the New York Times Book Review released their 100 Notable Books of 2022 list a week ago featuring fiction, nonfiction, and poetry titles. They’ve since whittled this list down to 10 for their Best Books of 2022 list that was released today. The list is made of five fiction and five nonfiction

What’s your poison when it comes to crime fiction books? Do you flit about like a butterfly from author to author or do you enjoy nothing more than getting stuck into a juicy series? Whatever your approach, there are some writers whose latest releases just can’t be ignored. Let’s take a look at the rather

In How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future, journalist Maria Ressa, winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, gives readers a riveting inside view of what it’s like to be a dissident fighting authoritarianism. This engrossing book is a political history of the Philippines and an intimate memoir, but it’s

For Cyber Monday, a ton of Dungeons and Dragons rulebooks are on sale for about 60% off, from the basics to the more advanced. The prices listed are all for the physical copies, not PDFs/ebooks! This sale looks to be today only, so whether you’re curious about the game or want to expand your D&D

Debut author Greg Mosse is the husband of bestselling historical thriller writer Kate Mosse. Clearly they both like blockbuster conspiracy thrillers and writing about France. Whereas Kate Mosse writes about the past, Greg Mosse’s debut is set in a near-future dystopia. We can probably expect a new wave of dystopian fiction as writers reflect on