Canada Reads Inspired

Tara chats with author Harman Burns, a Saskatchewan-born trans woman, writer, filmmaker, and sound artist. Her work has been published in Rebelle Zine, Untethered Magazine, and Metatron Press, and her story “Among Strange Machines” was shortlisted for the Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction. Her debut novella, Yellow Barks Spider was published in 2024 by Radiant Press. She currently resides in Va...

Rebecca and Tara are finally back after a six-week break with lots of great titles to share! Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle):  One of Ours by Willa Cather Oxford Soju Club by Jinwoo Park King Leary by Paul Quarrington Pay Dirt by Sara Paretsky Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell Blue Horses by Mary Oliver If I Wanted a Boat" "Watering the Stones" "Franz Marc's Blue Horses" "Garnett Kilberg Cohen...

Tara chats with author Joanne Jackson about Canadian Prairie authors. Saskatchewan Hidden Gems: --Beatrice and Virgil; The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel --Life on the Refrigerator Door; Polly Diamond series by Alice Kuipers --Going to Beautiful; Russell Quant Mysteries by Anthony Bidulka --Snake in the Raspberry Patch by Joanne Jackson --A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews --Author...

Rebecca is joined by friend of the podcast Zeralda to answer the Five Questions for Reader Repartee: How did you become a reader? What book do you wish you could read again for the first time? Which author, living or dead, would you like to meet in person and why? What fictional character would you like to meet and why? What are you currently reading? Responses: The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice Chi...

Rebecca and Tara again welcome host Ali Hassan for their annual wrap up of the CBC’s Canada Reads debates! https://standupali.com/ https://standupali.com/my-book https://www.instagram.com/standupali Recommended books: American War; What Strange Paradise; One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad A History of Burning by Janika Oza   THIS YEAR’S WINNER: A Two-Spirit Journ...

Rebecca and Tara discuss Day THREE of CBC's Canada Reads debates! STILL IN: Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew; championed by "Pastry Nerd" Saïd M’Dahoma Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper; championed by actor Michelle Morgan A Two-Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby and Mary Louisa Plummer; championed by Indigenous advocate Shayla Stonechild NOW OUT: Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Ba...

Rebecca and Tara discuss Day TWO of CBC's Canada Reads debates! STILL IN: Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew; championed by "Pastry Nerd" Saïd M’Dahoma Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper; championed by actor Michelle Morgan Jennie's Boy by Wayne Johnston; championed by author Linwood Barclay A Two-Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby and Mary Louisa Plummer; championed by Indigenous advo...

Rebecca and Tara discuss Day One of CBC's Canada Reads debates! Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew; championed by "Pastry Nerd" Saïd M’Dahoma Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper; championed by actor Michelle Morgan Jennie's Boy by Wayne Johnston; championed by author Linwood Barclay A Two-Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby and Mary Louisa Plummer; championed by Indigenous advocate Shayl...

Rebecca and Tara share their latest good reads AND make their final predictions for CBC's 2025 Canada Reads debates which begin on Monday, March 17. Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice by Tommie Smith and Derrick Barnes; illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca H...

Rebecca and Tara share some of their favorite books that others have recommended to them AND they wonder if they have convinced you to read any of their recommendations.   Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall; illustrated by Hugo Martinez Stories Left in Stone: Trails and Traces in Cáceres, Spain by Troy Nahumko The Undertaking of...

Rebecca and Tara have come up with a new feature for the podcast called, “Hidden Gems with…”. In which they ask authors to share their top book recommendations.  Rebecca is excited to kick off the inaugural episode with Sheena Kamal and her Crime Fiction picks!    Sheena is an author, essayist, and screenwriter.  She wrote the critically acclaimed Nora Watts thriller series (The Lost Ones, It All...

Tara chats with Joanne Jackson, an award-winning author of three novels: The Wheaton (2019); A Snake in the Raspberry Patch (2023), winner of the Crime Writers of Canada's Best Crime Novel set in Canada and short listed for the Saskatchewan Book Awards; and her latest novel Sunset Lake Resort (2024) published by Stonehouse Publishing. Regardless of what weather Saskatchewan throws at her, she can...

Rebecca and Tara chat about their latest reads, some of which include CBC's Canada Reads titles for the 2025 debates airing March 17-20 on CBC TV, CBC Radio, and CBC Books (website and YouTube). Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle):  How We Move the Air by Garnett Kilberg Cohen Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper American War; What Strange Paradise; One Day, Everyone Will Have Always...

Rebecca and Tara celebrate some of their favorite Love Stories in all their different forms in honor of Valentine's Day.   Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead Cam & Beau by Maria Cichosz The Magic of Ordinary Days by Ann Howard Creel https://www.hallmarkfamily.com/the-magic-of-ordinary-days Our Souls at Night by Kent...

Rebecca is excited to speak with author Dr. Louise Ells.  Louise is the author of Lies I Told My Sister, published in 2024 by Latitude 46 Publishing.  She was born and raised in Northeastern Ontario. After years of travel, she moved to Cambridge, England where she earned her PhD in Creative Writing. Louise teaches at universities and colleges in England and Canada and currently lives north of Toro...

Tara is excited to chat with Adelle Purdham, who is an educator, parent disability advocate and author of the memoir-in-essays I Don't Do Disability and Other Lies I've Told Myself published by Dundurn Press in 2024. It was named a Fall 2024 Most Anticipated Memoir & Biography by Indigo and 49th Shelf. Her prose and poetry appear in literary journals, anthologies, magazines, newspapers and onl...

Rebecca and Tara discuss CBC's Canada Reads Short List, how well they did in selecting what would make the short list, and who they predict will win based on the slightest amount of research possible and their gut feelings. https://www.cbc.ca/books/meet-the-canada-reads-2025-contenders-1.7431920 The Contenders: Olympic gold medalist Maggie Mac Neil champions Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey...

Rebecca and Tara are back for their first book chat of 2025!  They share the titles they've read recently and want to recommend.  Stay tuned to the end where a bit of CBC's Canada Reads pops into the discussion. Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): Anne of the Island (Anne of Green Gables) by L.M. Montgomery Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1); A Pr...

Rebecca is excited to speak with Canadian author Erin Steele.  Her queer coming-of-age and addiction memoir, Sunrise over Half-Built Houses: Love, Longing and Addiction in Suburbia (Caitlin Press) was published in Canada in 2024 and will be available in the US on February 21, 2025.  Erin also writes “On Being Human” on Substack.  She was a 2022 Writing by Writers fellow and is published in Human P...

The day everyone has been waiting for!!  CBC Books has released the long list for the 2025 Canada Reads debates and Rebecca and Tara offer their predictions for the five books that will compete for the title! Tara suggests at the end that their predictions are submitted as a podcast rather than as two individuals.  It seems they are looking to raise the odds on how many they get right! lol (The as...

Happy New Year!!  Rebecca and Tara sum up their 2024 goals and introduce their reading goals for 2025! Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): 2024: Brothers Grimm; Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America by Matika Wilbur; Inclusive Picture Book Challenge; 12 classic women authors 2025: Complete Anne of Green Gables and The Chronicles of Narnia series and read more Redwall; read children'...

As Rebecca and Tara close out 2024 and a great year of reading, they share their Top Ten list of books! Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): Ginny Ross Series by Heather Stemp: Amelia & Me; Under Amelia’s Wing; Beyond Amelia The Street by Ann Petry My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton Sisters of the Spruce by Leslie Shimotakahara Bird Suit by Sydney Hegele Making...

Rebecca and Tara have lots of books to share since their last book chat! Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holliday The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain Skid Dogs by Emelia Symington-Fedy The Silent Boy by Lois Lowry The Pearl by John Steinbeck Passing by Nella Larsen Recollections of My...

Tara shares her holiday reading list! Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): Precious Cargo: My Year of Driving the Kids on School Bus 3077 by Craig Davidson Recollections of My Nonexistence: A Memoir by Rebecca Solnit Passing by Nella Larsen The Street by Ann Petry Tara (@onabranchreads): The Queen by Nick Cutter The Saturday Night Ghost Club; Rust and Bone: Stories by Craig Davidson The Christmas...

Rebecca and Tara shared their Top Ten Canadian Books of the 21st Century on YouTube Live on August 24, 2024 but decided they wanted to share additional authors and titles that they highly recommend. Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle):  Recollections of My Nonexistence by Rebecca Solnit The Pearl by John Steinbeck Pay No Heed to the Rockets: Palestine in the Present Tense; Driven: the Secret Lives...