Get (Can)Lit
By Maria Zuppardi
Get (Can)LitJan 02, 2024
2023 Reading WrapUp - The Best of CanLit
Happy 2024! Have a listen to my top 10 reads of 2023, and a few short thoughts on them. It's safe to say that all of these books need to be on your TBR, so happy reading!
Fiction:
The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding
The Light of Eternal Spring by Angel Di Zhang
We Meant Well by Erum Shazia Hasan
River Mumma by Zalika Reid-Benta
Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin & Marissa Stapley
A History of Burning by Janika Oza
Nonfiction
Superfan by Jen Sookfong Lee
These Days Are Numbered by Rebecca Rosenblum
Alone by Paul Tom
Poetry
The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur
Most Anticipated Reads of 2024
The last episode of 2023 is here, and I'm looking ahead to some early 2024 releases to kickstart my year with (as they slowly come out). Have a listen on what's on my pre-order shelf now!
Pre-Ordered Books Mentioned
Midnight by Amy Mcculloch (Jan 2)
Twenty Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate (Jan 23)
Broughtupsy by Christina Cooke (Jan 23)
We Rip the World Apart by Charlene Carr (Jan 30)
The Inheritance by Joanna Goodman (Mar 12)
A Great Country by Shilpi Somaya Gowda (Mar 26)
Holiday Romance Books For Your TBR
Check out the CanLit holiday romances that made my nice (and naughty) list!
Books mentioned:
It Happened One Christmas by Chantel Guertin
The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox
All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox
Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaludin & Marissa Stapley
The Christmas Wager by Holly Cassidy
A Holly Jolly Diwali by Sonya Lalli
Follow the podcast on Instagram now @getcanlitpodcast!
Discounts:
If you love hardcover books as much as I do, then you have to subscribe to Book Of the Month, which is now available in Canada & the U.S.! To learn more and sign up, you can use my referral code now: https://www.mybotm.com/pbhpuisxszh?show_box=true
*I get a free book when you use my code!
Looking for a unique book box experience? Once Upon a Book Club is for you! Their special editions are always top notch. Learn more about them now, and use my code READINGMARIA10 to save $5 off your order, shipping almost everywhere in the world: https://www.onceuponabookclub.com/en-ca
*I receive a $5 commission I can use in their store!
I work at Dundurn Press! You can save 20% off literally everything (print &ebook) when you use code READINGMARIA20: https://www.dundurn.com/
*I get the satisfaction knowing that someone will enjoy a book I have worked on!
Spooky Season Review Roundup & A NetGalley Deep Dive
Still keeping the spooky season reading vibes going? Here are two spoilery chats about my latest reads, plus a deep dive into my unread NetGalley CanLit shelf of shame.
Books talked about:
Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena
Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong
Follow the podcast on Instagram now @getcanlitpodcast!
Discounts:
If you love hardcover books as much as I do, then you have to subscribe to Book Of the Month, which is now available in Canada! To learn more and sign up, you can use my referral code now: https://www.mybotm.com/pbhpuisxszh?show_box=true
*I get a free book when you use my code!
Looking for a unique book box experience? Once Upon a Book Club is for you! Their special editions are always top notch. Learn more about them now, and use my code READINGMARIA10 to save $5 off your order, shipping almost everywhere in the world: https://www.onceuponabookclub.com/en-ca
*I receive a $5 commission I can use in their store!
I work at Dundurn Press! You can save 20% off literally everything (print &ebook) when you use code READINGMARIA20: https://www.dundurn.com/
*I get the satisfaction knowing that someone will enjoy a book I have worked on!
Books that fit the Fall vibe...and the Giller shortlist
Today’s episode is all about two amazing books - River Mumma by Zalika Reid-Benta and Jawbone by Meghan Greeley - as well as my thoughts on the disappointment that is the 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize Shortlist. Enjoy!
Follow me @readingmaria and @getcanlitpodcast on Instagram!
Spooky Season Book Recommendations
If you're looking to add more mystery, thriller, horror, and dystopian Canadian authors to your spooky season reading plans, you've come to the right place!
Book Recs:
Things We Do In the Dark by Jennifer Hillier
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Blood Atonement by S.M. Freedman (use code READINGMARIA20 at dundurn.com)
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
Gutter Child by Jael Richardson
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
On My TBR:
Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena
Queer Little Nightmares edited by David Ly & Daniel Zomparelli
Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth
Red X David Demchuk
And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott
Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury
On Marsha Lederman's Indigo Opinion Piece
Introducing the 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize | Reading updates, book blanket, and Indigo's CEO
With so much to talk about, besides book mail, I figure now would be a great time to bring up the entire 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist! Learn more about the books on their website now.
Books mentioned:
Bookmail: River Mumma by Zalika Reid-Benta; And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott
New releases: Rouge by Mona Awad; Daughter by Claudia Dey; Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong; Her Body Among Animals by Paola Ferrante
Book Review: A History of Burning by Janika Oza
There is ONE book you absolutely have to read this year, and that's Janika Oza's debut A History of Burning. Whether you like historical fiction or not, let me convince you to pick it up ASAP!
Find the podcast on Instagram at getcanlitpodcast!
Canadian Independent Bookstore Day Haul!
Did you go shopping at your local bookstore for #CIBD2023? Listen along for my book haul!
Canadian Poetry Reading Roundup & More
Another day, another poetry review roundup, a giveaway for some cool CanLit, and other news!
Check out these recent awards that were announced recently! The Ninth Annual Rakuten Kobo Writer Prize and the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence.
Find the podcast on Instagram at getcanlitpodcast, and don't forget to enter for your chance to win a copy of Mad Honey by Katie Welch!
Mystery, Nonfiction, and More Unrelated Genres
Talk about having an array of genres I review in this episode!
Reviewed Books:
Blackwater Falls by Ausma Zehanat Khan (check out my review on Instagram)
305 Lost Buildings of Canada by Alex Bozikovic and Raymond Biesinger
Books Mentioned:
Mad Honey by Katie Welch
Tauhou by Kōtuku Titihuia Nuttall
You Still Look the Same by Farzana Doctor
Streams that Lead Somewhere by Fareh Malik
Letters in a Bruised Cosmos by Liz Howard
Pistachios in My Pocket by Sareh Farmand
The Untranslatable I by Roxanna Bennett
The Sun and Her Flowers, Home Body by Rupi Kaur
If you'd like to leave some feedback about what you love to hear in your bookish podcasts, check out my Instagram post or DM me @getcanlitpodcast!
Let's Talk About CanLit Poetry
In which I barely touch the surface of the state of the Griffin Prize. If you're curious about upcoming poetry collections you should read, make sure you listen to this episode!
Thank you Guernica Editions for providing me with (digital) ARCs of the following titles:
Love Is a Place But You Cannot Live There by Jade Wallace
The Vanishing Act (& The Miracle After) by MIRABEL
Casting Out by Rocco De Giacomo
Coming up on my TBR: Blackwater Falls by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Find the podcast on Instagram at getcanlitpodcast!
More book buying & Canadians on international awards
A very short book buying update, and Canadian achievements with the Women’s Prize and the inaugural Carol Shield’s Prize!
Books mentioned:
Tell Me Pleasant Things about Immortality by Lindsay Wong
Delicious Monsters by Liselle Sambury
Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova (Women’s Prize)
Junie by Chelene Knight (Carol Shields Prize)
God Isn't Here Today by Francine Cunningham (Carol Shields Prize)
We Should Not Be Afraid of the Sky by Emma Hooper (Carol Shields Prize)
We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies by Tsering Yangzom Lama (Carol Shields Prize)
The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr (Carol Shields Prize)
Don't forget to follow the podcast on Instagram @getcanlitpodcast!
What impact will Indigo have on the Canadian book industry?
The Indigo situation is all Canadian book lovers are thinking about right now, and today I approach the impact of the cybersecurity incident from all perspectives.
My recent reads mentioned:
These Days Are Numbered by Rebecca Rosenblum
Two For the Road by Chantel Guertin
The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
Don't forget to follow the Get (Can)Lit podcast on Instagram (@getcanlitpodcast) and Twitter (@getcanlitpod)
Canadian books about love you need to read now | Romance Authors For Your TBR
Ok, these might not be the most conventional romance authors, but hey. It's CanLit! Everything here has a "literary" aspect to it!
Romance Book Recs mentioned:
You Are Eating an Orange. You Are Naked. by Sheung-King (published by Book*hug Press)
The Foghorn Echoes by Danny Ramadan (published by Penguin Random House Canada)
Lucien & Olivia by Andre Narbonne (published by Black Moss Press)
Follow the podcast on social media now!
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Black Canadian Voices you need to read now!
Today, I’m diving into some Black Canadian authors you should add to your to-be-read piles for February and beyond!
*All links below are affiliate links, which means I get a small commission for qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Poetry
Finish This Sentence by Leslie Roach
Burning Sugar by Cicely Belle Blain
Where the Baedeker Leads by James Yeku
Short Stories
Shut Up You’re Pretty by Tea Mutonji
Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta
Literary Fiction
The Son of the House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe Onuobia
The Youth of God by Hassan Ghedi Santur
Brother by David Chariandy
Reproduction by Ian Williams
Young Adult
This Book Betrays My Brother by Kagiso Lesego Molope
Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield
Gutter Child by Jael Richardson
Romance
Ties that Tether, The Sweetest Remedy, and Where We End & Begin by Jane Igharo
2023 Canada Reads Thoughts & Recent Book Recommendations
In this episode, listen to some spoiler-free book reviews of my most recent reads, as well as some thoughts and predictions for the 2023 Canada Reads debates.
Recommended Reads:
*The Bliss House by Jim Bartley (Dundurn Press)
*These Days Are Numbered by Rebecca Rosenblum (Dundurn Press)
*The Centaur's Wife by Amanda Leduc (Random House Canada / Penguin Random House Canada)
*Superfan: How Pop Culture Broke My Heart: A Memoir by Jen Sookfong Lee (McClelland & Stewart / PRHC)
Bookmail:
*Cut Road by Brent van Staalduinen (Guernica Editions)
*Bad Cree by Jessica Johns (Harper Collins Canada, Double Day Books in the U.S.)
*Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall (Simon & Schuster Canada, Atria Books in the U.S.)
The Last Exiles by Ann Shin (support the HCP union)
*Intruder by Bardia Sinaee (House of Anansi)
2023 Canada Reads Longlist:
*Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton (Drawn & Quarterly)
*Revery: A Year of Bees by Jenna Butler (Wolsak and Wynn)
*Half-Bads in White Regalia by Cody Caetano (Hamish Hamilton / PRHC)
*Greenwood by Michael Christie (McClelland & Stewart / PRHC, Hogarth Press / PRH in the U.S.)
Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye (Simon & Schuster Canada / Harper Collins U.S.
*Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin (Harper Avenue / Harper Collins Canada, Berkley / PRH in the U.S.)
*All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay (Viking / Penguin Random House Canada, Berkley / PRH in the U.S.)
*Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew (Arsenal Pulp Press)
We Were Dreamers by Simu Liu (support the HCP union)
*Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey / Penguin Random House Canada)
*Finding Edward by Sheila Murray (Cormorant Books)
Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah (Esplanade Books / Vehicule Press)
We Spread by Iain Reid (Simon & Schuster)
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice (ECW Press)
*Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Knopf Canada)
*indicates affiliate link
Wrapping Up the Best of 2022 CanLit
Wondering what Canadian authors to read? Listen in as I talk about some of the best (and a few of the not-so-best) CanLit books I read in 2022. Want more CanLit? Follow @getcanlitpodcast on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter today!