Words Jackie LaPlante
Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves
Nicola Twilley
From the basic science of refrigeration to the social response to its advent, Nicola Twilley offers a chatty account of this modern necessity. No longer reliant on winter weather to store products, we rarely consider the safety of our food. However, the ability to preserve food has changed our relationship to it. Supported by her in-depth exploration of the business of frozen food, Twilley considers its extreme value, but also its unintended consequences, nutritionally and ecologically.
Kingmaker: Pamela Harriman’s Astonishing Life of Power, Seduction, and Intrigue
Sonia Purnell
Daughter-in-law to Winston Churchill, U.S. Ambassador to France, and socialite extraordinaire, some considered Harriman no more than a courtesan. By the age of 25 she had liaised with some of the most powerful men in wartime London, and was included in Churchill’s inner political circle. Sonia Purnell’s fast-paced and compelling biography details the war effort of this clever and driven woman who, ultimately, exerted influence on the powerful elite in two countries for 50 years.
More or Less Maddy
Lisa Genova
Once again, neuroscientist Lisa Genova has created the perfect protagonist to front a reluctantly-discussed neurological disorder. Maddy is from an affluent family, connected, well-educated, and expected to succeed. The description of her first bipolar episode is mesmerizing and heartbreaking, but it is the subsequent diagnosis and Maddy’s determination to thrive that enrich the story. In the past Genova has depicted Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases and manages always to educate while creating extremely compelling novels.
The Observer
Marina Endicott
When urbanites Julia and Hardy move to northern Alberta, Julia, as editor of the local paper and wife of an RCMP member, documents community news. As the everyday violence and heartbreak begin to weigh on Hardy, Julia must care for him while respecting his sense of duty. Based on Marina Endicott’s own experience, she adeptly depicts the difficulty of integrating into a community while maintaining the otherness that comes with being responsible for enforcing the law.
Martyr!
Kaveh Akbar
Recently sober, slightly aimless, and obsessed with the lives of martyrs of all nationalities and causes, Cyrus Shams is a sympathetic, darkly humorous anti-hero. His search for a way to give his life meaning and leave a mark on the world leads him to delve into family secrets. From imagined conversations with celebrities to an encounter with a dying artist who may hold the key to his past, Cyrus’ journey is enhanced by Kaveh Akbar’s poetic writing.
Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning
Nigel Biggar
Oxford academic Nigel Biggar’s examination of colonialism and its current perception is neither an apology nor a condemnation. While acknowledging, with a modern sensibility, that terrible injustices were perpetrated by the Empire, he details the history behind those colonial practices and their contributions to modernization and globalization. A courageous book given these times, it is also a deeply researched and thoughtful analysis.
All the Colors of the Dark
Chris Whitaker
Beginning with a grim account of the disappearance of a teen girl and the actions of the local boy who saves her, Chris Whitaker’s complex plot unfurls over the 20 years that it takes for Patch, the slightly misfit teen hero, to find the girl he once saved. As the long-term police investigation continues, so does Patch’s obsession and the emotional wake it creates. Well-drawn characters offer a human touch to this suspenseful thriller.
