Leisure Reading Booklist

Updated January 4, 2024
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Ridgerunner
Adamson, Gil
Paper Book
Writers' Trust Fiction Prize Winner Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalist Part literary Western and part historical mystery, Writers' Trust Fiction Prize winner Ridgerunner is now available as a paperback. November 1917. William Moreland is in mid-flight. After nearly twenty years...
Anna
Almedingen, E. M.
Paper Book
Sea monsters : a novel
Aridjis, Chloe
Paper Book
Winner of the 2020 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, this intoxicating story of a teenage girl who trades her a middle-class upbringing for a quest for meaning in 1980s Mexico is "a surreal, captivating tale about the power of a youthful imagination, the lure of teenage transgression, and its...
The handmaid's tale
Atwood, Margaret
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * An instant classic and eerily prescient cultural phenomenon, from "the patron saint of feminist dystopian fiction" (The New York Times). Now an award-winning Hulu series starring Elizabeth Moss. Look for The Testaments, the...
The testaments
Atwood, Margaret
Paper Book
** WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019 ** ** SUNDAY TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLER ** BOOK OF THE YEAR: Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, Stylist, Sunday Times, Financial Times, ...
A man called Ove : a novel
Backman, Fredrik
Paper Book
"You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll feel new sympathy for the curmudgeons in your life." --People The #1 New York Times bestseller about the grumpy old man next door that's an uplifting exploration of the unreliability of first impressions and a reminder that life...
Snow
Bauer, Marion Dane
Paper Book
The vanishing half
Bennett, Brit
Paper Book
Here the dark : a novella and stories
Bergen, David
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE * A NEW YORK TIMES NEW & NOTEWORTHY BOOK * A GLOBE AND MAIL TOP 100 BOOK FOR 2020 * A CBC BEST FICTION BOOK FOR 2020 * "His third appearance on the Giller shortlist ... affirms Bergen among Canada's most powerful writers. His pages light up; all...
The Martian chronicles
Bradbury, Ray
Paper Book
Soar above the fossil seas and crystal pillars of a deadworld in the pages of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles. A milestoneof American literature, Bradbury's classic collection of interconnectedvignettes about life on the red planet diverges from the War of the Worlds theme,in which humanity...
Mary Butts : the complete stories
Butts, Mary
Paper Book
For the first time in a single volume, all three of Mary Butts's (1890-1937) story collections have been gathered, and seven uncollected stories have been added (including two pieces never before published). Preface by John Ashbery. Foreword by Bruce R. McPherson.
The skin we're in : a year of black resistance and power
Cole, Desmond
Ebook
NATIONAL BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE 2020 TORONTO BOOK AWARD A bracing, provocative, and perspective-shifting book from one of Canada's most celebrated and uncompromising writers, Desmond Cole. The Skin We're In will spark a national conversation, influence policy, and...
The skin we're in : a year of black resistance and power
Cole, Desmond
Paper Book
In the tradition of Ta-Nehisi Coates, a bracing, provocative and perspective-shifting book from one of Canada's most celebrated and uncompromising writers, Desmond Cole. The Skin We're In will spark a national conversation, influence policy and inspire activists.
The confessions of Frannie Langton : a novel
Collins, Sara
Paper Book
Don't miss the TV miniseries, streaming now exclusively on BritBox! "A blistering historical thriller." -- Entertainment Weekly A servant and former slave is accused of murdering her employer and his wife in this breathtaking debut that moves from a Jamaican sugar plantation to...
Catching fire
Collins, Suzanne.
Paper Book
Suzanne Collins continues the amazing story of Katniss Everdeen in the phenomenal Hunger Games trilogy. Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh...
The Hunger Games
Collins, Suzanne.
Paper Book
The first novel in the worldwide bestselling series by Suzanne Collins!Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun. . . . In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying...
Mockingjay
Collins, Suzanne.
Paper Book
The greatly anticipated final book in the New York Times bestselling Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest?Katniss Everdeen.The final book in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins will have hearts...
ALL I ASK
Crocker, Eva.
Paper Book
Like Sally Rooney's Conversations with Friends and Eileen Myles's Chelsea Girls, All I Ask by the award-winning and highly acclaimed author Eva Crocker is a defining novel of a generation. A little before seven in the morning, Stacey wakes to the police pounding on her door. They search...
Through the garden : a love story (with cats)
Crozier, Lorna
Paper Book
A Globe and Mail 100 Best Book Finalist, Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction Finalist, City of Victoria Butler Book Prize A deeply affecting portrait of a long partnership and a clear-eyed account of the impact of a serious...
Ningen shikkaku
Dazai, Osamu
Paper Book
Washington Black : a novel
Edugyan, Esi
Paper Book
ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR * MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST * "A gripping historical narrative exploring both the bounds of slavery and what it means to be truly free." --Vanity Fair Eleven-year-old George Washington...
Manhattan Beach : a novel
Egan, Jennifer
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NEW YORK'S "ONE BOOK, ONE NEW YORK" PICK Winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction The daring and magnificent novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Named One of the...
Butter honey pig bread : a novel
Ekwuyasi, Francesca
Paper Book
Spanning three continents, Butter Honey Pig Bread tells the interconnected stories of three Nigerian women: Kambirinachi and her twin daughters, Kehinde and Taiye. Kambirinachi believes that she is an Ogbanje, or an Abiku, a non-human spirit that plagues a family with misfortune by being born and...
American War
El Akkad, Omar
Paper Book
A unique and eerily convincing masterwork, American War takes a scalpel to American politics, precisely dissecting it to see what would happen if their own policies were turned against them. The answer: inevitable, endless bloodshed. In a disturbingly believable...
Lunar Park
Ellis, Bret Easton.
Paper Book
Imagine becoming a best-selling novelist, and almost immediately famous and wealthy, while still in college, and before long seeing your insufferable father reduced to a bag of ashes in a safety-deposit box, while after American Psycho your celebrity drowns in a sea of vilification, booze,...
Girl, woman, other
Evaristo, Bernardine
Paper Book
With her historic Booker win, Bernardine Evaristo is the author everyone is talking about. The standout book of 2019, Girl, Woman, Other is the number book you need to read this year. ***WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019*** SUNDAY...
My turquoise years
Farrant, M. A. C.
Paper Book
Throughout her childhood, Marion Farrant heard exotic stories of the sophisticated life her mother, Nancy, led aboard cruise ships and in Australia. Nancy's world of furs, jewels, cigarette holders, and handsome men seemed miles away from the west-coast hamlet of Cordova Bay, where Marion lived...
Lost and wanted
Freudenberger, Nell
Paper Book
New York Times Best Seller Named a Best Book of 2019 by Vogue and NPR's Maureen Corrigan "Freudenberger's brilliant and compassionate novel takes on the big questions of the universe and proves, again, that she is one of America's greatest writers." -...
Grace
Gee, Maggie
Paper Book
Neuromancer
Gibson, William
Paper Book
Winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards, Neuromancer is a science fiction masterpiece--a classic that ranks as one of the twentieth century's most potent visions of the future. Case was the sharpest data-thief in the matrix--until he crossed the wrong people...
The porpoise : a novel
Haddon, Mark
Paper Book
'Just downright brilliant... a transcendant, transporting experience' Observer 'A full-throttle blast of storytelling mastery' Max Porter A newborn baby is the sole survivor of a terrifying plane crash. She is raised in wealthy...
Exit west
Hamid, Mohsin
Paper Book
Discover the unforgettable novel picked among 2017's most anticipated books by the Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Buzzfeed, New York Timesand many more...An extraordinary story of love and hope, travelling from the Middle East to London and beyond, from the bestselling, Man Booker...
The Parisian, or, Al-Barisi : a novel
Hammad, Isabella
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE SUE KAUFMAN PRIZE FOR FICTION WINNER OF A BETTY TRASK AWARD WINNER OF A PALESTINE BOOK AWARD National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree "Superb . . . The Parisian makes history, and its actors, live once again."--...
Freak
Hillier, Jennifer.
Paper Book
From suspense author Jennifer Hillier, whom Jeffery Deaver has praised as "top of the line thriller writing," comes Freak, a sequel to her debut novel Creep.            Suspense magazine...
One duck
Hutchins, Hazel.
Paper Book
Hazel Hutchins, the popular, award-winning author, has written a story about one man and one duck -- not a nature-conquering scenario, but a tale of human compassion and caring for the creatures with whom we share the earth. Hazel tells the story in a soft, rhythmic style, matched perfectly by...
Bad Cree : a novel = Âcimowin
Johns, Jessica
Paper Book
In this gripping, horror-laced debut, a young Cree woman's dreams lead her on a perilous journey of self-discovery that ultimately forces her to confront the toll of a legacy of violence on her family, her community and the land they call home. "A mystery and a horror story about...
Kairos
Jones, Gwyneth A.
Paper Book
An American marriage
Jones, Tayari
Paper Book
  * One of the New York Times' '100 Best Books of the 21st Century' * 'A moving portrayal of the effects of a wrongful conviction on a young African-American couple.' Barack Obama Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are the embodiment of the American Dream. He is a young...
11/22/63 : a novel
King, Stephen
Paper Book
One of the Ten Best Books of The New York Times Book Review Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize ON NOVEMBER 22, 1963, THREE SHOTS RANG OUT IN DALLAS, PRESIDENT KENNEDY DIED, AND THE WORLD CHANGED. WHAT IF YOU COULD CHANGE IT BACK? In this...
It
King, Stephen
Paper Book
"Previously published in a Viking edition. A limited first edition of this book has been published by Phantasia Press"--T.p. verso.
Indians on vacation : a novel
King, Thomas
Paper Book
A #1 Indie bestseller and a Canadian bestseller for 22 weeks, the brilliant latest novel from one of Canada's foremost authors Inspired by a handful of postcards sent nearly a hundred years ago, Bird and Mimi attempt to trace long-lost uncle Leroy and the family medicine bundle he took...
Autumn
Knausga?rd, Karl Ove
Paper Book
The New York Times bestseller. "This book is full of wonders...Loose teeth, chewing gum, it all becomes noble, almost holy, under Knausgaard's patient, admiring gaze. The world feels repainted." --The New York Times From the author of the...
A likely story : the writing life
Kroetsch, Robert
Paper Book
A Likely Story recounts the writing life of Robert Kroetsch, one of Canada's foremost writers and literary theorists. With incisive wit, humor and penetrating insight, Robert Kroetsch follows the events of his life, both real and literary, that have moved him from the bareness of desk and...
The Mars room / Rachel Kushner
Kushner, Rachel
Paper Book
**SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2018** **A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND CRITICS' TOP BOOK OF 2018** 'An unforgettable novel.' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'More knowing about prison life [than Orange Is The New Black]......
All new people : a novel
Lamott, Anne.
Paper Book
Through the eyes of a small girl, Lamott takes readers on the barrage of dislocating changes that shook the 1960s.
The dark forest
Liu, Cixin
Paper Book
The inspiration for the Netflix series 3 Body Problem! Over 1 million copies of the Three-Body Problem series sold in North America PRAISE FOR THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM SERIES: "A mind-bending epic."--The New York Times * "War...
The classic horror stories
Lovecraft, H. P.
Paper Book
H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) was a reclusive scribbler of horror stories for the American pulp magazines that specialized in Gothic and science fiction in the interwar years. He often published in Weird Tales and has since become the key figure in the slippery genre of "weird fiction." Lovecraft...
Lost children archive : a novel
Luiselli, Valeria
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR * "An epic road trip [that also] captures the unruly intimacies of marriage and parenthood ... This is a novel that daylights our common humanity, and challenges us to reconcile our differences." --The Washington Post One of ...
Underland : a deep time journey
Macfarlane, Robert
Paper Book
Hailed as "the great nature writer of this generation" (Wall Street Journal), Robert Macfarlane is the celebrated author of books about the intersections of the human and the natural realms. In Underland, he delivers his masterpiece: an epic exploration of the Earth's underworlds as they exist in...
The glass hotel
Mandel, Emily St. John
Paper Book
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * From the bestselling author of Station Eleven and Sea of Tranquility, an exhilarating novel set at the glittering intersection of two seemingly disparate events--the exposure of a massive criminal enterprise and the mysterious disappearance of a woman from...
Station Eleven
Mandel, Emily St. John
Paper Book
An audacious, darkly glittering novel about art, fame and ambition set in the eerie days of civilization's collapse, from the author of three highly acclaimed previous novels. One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of...
The mirror and the light
Mantel, Hilary
Paper Book
Soon to be a major TV series The Sunday Times bestseller Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction Longlisted for the Booker Prize 'It is a book not read, but lived' Telegraph ...
Snowflake Bentley
Martin, Jacqueline Briggs.
Paper Book
In this Caldecott Medal-winning picture book, the true story of Wilson Bentley and his singular fascination with snowflakes is rendered in rich prose and gorgeous artwork, perfect for the holidays, snow days, and everyday. Wilson Bentley was always fascinated by snow. In childhood and...
Deacon King Kong
McBride, James
Paper Book
Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction   Winner of the Gotham Book Prize One of Barack Obama's "Favorite Books of the Year" Oprah's Book Club Pick New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
Twilight
Meyer, Stephenie
Paper Book
Fall in love with the addictive, suspenseful love story between a teenage girl and a vampire with the book that sparked a "literary phenomenon" and redefined romance for a generation (New York Times). Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually...
Like normal people
Meyers, Robert.
Paper Book
The crucible
Miller, Arthur
Paper Book
A haunting examination of groupthink and mass hysteria in a rural community, presented here with enlightening criticism and commentary   "I believe that the reader will discover here the essential nature of one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history,"...
Anne of Green Gables
Montgomery, L. M.
Paper Book
Anne (with an ‘e’ of course) starts out as a mistake. The elderly Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert had planned on adopting a boy to help Matthew with the chores on their Prince Edward Island farm. What are they to do with the red-haired, high-spirited girl who arrives instead? ...
Polar vortex
Mootoo, Shani
Paper Book
"[Mootoo's] unsettling latest examines how secrets always come back to haunt us--especially the ones we've managed to keep from ourselves." --Globe & Mail, one of the 100 Favorite Books of 2020 One of Autostraddle's Best Queer Books of 2020 Polar Vortex is a seductive and...
Kafka on the shore
Murakami, Haruki
Paper Book
WithKafka on the Shore,Haruki Murakami gives us a novel every bit as ambitious and expansive asThe Wind-Up Bird Chronicle,which has been acclaimed both here and around the world for its uncommon ambition and achievement, and whose still-growing popularity suggests that it will be read and admired...
Norwegian wood
Murakami, Haruki
Paper Book
A special movie-tie in edition for the long-awaited film release based on this beloved novel by Haruki Murakami: the story of one college student's romantic coming-of-age, a journey to that distant place of a young man's first, hopeless, and heroic love. Toru, a quiet and...
Istanbul : memories and the city
Pamuk, Orhan
Paper Book
A portrait, by turns intimate and panoramic, of one of the world’s great cities, by its foremost man of letters, author of the acclaimed novelsSnowandMy Name Is Red. Blending reminiscence with history; family photographs with portraits of poets and pashas; art criticism, metaphysical musing,...
The Dutch house : a novel
Patchett, Ann
Paper Book
Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize New York Times Bestseller | A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick | A New York Times Book Review Notable Book | TIME Magazine's 100 Must-Read Books of 2019 Named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, The Washington Post; O:...
Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets
Rowling, J. K.
Paper Book
The summer after his first year at Hogwarts is worse than ever for Harry Potter. The Dursleys of Privet Drive are more horrible to him than ever before. And just when he thinks the endless summer vacation is over, a creature named Dobby the house-elf shows up issuing a grave warning to Harry not to...
Harry Potter and the deathly hallows
Rowling, J. K.
Paper Book
Harry is waiting in Privet Drive. The Order of the Phoenix is coming to escort him safely away without Voldemort and his supporters knowing--if they can. But what will Harry do then? How can he fulfil the momentous and seemingly impossible task that Professor Dumbledore has left him with?Harry has...
Harry Potter and the goblet of fire
Rowling, J. K.
Paper Book
Harry Potter and the half-blood prince
Rowling, J. K.
Paper Book
Sixth-year Hogwarts student Harry Potter gains valuable insights into the boy Voldemort once was, even as his own world is transformed by maturing friendships, schoolwork assistance from an unexpected source, and devastating losses.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Rowling, J. K.
Paper Book
Harry Potter and the philosopher's stone
Rowling, J. K.
Paper Book
Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy until he is rescued by an owl, taken to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, learns to play Quidditch and does battle in a deadly duel. The Reason: HARRY POTTER IS A WIZARD!
Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban
Rowling, J. K.
Paper Book
The third book in the Harry Potter series, this brilliant new story once again features young readers' favourite wizard and his his best friends, Ron and Hermione. Danger is afoot at Hogwarts, no one is quite who they seem, secrets and rumours abound. Along with fantastic new creatures and in the...
The ministry of utmost happiness
Roy, Arundhati
Paper Book
New York Times Best Seller Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize Named a Best Book of 2017 by NPR, Amazon, Kirkus, The Washington Post, Newsday, and the Hudson Group A dazzling, richly moving new novel by the internationally celebrated author of...
The golden house : a novel
Rushdie, Salman
Paper Book
**New York Times bestseller** A Guardian / Observer Book of the Year When powerful real-estate tycoon Nero Golden immigrates to the States under mysterious circumstances, he and his three adult children assume new identities, taking 'Roman'...
The giving tree
Silverstein, Shel
Paper Book
From Shel Silverstein, New York Times bestselling author of Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic, comes a poignant picture book about love and acceptance, cherished for over fifty years. This classic is perfect for both young readers and lifelong fans. "Once there was a tree.....
Weird rules to follow
Spencer, Kim
Paper Book
Winner of a 2024 PNBA Book Award Winner of the 2023 IODE Violet Downey Book Award Winner of the 2023 Jean Little First-Novel Award Winner of the 2023 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People Winner of the 2023 TD Canadian Children's Literature...
Paws off, Cheddarface!
Stilton, Geronimo
Paper Book
Enter the world of Geronimo Stilton, where another funny adventure is always right around the corner. Each book is a fast-paced adventure with lively art and a unique format kids 7-10 will love.Who Is Geronimo Stilton? That's me! I run a newspaper, but my true passion is writing tales of adventure....
Shuggie Bain
Stuart, Douglas
Paper Book
Winner of the Booker Prize Winner of 'Book of the Year' at the British Book Awards A BBC 'Big Jubilee Read' A heart-wrenchingly moving novel set in Glasgow during the Thatcher years, Shuggie Bain tells the story of a boy's doomed attempt to save his proud,...
Cane
Toomer, Jean
Paper Book
A literary masterpiece of the Harlem Renaissance, Cane is a powerful work of innovative fiction evoking black life in the South. The sketches, poems, and stories of black rural and urban life that make up Cane are rich in imagery. Visions of smoke, sugarcane, dusk, and flame permeate the Southern...
The thief
Turner, Megan Whalen.
Paper Book
Discover and rediscover the world of the Queen's Thief, from the acclaimed novel The Thief to the thrilling, twenty-years-in-the-making conclusion, The Return of the Thief. The epic novels set in the world of the Queen's Thief can be read in any order. New York Times...
The break
Vermette, Katherena
Paper Book
Winner of the Amazon.ca First Novel Award and a finalist for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and the Governor General's Literary Award, The Break is a stunning and heartbreaking debut novel about a multigenerational Métis-Anishnaabe family dealing with the fallout of a shocking...
Sing, unburied, sing
Ward, Jesmyn
Paper Book
_______________ SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018 WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 2017 ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S BEST BOOKS OF 2017 SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE NEW STATESMAN...
The end of loneliness
Wells, Benedict
Paper Book
The international bestseller, translated by the award-winning translator of The Tobacconist, Charlotte Collins Winner of the European Union Prize for Literature 'Original and captivating . . . its quiet charm in straightforward prose belies its sharp...
The wheels of chance
Wells, H. G.
Paper Book
A delightful romance on bicycles, and H. G. Wells' funniest novel.
Twilight
Wiesel, Elie
Paper Book
Bringing together many of the strands woven through his previous works, Wiesel takes readers into the life of Raphael Lipkin, a professor of mystical traditions who finds himself at a clinic for patients who believe themselves to be characters from the Bible and ancient history."
Letters to a young scientist
Wilson, Edward O.
Paper Book
Edward O. Wilson has distilled sixty years of teaching into a book for students, young and old. Reflecting on his coming-of-age in the South as a Boy Scout and a lover of ants and butterflies, Wilson threads these twenty-one letters, each richly illustrated, with autobiographical anecdotes that...

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