Yes, my fourth novel, Accusation, came out this fall from the wonderful independent publisher Goose Lane Editions and it was a great, crazy fall of touring. I'll come back with a bit more about that and a link or two in a few minutes.
I’m generally hopeless when asked what I’d like to receive as a gift, books or otherwise, but I just thought of something. My tastes may seem a bit odd on the gift front, but Stephen Henighan has just written a personal response in the form of an essay on climate change, Green Reef, published by Linda Leith’s new small publishing venture, Linda Leith Editions (she used to direct the Blue Met literary festival in Montreal). Again, I love supporting smaller presses, and though the subject matter may not seem cheery, I'm always ready to consider how we speak and feel and think about these things in the context of our families and our loved ones. Urgent if not cheery.
Also on my virtual bedside table: Rebecca Silver Slayter’s first novel, In the Land of the Birdfish. Nicole Krauss’s The History of Love, one of my boyfriend’s favourite novels. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Recently finished Rebecca Solnit’s The Faraway Nearby. I’m thinking about the north and northern things and loved Solnit’s evocation of northernness and her method of interweaving stories and her voicing of the necessity of stories and story-telling to our lives.
How about giving literary magazines? I’d start with the ever-fabulous Brick, which just launched its newest issue (featuring Ali Smith, Karen Solie, and C.D. Wright, among others and it too is right here beside me, coming up as much-anticipated fireside reading). Hot off the press, there's also a brand-new omnibus Brick Reader, best hits from previous issues. How could you go wrong with that?
