CALGARY BESTSELLERS
FICTION
Holly Quan. A woman finds refuge in a small Alberta town after her “perfect” life unravels.
2
Warlight
Michael Ondaatje. A dramatic story set in the decade after the Second World War, through the lives of a small group of unexpected characters and two teenagers whose lives are indelibly shaped by their unwitting involvement.
3
The Emissary
Yoko Tawada. In the wake of disaster, Japan has closed its borders and the elderly generation cares for their sickly grandchildren.
4
A Gentleman in Moscow
Amor Towles. An unrepentant aristocrat is sentenced to house arrest in a luxury hotel.
5
Noir
Christopher Moore. This zany noir is set on the mean streets of postSecond World War San Francisco, featuring a diverse cast of characters.
6
Frankenstein in Baghdad Ahmed Saadawi. An accidental monster seeks endless revenge, creating and destroying his own factions in the futility of the larger war.
7
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald Therese Anne Fowler. A novel of the jazz age from a feminine viewpoint.
8
Half Drowned King
Linda Hartsuyker. A saga of the Vikings that conjures a brutal, superstitious and thrilling ninth-century world and the birth of a kingdom.
9
Our Animal Hearts
Dania Thomlinson. A historical novel of race, friendship, sex, madness and myth, told through the filter of WWI’s loss and violence.
10
The Comedian
Clem Martini. A historical novel of a theatre manager in Ancient Rome.
NON FICTION
1 Educated Tara Westover. Memoir of a woman who did not set foot in a classroom until the age of 17. 2
21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act Bob Joseph. A guide to understanding this legal document and how its repercussions continue to affect generations of Indigenous Peoples.
3
English
Ben Fogle. What makes the English English? Is it their eccentricity, their passionate love (or, indeed hatred) of Marmite, or is it something less easily defined? 4
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow Yval Hoan Harari. An examination of the future of humanity. 5
Notley Nation: How Alberta’s Political Upheaval Swept the Country Sydney Sharpe and Don Braid. This book explores how the Alberta NDP ended a 43-year Conservative dynasty that proved incapable of adapting to forces beyond its control or understanding. 6
How to Read Poetry Like a Professor Thomas Foster. This is an essential primer to reading poetry like a professor that unlocks the keys to enjoying works from Lord Byron to the Beatles. 7
Pay No Heed to the Rockets: Palestine in the Present Tense Marcello DiCintio. Palestine revisited by an outsider who begins to see past the usual narrative.
8
Shrewed
Elizabeth Renzetti. Lessons we can learn from the crossroads about the future of feminism in a turbulent world.
9
Why Poetry
Matthew Zapruder. An impassioned call for a return to reading poetry and an incisive argument for poetry’s accessibility to all readers.
10
Forgiveness
Mark Sakamoto. A prisoner-of-war and an internment survivor meet when their children fall in love. Compiled from Owl’s Nest Books, Pages Books and Shelf Life Books.