Each week, Globe and Mail staffers and readers share what they’re reading now, whether it’s a hot new release or an old book they’re discovering for the first time. Tell me about a book you loved and we might publish your recommendation. Fill out this form, or send your book recommendation to Lara Pingue at lpingue@globeandmail.com
See our full 2023-2024 archive of book recommendations
Globe 100: The best books of 2024
The Magnolia Palace, Fiona Davis
The Magnolia PalaceSupplied
The Magnolia Palace takes place against the backdrop of New York City’s Frick mansion, the opulent house that contains the art collection of Henry Frick. Author Fiona Davis tells a story of two time periods: the 1920s, when the mansion is a family home, and the 1960s, when it’s a museum. In each period, we meet strong women who struggle to survive and overcome the restrictions of their time. Romances and betrayals abound. This is a story of family, its conflicts and how wealth doesn’t always bring happiness. The mansion itself becomes a character in the story – and like any interesting character, it has its secrets.
–Globe reader Maureen Murray, Burlington, Ont.
The Complete Poems: 1927-1979, Elizabeth Bishop
Recently, I’ve been rereading Elizabeth Bishop’s The Complete Poems: 1927-1979, a collection unlike so many modern poems because of their accessibility. While the best-known poem is One Art, a villanelle with the striking first line, “The art of losing isn’t hard to master,” it’s another poem called Poem that overwhelms me every time I read it. It’s about a family heirloom painting (not to be confused with her other poem about a family heirloom, Large Bad Painting). Poem startles you with one of those aha! moments that make a painting by a family member poignant, regardless of the painter’s talent. Perhaps the best student of the great American poet Robert Lowell, Bishop had a rough start in life. She was raised by her maternal grandparents in Nova Scotia, about which she wrote a number of wonderful poems, until her wealthy paternal grandparents brought her to live in Massachusetts. Without this move she might never have met Lowell, let alone become his equal as a poet. If a Globe reader were to pick only one book of modern poetry to read in their lifetime, this might well be it.
–Globe reader Ron Charach, Toronto
Happy-Go-Lucky, David Sedaris
In his 2022 collection of essays, Happy-Go-Lucky, humorist David Sedaris offers his take on the fun global health crisis we found ourselves facing four years ago. The unnerving trip to the recent past gave me a new, often chuckle-inducing perspective of those dark, polarizing times. Sedaris doesn’t tiptoe around anyone’s feelings, taking on masks, lockdowns and the Black Lives Matter protests with his usual brand of political incorrectness. (For instance, he admits to feeling a bit ‘superior’ for donating to the BLM movement.) The essays also touch on a major personal event: the death of his father, Lou, the Sedaris clan’s decidedly problematic and unlikeable guardian who’s a frequent subject of the writer’s work. I recommend Happy-Go-Lucky if you want to relive some of your worst years with a smile – and sometimes a grimace.
-Globe programming editor Prajakta Dhopade
On Leadership, Tony Blair
Tony Blair’s On Leadership: Lessons for the 21st Century isn’t a memoir or a tell-all but rather a non-partisan instruction manual for political leaders, based on his own experiences as Britain’s former PM. Given today’s turbulent, populist political mood, it holds several important lessons. Some core take-aways: Stay focused. Do your homework. Be positive. Protect your time. Stay humble. Don’t expect accolades. Delivery is everything. When Canada and arguably the Western world are at a low ebb in political ability and dominated by smash-mouth politics, Blair proffers many useful lessons. Frankly, I think all political leaders and aspiring leaders should read it.
–Globe reader Mark Johnson, Toronto
Hungry Ghosts, Kevin Jared Hosein
Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein is a tale of betrayal, temptation and family values. Set in poverty-stricken Trinidad in the 1940s, we meet Krishna, who suspects his father of infidelity. Could this loving, steadfast and loyal family man really be tempted by a wealthy woman? The characters are driven by intense, unfulfilled emotional needs, or “hungry ghosts.” Will Krishna listen to the hungry ghosts after what he’s seen? Will his mother recover from typhus and win back her straying husband? This is a quiet but compelling novel.
–Globe reader Julie Kirsh, Toronto
The Editor, Sara B. Franklin
The Globe received more than one hearty endorsement of a work of non-fiction. The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America, by Sara B. Franklin, is “an alluring peek into the publishing world,” writes Globe reader Catherine Lash. “From pulling The Diary of a Young Girl out of the rejects pile to creating the cookbook market with Julia Child with the ultimate goal of making cooking not only enjoyable but doable, Judith Jones was a gift to the publishing world.” Globe reader Judith Green is also a fan of this book, which details Jones’s 50-plus years at Knopf, where she worked with Sylvia Plath, Anne Tyler and John Updike, among others.
The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper, by Roland AllenSupplied
The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper, Roland Allen
I read a rapturous review of The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Allen, and I had to pick it up. I’m a dedicated notebook user (in fact, I’m currently writing my own book about journaling) and I love learning the histories of everyday objects. Allen does not disappoint. The book tells the fascinating stories of notebooks, from the very first notebook (a wooden tablet) recovered from an eighth-century BCE ship, medieval account books, Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks, scientific notebooks, to the contemporary Bullet Journal Method, which helps users track and organize tasks. Eye-opening.
– Globe reader Julie Rak, Edmonton
Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AISupplied
Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI, Yuval Noah Harari
In Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI, historian Yuval Noah Harari examines the doomsday scenarios projected by computer futurists. Will artificial intelligence erase millions of jobs? Yes. Should we be worried that industrial-scale electronic surveillance will continue to erode privacy? Yes again. Is any of this new or have we been heading this way since the pharaohs? Not new. With Nexus, Harari delivers a sociological polemic that’s peppered with humour, and he begs us – begs us! – not to make the same mistakes again.
-Globe reader Myles Kesten, Toronto
Safety in Bear CountrySupplied
Safety in Bear Country, Heather Paul
Safety in Bear Country by Heather Paul tells the fictional story of Serena Palmer, who works at an institution for individuals with severe developmental disabilities. When a patient under her watch dies tragically, she runs away to Australia. This is a story about the monsters of our own making that seek us out, prey upon us, or need our help. It is written in a mystical, almost poetic prose that weave together the quirky events in Serena’s disjointed life, like a fine jigsaw puzzle. While the main theme is a journey to the self, it’s also a New Age love story, a tribute to what the New Age defines as the mystical, emotional, romantic lure within our culture and our times that maybe we all secretly want. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back and read it again.
–Globe reader Graziano Galati, Collingwood, Ont.
Outsider Art of CanadaSupplied
Outsider Art of Canada, Linda Rainaldi
Outsider Art of Canada by Linda Rainaldi is a much-anticipated book about Canadian self-taught artists. From the West Coast to the Maritimes and the Territories, the book starts with a historical account on how the term “outsider art” was coined, its manifestation in the United States and its association with the European “Art Brut” movement founded by French artist Jean Dubuffet. Featuring around 40 Canadian artists, the book offers colourful illustrated examples of each artist’s work complimented by research, biographies and in some cases personal anecdotes. A separate chapter on Indigenous art is also offered for discussion. Self-taught artists reflect on their daily lives through their art by sharing their struggles, triumphs and personal experiences. I enjoyed this book’s thoughtful, reflective and non-academic tone. It’s definitely worth savouring in small chunks just to appreciate the unique artistic legacy each artist has to offer.
–Globe reader Paul de Guzman, Vancouver
Slow Horses, Mick Herron
Mick Herron’s Slow Horses series revolves around Slough House, where washed-up MI5 agents are sent to languish in obscurity in the hope that they’ll quit the service. I love Herron’s intricate plots and darkly funny narrative, blending espionage with character-driven drama. These agents, dubbed “The Slow Horses,” each have unique backstories and are led by the vulgar, slovenly and hilarious Cold War spy Jackson Lamb. I recommend reading the books in order before watching the television adaption.
–Globe reader Peter Cech, Burnaby, B.C.
A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara
Hanya Yanagihara’s sophomore novel A Little Life is a difficult book to recommend to others. Both devastating and beautiful, it offers readers portraits of life so intimately portrayed, so uniquely detailed, so painfully felt that its 832 pages feel not excessive but necessary – they capture the great expanse and bland mundanity of living. To articulate what this story is about, I paraphrase one of its protagonists, Willem: This is a book about what we choose to seek from the relationships that make up our lives. And I do recommend it, wholeheartedly.
–Globe reader Jessica Robinson
Charlie Chaplin vs. AmericaSupplied
Charlie Chaplin vs. America, Scott Eyman
When Charlie Chaplin’s satirical takes on capitalism turned political, U.S. government agencies — including the FBI — began to take notice. Scott Eyman’s Charlie Chaplin vs. America is a fascinating insight into the life of one the great artists of the early 20th century, pulling back the curtain on this dark period of Chaplin’s life. Powerful forces tried to drive Chaplin out of popular favour – and the country – using his affairs with younger women as cover. Eyman offers insight into how populism, puritanism and realpolitik can and still do function behind the scenes in the not-so-open world of our big friendly neighbour to the south.
–Globe reader Don Rubin, Toronto
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