Local bookstore recommends these reads over the holidays

By Zachary Roman

Many people find time to read over the holidays, and many give and receive books as gifts as well.

Donna Forster of Forster's Book Garden in Bolton said the store has been busy lately, and recommended the following books for Caledon residents to enjoy over the holidays. 

Forster said the biggest seller right now is a book called A World of Curiosities by Canadian author Louise Penny. The novel is the 18th to be published as part of the Chief Inspector Gamache series.

“People are really jumping on that right now,” said Forster, adding it's great that Penny is a Canadian author.

In the novel, Gamache and his investigative partner, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, find that a young man and woman have reappeared in their lives in the village of Three Pines after many years. When the man and woman were children, their mother was murdered — a tragic case that was the one that first brought Gamache and Beauvoir together. As Gamache works to discover what the return of the man and woman to Three Pines means, he must solve puzzles within puzzles — and his alarm only grows when a letter written by a long-dead stone mason is discovered. In the letter, the mason describes his terror when bricking up an attic room somewhere in Three Pines. How does this mystery play out? You'll have to read to find out.

Forster said another hot book right now is Michelle Obama's second book, The Light We Carry, a motivational book about overcoming obstacles in uncertain times. “When we are able to recognize our own light, we become empowered to use it,” writes Obama in her book, which offers reflections on change, challenge, and power.

Another new release that Forster said might be of interest is Leonard Cohen, Untold Stories by Michael Posner. Forster said this biography would make a great gift for anyone who's a fan of Cohen's music or writing

Something a little different from the norm is the non-fiction graphic novel Ducks by Katie Beaton. In it, Beaton details her two years spent living and working in Alberta's oil sands. Reviewer Carmen Maria Machado calls it “an exceptionally beautiful book about loneliness, labor, and survival.”

For kids, Forster said a popular read right now is Cat Kid Comic Club Collaborations by Dav Pilkey. Another good read is Killer Underwear Invasion by Elise Gravel. This funny book actually serves as an important tool to teach kids about media literacy and how to spot fake news. “It's really quite brilliant,” said Forster.

Caledon Citizen readers may remember a story in May about Caledon resident Filipe Leite, who rode a horse from the Calgary Stampede to his hometown in Brazil. He then rode from there to the southernmost tip of South America. To complete his epic 25,000-kilometre journey across the Americas, he rode from Alaska back to the Calgary Stampede. Leite has recently released his latest book, The Last Long Ride, and Forster said she has many copies of it available at the store.