A bounty of books

Fall offers plenty of highly anticipated fiction and non-fiction titles for readers

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After a summer of breezy beach reads, there’s no season book lovers look forward to more than fall.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/08/2022 (1466 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After a summer of breezy beach reads, there’s no season book lovers look forward to more than fall.

Publishers are keen to make waves with new writing from both established and up-and-coming writers — books that challenge, comfort, inspire, infuriate and/or incite laughter, tears, expletives or some combination of the above.

This coming fall books season features an enticing lineup of short stories, novels, memoirs, biographies, graphic novels and more. Here are 20 titles to watch for in the coming months that are sure to make a splash…

Making Love With the Land

By Joshua Whitehead (Aug. 23, Knopf Canada)

In the Calgary-based Whitehead’s debut collection of non-fiction, the Peguis First Nation writer explores life as a queer Indigenous person in Canada through a range of genres including notes, essays, confessions and more.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture

By Gabor Maté and Daniel Maté (Sept. 13, Knopf Canada)

Well-known psychologist and author Gabor Maté teams up with his son Daniel, a composer/lyricist, to look at western health-care systems and why chronic illness and poor health are increasing in western societies.

 

The Theory of Crows

By David A. Robertson (Sept. 13, HarperCollins)

It’s not a fall books preview without a new title from prolific Winnipeg author David A. Robertson. His novel for adults sees a father and his estranged 16-year-old daughter searching for a cabin on the family trapline. When things take a turn for the worse, they must rely on each other.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands

By Kate Beaton (Sept. 13, Drawn & Quarterly)

In her weighty graphic novel, the Cape Breton-raised Beaton chronicles her trek to Alberta to work in the oilsands, with the goal of paying off her student loans, while critiquing oil-sands culture and the perception of Canada as environmental steward.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

The Greatest Evil is War

By Chris Hedges (Sept. 20, Seven Stories Press)

Sparked by the conflict in Ukraine, Hedges (who in 2002 wrote War Is a Force that Gives Us Meaning) offers the case against war based on his first-hand encounters with victims and their families, veterans and more.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021

By Peter Baker and Susan Glasser (Sept. 20, Doubleday)

The authors of The Man Who Ran Washington offer an examination of how the 45th president thrived on chaos and how those around him struggled with moral choices. The book features interviews with many key players, including Donald Trump and family.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

Laughing With the Trickster: On Sex, Death, and Accordions

By Tomson Highway (Sept. 27, House of Anansi)

The Manitoba-born author and playwright follows his memoir Permanent Astonishment with the latest instalment of the CBC Massey Lectures series, in which he ruminates on five key themes to the human condition — language, humour, sex/gender, creation and death.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

Fen, Bog & Swamp: A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the Climate Crisis

By Annie Proulx (Sept. 27, Scribner)

The Pulitzer-winning Proulx returns with a book of non-fiction about the ways in which the world’s wetlands are among the most crucial and misunderstood resource, and the crucial role they play in our planet’s future and our survival.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America

By Maggie Haberman (Oct. 4, Penguin)

The long-awaited book from the New York Times reporter who closely followed the Trump presidency is expected to make major waves and bring scads of new details via interviews with hundreds of those in the know.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

Fayne

By Ann-Marie MacDonald (Oct. 11, Knopf)

MacDonald’s sprawling new novel, set in the 19th century at the titular estate bordering England and Scotland, follows Charlotte, who grows up at Fayne with her father, sequestered from the rest of the world. When she discovers an unexpected artefact, her world is turned upside-down.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

The Tragedy of Eva Mott

By David Adams Richards (Oct. 11, Doubleday Canada)

The New Brunswick author and senator’s new novel follows brothers who own an asbestos plant that comes under scrutiny for health concerns — and their extended family, who are a different kind of toxic to the community.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

Dying of Politeness: A Memoir

By Geena Davis (Oct. 11, HarperCollins)

From her well-mannered childhood (when, at age three, she proclaimed she would be in movies) to her two Oscar wins to her time in show business, Davis details the path she took and the roles that made her the star she is today.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

Liberation Day

By George Saunders (Oct. 18, Random House)

The Booker Prize-winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo returns with his first collection of short stories in nearly a decade. The nine Saunders stories ruminate on themes of ethics, power, community and justice.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

Running Down a Dream: A Memoir

By Candy Palmater (Oct. 18, HarperCollins)

This posthumous memoir by Palmater, who died in late 2021, chronicles the highs and lows of her life and career — from being raised by bikers in New Brunswick to her career as an actor and comedian to her love of family.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

The Last Chairlift

By John Irving (Oct. 18, Knopf Canada)

Irving’s first new novel in seven years begins in the 1940s, when a slalom skier becomes pregnant, and follows her grown son’s journey back to Aspen (where he was conceived) to search for answers about his origins.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

The Passenger

By Cormac McCarthy (Oct. 25, Knopf)

The first of two long-awaited volumes by the iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning McCarthy, The Passenger follows a salvage diver who discovers the site of a plane crash, travels across the American South and grapples with his fraught family. The second volume, Stella Maris, arrives Dec. 6.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

The Philosophy of Modern Song

By Bob Dylan (Nov. 1, Simon & Schuster)

Dylan’s first book since winning the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature (and since his last book, 2004’s Chronicles: Volume One) contains 60 essays on songs by other artists in a wide range of genres, offering reflections on the human condition in the way only Bob Dylan can.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story

By Bono (Nov. 1, Doubleday Canada)

The U2 frontman’s memoir, divided into 40 chapters named after the Irish rock band’s songs, reflects on his early years in Dublin, his mother’s death when he was 14, the band’s early days and rise to stardom, and his activism.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

True Reconciliation: How to Be a Force for Change

By Jody Wilson-Raybould (Nov. 8, McClelland & Stewart)

Wilson-Raybould lays out her view of what real reconciliation means and how we can do to advance the cause. Built around three key components — learn, understand, act — Wilson-Raybould looks at past and present rights and wrongs, and what to change going forward.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

 

The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times

By Michelle Obama (Nov. 15, Crown)

The former first lady follows up her runaway bestseller Becoming with thoughts and insights on how, in our turbulent present, we can examine our lives, find our positivity and sources of happiness and make meaningful connections.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

books@freepress.mb.ca

Ben Sigurdson

Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer

Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.

In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.

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