Summertime stories Arts team shares books for passing the dog days
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When most people mention a “summer read” or a “beach book,” the types of writing they’re referring to is lighter fare most of us would consider enjoyable but not overly profound: think cosy mysteries, historical bodice rippers, otherworldy romantasies, fast-paced whodunits, chilling (but not too chilling) horror and, notably as of late, romance novels of all persuasions — perhaps, say, between two hockey players?
But not everyone dives into such popular picks over the summer months. Here’s what the Free Press arts and life team has been poring over in the past months…
Temporary Palaces, by Jeff Miller
If you spent your youth in the late 1990s/early 2000s going to protests, making zines, DIY art or punk rock — or, failing that, reading about it all in Adbusters magazine — and consider yourself a hopeless romantic, this new novel from Nova Scotia’s Jeff Miller is for you. Themes of idealism, artistic integrity, heartbreak and shared trauma are all on the menu for this will-they-won’t they pairing of punk rocker Ben and visual artist Alex, set amid the squats of Ottawa and the art lofts of Montreal.
— Sheldon Birnie
Exit Party, by Emily St. John Mandel
British Columbia-born novelist Emily St. John Mandel’s excellent Exit Party hits bookstore shelves Sept. 15. It’s a novel set in the near future with parallel-ish worlds that overlap, authoritarian states, doppelgangers and so much more — too much to sum up in a couple lines — but rest assured it’s another spectacular novel from the Station Eleven author.
— Ben Sigurdson
Moment of Truth: How to Think About Alberta’s Future, edited by Jack M. Mintz, Ted Morton and Tom Flanagan
This is unsettlingly partisan writing by some of Alberta’s leading sovereigntist thought leaders, like Ted Morton and Tom Flanagan. Does it give too much intellectual panache to a movement with weirdo, unseemly elements? Probably, but as we try to make sense of Alberta’s October referendum with its historic question on provincial separatism, this offers insightful background from the movement’s inner workings.
— Conrad Sweatman
Lost Lambs, by Madeline Cash
This witty, tender novel from young American writer Cash is one of the most lauded debuts of 2026 and it comes by the kudos honestly. A story of family dysfunction, it follows the Flynns — Bud and Catherine, mired in a discontented marriage — and their three daughters: Harper (brilliant prodigy); Louise (overlooked middle child); and Abigail (promiscuous beauty). The plotting is wild, the writing is clever and the laughs are frequent, but Cash also finds a sweet spot of sentiment.
— Jill Wilson
Yesteryear, by Caro Claire Burke
Arguably the buzziest book of the summer — it is already being turned into a film by producer and attached star Anne Hathaway — Burke’s debut novel about Natalie, a “tradwife” social media influencer who wakes up in 1855, lives up to the hype. Part social commentary, part spiky satire and full zeitgeist, Yesteryear is a biting look at surveillance and performance of self in social media culture, and the ways in which abuse is not always obvious. Hope you like your protagonists unlikable.
— Jen Zoratti
Terminal Boredom: Stories, by Izumi Suzuki
This ennui-laden sci-fi collection is drenched in feelings of rudderlessness and lost opportunity, preoccupied with how our connections to each other and our world suffer in a high-tech, low-hope future. A favourite is Night Picnic, about a family living out a faded memory of human culture. The title story depicts a world where excessive (and mandatory) screen time has left Tokyo’s youth disaffected and numb. It’s stunning how prescient Japanese counterculture icon Suzuki, who committed suicide in 1986, turned out to be.
— Darren Ridgley
The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
This classic about a man too kind for his own good getting roped into a love triangle is filled with 19th-century drama that, while written over 150 years ago, still rings true today. If you’re able to keep track of the confusing number of names that come with each of the many characters, this book’s ending will be imprinted on your brain long after you finish it.
— Tiago Resko
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