13 books you heard about this week on CBC Radio
Here's a round-up of the best book and author interviews from CBC Radio from May 25-31, 2019.
Life Will Be the Death of Me by Chelsea Handler
Following the 2016 election of Donald Trump, comedian and talk show host Chelsea Handler found herself in the midst of an existential crisis. Deciding to break out of the 'privileged bubble' she's lived in, Handler embarks on a year-long journey of self discovery that included learning to do every day things for herself, seeing a shaman and going to therapy to make sense of her childhood.
Heard on: q
Choked by Beth Gardiner
Environment journalist Beth Gardiner travelled around the world to investigate the sources of air pollution, the toll it is taking on the health of millions of people and possible solutions to the growing global issue of poor air quality. Choked is full of alarming facts and stats about the rising death toll attributed to air pollution.
Heard on: The Sunday Edition
Coders by Clive Thompson
Technology journalist Clive Thompson's Coders takes an in depth look at who coders really are: the aptitudes and personality traits they need to be successful and how the coder mindset has been turned into a pop culture cliche. Coders is an anthropological exploration about the kinds of people who are drawn to coding and how they are changing the world.
Heard on: Spark
Bina by Anakana Schofield
Bina, a woman at her wit's end, records her story on the backs of old envelopes. Her main subject is that of a tumultuous lifelong friendship, one filled with drama, trauma, love and joy. Anakana Schofield is the author of the Scotiabank Giller Prize finalist Martin John and Amazon.ca First Novel Award winner Malarky.
Heard on: The Sunday Edition
Infinite Powers by Steven Strogatz
Professor of mathematics Steven Strogatz wants to change the way the world views calculus. In Infinite Powers, Strogatz shows how calculus has an extraordinary power to shape our modern life — from the engineering and flight of airplanes and spacecraft, helping solve the puzzle of HIV treatment and being essential to the rendering of detailed CGI in movies and video games.
Heard on: Quirks & Quarks
Everything Is F--ked by Mark Manson
In the follow-up to his bestselling self-help book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F--k, Mark Manson argues that hope can be dangerous if not wielded responsibly. In Everything Is F--ked: A Book About Hope, Manson says living in a vast universe with an expiration date can cause many people to feel helpless and hopeless, as though their life is void of meaning.
Heard on: The Current
The Farm by Joanne Ramos
In this dystopian novel, women are paid to stay at a luxury retreat with daily massages, personal trainers and organic meals. The catch is that for nine months they are not allowed to leave and must be cut off from their former lives while they produce a baby for someone else. When a woman named Jane arrives at The Farm to be a host, she is desperate to reconnect with her life on the outside.
Heard on: q
Nuking the Moon by Vince Houghton
Nuking the Moon by historian and International Spy Museum curator Vince Houghton is a nonfiction book that takes a look at the the history of failed intelligence and military plots, including the U.S.'s plan to detonate nuclear weapons on the moon in response to the Soviet Union launching the Sputnik 1 satellite.
Heard on: The Current
Joe Beef by Frederic Morin, David McMillan & Meredith Erickson
Frédéric Morin and David McMillan are the chefs behind Montreal's famous Joe Beef restaurant. With writer Meredith Erickson, they've collected 150 recipes that will have you apocalypse-ready, including canned bread, deer beer belly and pickled pork butt.
Heard on: q
Divided Loyalties by Nilofar Shidmehr
Divided Loyalties is a collection of stories about the diverse lives of Iranian women through the past several decades and across Iran and Canada. Nilofar Shidmehr's stories follow young girls and women as they look beyond their designated roles as mothers, daughters, sisters and wives in times of war, refuge and reflection.
Heard on: The Next Chapter
Provisionally Yours by Antanas Sileika
Provisionally Yours, a novel set in Lithuania after the First World War and the collapse of Czarist Russia. It's a thriller with a counterintelligence agent named Justas Adamonis who gets caught up in a world of espionage, corruption and betrayal.
Heard on: The Next Chapter
Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club by Megan Gail Coles
Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club, revolves around a cast of flawed characters who are implicated in each other's hopes, dreams and pains as they try to survive harsh economic times in the province.
Heard on: The Next Chapter
Once More We Saw Stars by Jayson Greene
When music critic and senior editor at Pitchfork, Jayson Greene's two-year-old daughter died in freak accident it left him and his wife in a state of depression and self-pity. Once More We Saw Stars details how he and his family dealt with their grief and worked to find meaning and hope in life again.
Heard on: The Current