Asian Heritage Month

May is Asian Heritage Month – an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the many diverse countries that fall under the inclusive term of Asia. From East Asia (China, Japan, Korea and more) to Western Asia (Armenia, Israel, Turkey and more) contemporary and traditional cultural contributions are extensive within our communities.

Winnipeg Public Library has a large number of books by Asian Canadian authors. Also, don’t forget about the Asian musicians, historians, and film makers for you to explore within our digital and physical collections.

The Government of Canada proclaims Asian Heritage Month as a call to action for all Canadians to come together to combat all forms of anti-Asian racism and discrimination. To learn more about this, our Racism and Anti-Racism Info Guide is a good place to start.

Books by Asian Canadian Authors

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Night of Power by Anar Ali: A portrait of a Muslim family – from the heady days in Uganda to hard times in a new country, and the tragic accident that forces them to confront the ghosts of the past.

The Library of Legends by Janie Chang: A convoy of student refugees travel across China, fleeing the hostilities of a brutal war with Japan. During the journey, Lian learns of the connection between her two companions and a tale from the Library of Legends, The Willow Star and the Prince.

A Delhi Obsession by M.G. Vassanji: features the extraordinary women of Northern India’s Gulabi Gang, a group of female political activists, and their charismatic leader Sampat Pal.

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Floating City by Kerri Sakamoto: Frankie’s coming-of-age starts in a floating house in Port Alberni and ends up in Toronto, via a mountain internment camp.

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki: Ruth and Nao are an ocean apart, but linked by a lunchbox that washes ashore following the 2011 tsunami.

Seven by Farzana Doctor: On a trip to India, Sharifa is torn between modern ideas and traditional customs, while also trying to uncover a family mystery.

Cookbooks

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Secrets from my Vietnamese Kitchen by Kim Thúy: Between careers as a lawyer and an acclaimed novelist, Kim Thúy ran a celebrated restaurant called Ru de Nam in Montreal. Now, in her first cookbook, Kim combines her beautiful storytelling style with simple and wonderful recipes.

The Scent of Pomegranates and Rose Water: Reviving the Beautiful Food Traditions of Syria by Habeeb Salloum: A collection of traditional Syrian recipes from the 18th and 19th centuries, many of which have never before been available in English.

Coconut Lagoon by Joe Thottungal: A collection of 80 easy-to-make recipes designed with home cooks in mind. Coconut Lagoon features authentic regional dishes such as mango pickle, dosa, Malabar parathas, biryani, Thrissur-style fish, and banana fritters, as well as more-widely-known Indian recipes that are loved around the world, such as chai, butter chicken, and poori.

Documentaries

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My Love, Don’t Cross That River: hugely successful in its native Korea, this film documents 15 months in the lives of a devoted couple married for 76 years.

6 Weeks to Mother’s Day – A Remarkable School in the Jungles of Thailand: a portrait of Moo Baan Dek (Children’s Village School), a progressive school located in the jungles of Thailand.

Pink Saris: features the extraordinary women of Northern India’s Gulabi Gang, a group of female political activists, and their charismatic leader Sampat Pal.

Music

Naxos Music Library allows you to stream thousands of classical music albums from all over the world, including these titles of artists like erhu player Chen Jun, classical guitarist Kaori Muraji, and pianist Mikio Tojima.

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Newspapers and Magazines

Your library card also gives you access to PressReader, a digital newspaper and magazine service. It includes publications in 60 different languages, from over a hundred different countries, including countries and regions in Asia.

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~ Kathleen and Wendy

This is Just for Show, Right?

One of my favourite parts about reading romance is the tropes. There are some that I’m not a fan of, or some that I only enjoy once in a while, but there are few that almost never fail to guarantee I’ll check out a book if it has a beloved trope or two, especially when they do them well and/or in a unique way. 

One of my favourite is the fake dating/fake relationship trope. The main characters each have something they need, or they want to portray a certain image of themselves, and they decide that the best way to do this is enter into a relationship that is not what it appears to be on the surface. Sometimes the two characters might not even particularly like each other, or they’re the best of friends, or maybe they don’t even know each other all that well. None of them ever think they’ll fall into the trap of actually falling in love, but of course they do. They start to get to know each other because they need to spend time together to get to know each other and “sell the lie”, and this inevitably lends itself to forming a more intimate bond. There’s usually conflict created when one of them realizes the true nature of their feelings, or their lie gets found out by third parties, and the conflict leads to them both learning that they could give the relationship a real shot.

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Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert is a great example of the trope. It’s the second in Hibbert’s Brown sisters trilogy—I highly recommend Chloe and Eve’s books as well. 

Dani Brown is a PhD student in London and former pro rugby player. Zafir works as a security guard at her university after a tragic accident. During a fire at their workplace Zafir and Dani end up as minor social media celebrities when he gets filmed carrying her out of the building in his arms. Zafir decides to use the publicity to bring attention to his sports charity, and Dani decides to use the incident as a no-strings-attached fling with a predetermined expiry date.  After she ended things with a girl who wanted more than just a friends-with-benefits situation, Dani is even more determined to avoid romantic connection. The scheme already has cracks at the beginning as Zafir is a hopeless romantic, but both decide to go along with it. Zafir and Dani have instant chemistry and Zafir’s anxiety is thoughtfully explored as well.

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall is not only a great example of the fake relationship book, it’s also one of the funniest books I’ve read this year. Luc O’Donnell is famous by association because of his famous former rockstar parents who split up when he was young. After an embarrassing night of completely failing to romance a charming boy at a club, a slightly scandalous photo of Luc ends up in the news and his work at a dung beetle charity is threatened.

The conservative wealthy elite who fund the charity are antsy about any whiff of Luc’s sexuality being on display as anything other than non-threatening and sanitized. He figures the way to get them off his back is to date a man who is boring and respectable, someone like Oliver Blackwood. Oliver is a lawyer and the friend of Luc’s best friend Bridget, as well as exactly the kind of man Luc can parade in front of the stuffy supporters of the Coleoptera Research and Protection Project (CRAPP) to put their minds at ease.

Oliver agrees to the idea as it gives him someone to bring to a public event he has coming up. Even though Luc and Oliver are very different and don’t even particularly like each other very much at first they manage to intrigue each other early on which helps turn their fake relationship into real affection.

If you’re looking for the trope in an historical setting, try the regency romance This Earl of Mine by Kate Bateman.  Shipping heiress Georgiana (Georgia) Caversteed is set to inherit enough money from her beloved deceased father that she won’t need to worry about it for the rest of her life. However this doesn’t stop people like her wicked cousin who is determined to figure out a way to force her to marry him so he can get his hands on her money. She decides the only way to get any peace is to marry a man who has been sentenced to death so that she can become a widow and have complete control over her money. 

Once the marriage is performed, Georgia thinks she is in the clear, however it turns out the man who did her the favour, Benedict William Henry Wylde, and who she thought was the end of his life, is working for London’s first unofficial undercover police force. Benedict has already taken a liking to the beautiful, clever Georgie and does not want to cause her any trouble, so he agrees to pretend to court her for an amount of time deemed acceptable by society, pretend to get married again, and then live apart. The two start to realize they have a lot more in common than they thought and realize that their marriage might not need to be fake after all.

For even more romance recommendations, check out Your Next Great Read: Romance.

~Madeleine

Graphic sports

I miss sports. Can I watch soccer, basketball, rugby and hockey games on TV (or via a semi-legit streaming service)? Of course (#GoAvsGo). But let’s face it, without the crowds in the stands or being there IRL, it’s not quite the same.

As a librarian and life-long comic nerd, I’ve been reading more than ever since the pandemic hit. Lately I’ve been exploring graphic novels and manga that focus on sports. It helps a little.

Here are a few of my new favourites:

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Check, Please!
Writer/Artist: Ngozi Ukazu
This two-volume series, a Kickstarter success story, is a college coming-of-age story set around hockey, bros, and trying to find yourself during the best four years of your life. It’s compulsively readable and has a loveable protagonist, Eric Bittle.

Sports is Hell
Writer/Artist: Ben Passmore
This book offers a satirical look at racism and sports fanaticism, centred on the evening when pro-football team the Birds wins the Super Bowl over the Big Whites, sparking racially-charged riots in the streets.

A Map to the Sun
Writer/Artist: Sloane Leong
There’s a lot going on in this basketball-centred graphic novel – a teacher-student relationship, body shaming, cutting, queer undertones, familial addiction, and regular teen drama – but at its heart is a compelling story about teamwork, friendship and self-expression.

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Fence
Writer: C.S. Pacat
Artist: Johanna the Mad
Warning: This series is addictive! It’s a fun and queer YA contemporary manga focusing on fencing, which I now know more about than I really want to.

The boxer: the true story of Holocaust survivor Harry Haft
Writer/Artist: Reinhard Kleist
This graphic novel tells the true story of Holocaust survivor Hertzko “Harry” Haft. Nothing is spared in the depiction of one of the darkest periods in human history, so this title isn’t for everyone.

The Avant-Guards
Writer: Carly Usdin
Artist: Noah Hayes
This is a cute series about a newly formed and diverse women’s college basketball team, with just a glimmer of romance. Even if you don’t like basketball, I guarantee you’ll cheer while reading this one.

Yours in sports,
Barbara

Browsing the Chute

When it comes to book returns, there have been some changes this year in our usual workflow (i.e. 24/7 book chutes and quarantining items). Because of this, I’ve spent a lot more time with recently returned items than my position would normally allow. I’m certainly not complaining because I’ve found some great new titles as a result!  

Full disclosure: I completely judged all of these books by their covers. Yes, I was initially pulled in by a terrific title or an interesting illustration but I can now confirm that these books are just as exciting on the inside!

You Can Only Yell At Me for One Thing at a Time: Rules for Couples by Patricia Marx and Roz Chast

A quick read (seriously, 5 minutes) with lots of practical guidance and matching illustrations. Examples of advice include: “If you must breathe, don’t breathe so loudly” and “Queen-sized beds, king-sized blankets.” While you may not have personally experienced these scenarios in your own life, it’s pretty easy to find something funny and relatable in here!

The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman

Another quick read – more than 5 minutes but definitely doable in one sitting. This stream of consciousness is a mix of charming anecdotes, artistic illustrations and philosophy references. As such, it makes a perfect hybrid – part coffee table book and part critical theory textbook. It takes on life’s simple joys and its biggest questions!

What the Mouth Wants by Monica Meneghetti

Broken up into four Italian “courses,” this memoir of short stories explores food in various ways. Meneghetti not only reminisces about eating delicious food but also delves into the preparation, the tradition and the ritual that surrounds meals. It is as much a book about food memories as it is a story about family and sexual identity.

Outside In by Deborah Underwood

Deborah Underwood is one of my favourite children’s authors so I’m always pleased to discover a new title. I enjoy her writing because she takes a seemingly simple word or concept and looks at it through different lenses, expertly and poetically demonstrating its complexity. This book explores all the ways that nature affects our daily lives, even when we may not be paying attention.

Here and Now by Julia Denos

Always an important message, being present in the here and now is particularly vital as we continue to navigate our lives during these uncertain times. This book is a celebration of mindfulness and the connections human beings have to everything else on Earth.

Pig the Star by Rachel Vail

Aaron Blabey writes this series of picture books about a pug named Pig – a pretty great premise if you ask me. This particular story is about a photoshoot that Pig attends with his friend Trevor, a Dachshund. Pig thinks he’s the star of the show but must learn the hard way that others need a chance to shine as well.

~Steph

Hope Matters – Actively Searching for the Positive

Lately I’ve been feeling frustrated by what I perceive as a lack of positive news and information. In my mind the way media is constructed it mainly focuses on the negative and under-reports the positive. I think this is very sad, and frankly, even dangerous. If people don’t have a sense of hope and only hear negative news, it can cause lethargy, a sense of doom, and denialist thinking (speaking for myself anyway) – not what we need during a challenging pandemic or when we are facing climate change.

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In my search for positive news I discovered Enlightenment Now by Stephen Pinker. He demonstrates through seventy-five graphs that life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the rise, not just in the West, but worldwide. This pre-pandemic fact-filled book highlights positive world trajectories that should continue despite the current situation. Factfulness by Hans Rosling is also a wake-up call that things aren’t as bad as we think and we have made many positive strides in the world. Something we all need to know and/or be reminded of. In the last chapter of his 2018 book he talks about five things we should worry about (and plan for): a pandemic and climate change are on the list. I first heard of Hans Rosling through his Ted Talks. Eye-opening!

In terms of climate change, Hope Matters by Elin Kelsey shares positive news and information about climate change. She reminds us there are concrete reasons to be hopeful. And hope can lead to transformative action by individuals and groups. If you need some ideas visit our Green Choices Information Guide.

I’m also looking forward to reading Imagine it! A Handbook for a Happier Planet by David Laurie. In the summary it states “They know a cleaner, healthier world is ours for the taking – and to start, we just have to Imagine It.”  Imagine that! And right before Earth Day! In the meantime, I’ve been enjoying The Hopecast by Jane Goodall, which, as you can imagine, is full of hope, humour, and inspiration.

When I see and hear all of the negative news, I sometimes find it hard to imagine a better world. And when I feel hopeless I don’t have the energy to do anything about anything. During these emotional downslides I have to intentionally search for positive news and inspiring people. They demonstrate that we can do better, we have been doing better than we think, and that working towards a better future is possible. Here are a few more inspiring books to bring you hope.

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On the Other Side of Freedom by Deray McKesson. “Hope is the belief that our tomorrows can be better than our todays. Hope is not magic; hope is work. I am not certain that a new world, one of equity and justice, will emerge, but I am certain that it can emerge.”

Hope Matters by Lee Maracle, Columpa Bobb and Tania Carter is a beautiful book full of “wide-ranging poems on the journey of Indigenous peoples from colonial beginnings to reconciliation, but they also document a very personal journey – that of a mother and her two daughters.”

A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: The Journey of Doaa Al Zamel by Melissa Fleming is the story of a refugee’s love, loss and survival. Melissa Fleming has also done a number of Ted Talks.

Hope in the Balance; A Newfoundland Doctor Meets a World in Crisis by Andrew Furey. “Dr. Andrew Furey tells the story of Team Broken Earth’s founding and remarkable work with vivid immediacy and raw honesty. And he reaches an optimistic conclusion that will leave readers inspired to bring about positive change in their own lives.”

My hope is that we start seeing and hearing more positive news. That we don’t lose sight of the fact of how far we have come. That we move forward with peace in our hearts and the knowledge that we will continue to do better. That we take the time to search for positive and inspiring stories and share them with each other. And that we strive to reconcile with our planet and each other with determination and hope, because hope matters – it matters a lot.

~Nadine

Springtime Books for Pre-Schoolers

Springtime is so exciting that you may feel you want to join the birds and sing out loud! 

So, let’s sing a spring song and look forward to all the best aspects of spring! To the tune of ‘Wheels on the Bus’, let loose with our Spring Song and check out some of our favourite springtime books for pre-schoolers.

Spring Song
(to the tune of ‘Wheels on the Bus’)

The rain in the clouds comes splashing down, splashing down, splashing down.
The rain in the clouds comes splashing down, all through the spring.

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The people in the gardens plant and water, plant and water, plant and water.
The people in the gardens plant and water, all through the spring.

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The birds in the trees build their nests, build their nests, build their nests.
The birds in the trees build their nests, all through the spring.

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The children in the park run and play, run and play, run and play,
The children in the park run and play, all through the spring.

     

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Now that we are all warmed up and ready to go, let’s get out and enjoy all that spring has to offer; the sights, the sounds and maybe even the smells?!

 ~ Kathleen and Lauren  

                           

Connect with the books:

• The Song of Spring by Hendrik Jonas
• Little Bear’s Spring by Elli Woollard
• Splish Splash Ducky by Lucy Cousins
• A Good Day for Ducks by Jane Whittingham
• Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn
• The Hidden Rainbow by Christie Matheson
• Let’s Get Gardening DK Publishing
• Bloom by Deborah Diesen
• Nesting by Henry Cole

• Bird Singing, Bird Winging by Marilyn Singer
• The Most Amazing Bird by Michael Kusugak
• This is the Nest that Robin Built by Denise Fleming
• Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring by Kenard Pak
• Hello Spring by Shelley Rotner
• Spring in the Woods by Sue Tarsky
• The Spring Book by Todd Parr
• Spring Stinks by Ryan Higgins

Check Out New Local Reads

Even though the Local History Room collection is not yet open to the public, there are plenty of new and original local reads that are available for borrowing that you can place holds on and pick-up at a library branch.

Most of us who live in Winnipeg probably wandered about the Exchange District and took some time to explore the remarkable architecture, read some of the commemorative plaques on buildings, and wondered how this neighborhood came in existence. In Treasures of Winnipeg’s Historic Exchange, George J. Mitchell shares the history of this 30-block area that developed in the 1880s as a commercial and industrial gateway to the Canadian West, animated by an entrepreneurial spirit present to this very day. This book celebrates the rich historical and cultural heritage of the area, as well as the festivals and artistic life, and is filled with vibrant and colorful illustrations from the distant past to the present that are worth a thorough look.

Embedded: Two journalists, a Burlesque Star, and the Expedition to Oust Louis Riel by Ted Glenn tells the story of two reporters who set off from Toronto to cover one of the biggest stories in Canadian history: Colonel Garnet Wolseley’s 1870 expedition to Red River. During their 6-month trek from the shores of Lake Superior to Fort Garry, Robert Cunningham and Molyneux St. John brought readers along as they paddled and portaged alongside the expedition’s troops. St. John’s wife and international burlesque star Kate Ranoe was part of the trip and ended up ghostwriting many of her husband’s stories after he injured his hand. Their accounts of their difficult travel and their interactions with the First Nations communities they met on the way, plus how the expedition impacted the development of the province, makes this a compelling read for readers interested in a more personal view of our history.

Have you ever heard of Roblin City, the tin cathedral, the Pine to Palm Highway or the mini golf mobster? These are some of the lesser known stories that journalist Darren Bernhardt sought to bring to light in Lesser Known : A History of Oddities from the Heart of the Continent. You will learn about John Armstrong Howard, Canada’s first Black Olympian who was born in Winnipeg and dominated Canadian sprinting from 1912 to 1915, the plans to create a suspended monorail system right on Portage Avenue, and a secret jail cell “discovered” in one of Winnipeg’s finest theatres. This is a very entertaining and enlightening read.

Local sportswriter Geoff Kirbyson recently published his second book about the Winnipeg Jets, entitled Broken Ribs and Popcorn, and continues where the Hot Line left off after the Winnipeg Jets rejoined the NHL after the merging with the WHA. This is the story of the Jets’ general manager John Ferguson’s attempt to re-build his team in the early 1980s, and its struggles to rise to become one of the best of the league by the end of the decade.

The problem for the Jets team and their fans was that while a new generation of players (under the leadership of captain Dale Hawerchuk) raised the performance of the team enough to give them a credible chance to become Stanley Cup winners year after year, they would constantly be frustrated in their attempts by the champions of the Smythe division: the Edmonton Oilers, led by legendary Wayne Gretzky. The book was extensively researched, and the author interviewed 125 players to write this solid hockey story about “how the Winnipeg Jets became the best team in the NHL’s most offensive era to not win the Stanley Cup”.

Langside by Chris Walter is a novel about a thirteen-year old boy, named Sky, who feels pressure to join a local gang in West Central Winnipeg, but is unwilling to do so. Sky struggles to adapt to the world of guns and drugs around him. Meanwhile, opposing gangs eager to capitalize on the growing demand for crystal meth are on the verge of open warfare. Langside is a fast-paced snapshot of urban life, both tragic and hopeful.

~ Louis-Philippe

“You have been my friend. That in itself has been a tremendous thing.”

A beautiful quote from one of my favourite childhood books, Charlotte’s Web. Through a quick scan of children’s literature you’ll find so many stories about relationships with animals: Flora and the Penguin, Hello, Mr Dodo!, South, Saving Winslow, and A Circle of Elephants.

As we move into the literature for adults we see fewer of these stories, but if you look they can still be found. And is it any wonder? Go to any dog park and you’ll see many adults with their furry companions. Go on social media and you’ll see many a post about our beloved cats. From rabbits to hamsters, lizards to birds, cats to dogs, and cows to horses, there are so many animals in our lives. And these human-animal relationships feature prominently in many adults’ lives, bringing friendship, comfort, love, and lessons.

Here are some stories that have made their way into adult literature and that add to the stories we were introduced to during our childhood: ones that chronicle these amazing relationships that we nurture and celebrate in adulthood.

The Dog by Kerstin Ekman

“A young puppy leaves his home to follow his mother and master, but soon becomes lost and left to struggle in the wild. The puppy becomes wild himself, trusting no human and furiously fighting the hunting dogs that enter his domain. But one man is intrigued by the now-unruly dog and very slowly begins to gain his trust. Each day he visits the dog, bringing food and awakening memories of his distant domestic past. The lost relationship between man and dog is rebuilt in this sensitive and intelligent story about the true nature of trust and friendship.”

The Friend by Sigrid Nunez

“A woman unexpectedly loses her lifelong best friend and finds herself burdened with the unwanted dog he has left behind. Struggling with her own grief, that of the dog, a huge Great Dane traumatized by disappearance of its master, and the threat of eviction: dogs are prohibited in her apartment building, the woman refuses to be separated from the dog. While troubles abound, rich and surprising rewards nonetheless lie in store for both of them.”

A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines

“Billy Casper is a troubled teenager growing up in a Yorkshire mining town. Beaten by his drunken brother, ignored by his mother and failing at school, he seems destined for a hard, miserable life down the pits. But Billy discovers a new passion in life when he finds Kes, a kestrel hawk, who inspires in him the trust and love that nothing else can.”

The Candlelit Menagerie by Caraline Brown

“In late eighteenth-century London, Lillian, a freakishly tall woman who struggles to fit into society because of her size and desire to wear trousers, discovers a candlelit exotic animal emporium, where she finds her natural home taking care of and befriending wild animals brought from around the world.”

The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy

“In the 1930s, Billy and his family come to Hidalgo County, New Mexico, where he becomes obsessed with a wild wolf that lives a precarious existence threatened by the region’s ranchers.”

The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson

“In 1766, a ship docks at Bristol, England, disgorging a crate with two young elephants in poor health, but alive. A wealthy sugar merchant purchases them for his country estate and turns their care over to a young stable boy, Tom Page. It takes time for Tom and the two elephants to understand each other, but to the surprise of everyone on the estate, a remarkable bond is formed, which changes the lives of all who meet them.”

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

“With his crooked tail – a sign of good fortune – and adventurous spirit, Nana is the perfect companion for the man who took him in as a stray. As they travel in a silver van across Japan, with its ever-changing scenery and seasons, they will learn the true meaning of courage and gratitude, of loyalty and love.”

H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

“When the author’s father dies and she is knocked sideways by grief, she becomes obsessed with the idea of training her own goshawk. She buys Mabel, fills the freezer with hawk food, and unplugs the phone, ready to embark on the long, strange business of trying to train this wildest of animals. H is for Hawk is a record of a spiritual journey – an honest account of Macdonald’s struggle with grief during the difficult process of the hawk’s taming and her own untaming.”

~Reegan

From April to December

“Based on the experience of my life, which I have not exactly hit out of the park, I tend to agree with that thing about, If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. And would go even further to: Even if it is broke, leave it alone, you’ll probably make it worse.”
― George Saunders

This month the Time to Read Podcast Bookclub is reading Tenth of December. In our “three plus” years of talking about books, I don’t think we’ve ever tackled THE SHORT STORY. That all changes this month as we delve into the hilarious yet often poignant mind of George Saunders.

Saunders, who teaches creative writing at Syracuse University, has been published in The New Yorker, GQ, McSweeney’s and Harper’s. He has won the National Magazine Award for fiction four times and his collection of stories Tenth of December won the Story Prize in 2013.

Saunders’s fiction often focuses on the absurdity of consumerism, corporate culture, and the role of mass media. While many reviewers mention his writing’s satirical tone, his work also raises moral and philosophical questions. The tragicomic element in his writing has earned Saunders comparisons to Kurt Vonnegut, whose work has inspired him.

We hope you pick up a copy of this month’s book and read along with us. In the meantime you can listen to our latest episode where we discuss Craig Davidson’s The Saturday Night Ghost Club.

Until next month, make sure you find some TIME TO READ!

-Trevor

Trans Day of Visibility

March 31 is Trans Day of Visibility, a day to celebrate trans and nonbinary people around the world, and to honour the courage it takes to live authentically.

For years, the majority of trans writing published in North America was confined to memoirs of transition – often written to satisfy cisgender readers’ curiosity about the medical and social process of gender confirmation. Thankfully we now have access to trans and nonbinary authors’ writing and publishing in every genre, taking on every stage of trans and nonbinary life across widely varied cultures, classes, and beliefs.

Trans and nonbinary authors create compelling and beautiful works, and I wanted to shine a spotlight on some of my favourite books by trans and nonbinary authors to read on Trans Day of Visibility and every other day.

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All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Anders
Childhood friends Patricia, a witch, and Laurence, a mad scientist, parted ways during middle school. But as adults they both wind up in near-future San Francisco, where Laurence is an engineering genius and Patricia works with a small band of other magicians to secretly repair the world’s ever-growing ailments.

Uptight Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
Sarah Gailey reinvents the pulp Western with an explicitly antifascist, near-future story of queer identity. This future American Southwest is full of bandits, fascists, and queer librarian spies on horseback trying to do the right thing.

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
Young Ada is troubled, prone to violent fits. Born “with one foot on the other side,” she begins to develop separate selves within her as she grows into adulthood. And when she travels to America for college, a traumatic event on campus crystallizes the selves into something powerful and potentially dangerous.
Traduction française également disponible.

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Trans par Samuel Champagne
Pendant des années, Samuel Champagne s’est demandé comment bien vivre, comment être une bonne fille. Il a désespérément tenté de se conformer à la norme. Il essayait tant bien que mal de correspondre à ce que la société voulait qu’il soit, jusqu’à ce qu’il réalise qu’en fait, il n’avait jamais été une femme. Samuel est un homme, il est transsexuel, et il nous explique tout le chemin parcouru.

Little Blue Encyclopedia: (For Vivian) by Hazel Jane Plante
Hazel Jane Plante sifts through a queer trans woman’s unrequited love for her straight trans friend who died. A queer love letter steeped in desire, grief, and delight, the story is interspersed with encyclopedia entries about a fictional TV show set on an isolated island.

Nevada by Imogen Binnie
Nevada is the darkly comedic story of Maria Griffiths, a young trans woman living in New York City and trying to stay true to her punk values while working retail.

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An Unkindness of Ghosts by River Solomon
Aster was born into slavery on a brutally segregated spaceship that for generations has been trying to escort the last humans from a dying planet to a Promised Land. When she discovers clues about the circumstances of her mother’s death, she also comes closer to disturbing truths about the ship and its journey.

Ciel. T. 1, Comment survivre aux deux prochaines minutes par Sophie Labelle
C’est le premier jour du secondaire pour Ciel, jeune ado transgenre. Mais cette étape ne se fait pas sans heurt pour elle, surtout qu’Eiríkur, son amoureux, a dû retourner en Islande, et qu’ils sont désormais forcés de poursuivre leur relation à distance. Pour se changer les idées.

Death Threat by Vivek Shraya
In the fall of 2017, Vivek Shraya began receiving vivid and disturbing transphobic hate mail from a stranger. Celebrated artist Ness Lee brings these letters and Shraya’s responses to them to startling life in Death Threat.

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Something That May Shock and Discredit You by Daniel Mallory Ortberg
In this essay collection, Daniel Mallory Ortberg’s provides us with an in-depth and hilarious studies of all things pop culture, from the high to low brow.

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir by Kai Cheng
A haunted young girl (who happens to be a kung-fu expert and pathological liar) runs away from an oppressive city in search of love and sisterhood, and finds herself in a magical place known only as the Street of Miracles. There, she is quickly adopted into a vigilante gang of glamorous warrior femmes called the Lipstick Lacerators, whose mission is to scour the Street of violent men and avenge murdered trans women everywhere.

Rebent Sinner by Ivan E. Coyote
Ivan E. Coyote takes on the patriarchy and the political in these stories of what it means to be trans and non-binary today, at a time in their life when they must carry the burden of heartbreaking history with them, while combatting those who would misgender them or deny their very existence.

Need more recommendations? Check out our curated list of eBooks and audiobooks by trans and nonbinary authors, available in our OverDrive collection. Nous offrons également une sélection de titres en français disponibles dans notre collection Cantook Station.

Happy reading!

– Barbara