February is Black History Month
Black Loyalists in New Brunswick by Stephen Davidson
Among the Loyalists who were transported to the shores of New Brunswick by the British after their defeat by revolutionary Americans were several hundred African Americans. Like their counterparts who went to what is now Nova Scotia, among this group were formerly enslaved men, women and children who had been granted their freedom in exchange for joining the British side during the revolutionary war.
Gutter Child by Jael Richardson
Jael Richardson’s debut novel, Gutter Child (2021, HarperCollins Canada)* is a forceful one that shines a spotlight on racism, colonization and the struggle to get out from under an imposed…
Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present by Robyn Maynard
Policing Black Lives is the work of Montreal-based Black feminist activist and educator, Robyn Maynard. Maynard brings her considerable expertise to this book, which is packed with information about the history and continued oppression of Black people in Canada.
The Hermit of Africville by Jon Tattrie (New Edition)
Jon Tattrie paints a bleak picture of the destruction of Africville through the eyes of a lifelong protestor, Eddie Carvery. Carvery grew up in Africville, a black community in the northern section of Halifax.
Pearleen Oliver: Canada’s Black Crusader for Civil Rights, Edited by Ronald Caplan
As the Black Lives Matter movement advances, there have been many, many new books released focussing on the history of slavery, segregation and outright racism that existed and still exists…
The Talking Drum by Lisa Braxton
It is 1971. The fictional city of Bellport, Massachusetts, is in decline with an urban redevelopment project on the horizon expected to transform this dying factory town into a thriving economic center. This planned transformation has a profound effect on the residents who live in Bellport as their own personal transformations take place.
Afraid of the Dark by Guyleigh Johnson
Through prose and poetry, Guyleigh Johnson tells the story of sixteen-year-old Kahlua Thomas. An absent father and an alcoholic mother leave Kahlua feeling neglected, but her real pain stems from being black.
Finding Fortune: Documenting and Imagining the Life of Rose Fortune (1774-1864) by Brenda J. Thompson
A daughter of runaway slaves, a Black Loyalist, the first Black police officer, a businesswoman and a friend of T.C. Haliburton; as a follow-up to her best-selling A Wholesome Horror, Brenda Thompson tells Rose Fortune’s story for the first time.
The Lost Sister by Andrea Gunraj
Andrea Gunraj is the author of The Sudden Disappearance of Seetha (2009, Knopf Canada), her first novel. The Lost Sister (2019, Vagrant Press) is two stories (or really two separate novels) which Ms. Gunraj has cleverly interleaved and zipped up into one considerable read, so that we have two stories, both with a “lost sister.”
news
The Globe & Mail’s Winter 2021 Books Preview: 36 fiction and non-fiction reads to cozy up with
Escape between the pages of a book this season with our roundup of page-turning fiction and timely non-fiction coming out over the next few months in 2021.
Must-Have New Brunswick Books of 2020*
The books in this “Must Have New Brunswick Books of 2020” list cover all ages and tastes and will give you an idea of the diversity of voices – both young and old – that emanate from here. This list includes fiction for young readers as well as mature ones, and non-fiction titles concerning New Brunswick, and its history, people, and geography.
Here is the Canada Reads 2021 longlist (CBC Books)
2020 was a year like no other. As we start 2021 and look forward to the 20th edition of Canada Reads, we are reminded that books can be a safe place to go when times are tough.
The Top 10 Bestselling Canadian Books of 2020
CBC Books is counting down the top 10 bestselling Canadian titles of 2020, using data from close to 300 independent Canadian bookstores, courtesy of Bookmanager. Interestingly, the #9 and #8 books were reviewed right here…
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