Introducing McGill Reads 2024 – the 12th edition of our annual book list, compiled with recommendations from the McGill community. We hope this year’s holiday book list entertains, informs and, above all, inspires you to curl up with a book of your own. A big thank you to all who contributed. Wishing you a joyful and healthy holiday season and nothing but the good stuff for 2024!
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Sarah Delisle could be the spokesperson for many (most?) of us.
“I wasn’t sure I would manage a submission this year,” wrote the Director of the Office of Emergency Management, Campus Public Safety. “It feels like the holidays are rushing forward at full tilt and I’m the deer in the headlights.”
Delisle plans on reading The Future, by Catherine Leroux. “It’s my final read on the Canada Reads 2024 shortlist and (spoiler alert!) it won this year’s competition,” said Delisle. “Set in an alternate-history-Detroit that never became part of the United States, it is the story of a grandmother looking for her missing granddaughters.”
Thank you, Sarah, for finding the time and, please, look both ways before you cross the street!
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“Past, present, and a future that circles back to the past: that seems a good way to structure my reading list,” said Victor Chisholm, Student Affairs Administrator, Faculty of Science.
Chisholm recently finished Russia and Ukraine: Entangled Histories, Diverging States, by Maria Popova, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science.
“Her writing and analysis are both very clear. I appreciated insights into how each of these states could have gone either way – well, in so many ways – and ended up going in very different directions. As someone with roots in Central/Eastern Europe, better understanding each of these countries and their conflict also helps understand dynamics in other countries of the region,” he said.
Chisholm is reading Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimananda Ngozi Adichie. “I probably chose this book due to its frequent appearance in past McGill Reads lists,” said Chisholm in a shameless attempt to curry favour with the Keepers of McGill Reads. Shameless, but very effective. We love you, Victor!
Once that is done, Chisholm will revisit The Magic Mountain, by Thomas Mann. “The writing was a joy when I read it some twenty years ago, and the themes of illness, conflict, community and social decay are very timely.”
“Finally, for something timeless, I think that The Real World of Technology (The CBC Massey Lectures), by Ursula Franklin should be required reading or listening for anyone who works with IT or has any responsibility in implementing it,” said Chisholm. “She gave these lectures in 1989, and I think they are just as relevant as today. The lectures are available in print form as a book, as well as a free podcast on the CBC website.”
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Welcome to McGill Reads, Anna Maria Del Col, Marketing Manager, McGill-Queen’s University Press!
Del Col has given herself two literary tasks over the holidays. First, she plans to finish the fifth volume of In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust.
After that, Del Col will dive into The Lives of Lake Ontario: An Environmental History by Daniel Macfarlane, and recently published by McGill-Queen’s University Press
“It explores the many ways we have used and abused our greatest of Great Lakes. An excellent holiday gift for anyone who lives on or near Lake Ontario (this accounts for more than 55 per cent of the population of Ontario) or anyone interested in the environment and particularly cross-border environmental issues,” said Del Col.
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Sofie Athanasia Tsatas, Senior Reference Assistant & Cataloguing Editor, Marvin Duchow Music Library is looking forward to the holidays to catch up on some reading. In particular, she is excited to read An Autobiography, by Angela Y. Davis.
Tsatas recommends two books:
Enter Ghost, by Isabella Hammad. “One of my favourite books from this year. It’s a haunting depiction of occupation and how art can be, and is, a form of resistance.”
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde, by Tia Williams. “This book surprised me with how whimsical and magical it is! It’s a beautiful love story full of romance and mystery. I loved the references to the Harlem Renaissance, especially the music scenes, from Duke Ellington and Florence Mills to Louis Armstrong, the places to be, and the general celebration of Black expression.”
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“It’s the holidays and the colour green are associated with Christmas trees, emerald is a shade of green, and my picks are from the Emerald Isle,” wrote McGill Reads regular Jennifer Timmons, Communications Officer, Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences.
“I recently finished Long Island by Colm Tóbín. It is the sequel to Brooklyn, the story of Eilis Lacey’s immigration to the United States from Ireland and her settling into life in Brooklyn, a drastic change from the rural village she grew up in. At the heart of Brooklyn is her tug of war between old world Ireland and new world New York City, and Long Island follows a similar path but with more complications.”
“Colm Tóbín shows the reader an Ireland trying to catch up with its more progressive counterparts the UK and the States, but still entrenched in Catholic dogma and traditional gender roles.”
Timmons also recommends The Rachel Incident, by Caroline O’Donaghue. The book “shows an Ireland that has progressed by leaps and bounds, but abortion and LGBTQ+ rights remain elusive.”
“It is a tale of finding one’s voice, the power of friendship and jealousy and the damage gossip and perceptions can inflict on a person and those who love them. The beauty of the novel is Rachel’s resilience and ability to stay true to herself no matter how difficult things are steers her towards happiness.”
During the holidays Timmons plans on finishing Bono’s memoir Surrender 40 songs, one story.
“Each chapter is named after a U2 song and Bono delves into the history and context of the song, while he weaves facets of his life at that time and as they relate to the song’s origin,” she wrote. “If you are a fan of U2 (I am a die-hard fan), you will enjoy this book. He has the traditional Irish ‘gift of the gab’. He shares many facts and stories not previously reported, and you a real sense of what has shaped him and of the band’s history. Bono has learned not to take himself too seriously, and this is a lively read.”
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Crystal Noronha, Manager Student Affairs, Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences, has two recommendations for our humble list.
Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah. “Trevor Noah’s memoir. I read it a long time ago and I am planning on reading it again.”
The True Story of Canadian Human Trafficking, by Paul H Boge. “There’s a lot that is happening around us in Montreal where human trafficking and sex trafficking are concerned. We need to raise awareness of this issue.”
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Safia Généreux-Khali, Executive Director, Marketing and Branding, highly recommend Bliss Montage, a collection if short stories by the Severance television series writer Ling Ma. “The book provides a high contrast with reality and is overall just deliciously weird.”
“I have a long holiday reading wish list which includes l’Avenir, by Catherine Leroux (I will be reading it in French but you can read The Future in English). L’Avenir is a presented as a complex and layered story that probes how people navigate turbulent times.”
“Also on my list is Health and Safety, a memoir by the journalist Emily Witt who chronicles her time in Brooklyn’s underground music scene and her romance with a fellow partygoer,” said Généreux-Khali.
“Such a fantastic initiative,” she said. “Wishing you tons of quality reading time!”
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Daniel McCabe, legendary editor of the McGill News Alumni Magazine, is a longtime supporter of McGill Reads. We are humbled that he takes time from his busy schedule to participate in our little endeavour.
“For fiction, I’ll be spending time with Colored Television, by Danzy Senna, which has been turning up on several best-of-the-year lists. The book explores culture, race and the temptation to ‘sell out’ – a temptation ignited, in this case, when a struggling artistic couple house-sits for a very successful Hollywood TV writer,” said McCabe. “According to The New York Times, ‘the jokes are good, the punches land, the dialogue is tart.’”
“On the non-fiction side, I’ll be reading Montreal Standard Time: The Early Journalism of Mavis Gallant. The Montreal-born Gallant would go on to become one of Canada’s most acclaimed fiction writers, publishing dozens of her short stories in The New Yorker. Before that happened, though, she was a young newspaper columnist with The Montreal Standard, writing about war brides, refugees, prison inmates and street kids,” said McCabe. “The book offers a glimpse at life in Montreal during the Second World War and in the years immediately after.”
“Finally, I’ll be catching up on two of the hottest comic books of 2024 – Ultimate Spider-Man and Absolute Batman. Both involve alternate universe reimaginings of very familiar super-heroes,” said McCabe. “In the case of Ultimate Spider-Man, Peter Parker is a married thirtysomething and the father of two kids when he dons his iconic blue and red tights for the first time. His uncle Ben is still alive, and a crusading journalist partnered with J. Jonah Jameson. Absolute Batman’s Bruce Wayne isn’t a billionaire, and he is younger, burlier and more brutal than the Batman we know. Alfred Pennyworth isn’t his butler – he’s a weary, highly skilled mercenary. And Edward Nigma (the Riddler), Oswald Cobblepott (the Penguin) and Harvey Dent (Two-Face) aren’t his supervillain adversaries – they’re his childhood friends and poker buddies.”
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What’s a reading list without input from the pros?
Whether you’re settling in at home or adventuring afar, McGill Libraries can keep you connected, informed and entertained throughout the holiday break. Check out the year-end listing of 2024’s most searched and borrowed e-resources.
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A professor in the Department of English, Nathalie Cooke’s love of a good read comes naturally. She recommends the following titles.
What We Buried (Ari Greene #7), by Robert Rotenberg.
“Inspired by the true story of the Forty Martyrs in Gubbio, Italy, during World War II, What We Buried is an extraordinary crime novel about troubled legacies, revenge, and the unbreakable bonds of family.”
Never Forget (translated by Arthur Holden), by Martin Michaud.
“Number 3 in the series; first translated to English. Michaud is master of the Quebec thriller. Translation of a French-language crime fiction set in Canada is surprisingly rare, so this an important glimpse into French perspective on Quebec history and society, in a narrative format that engages.”
The Gang of Four: a Toni Damiano Mystery, by Sheila Kindellan-Sheehan.
“Surprisingly good reading; bad copyediting. Fifth book by this author (others published every two years). Set in very recognizable Montreal, the gang of kids is from NDG.”
“Can you tell I’ve been teaching, and therefore reading, Canadian crime fiction?!?”
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“My first recommendation (especially for this time of year) is J. K. Rowling’s The Christmas Pig! It was the first time my 10-year-old son and I read a book simultaneously which made it extra special since we could bond over the story,” wrote Pichara Chhe, Health and Well-Being Advisor. “As an adult reading this book, it was fun to go into an imaginary world and live a story from a child’s perspective.”
“During the holidays, I plan to read The Testaments, by Margaret Atwood which is the sequel to the Handmaid’s Tale and is the first 2025 HR Central Book Club Pick.”
“Finally, if I had to choose my favorite read of 2024, it would be The Break, by Katherena Vermette (a Canadian author, yay!)”
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New to our literary enterprise, Louis Roberts, Digital Communications Officer, University Advancement, jumps in with the passion of a real McGill Reads veteran.
“My love for Zadie Smith’s writing knows no bounds, and The Fraud is her best in years,” said Roberts. “It’s a sprawling, multi-perspective novel whose narrative strands are all linked in some way to the famous Tichborne case of the 1860s and ‘70s, where a man claimed to be the heir, hitherto presumed dead, to the lucrative Tichborne baronetcy.”
“It shows us how the seeds of today’s sensationalist tabloid culture were sewn – the case was a cause célèbre, with members of the public becoming amateur sleuths and genealogists, foreshadowing our present relationship with true crime and celebrity lawsuits – while mixing in questions of gender, colonialism and whether we are all frauds in our own ways,” continued Roberts. “I loved seeing Smith do a period piece, embracing the stylings of her beloved Dickens while staying true to her own unmistakable wit and wordsmithery.”
“On a similar note, I am currently reading Enoc Huws, by Daniel ‘the Welsh Dickens’ Owen, who hailed from the town of Mold where I spent many teenage weekends visiting my dad.”
“Next, I’ll be taking on Fernando Pessoa’s The Book of Disquiet, a posthumously published novel pieced together from thousands of individual manuscript pages the Portuguese writer left behind after his death in 1935. It sounds like an ideal read for lovers of Joyce-esque modernism who long to roam the streets and cafés of Southern Europe (i.e. yours truly).”
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“Holiday reading! It’s the best,” effused Chris Buddle, Associate Provost (Teaching and Academic Planning), with his trademark enthusiasm. Buddle is one of two people who have contributed to McGill Reads every year since the first edition in 2013. The other is Nigel Roulet.
“Top on my non-fiction list this year is The Last Human Job, by Allison J. Pugh. which appears to be about work that connects us in a very tech-heavy and automated world. This one comes recommended by a colleague and looks really interesting.”
“For fiction, I am eager to dig into Haruki Murakami’s recently published The City and its Uncertain Walls. I find his stories immensely creative (although often disturbing) and wonderfully complex and bizarre.”
“Also on the non-fiction side, a while back I received Why We Love Baseball, by Joe Posnanski and I hope to dig into this over the break. I love baseball so I am very excited to read this book and find out why this is so.”
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Mathilde Cassou, Academic Associate, Centre of Genomics and Policy, strongly recommends Lullaby (originally in French, Chanson douce) by Leila Slimani.
“It is a brilliant piece of dark fiction published a few years ago. It is incredibly unique, short to read and the definition of a page turner for me. It addresses themes of family, motherhood, norms and expectations, gender dynamics, and loss,” said Cassou. “We have a book club with my friends and this was our highlight of the year.”
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Jan Bottomer, Career Advising Team Lead, Career Planning Service, highly recommends What You are Looking for is in the Library, by Michiko Aoyama. “It’s a gentle, heartwarming read about the power of the right book at the right time, and as a bonus, there’s a good amount of decent career advice tucked into the stories,” she said.
Bottomer said the two titles has at the top of her holiday reading list “are two big-hearted books which share a focus on kindness and community.”
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by writer and musician James McBride. “It tells the story of the African American and Jewish residents of the Chicken Hill neighborhood of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, in the 1920s and ’30s and their mobilization to protect a vulnerable child from institutionalization.”
Welcome to Glorious Tuga, by Francesca Segal. “This book is about a newly qualified vet who starts a fellowship on a tiny South Atlantic island studying endangered tortoises. The author is quoted as saying that ‘writing this novel was a deliberate reaching out for joy’ and judging from the rave reviews, she succeeded!”
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Nadime Rahimian has a tale to tell – a literary tale.
“I am a staff member at the Computational and Data Systems Initiative (CDSI) and McGill Collaborative for AI & Society. I started working with these initiatives in August 2023, with zero knowledge or training in computer systems, programming and coding or Artificial Intelligence. In fact, I’ve always thought of myself as an old-school, pen and paper advocate who always rolled her eyes whenever a tech-bro got too excited about AI,” wrote Rahimian, Administrative Assistant, CDSI.
“I am happy to report that, within months on the job, I’ve had a quasi-religious experience and fell madly in love with the world of Computer Science. Every day, I am exposed to fascinating research on AI, especially on its impact on Society, and I am completely mesmerized (and a little scared) of the revolutionary changes AI will bring to our world.”
So, inspired, Rahimian plans to read the following books over the holidays:
- Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education, by Salman Khan.
“This book explores the impact of GenAI on education, and how educators, students, parents and school administrators can use it as a tool to enhance the learning experience. I am hoping to learn more about how I can use GenAI to improve my critical thinking skills, improve my writing and brainstorming skills and most importantly, to teach me how to learn.” - Global Environment Governance, Technology and Politics, by Victor Galaz.“I attended his keynote with TISED and was completely blown away by his talk (I highly recommend watching it on YouTube here). I’ve been using GenAI on an almost daily basis for more than a year now, but not until Prof. Galaz’s talk have I even thought of the amount of energy it takes to generate an image. And never have I felt this terrified for the future since he explained the magnitude of AI’s environmental impact on our planet, and how quickly we need to build governance around AI and other revolutionary technologies,” wrote Rahimian. “Although a lot has changed since the book’s publication, I am hoping that it will give me a better understanding of how we expect to govern AI.”
- Engines of Logic: Mathematicians and the Origin of the Computer, by Martin David.“I’ve been using computers on a daily basis for most of my life, yet I don’t know much about its history and the people involved in its inception,” wrote Rahimian. “Although I admit to never being very tech-savvy and mathematically inclined, the history of science and technology has always fascinated me, and I’m hoping that, if I study AI’s past, this book could potentially shed light on its future.”
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Heidi Strohl, Digital Design Manager, Digital Communications, Communications and Institutional Relations recommends The Oceans and the Stars, by Mark Helprin. “It’s a beautifully written story that feels tremendously real and immediate. I never thought I’d be so gripped by a novel about naval warfare, human integrity and government bureaucracy.”
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Leslie K. Breitner, Senior Faculty Lecturer; IMHL Academic Director; GCHM Academic Co-Director, has a pet peeve.
“I hate it when emails and other textual descriptions are publicized with errors,” she said. “I hope some of you will pick up the amusing but essential Eats, Shoots & Leaves, by Lynne Truss. I recommend it because I’d like to stop seeing so many errors on our websites, emails and other professional correspondence.”
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Regular contributor and Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning student, Sean Goldfarb (M.Sc.’23) is reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, by William Shirer, which he calls “sobering.”
He’s also reading the Hebrew Bible, which he finds “a rather an engaging read!”
“I tried before in high school, but the language was too archaic, and I got overwhelmed. This time I’m reading a modern translation complete with annotations and am following a reading schedule called Parashot for the Five Books of Moses and a schedule called Sederim for the rest. This makes it much more manageable. I can’t recommend enough reading it with annotations, as it makes things so much clearer,” he said.
Over the holidays, Goldfarb plans to read A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket. “Classic kiddie lit that I always meant to read but never got around to. Surprisingly mature for the target audience, not shying away from death and other adult topics.”
The Art of War, by Sun Tzu and The Lost Art of War, by Sun Tzu II. “Classic treatises on military strategy that are often expanded to life as well.”
The Book of the Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi. “A book on martial arts, that also applies to everyday life.”
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As per tradition, Sean’s mother Janice Goldfarb (M.Sc. in Physiology) has also joined in on the McGill Reads fun.
“For some light reading, I read some crime novels by Jeffery Deaver, specifically his series about Colten Shaw. The Never Game, The Goodbye Man and Final Twist,” she said. “All are about a grounded survivalist (Colten Shaw) who uses that survival knowledge to solve mysteries and protect himself and others. Much better than the new TV show Tracker.”
Goldfarb also read Kukum, by Michel Jean, which she called “an Interesting thoughtful book.”
Over the holidays, Goldfarb plans to read North of Normal, by Cea Sunrise Person. “The blurb explains it all:’a memoir of my wilderness childhood, my counterculture family, and how I survived both.’”
On The Ravine, by Vincent Lam. “A Canadian doctor/author who wrote a fiction book about opiate addiction in one of his patients.”
Parable of the Sower, by Octavia Butler. “About a woman who can feel others’ pains and flees northward to get away from her turmoil.”
Putin’s people: how the KGB took back Russia and then took on the West, by Catherine Belton. “In these confusing times, an inside look at what lies beneath our political imagination.”
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Nigel Roulet is hoping to finish The Second World War, by Antony Beevor. “I started last June on the anniversary of D-Day. Both my parents served in the forces in WWII so I thought it was time to read about it,” said the James McGill Professor of Biogeoscience, Department of Geography. Roulet has participated in McGill Reads every year since its inception in 2013.
“I plan to read Peter Turchin’s End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration.”
“I am sure there will be a few murder mysteries. About to read Simon McCleave’s Snowden Murders – The River Seine Killings and J.M. Dalgiesh’s The Talisker Dead.
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Andra Syvänen, Assistant Dean, Admissions & Recruitment, recommends the following books:
- The Innocents, by Michael Crummey
- Late Nights on Air, by Elizabeth Hay
- Greenwood, by Michael Christie
“I also can’t recommend enough the Libby app, which allows you to read the McGill Library e-books. I discovered this past year that I actually don’t mind reading books on my phone, and it’s led to an exponential increase in my reading!”
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“I love this tradition,” wrote Emilie Langlois, Landscape Architect, Design Services, Facilities Management and Ancillary Services. She has six recommendations for holiday readers.
The Ministry of Time, by Kaliane Bradley. “A super fun story with a hard-to-define genre – part romance, time-travel, action and societal reflection.”
North Woods, by Daniel Mason. “Another odd one. Takes a few chapters to understand the subplot but it’s a superbly crafted tale that lets you time travel (in a different way than Ministry of Time).
Thursday Murder Club Series, by Richard Osman. “Fun times, oldies solving murders.”
Ninth House, by Leigh Bardugo “For repressed fantasy lovers. This is Stephen King meets Sarah J. Maas. Trust.”
Weyward, by Emilia Hart “Another multi-generational story (I guess I have a type) of witches in England.”
Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin. “For gamers and quirky character lovers.”
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Speaking of loveable holiday traditions, once again we close this edition of McGill Reads with the gilded words of Bud Martin, who some say is to the holidays what an eggnog stain is to your favorite sweater – a stubborn, crusty reminder of good times past.
“The pile next to my recliner says it all: two Elisabeth Kübler-Ross books and a trio of Charles Portis novels,” wrote Bud. “It’s a cliché to say a book has a laugh on every page, but…damn. (For Portis, not Kübler-Ross.) His Masters of Atlantis and Dog of the South got me through some cloudy nights this year, and I’ll need True Grit, Norwood and Gringos, too.”
“True Grit shows up in another holiday to-read, editor John McMurtrie’s essay anthology Literary Journeys: Mapping Fictional Travels across the World of Literature, as do The Canterbury Tales, Grapes of Wrath, Poisonwood Bible, Americanah and dozens of others,” continued McGill’s Man of Many Words.
“Not sure if I’m up for the On the Road essay, though, for fear I’ll get (even more) misty for the summer my wife and I packed up our very tiny kids to trace Jack Kerouac’s final road trip from Lowell, Massachusetts to Rivière-du-Loup. My head/knees/prostate tell me that was 15 years ago. My heart says 15 minutes. Now, when my oldest and I take evening drives to look at Christmas lights, it’s me oohing and aahing from the passenger seat while she practices the finer points of clutching and shifting. (Good grief, there’s no rest for the wistful, is there? The combustion engine has got to go, no question, but boy-oh-boy I’ll miss the simple pleasure of driving a manual transmission.)”
“Now that I think about it, I should probably add the Quebec Highway Safety Code to my reading list, too. Gotta stay au courant about how many brontosaurus lengths to leave between me and the next guy.”