Rebecca and Tara chat about their latest reads, some of which include CBC's Canada Reads titles for the 2025 debates airing March 17-20 on CBC TV, CBC Radio, and CBC Books (website and YouTube).

Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle): 

Tara (@onabranchreads):

Rebecca and Tara celebrate some of their favorite Love Stories in all their different forms in honor of Valentine's Day.  

Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle):

Tara (@onabranchreads):

Rebecca is excited to speak with author Dr. Louise Ells.  Louise is the author of Lies I Told My Sister, published in 2024 by Latitude 46 Publishing.  She was born and raised in Northeastern Ontario. After years of travel, she moved to Cambridge, England where she earned her PhD in Creative Writing. Louise teaches at universities and colleges in England and Canada and currently lives north of Toronto, where she can often be found in her library surrounded by books and snuggled up with her cats.

https://www.louiseells.ca/

https://www.instagram.com/louiseellsauthor/?hl=en

https://store.latitude46publishing.com/products/lies-i-told-my-sister

Recommendations:

Tara is excited to chat with Adelle Purdham, who is an educator, parent disability advocate and author of the memoir-in-essays I Don't Do Disability and Other Lies I've Told Myself published by Dundurn Press in 2024. It was named a Fall 2024 Most Anticipated Memoir & Biography by Indigo and 49th Shelf. Her prose and poetry appear in literary journals, anthologies, magazines, newspapers and online. Adelle has an MFA in Creative Nonfiction and is a qualified French teacher. She currently woks as a Seasonal Part-time Faculty member at Trent University where she teaches creative writing in her hometown, Nogojiwanong (Peterborough), ON.

https://adellepurdham.ca/

https://www.instagram.com/adellepurdham/?hl=en

https://www.dundurn.com/

Recommended titles:

Rebecca and Tara discuss CBC's Canada Reads Short List, how well they did in selecting what would make the short list, and who they predict will win based on the slightest amount of research possible and their gut feelings.

https://www.cbc.ca/books/meet-the-canada-reads-2025-contenders-1.7431920

The Contenders:

Rebecca and Tara are back for their first book chat of 2025!  They share the titles they've read recently and want to recommend.  Stay tuned to the end where a bit of CBC's Canada Reads pops into the discussion.

Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle):

Tara (@onabranchreads):

Rebecca is excited to speak with Canadian author Erin Steele.  Her queer coming-of-age and addiction memoir, Sunrise over Half-Built Houses: Love, Longing and Addiction in Suburbia (Caitlin Press) was published in Canada in 2024 and will be available in the US on February 21, 2025.  Erin also writes “On Being Human” on Substack.  She was a 2022 Writing by Writers fellow and is published in Human Parts, WordWorks, and other online publications.  She lives in Kelowna, BC Canada.  

https://erinsteele.com/

https://www.instagram.com/erinsteelewrites/

https://caitlinpress.com/Contributors/S/Steele-Erin

The day everyone has been waiting for!!  CBC Books has released the long list for the 2025 Canada Reads debates and Rebecca and Tara offer their predictions for the five books that will compete for the title!

Tara suggests at the end that their predictions are submitted as a podcast rather than as two individuals.  It seems they are looking to raise the odds on how many they get right! lol

(The asterisk below highlights the titles they predict will be announced on January 23, 2025 for the short list.)

• The Whispers by Ashley Audrain*

For extensive detail and ongoing coverage, see https://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/the-canada-reads-2025-longlist-is-here-1.7421861

Happy New Year!!  Rebecca and Tara sum up their 2024 goals and introduce their reading goals for 2025!

Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle):

Tara (@onabranchreads):

Mentioned:

https://carolshieldsprizeforfiction.com/

https://www.instagram.com/carolshieldsprize/

https://www.riverstreetwriting.com/

https://www.instagram.com/river_street_writes/

As Rebecca and Tara close out 2024 and a great year of reading, they share their Top Ten list of books!

Rebecca (@canadareadsamericanstyle):

Tara (@onabranchreads):

Rebecca and Tara want to thank all of you for listening to and supporting the podcast this past year or longer.  They look forward to creating more fun and interesting content in 2025!