Nothing beats a good book, especially at the cottage, by the pool — or even quietly at home with the kids away at camp. We ask two professional book lovers to share their tips for the best books of the summer, from beach reads and blockbusters to novels from Canada’s finest.

Ann Shea, from Mill Street Books in Almonte, Ont., chose One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune, The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes, How to Survive a Bear Attack by Claire Cameron, The Mind Mappers by Eric Andrew-Gee and My Friends by Fredrik Backman.

Cassidy Tooley, from Mosaic Books in Kelowna, B.C., chose Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy, Favourite Daughter by Morgan Dick, The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life by Suleika Jaouad, The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig, and Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Have you read any of these books already? Hit play to hear the conversation and find out why our book lovers think you should!

As limited aid begins to enter Gaza after a months-long blockade, civilians are scrambling to access much-needed food and supplies. Gaza health officials say Israeli forces have killed dozens of Palestinians trying to access aid in the past few days. A representative from Save The Children discusses the struggle to get aid to people who desperately need it — and about the humanitarian situation on the ground, which she says somehow gets worse every day.

Ukrainian drones smuggled deep into Russian territory carried out a stunning attack over the weekend — and just this morning, another underwater bombing by Ukraine took out Russia’s bridge to Crimea. A journalist in Kyiv breaks down the military feat, and explains how much its boosted morale among Ukrainians.

The fight to save 400 ostriches from being culled at a B.C. farm where avian flu was detected late last year has attracted international attention — including from some big name supporters, including Dr. Oz and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. A member of the family that’s owned the ostrich farm for 30 years tells Matt Galloway about why they have fought the cull order, while an immunology expert explains the risk the birds pose to public health.

Claire Cameron has been obsessed with bears since hearing about a bear attack while she was working in Ontario’s Algonquin Park as a teenager. But when she was diagnosed with cancer, Cameron revisited the details of that attack and the wilderness environment that’s shaped much of her life. In a conversation from March, she told Galloway about her new memoir How to Survive a Bear Attack, and what facing death taught her about how to live.

From climate change to poverty or infant mortality, the world is facing a lot of big problems. And the historian Rutger Bregman says you — yes, you — are the exact right person to solve them. Bregman makes the case to Matt Galloway that today’s workforce should focus on “moral ambition” — channeling their entrepreneurial spirits toward social problems, rather than toiling in meaningless jobs

Mark Carney promised to “build, baby, build” on the campaign trail. Today, he’s meeting with provincial and territorial premiers to discuss his plans to build big projects in this country, including by fast-tracking the processes to get them approved. We’ll talk about balancing the rights of Indigenous nations with the new government’s proposed plans — and why red tape isn’t the only hurdle holding up development.

The wildfire season is in full effect, and it’s only May. Saskatchewan and Manitoba are in a state of emergency as wildfires burn across the provinces. Thousands of people have evacuated their homes, and many are still finding ways to get out of the fire’s way. First Nations leaders Peter Beatty, Chief of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in Saskatchewan and David Monias, Chief of the Pimicikamak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba explain how they are moving their communities out of danger when many exits are closed — and what worries they have for this wildfire season.

Are you a self-identified “word nerd?” Jacques Bailly is, and he is a bit of a spell-lebrity… What is that you might ask? Well, he is the head pronouncer at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the Olympics of competitive spelling, and he was a spelling bee champion himself when he was 14. He’ll talk about why spelling is a skill we should preserve in a world of spell check and AI — and put Matt Galloway to the test.

Thumb pulling, chin tucking, hair transplants…. and on the less extreme side, skin, hair, and eyebrow care — those are just some examples of looksmaxxing, a viral social media trend for young men to improve their looks. Elijah Forcier is a TikToker with advice on how, and Christian Ylagan is an instructor with the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies at Western University, we talk about what these unrealistic beauty standards mean for young men’s self-esteem — and masculinity in 2025.