CESBA’s Equity & Diversity Committee has put together a list of books they have read or are excited to read. The links below each book are recommended independent sellers or publishers in Canada who ship widely.
Humane
By Anne Marie Sewell
Recommended by Michele Breault, Waterloo Catholic District School Board
Humane is reviewed as a riotous mystery, written by an Indigenous author with painful, truthful, and humourous, Agatha-Christie-like storytelling. While I was craving a good story, something less serious, I still wanted to read something outside of my worldview and from a diverse voice. I couldn’t resist the descriptor “Who steals a dog from a shelter after receiving a dream message from their grandmother?” I recently rescued a senior dog (no I didn’t steal him, but he WAS up for euthanasia) and we have more questions than answers about him. He’s deaf, blind and doesn’t bark. I suspect this book will appeal to my yearning for an evolving understanding to a universal question of what it means to be human AND humane, while confronting the notion that people (and creatures) are treated as invisible, expendable and what happens if they don’t have a voice.
The Verifiers
By Jane Pek
Recommended by Angela Parkin, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
This is a witty mystery featuring a Queer amateur sleuth who draws all of her methods from her favourite Chinese detective series. The mystery element is intriguing, exploring our digital lives in unique and sometimes uncomfortable ways, but it’s also not the primary focus. The main character’s exploration of her immigrant experience and how it can be so different from that of her siblings, her complicated family dynamic, plus a fun cast of minor characters really made this an enjoyable read.
Available from Take Cover Books, an independent bookstore in Peterborough
In the Upper Country
By Kai Thomas
Recommended by Angela Parkin, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
I chose this originally because it was an historical fiction about escaped slaves building a community in southern Ontario — an uncommon topic in fiction. Aside form that, it was full of interesting characters and unique plot points. It was also refreshing to read about how the early Black communities were interacting with local Indigenous groups because we so often hear about both of these groups only as they relate to the white Settlers when it comes to history.
From the publisher: “In the Upper Country weaves together unlikely stories of love, survival, and familial upheaval that map the interconnected history of the peoples of North America in an entirely new and resonant way.”
Available from A Different Booklist, an African Canadian-owned bookstore in Toronto
Rez Rules: My Indictment of Canada’s and America’s Systemic Racism Against Indigenous Peoples
By Chief Clarence Louie
Recommended by Lori Sheppard, Lambton-Kent District School Board
Last summer, I read The Reason You Walk by Wab Kinew. This summer, I plan to read Rez Rules. I look forward to hearing another voice of a leader who led a community through the injustices of the Indian Act and its implications.
The Remedy: Queer and Trans Voices on Health and Health Care
Edited by Zena Sharman
Recommended by Ananda Umar, CESBA
This is an anthology of personal essays from Queer and Trans people who share their experiences of navigating the Canadian health care system. The book begins with a summary of inequities that Queer and Trans people face within healthcare. The book personalizes the issues with the moving and intimate essay that share diverse experiences of discrimination, exclusion and barriers to care in Canada. It is an accessible read for anyone who wishes to have a better understanding of some less discussed challenges that Trans and Queer people face, and it is particularly excellent for anyone who works in the healthcare sector.
Buy from Arsenal Pulp Press, a small publishing house in Vancouver with a focus on social issues