From social commentary to scholarly inquiry and analysis to critically acclaimed fiction and non-fiction, members of the A&S community published an incredibly diverse range of books this year. Here are just a few that can expand knowledge, understanding and imagination for readers of all ages.
A response to the decline in how we talk to each other
Ian Williams, a professor with the Department of English and the director of the department’s creative writing program, feels we’ve forgotten how to have constructive, respectful and meaningful conversations.
Calling our discussions in person and online, “functional, brief and kind of hostile,” thanks to the pandemic, social media dependance and other global events, Willams felt compelled to write What I Mean to Say with suggestions about how to return to better discourse.
The book’s chapters cover Williams’ experiences with personal conversations and public conversations with examples of dialogue throughout. But it’s not a how-to guide for discussing difficult topics. Instead, he offers insights on how to listen, how to accept honesty, and how we can relate to one another.
Who hasn’t thought about making life simpler?
Robert McGill, acting chair of the Department of English, explores the heartaches and joys of people wanting to simplify their lives in his debut short story collection, Simple Creatures.
McGill’s characters include a teenager who wants to live among a community of Bigfoot that he believes he’s found in the woods; a widow of an endocrinologist who adopts a chimpanzee from his lab; a divorcée seeking to discover the identity of a mysterious author who’s made a viral environmental pledge; and an amateur hockey player who’s struggling with the fact his name is Leo Gretzky.
All of McGill’s stories feature characters who are feeling overwhelmed by the complications of their everyday lives and choose to make concerted efforts to make life easier and simpler, but not without consequences.
A professor’s murder mystery is set at a university, of course
Lorne Tepperman, who has authored, co-authored, edited and co-edited a remarkable 88 academic books, has written his first murder mystery novel.
Deadly Donation opens with the murder of a despised philanthropist, and the police have plenty of suspects. Cue Rachel Tile, a 40-year-old professor and the philanthropist’s ex-wife, who uses her criminal expertise and street smarts to crack the case. But as the investigation unfolds, Tile discovers her marriage, her family and her life are in danger.
There's a lot of white collar crime, as well as sex, violence, gambling, addiction and marital betrayal — all the juicy elements of a good murder mystery.
For Tepperman, a professor emeritus with the Department of Sociology, writing this book was such an enjoyable learning experience, he’s already busy working on Tile’s next case.
This A&S alum is an astronomer by night, author by day
Hockey-loving Emily Deibert was skating laps at a rink in downtown Toronto when inspiration struck for her first children’s book.
In Bea Mullins Takes a Shot, Deibert shares the story of a young girl forced to join her school’s hockey team as an academic requirement. The story’s main character, who identifies as queer, learns to play hockey and is encouraged to be her authentic self.
Deibert completed her honours bachelor of science degree at U of T in 2017 and later earned her PhD in 2022. She’s now a science fellow at the prestigious International Gemini Observatory in Chile.
Playing on several women’s hockey teams, she found them to be very welcoming and accepting of all people and she wanted to share her positive experiences with young readers through this book.
A young-adult story that bucks the trend of dystopian novels
Randy Boyagoda’s first young adult novel, Little Sanctuary is a dystopian tale set in a fictional country in the Global South ravaged by conflict and disease.
A wealthy family sends their children to a special camp on a remote island for safekeeping. But the children discover the camp isn’t what it appears to be and become weary of their so-called protectors. The main character, Sabel, and her siblings, decide to escape.
Boyagoda, a professor in the Department of English and vice-dean, undergraduate, noticed that most dystopian fiction in television and in books features privileged white protagonists. Meanwhile, stories set in the Global South often feature characters who live in worlds of poverty.
Asked Boyagoda, “What would happen if the main characters weren't upper middle class white people? What if a young adult novel about the Global South wasn't about extremely poor brown people?”
Highlighting the efforts trans youth to create inclusive spaces
As a trans non-binary person and a former youth worker, LJ Slovin has worked with a lot of trans youth.
Slovin was struck by the physical, mental and emotional labour trans youth undertake each day at school in order to feel safe, connected to peers, and to safely express who they are.
Slovin, a postdoctoral fellow with the Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, spent a year with a number of trans youth at a high school in western Canada to better understand these efforts, which they captured in Fierce, Fabulous, and Fluid: How Trans High School Students Work at Gender Nonconformity.
The book captures the day-to-day experiences of six high school trans students ages 14-18 and how they navigated high school and created spaces to feel comfortable.
New Brunswick’s brief but memorable era in car production
In the 1970s, New Brunswick was home to the production of a futuristic sports car, the Bricklin SV1 — the vision of American entrepreneur, Malcolm Bricklin.
Bricklin worked with New Brunswick premier Richard Hatfield, who wanted to boost the province’s manufacturing sector. About 3,000 cars were built before Hatfield determined the operation was losing money. It was the only car built by a new startup in North America between the 1940s and Elon Musk’s Tesla.
This story of entrepreneurial spirit is captured in Dimitry Anastakis’ book, Dream Car: Malcolm Bricklin’s Fantastic SV1 and the End of Industrial Modernity.
Anastakis, the faculty’s L.R. Wilson/R.J. Currie Chair in Canadian Business History and cross-appointed to the Rotman School of Management believes the car was built “at a moment of incredible disruption in North America’s economy, society and politics, and during an incredible transition in the auto industry itself.”
Idleness may just be the answer
For just about every environmental problem, the reaction is often one of scaling up in some way. But what if the solution was stepping back and slowing down?
That’s the idea behind Kate Neville’s book, Going to Seed: Essays on Idleness, Nature & Sustainable Work. Fusing scientific research with literature, poetry and personal reflections, her essays explore our relationship with the natural world and the concept of sustainable labour.
Neville, an associate professor cross-appointed between the Department of Political Science and the School of the Environment, begins each essay with a plant or animal — something natural impacted by human activity.
From there, she touches on different historical philosophies, like Japanese Zen, Buddhist and Judeo-Christian theories about work and productivity as well as the significance and benefits of rest.
