We like consuming words on the page almost as much as we like consuming food on the plate. Welcome to the Scout Book Club: a brief and regular rundown of what we’re reading, what’s staring at us from the bookshelf begging to be read next, and what we’ve already read and recommend.

Currently Reading & Recommended

The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II (Penguin Random House Canada), by Svetlana Alexievich | Compassionate, thoughtful, sympathetic, inquisitive and rebellious all are apt descriptors of Ukraine-born writer/journalist and Nobel Prize in Literature winner, Svetlana Alexievich. In The Unwomanly Face of War (first published in Russian in 1985), Alexievich takes on the (integral) role of supporting character by letting the Soviet women of war speak for themselves, then rallying them together and organizing them into one 300+ page tome. Her journalistic pursuit for the ‘truths’ about war unfolds through a series of meetings with various ordinary yet incredible women who served during WWII, transcribing conversations touching on a wide range of topics from a uniquely female perspective; including unexpected ones otherwise generally excluded from traditional war documentation, like femininity, beauty and love. So much more than a compilation of atrocious accounts (although still rife with explicitly horrific details), this is an history book unlike anything else I’ve encountered. It’s hard not to imagine the world being a better, and less violent, place if only this book (and other woman’s wartime experiences) were required reading. Consider it your duty to seek out a copy STAT! —TS

Order your copy from local independent booksellers, such as Iron Dog Books, Massy Books and Upstart & Crow.*

If you’re also experiencing a stereotypical case of summer-induced short attention span, here are a trio of story collections I’ve recently read and highly recommend: We Have Never Lived on Earth (University of Alberta Press), by Montreal-based Kasia Van Schaik, is a progressive series of short stories, at times abstract but always deeply emotive and visceral, exploring themes ranging from childhood and coming-of-age, to sexual abuse, and the immigrant experience; with Liberation Day (Random House), George Saunders veers from dystopic science fiction to modern everyday small town mundanity, but regardless of their setting each story is described distinctly and is rife with humour, personal and social political commentary, surprising twists, and nuanced human relationship dynamics; the second book by Irish author and former chef, Louise Kennedy, The End of the World is a Cul de Sac (Riverhead Books) is a distinctly Irish read that’s full of sensitivity, intimacy and introspection, yet also fraught with a perpetual sense of foreboding, featuring a roster of unexceptional characters simply going about their lives, attempting to make connections and/or some sense of it all amid their mostly ordinary settings. — TS

Seek out your copies from local independent booksellers, such as Iron Dog Books, Massy Books and Upstart & Crow.*

COMING SOON: The Capital of Dreams (HarperCollins), by Heather O’Neill | The latest novel from the Montreal author is a fantastical coming-of-age story, set in the made-up European country of Elysia. Artistic expression proliferates and is celebrated in its metropolis, the Capital, at times to extremes. From opera singers to authors, its wildest and most absurd and/or daring artists are revered as celebrities; a category which fourteen-year-old protagonist Sofia’s own mother, Clara, epitomizes. However, its most free-spirited, liberal and residents are now under persecution by the Enemy, who have waged war on Elysians in order to gain their land, and Sofia has been entrusted with the weighty task of saving the culture which she has been brought up to revere by safekeeping and disseminating its ideas, via her mother’s newest manuscript. What unfolds is a complex, fable-like adventure, which blurs the border between reality and the perceived reality of a young, unreliable and wildly imaginative narrator. As usual, O’Neill unabashedly touches on feminist themes including women’s agency, gender roles and sexuality – as well as family/cultural legacy, and the nuanced mother-daughter relationship – without being preachy. This is probably not her best or most convincing novel, to date, but it is a thoroughly enchanting and thought-provoking one, from a reliable, sharp-witted entertainer. The Capital of Dreams goes on sale on September 10th, 2024. — TS

Pre-order your copy from local independent booksellers, such as Iron Dog Books, Massy Books and Upstart & Crow.*

*It would be remiss for me not to mention Vancouver’s various other independent and used book stores, and encourage you to pay them an in-person visit to seek out these and other titles.

Supplementary Reading

Makes You Shiver: How politicians use ice cream to get your vote | Also have ice cream on the brain? This article from the archives of Sandwich magazine will add an extra dimension to how you think about the sweet and cold treat…and world politics. Via Huck magazine.

Creative block? Office of Overview has designed a work-friendly beer to get things flowing again | Read about one Brixton-based design agency who decided to make the term ‘creative juice’ into something literally quaffable, questionably inspiring, controversially workplace-friendly…and unsurprisingly good-looking. Via It’s Nice That.

51 years ago, a railway strike led to the most ‘explosive’ alcohol-fuelled ‘rampage’ on Parliament Hill
| On the other hand, alcohol took the brunt of the blame for an historic 1973 riot at Parliament, where strikers were expressing their anger at not being able to work. In light of the current railway strike, journalist Christopher Nardi reminds us of this parallel situation culled from Canada’s past. Via The National Post.