In an effort to help you, the reader, choose potential gifts for the holidays (as well as celebrate the recently discovered (to us) tradition of Jólabókaflóð), we asked a number of Goose Lane authors what is the one (or more) book that they would give to everyone if they could. Today, in part one, authors Gerry Fostaty, Scott Fotheringham, and Susan Evans Shaw tell us what book the holiday spirit impels them to give.

Gerry Fostaty, author, As You Were, recommends:

Starfall 

• Diana Kolpak, author
• Kathleen Finlay, photographer

Toronto performer Diana Kolpak’s Starfall presents a clown’s quest for light in a dark, stark winter world. Kathleen Finlay has beautifully photographed the bleakness of winter and somehow made the images glow with an unexpected warmth. Meera, the clown, is charming, and the book, aimed at a young audience, would make a terrific gift—once you have leafed through the compelling photographs and smiled at the story yourself.

Scott Fotheringham, author, The Rest is Silence, recommends:

The Break

• Katherena Vermette, author

I know that everyone is recommending this book, but I like it.

 

This is an affecting story of lost innocence. A girl on the edge of becoming a young woman meets the harsh realities of leaving childhood. What tempers the heartbreak of her experience is the community of Métis women who look out for her, support her, and help her heal. It gave me a window into a culture I wanted to know more about.

Susan Evans Shaw, author, Canadians at War, recommends:

The Gene: An Intimate History

• Siddhartha Mukherjee, author

Fascinating and accessibly written; a study of what makes us individuals, human and mammalian, And there is much to learn about other species as well.