Each week, Globe and Mail staffers and readers share what they’re reading now, whether it’s a hot new release or an old book they’re discovering for the first time. Tell me about a book you loved and we might publish your recommendation. Fill out this form, or send your book recommendation to Lara Pingue at lpingue@globeandmail.com
The Globe 100: The best books of 2025
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The News Was Better Then, Grant Ainsley
The News Was Better Then is a timely and thought-provoking examination of Canadian journalism, politics and media. Author Grant Ainsley, who had 50 years of experience in and around the news business, delivers snapshots of newsrooms and political backrooms. He offers a rare insider’s perspective on how the media has changed and what has been lost along the way. He also shares revealing encounters with figures ranging from Jean Chrétien to Wayne Gretzky to John Candy, connecting personal experiences with broader lessons about the media’s role in Canada.
-Globe reader Terry Jones, St. Albert, Alta.
All June Left Behind by Karen GroseSupplied
All June Left Behind, Karen Grose
Karen Grose’s Ontario-set mystery All June Left Behind tells the story of Ray, a quiet farmer still grieving his wife, who was killed in a botched robbery. But when Ray starts to question the events of that night, small details do not line up. Soon, he’s pulled into old family history, long-held secrets and questions that he’s avoided for years. The novel builds suspense through clever dialogue and uneasy turns. Ray’s determination and dry humour carry him through his quest to uncover the complicated truth about his wife, June. Touching on themes of love, aging and resilience, this novel is a good reminder of the solid Canadian storytelling that is coming from lesser-known writers.
-Globe reader Dave Tos, Toronto
Sons of TecumsehAmazon/Supplied
Sons of Tecumseh, Maurice Switzer
Maurice Switzer’s novel, Sons of Tecumseh, takes you on a historical-fiction journey spanning two centuries of First Nations’ political challenges. The story follows Peshu Butler, a direct descendant of Tecumseh, who has to come to the realization that some elected chiefs are willing to sell out their own people. Switzer does a wonderful job of connecting the past and present, showing that unity of all tribes is as important today as it was in 1812. I was encouraged by Switzer’s voice calling for equality of all First Nations citizens, whether living on or off reserves. His characters feel real and alive, provoking sympathy for their plight, encouraging further research into the many injustices endured by First Nations.
-Globe reader Denise Howe, Chisholm, Ont.
The Body in the ReefAmazon/Supplied
The Body in the Reef, C. Fitton
The Body in the Reef is the newest thriller from author C. Fitton, who also wrote the excellent Her Dead Boyfriend. Fitton’s latest story follows a couple who are intent on celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary on their newly restored boat, Seas the Day. But their plans change when another couple invite themselves along – and one of them has a secret. Fitton weaves together the characters’ flawed pasts. All carry a guilty conscience. None are innocent. And the thing they treasure most is at risk of being lost. The tension builds until the unexpected but fascinating ending. I highly recommend this book for readers who enjoy nail-biting thrillers with plenty of twists and turns.
-Globe reader Angela van Breemen, Loretto, Ont.
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Friends of Promise: Cyril Connolly and the World of Horizon, Michael Sheldon
Can a man have a ‘good’ and productive war, even if he never wears a military uniform? This implicit question is answered in the affirmative in Michael Sheldon’s engaging and elegiac biography, Friends of Promise: Cyril Connolly and the World of Horizon. The book tells the story of late literary critic Connolly, who along with a crew of intellectuals including George Orwell, W.H. Auden and Arthur Koestler, produced the literary magazine Horizon amid the challenges of war. This stylish study is a timely reminder that in a dark time, fighting the forces of tyranny takes on many variegated forms and is often fought by the most eccentric of individuals.
-Globe reader Toby Zanin, Toronto
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Death on the Ice, Cassie Brown
On my first visit to Newfoundland, a green-haired teenaged tour guide told me about Death on the Ice by Cassie Brown. The account of the 1914 Newfoundland sealing disaster was required reading in high school, he told us, and I came to wish it were required reading for all Canadians. Seventy-eight poorly paid sealers died in the tragedy after being stranded for three days on the Atlantic ice during a blizzard. Years after the devastating event, the few survivors admitted that no one on the sealing ship led a mutiny because all were afraid of the bully of a captain. I re-read this moving story every 10 years or so to be reminded of how the working poor have often been regarded as expendable. On my most recent reading, Death on the Ice had me thinking of immigrants as the 21st century’s expendable Newfoundland sealers. Immigrants are too often dealt with the same unforgivable callousness and deliberate deceptions.
- Globe reader Thelma Fayle, Victoria
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Herscht 07769, Laszlo Krasznahorkai
I recently read Herscht 07769, my first foray into the world of Nobel Prize-winning author Laszlo Krasznahorkai. Set in a small city in the former East Germany, the novel explores dark themes of fear and powerlessness, as city locals and Florian Herscht, the main character, contend with a group of violent Neo-Nazis in a world that feels dangerous and out of control. The novel is written in one long sentence, which sounds gimmicky, but the format works well and highlights the sense of unease. Some readers may find the novel bleak, but underpinning the work is also the hopeful music of Bach and ultimately Herscht’s violent response to the mayhem caused by the Neo-Nazis feels like just retribution.
-Globe reader Michael Minnes, Toronto
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Nota Bene, David Roberts
David Roberts’s debut crime thriller, Nota Bene, takes us to Malta and Tunisia, with travel descriptions so vivid I felt as though I was there alongside the protagonist. The novel follows a detective who is hired to find a missing archeologist who was put in charge of authenticating an artifact. But when the archeologist is found dead, things take a dark turn. The detective encounters threats and betrayal that all lead to a journey to hell. The page-turning suspense made this book hard to put down.
-Globe reader Karen Walden, Vancouver
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