The 2023 list of Canada Reads finalists are out and we can’t wait to get our hands on these books. If you feel the same, check out the list below. Five of the titles will be championed by Canadian media personalities in a series of rounds to determine which of these books can truly change the way we see and interact with the world. More information about Canada Reads can be found on their website.
It’s that time of the semester again, Add/Drop’s just ended, and the assignments are already piling up in the calendar feature on MyCourses. So we’re all a little rushed, a little tired and a lot cold (it’s freezing outside!).
Alas, we’re afraid there’s not much we can do to decrease your workload or increase the temperature, but we’re hoping this little treat just might help boost your mood!
So for all those long metro and shuttle rides, the breaks between classes, or those few days you’ve accidentally slept in during a morning conference, here are some inspiring titles being read by your fellow students (courtesy of this r/mcgill Reddit™ thread):
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To access the titles you wish to read, simply click on the relevant book cover and you’ll be taken directly to the library catalogue, so you can check out the book.
InterLibrary Loan
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Do any titles catch your eye that aren’t in our collection? Worry not, because McGill students and faculty are allowed to borrow books or articles located in other Quebec university libraries and beyond through the InterLibrary Loan Service (ILL). The ILL is integrated into the Library catalogue and can help you access titles that aren’t available in our collection by searching libraries worldwide. Simply select “Libraries Worldwide” on the panel to the left which lists all the options to help you filter your search. For more information on how to use the ILL system, follow up on our services page here: https://www.mcgill.ca/library/services/otherloans/interlibrary.
With such progressions, the bookkeeping world is getting smaller and flatter and we can’t say we mind it even a tiny bit!
Libby: The Overdrive App
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Are you someone who prefers listening to books rather than reading? Perhaps you like staring out of the shuttle window as you see the snowy trees zoom past, pretending you’re in the middle of an adventure, a tragic love story or an intense breakdown of the stock market. Well, we’ve got a little something for you as well.
Check out our blog on Libby: The Overdrive App and discover our collection of audiobooks and ebooks directly from your phones/tablets! Along with an amazing user-friendly interface, the app keeps all your favourite titles a swipe away, making it the perfect personal library for students.
It is time to break up your readings with some sci-fi. I may be a couple years behind, but I finally got around to finishing Love, Death & Robots on Netflix. The bite-sized episodes are so well-produced leaving you wanting more, and provide the perfect escape from midterms. If you’d like to have a similar experience and lean into spooky futures, this book list is sure to broaden your imaginations.
You can find all of this and more on the McGill Library website.
Bloodchild and Other Stories is renowned author Octavia E. Butler’s only collection of shorter work and features the Hugo and Nebula award-winning stories “Bloodchild” and “Speech Sounds.” These works of the imagination are parables of the contemporary world. Butler proves constant in her vigil, an unblinking pessimist hoping to be proven wrong, and one of contemporary literature’s strongest voices.”–Publisher’s description.
The collection provides a fascinating glimpse into Forster’s abiding interest in paganism and mythology, the mysteries of nature and the possibilities of magical transformation. Here too are fantasies of the afterlife … an ambitious experiment in science-fiction … [and] a realistic study of self-delusion and compromise.”–Jacket.
‘A Martian Odyssey’ is a profoundly influential story notable for its touching alien human friendship and fascinating descriptions of unusual aliens. In the 21st century mankind has landed on Mars via atomic powered spaceships.–sciencefictionruminations.com
This is the first collection of science fiction stories by award-winning author and aerospace engineer Eric Choi spanning his 25 year writing career. The stories are “hard” science fiction in which some element of engineering or science is so central there would be no story if that element were removed. Story topics include space exploration, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, cryptography, quantum computing, online privacy, mathematics (statistics), neuroscience, psychology, space medicine, extra-terrestrial intelligence, undersea exploration, commercial aviation, and the history of science. A special feature of the book is that each story is followed by an “Afterword” that explains the underlying engineering or science. This collection will entertain and inform all aficionados of science and science fiction.
“Whenever we envision a world without war, without prisons, without capitalism, we are producing speculative fiction. Organizers and activists envision, and try to create, such worlds all the time. Walidah Imarisha and adrienne maree brown have brought twenty of them together in the first anthology of shortstories to explore the connections between radical speculative fiction and movements for social change. The visionary tales of Octavia’s Brood span genres–sci-fi, fantasy, horror, magical realism–but all are united by an attempt to inject a healthy dose of imagination and innovation into our political practice and to try on new ways of understanding ourselves, the world around us, and all the selves and worlds that could be. The collection is rounded off with essays by Tananarive Due and Mumia Abu-Jamal, and a preface by Sheree Renee Thomas.”–Amazon.com.
See the prairies in a whole new light, in this groundbreaking anthology of speculative fiction and poetry, exploring the prairie and the space above it, expressing prairie themes, visions, reality – and unreality! Land/Space includes short fiction by Alexandra Merry Arrvin, John Baillie, Martha Bayless, Ven Begamudre, Renee Bennett, Steven Michael Berzensky (a.k.a Mick Burrs) Donna Bowman, Tobias Buckell, Ron Collins, Alyx Dellamonica, Candas Jane Dorsey, Carolyn Ives Gilman, Geoff Hart, James A. Hartley, Mark Anthony Jarman, Darren K. Latta, David Levine, Sophie Masson, Judy McCrosky, Derryl Murphy, Carole Nomrahas, Holly Phillips, Ursula Pflug, with concluding essays by the editors.
This book is part of an educational package called StoryMaker Catch Pack, which uses fiction as a resource for learning. What does Peeta do when aliens invade his planet? Why does Kane watch the skies every night of his life? How does Hector F. Payne save the world? Where can you find robots, giant rats, alien invaders, supercomputers … Catch Minitales – the Science Fiction Collection Here are 26 very short stories to fill you with wonder and excitement. Do you dare to journey through time and space?
If you have any questions about how to access these books or others let us know at hssl.library@mcgill.ca.