Collection: Adult

A CBC and Globe and Mail Spring Book Pick

In this debut novel, a young woman in the Rocky Mountains, separated from the ancestral rhythms of her home in Scotland, turns to ancient rituals to find solace and connection. With shades of Olga Tokarczuk, Ali Smith, and Rachel Cusk, Hovel is a book for those fascinated by female interiority.

Homesickness takes many forms. Alone in the mountains because of her husband's job, occupied by little more than online video captioning she calls "kitten work," our narrator becomes fascinated by the not-long-gone life of her Scottish ancestors, a time when the lamplighter took the night off for the full moon, girls bathed their faces in morning dew, and people sang to the seals.

Her husband, however, is unsure of the emotional efficacy of cooking by candlelight, peeing in the woods, and writing vexed letters to the mayor about the birds living in the doomed aspens behind their apartment building. Especially because the letters are being read, out loud, at the town meetings attended by unimpressed neighbours. But our narrator is bewitched by the liminality of memory.

In a novel of compelling poetic precision and depth, Ross captures the lengths we go to for connection when we're alone, following threads of personal history and fascination to conclusions one can only reach when there's too much time on one's hands and it's too cold to go outside.

The definitive biography of one of music history's most beloved, versatile, unforgettable icons--Roy Orbison, the singer-songwriter of legendary hits including "Only the Lonely," "Crying," and "Oh, Pretty Woman"--from his chart-topping highs and tragic lows to his momentous comeback.

He didn't look, move, or sound like his contemporaries, but Roy Orbison, king of the emotionally charged, slow-burning, drama-ballad, struck a worldwide chord. Now, from acclaimed music biographer Jeff Apter, comes the definitive biography of one of music history's most beloved, versatile, singer-songwriter legends.

Clad in black with dark shades, Roy Orbison had a mystique, style, and voice that were unmistakable and singularly different from his famous peers of the 1950s and '60s, like Johnny Cash, Elvis, or Jerry Lee Lewis. Roy hit notes that, in the words of Bruce Springsteen, sounded "like the world's going to end."

Born in Vernon, Texas, Roy was the son of a guitar-playing oil worker. Already a music fan by age 6, Roy went on to form a high school band. Honky-tonk gigs followed. Then a contract at Elvis Presley's label, Sun Records, where Roy found mentors and friends among the likes of Carl Perkins. Following a shift to Monument Records, he shared a bill with a group called the Beatles, who were huge fans of his.

After experimenting with different styles, Roy edged closer to a sound all his own. He found it with smash singles including "Only the Lonely," "Crying," and "Oh, Pretty Woman," songs heavy with pathos and remarkable vocals. It was gold. But what lay ahead was a professional downswing, and personal tragedy with the death of his wife and two sons. 20 lean years followed. Yet Roy Orbison was far from over.

Amid the rockabilly revival of the 1980s and the formation of the British-American supergroup the Traveling Wilburys--with, among others, Jeff Lynne, who would eventually produce Roy's posthumous albums--Roy's comeback was legendary. Asked how he'd like to be remembered, Roy said, "One day when they are mentioning people who had an impact, if they just mention me among the rest of the guys and gals, it would be great." He got his wish. Roy Orbison: King of Hearts seals it.

The remarkable story of the global movement championing the idea that evidence, not opinions, should guide our decisions

Today, more and more people around the globe are using scientific evidence to figure out what works--in health, government and business as well as conservation, schools and parenting. This wasn't always the case. This book tells the story of the evidence revolution--a worldwide movement that promotes evidence-based thinking--and shows how it can help us all, especially in an age of alternative facts.

For many years, most medical advice was based on doctors' opinions and conventional wisdom, not solid science. Helen Pearson describes how evidence-based medicine swept the world in the 1990s--becoming the predominant form of medicine practiced today--and how the idea that evidence should guide decisions is quietly transforming a host of other fields as well. Do police patrols reduce crime? Do performance appraisals boost job performance? Do welfare programs help the poor? Do smaller classes aid learning? Do smartphones harm teenagers? At a time when science is under attack and questionable claims run rampant, Pearson underscores the importance of evidence in all facets of our lives, empowering each of us to sift fact from falsehood and misinformation from the truth.

Essential reading for the rational-minded, Beyond Belief is an engaging portrait of the mavericks, visionaries and rebels who share the simple belief that decisions based on evidence make the world a better place.

Irish folklore is replete with images of transforming women. The wailing banshee, the alluring mermaid, the unsettling changeling and others recur throughout folktales and have become well-known through contemporary depictions in texts and films. In the wake of recent feminist thinking, online movements, and revelations of gender-based violence in state institutions such as the Magdalene Laundries, Irish women writers have found fresh ways to adapt this folklore, addressing the underlying tensions inherent to these stories and creating alternative paths to agency.

In Banshees, Hags, and Changelings, Molly Ferguson examines how women writers, energized by the recent cultural feminist reckoning in Ireland, reappraise the subjects of these folktales and the anxieties they address. Exploring contemporary literary works across genres, Ferguson identifies the cultural processing of trauma resulting from gender-based violence through exploring the tensions that lie beneath each tale.

A revealing memoir about the complicated truths of surviving a suicide attempt and rethinking the concept of "suicide prevention" to create a world that people want to live in

Madeline Vosch did everything she was supposed to do when the suicidal thoughts started. Or she tried. Between studying, working three jobs to make rent, navigating the impossible bureaucracy of Boston's welfare system to access food stamps and nominally affordable mental health care, there was not a moment she was not fixated on survival. One night in April 2018, weeks before her graduation from Harvard Divinity school, she walked home from a party with a single intention: to take as many pills as she could stomach, and never wake up.

But then she did. And she was left with a question: what now?

In Undead, Vosch deftly weaves together lyric prose, memoir, and cultural commentary to tell the story of what happens after a suicide attempt. Here, she sets off on a journey to find her kindred spirits in surviving the end of a story, investigating the various scripts she encountered in the weeks and months after her attempt--from other works of art that touch on the topic of suicide, to Christian theology, to medical texts, to episodes of ER, to the news cycle as reports of increased suicide rates confirmed her suspicion: she was not alone in her attempt, even if she had no one to talk to about what came after. She might be changed, but what did that matter if the world that had ground her down wasn't?

Vosch turns the concept of "suicide prevention" on its head, asking what it might look like to reconceive suicidality as a response to a social problem. She challenges us to incorporate "prevention" into a larger social vision that intersects with increased access to housing, to food, to healthcare--in short, creating a world that people can and want to live in.

Sober, balanced, rigorously researched, and eminently readable, Defending Taiwan is a definitive guide to preventing World War III.

Taiwan is where the uneasy peace between the United States and China will be tested--and possibly broken. Beijing believes that "reunification" is inevitable. American military strength has preserved peace and stability for decades, but its advantages are eroding. Beijing has found critical gaps in U.S. strategy and is working to squeeze, isolate, and coerce Taiwan into submission without firing a shot. If deterrence fails, the consequences of a Taiwan crisis would be catastrophic--plunging the global economy into chaos, shattering U.S. alliances, and allowing China to dominate the region and reshape the world order.

In Defending Taiwan, Eyck Freymann presents the first integrated strategy to deter war with China and preserve an honorable peace. Drawing on untranslated Chinese sources, cutting-edge military and economic analysis, and deep historical research, Freymann argues that Washington's deterrence strategy must extend beyond conventional military power and familiar threats of mutually assured destruction. America must work with allies to develop a bold new vision of technological and economic statecraft--and a plan to secure its interests if deterrence fails. Freymann examines China's full range of strategic options. The United States can deter them all. But to do so, it must integrate its military strength, economic leverage, technological leadership, and diplomatic influence into a single, coherent plan to prevent war.

This is not just a book about Taiwan. It is a grand strategy to ensure lasting stability in the U.S.-China relationship. Defending Taiwan is the definitive guide to the world's most dangerous geopolitical challenge.

A major work of scholarship by world-renowned, prize-winning philosopher Martha C. Nussbaum, The Republic of Love reveals opera as a profound form of political thought--and an often-overlooked force behind the political reforms of the Enlightenment.

In The Republic of Love, world-renowned philosopher Martha C. Nussbaum offers a bold and original vision of opera's contribution to political thought. Drawing on her deep knowledge of classical and contemporary opera, she reveals how composers such as Mozart, Verdi, Strauss, Beethoven, and others used their music to explore the emotional and ethical dimensions of human life. These works, she argues, illuminate our fundamental need for dignity, love, and freedom in the face of oppressive institutions--and they gesture toward new possibilities for how we might live together.

Nussbaum devotes the first half of her book to Mozart, who embraced a new vision of freedom, writing male characters singing in a new emotional landscape, one that elevated the freedom of others. Her readings of The Marriage of Figaro, Idomeneo, The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni and Così Fan Tutte show an artist who recognized the capacity for love in everyone, and advanced fertile ideas about how we might cultivate it in a new kind of republic. The second half of her book follows this line of thought in operas by Beethoven, Verdi, Benjamin Britten, John Adams, and Jake Heggie, and their greatest antagonist, Richard Wagner, suggesting that they all, in a variety of ways, engage in conversation with Mozart and his themes of love and freedom. Throughout, Nussbaum identifies a recurring operatic metaphor for the impulse toward freedom: the act of breathing itself.

A major work of scholarship by a prize-winning thinker, The Republic of Love redefines opera as a vital, if often overlooked, engine of Enlightenment ideals--and a powerful resource for imagining the emotional foundations of political life.

What is distinctively American about American foreign policy? An eminent foreign relations scholar explores this question and its implications.

What is distinctively American about American foreign policy? The American Way of Foreign Policy answers that question by identifying three features of the nation's relations with other countries and tracing their impact from the eighteenth century to the twenty-first.

First, from its beginnings the United States has conducted an unusually ideological foreign policy in comparison with the foreign policies of other countries. It has tried, in different ways over the years, to promote the political ideas - individual rights, political democracy, and international peace - that have played a dominant role in America's domestic politics.

Second, while most countries have used political instruments to win economic benefits - the great empires that European countries conquered and then exploited over the centuries are examples - the United States has reversed this pattern. It has regularly adopted economic policies, particularly sanctions, to pursue its political goals abroad.
Third, the United States has conducted an unusually democratic foreign policy in that the American public has had much more influence over its government's activities abroad than the publics in other countries. As the book shows, public opinion has had a particularly powerful impact on questions of war and peace, at some times pushing the nation into armed conflict but at others forcing an end to it.

Concisely and clearly written for the general reader, The American Way of Foreign Policy explores the origins of these three enduring features of the nation's foreign relations, shows how they have made themselves felt from the founding of the republic to the present day, and assesses their contributions to the successes and failures of what the United States has accomplished abroad. It provides readers with a new understanding of how and why America has conducted its relations with the world over 250 years.

Celebrate the beauty of American design with this stunning hardcover coffee table book that explores traditional and modern interiors.

Discover 21 house tours in this richly photographed interior design book from Veranda. Each chapter shows how designers infuse homes with style, revealing a confident, timeless American look. Thoughtful text and immersive images highlight homes across all regions-from New England to the Pacific, the Midwest, South and Southwest-exploring architecture, materials, and the hundreds of small yet important decisions that make rooms feel both personal and enduring.

Inside, you'll find:

• A Connecticut Queen Anne, by Markham Roberts, where reverence for the past revives a historic home.
  
• A new build in South Carolina's Lowcountry, by Tammy Conner, which draws from surrounding history and nature.
  
• A Colonial Williamsburg home revitalized by Heather Chadduck Hillegas, who honors its classic heritage while making it feel beautifully familiar.
  
• A Chicago family home reimagined by Summer Thornton with bold color, wild florals, and a soaring two-story library.
  
• Ann and David Sutherlands' Dallas farmhouse, filled with modernist vision.
  
• A Richmond Regency-style home, by Suzanne Kasler, uniting classic symmetry and graphic punch for truly glamourous results.
  

With its striking photography, Veranda American Style is the perfect book for anyone who loves American homes, timeless interiors, and the art of living well. It's the ideal coffee table book, home decor gift, housewarming gift, and gift for the home--with an intimate look at coastal decor, country house style, mountain retreats, and urban interiors. Perfect for readers of interior decorating books, interior design books, and home design books, this keepsake is elegant luxury book décor at its finest.

Bold and beautiful, Forever Stamps tells the story of United States history, pop culture, and art through hundreds of vibrantly rendered stamps.

Forever Stamps is a visually stunning cultural celebration of the United States, told by the beautiful and unique stamps issued by the United States Postal Service since its inception in 1775. For the first time, this book looks at the breadth of American history through the lens of stamps. It showcases the artisty and pop culture influence of the tiny pieces of art we mail around the world in a way never seen before. Alongside the images, captions, essays, and interviews tell the stories behind the stamps and the historic moments, big and small that led to their creation.

Forever Stamps captures the essence of America's most memorable and influential stamps, including:

• Pop culture moments, from the iconic Elvis Presley stamp to the beloved Sesame Street collection
• Iconic artists who have contributed to U.S. stamps, like Ruth Asawa, Ellsworth Kelly, and Charles and Ray Eames
• Historic commemorative stamps that mark how the U.S. has changed over time, including stamps celebrating 1965 Voting Rights Act, memorializing the first openly gay elected official Harvey Milk, and honoring the Underground Railroad.

Organized into chapters covering U.S. historical events, activism and diversity, national parks and the American landscape, and pop culture, Forever Stamps covers 250 years of American history. This is a unique and captivating journey through the world of USPS stamps and the history of the United States, reminding us of the enduring impact and beauty of these miniature works of art.

Introducing an epic, slow burn enemies-to-lovers romantasy novel about a heroine forged in steel and rage, and the cursed immortal who might turn out to be as much her salvation as she is his, perfect for fans of Danielle L. Jensen and Callie Hart.

This DELUXE LIMITED EDITION is available while supplies last and features:

• Gilded silver edges

• Illustrated endpapers

• A foil-stamped case cover

• Special effects on the jacket

Never run. Never bow. Never die. Reya Connery became the Crimson Dagger, the most notorious thief in Rhiterra, by following a strict set of rules. One: There is no honor among thieves. Two: A good blade is key to any negotiation. Three: Only the dead keep secrets. And Reya has a secret that must be kept at all costs. But when a heist goes wrong on the eve of paying off her debt to a ruthless crime lord, Reya may need a new set of rules. And lots of coin. Fast.

Enter Caelan Halcyon, an immortal warrior whose magic makes him a valuable target--if the curse inching closer to his heart doesn't kill him first. There's just one person who might be desperate enough to try and get their hands on the fabled cure in time to save his life, someone whose legend claims they can steal anything: the Crimson Dagger. A male of honor, Caelan loathes everything the beautiful, cocky thief represents, yet knows that Reya is his last hope for survival.

Their search takes them to the edge of the known world, where Reya discovers that there is far more at stake than her and Caelan's own lives. Now, Reya must confront deadly foes, her growing attraction to the immortal who is as lethal as his jawline is perfect, and the rage she's spent a lifetime trying to bury. This time, her daggers aren't going to cut it, and the fate of all magic-born hangs in the balance.

Enter a world ruled by tyrants and thieves, where magic is outlawed, revolution brews, desire is dangerous, and an impossible cure may prove deadlier than the curse.

Fan-favorite tropes include:

• Slow-burn romance

• Enemies-to-lovers

• Deadly curses

• Tortured immortal hero

• Secret identity

• Forced proximity

• Found family

• Only one saddle

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - Now in a stunning tenth-anniversary edition, "the most important novel Jodi Picoult has ever written" (The Washington Post) tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion--and doesn't offer easy answers.

This deluxe edition includes a brand-new introduction from the author and cover art in addition to gorgeous colour stencilled edges and coloured enpapers.

"A gripping courtroom drama . . . Given the current political climate it is quite prescient and worthwhile. . . . This is a writer who understands her characters inside and out."--Roxane Gay, The New York Times Book Review

Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years' experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she's been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is Black, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene?

Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy's counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family--especially her teenage son--as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other's trust, and come to see that what they've been taught their whole lives about others--and themselves--might be wrong.

In this dark fantasy adventure, journey to the Skovos Isles and uncover their mysteries: a lost expedition of mages, a dangerous monster, and a boiling political conflict--the official prequel to Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred.

An ancient brotherhood of mages and wizards sworn to defend humanity against evil is on the brink of destruction.

Their last good chance at survival is to journey to the far-off Skovos Isles and uncover the fate of a long-lost expedition sent to unlock a vault hidden deep within its lands.

But what awaits them is more than they bargained for. The Amazon warriors who call Skovos home face two dangerous threats: the rumblings of a disquieted public, and an undead creature attacking them from all sides.

The leader of the mages, Lorath, and Captain Adreona of the Amazons must band together in an unlikely alliance to unlock these mysteries . . . or else the mortal realm may be in terrible danger.

A high-strung and inventive literary horror that will delight fans of Stephen Graham Jones and Mariana Enriquez, Ito Romo's debut novel traces the thousand-year lineage of a new kind of vampire--the mestizo Filth Eater.

Granada, 1849. After centuries of scrounging in the shadows, the vampire Radamés discovers an ancient Aztec codex that reveals the vampires of the "New World" live a more "human" life--they marry, they give birth. Spurred on by tantalizing promise of a fuller existence, Radamés glamours and schemes his way onto a ship headed for Mexico. There, in the underbelly of the forgotten city of Teotihuacán, the Andalusian vampire falls in love with a member of this ancient sect of vampires who call themselves Filth Eaters. From their union, the mestizo vampire Doro is born. 

Hopping back and forth in time from the Indus River Delta in 1099 to the Muslim Spanish empire of the 1400s to a flooded cyberpunk New York City of the future, Filth Eaters  pulls at the threads of empire, greed, and climate collapse, but the beating, bloody heart of the story is our very human desire for the love that gives life meaning. The debut novel from a celebrated writer of "Chicano Gothic" stories, this surprising, gory saga turns a new page for a centuries-old genre.