Toronto Star bestsellers: Robert Macfarlane answers yes to ‘Is a River Alive?' and Robin Wall Kimmerer's ‘Braiding Sweetgrass' returns
Two years ago, British author
Robert Macfarlane won the first Writers' Trust Weston International Award
, a Canadian prize that honours a non-Canadian non-fiction author for their body of work.
Macfarlane was honoured for
exploring 'the relationship between humans and nature in new and illuminating ways.'
His latest, 'Is a River Alive?' — which entered the original non-fiction list in late May at No. 4 and this week is at No. 3 — is described by Penguin Random House Canada as a 'perspective-shifting book' that answers yes to the question of whether these much abused bodies of water are indeed living things.
One of the threatened rivers the book highlights is in northeastern Quebec, where Innu poet Rita Mestokosho is defending the Mutehekau or Magpie River against death by damming; another, in Ecuador, is at risk because of Canadian gold-mining. The book, Penguin says, is '
a literary work of art, a rallying cry and a catalyst for change … that will open hearts, spark debates and challenge perspectives.'
Another book that parses the relationship between people and nature, 'Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants' by Indigenous botanist
Robin Wall Kimmerer
, is back on the original non-fiction list although, since the book has racked up 154 weeks in the rankings, last appearing in mid-April, it never really went away. And Kimmerer's 'The Serviceberry' just passed its 30th week on the same list.
Yet another book by an Indigenous author that feels like it never went away returns this week.
Bob Joseph
's '21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act' — in which the member of the
Gwawaenuk Nation
analyzes the shortcomings of the problematic Canadian law that has governed the lives of Indigenous Peoples since 1876 — has been a mainstay of the Canadian non-fiction list since April 2018 and reappears at No. 5 this week.
ORIGINAL FICTION
1. Atmosphere
, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Doubleday Canada (3)*
2.
One Golden Summer
, Carley Fortune, Viking (7)
3.
My Friends,
Fredrik Backman, Simon & Schuster (8)
4.
Never Flinch
, Stephen King, Scribner (4)
5. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil
, V.E. Schwab, Tor (2)
6. The Robin on the Oak Throne
, K.A. Linde, Red Tower (1)
7.
Problematic Summer Romance
, Ali Hazelwood, Berkley (4)
8. Caught Up
, Navessa Allen, Zando (2)
9. The Tenant
, Freida McFadden, Poisoned Pen (6)
10. Broken Country
, Clare Leslie Hall, Simon & Schuster (12)
ORIGINAL NON-FICTION
1.
Anatomy of a Cover-Up
, Paul Palango, Random House Canada (2)
2. The Anxious Generation
, Jonathan Haidt, Penguin (51)
3. Is a River Alive?
, Robert Macfarlane, Random House Canada (4)
4.
52 Ways to Reconcile
, David A. Robertson, McClelland & Stewart (6)
5. A Spy in the Family
, Paul Henderson, David Gardiner, HarperCollins Canada (1)
6.
Free Ride
, Noraly Schoenmaker, Atria (3)
7.
One Day, Everyone Will Always Have Been Against This,
Omar El Akkad, McClelland & Stewart (16)
8.
The Serviceberry,
Robin Wall Kimmerer, Scribner (30)
9.
Original Sin
, Jake Tapper, Alex Thompson, Penguin (6)
10. Braiding Sweetgrass
, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed (154)
CANADIAN FICTION
1.
One Golden Summer
, Carley Fortune, Viking
2.
Every Summer After
, Carley Fortune, Viking
3.
The Handmaid's Tale
, Margaret Atwood, McClelland & Stewart
4.
A Most Puzzling Murder
, Bianca Marais, Mira
5.
Finding Flora
, Elinor Florence, Simon & Schuster
6.
I Hope You Remember
, Josie Balka, Simon & Schuster
7.
The Retirement Plan
, Sue Hincenbergs, Harper Avenue
8.
Whistle
, Linwood Barclay, William Morrow
9.
The Maid's Secret,
Nita Prose, Viking
10. Wild Love
, Elsie Silver, Bloom
CANADIAN NON-FICTION
1.
Value(s),
Mark Carney, Signal
2.
Anatomy of a Cover-Up
, Paul Palango, Random House Canada
3.
52 Ways to Reconcile
, David A. Robertson, McClelland & Stewart
4.
One Day, Everyone Will Always Have Been Against This,
Omar El Akkad, McClelland & Stewart
5. 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act
, Bob Joseph, Indigenous Relations
6. The Mind Mappers
, Eric Andrew-Gee, Random House Canada
7. Ally Is a Verb
, Rose LeMay, Page Two
8. A History of Canada in Ten Maps
, Adam Shoalts, Penguin Canada
9.
Apple in China
, Patrick McGee, Scribner
10.
Outsider
, Brett Popplewell, HarperCollins Canada
CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT
1. Oh, the Places You'll Go!,
Dr. Seuss, Random House Books for Young Readers
2.
Sunrise on the Reaping,
Suzanne Collins, Scholastic
3.
Karen's Ghost (Baby-Sitters Little Sister #11)
, D.K. Yingst, Ann M. Martin, Graphix
4.
Binding 13
, Chloe Walsh, Bloom
5.
Love You Forever
, Robert Munsch, Sheila McGraw, Firefly
6. Big Jim Begins (Dog Man #13),
Dav Pilkey, Graphix
7.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
, Eric Carle, Penguin Young Readers
8.
Fearless,
Lauren Roberts, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
9.
Warriors Graphic Novel (The Prophecies Begin #2),
Erin Hunter, Natalie Riess, Sara Goetter, HarperAlley
10. Powerless
, Lauren Roberts, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
SELF-IMPROVEMENT
1. The Let Them Theory
, Mel Robbins, Sawyer Robbins, Hay House
2. The 48 Laws of Power
, Robert Greene, Joost Elffers, Penguin
3. The High 5 Habit
, Mel Robbins, Hay House
4. The Mountain Is You
, Brianna Wiest, Thought Catalog
5. Big Freakin' Change
, Cara Moeller Poppitt, Page Two
6. The Body Keeps the Score
, Bessel van der Kolk, Penguin
7. We Can Do Hard Things
, Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, Amanda Doyle, Dial Press
8. 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think
, Brianna Wiest, Thought Catalog
9. The Courage to Be Disliked
, Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga, Simon & Schuster
10. The Four Agreements
, Don Miguel Ruiz, Janet Mills, Tarcher
*
Weeks on list
The bestseller lists are compiled by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited from information provided by BookNet Canada's national sales tracking service, BNC SalesData.
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