Sukasa Reads

5 Books. 5 Contenders.  Who will win in the battle of the books.  This year's contenders are just as diverse as ever.

The Break by Katherena Vermette is set in Winnipeg's North End. One fateful night a crime occurs witnessed by a young Métis mother. This heartbreaking profound novel is defended by comedian Candy Palmater.

M.G. Vassanji's Nostalgia is set in the indeterminate future in an unnamed city. Defended by Canadian Armed Forces veteran Jody Mitic.  Company Town by Madeline Ashby features a mystery surrounding a family that owns an city-sized oil rig, and an elite bodyguard at the centre of it all. Defended by actress Tamara Taylor. André Alexis won the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction for his book Fifteen Dogs in 2015. In the debates it will be defended by author and rapper Humble The Poet. It follows a group of dogs who are given human consciousness by the gods Hermes and Apollo.  And finally, The Right to Be Cold: One Woman's Story of…

In the aftermath of a devastating executive order put forth by U.S. President Trump this week, I felt it was time to revisit this book once again.

What is it like to leave everything behind and travel many miles to somewhere unfamiliar and strange? A mother and her two children set out on such a journey; one filled with fear of the unknown, but also great hope. 

Based on a true story - the author met two girls in a refugee centre in Italy - The Journey is told from the perspective of a young child. It's the journey of escape from a war-stricken home, in search of a better, safer life. It's the journey of hope and optimism. It's a journey that's laden with thousands of roadblocks. 













The refugee crisis is real. Thousands flee from their hometown, not on a whim, but out of necessity. 

The decision to move -- to uproot and leave everything familiar -- is hard, but necessary, if they and their families are to survive. 

Leaving everything you have ever known, is scary enough for a…

I See You. But You Don't See Me.  I know everything about you. I have your entire route to work mapped out. 
It's 2017. There are hundreds of different dating sites out there, all generally serving the same purpose. You view the profiles online, decide on the one that intrigues you, reach out to the person, and hope that they accept your invitation. Then begins a short or lengthy email exchange that either leads to the comfort level of meeting the person, or an easy rejection of them.

FindTheOne.com is different. It's a secret website, one that's certainly creepy (to say the least) and by exclusive invite only. An ad appears in the local newspaper, and a hazy picture of a woman, along with a website address. But access is by a passcode which is delivered to paying subscribers anonymously. 

You do the same thing every day. You know exactly where you're going. You're not alone. 
Zoe Walker sees herself on the Metro News one day and is spooked. She thinks she's mad…

Don’t read this book if you don’t want to be inspired. Don’t read this book if you think you have exceptional time management skills. Don’t read this book if you are not looking for good tips to implement in your life. And definitely don’t read this book if you think you have all the time in the world to implement all your creative ideas.
At the crux of it, this is a time management book for creatives. Most creative folks love books saturated with visual inspiration and a stimulating instructional style. What is uninspiring to creatives is a verbose text book style instructional manual filled with jargon.  
To help you figure out what’s really important on your task list, David Boos asks the reader  to make a list of things they'd really like to do, and then make another list of only 3 things that they want to do the most. This simple advice is not awe-inspiring. But what the book does is bring you back into that familiar space of being reminded to focus, focus, focus. 
The ToDon’tLis…