The Neapolitan Novels

by Elena Ferrante

Do you need some summer beach reading? The Neapolitan Novels, a four-part series following the decades-long friendship of two women born in 1950s Naples, can take you through the summer months.

My Brilliant Friend, the first book in the series, introduces Elena and Lila, and follows their changing friendship as each girl experiences riches, poverty, political turmoil and motherhood. Once you’re done the first book, check out The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of a Lost Child.

 

Making Simple Robots

by Kathy Ceceri

It’s Fathers Day on the 18th. If you have a difficult time finding the perfect gift for your dad, why not make him a robot?

Making Simple Robots can help you learn to make robots using basic craft techniques. How cool is that!? Engineers and non-engineers alike will be able to follow each project’s clear, step-by-step instructions and benefit from the accompanying photographs.

 

 

Deliciously Ella: 100+ easy, healthy, and delicious plant-based, gluten-free recipes

by Ella Woodward

Would you like to expand your repertoire of light, healthy meals, suitable for summertime? Deliciously Ella is a collection of clean, plant-based, gluten-free recipes that aim to help reduce consumption of processed foods. Evolving form a blog with the same name,  Deliciously Ella is filled with full colour photographs accompanying inventive and easy-to-follow recipes such as sweet potato brownies and roasted butternut squash risotto.

The Big Trip: your ultimate guide to gap years and overseas adventures

by Lonely Planet Publications

It’s nearly summertime – are you planning your first big trip abroad? The Big Trip: your ultimate guide to gap years and overseas adventures can help you prepare for your trip with helpful suggestions and info on volunteer organizations, jobs and educational programs. The book is also loaded with colourful photography that will get you excited for your travels overseas!

It Gets Worse: a collection of essays

by Shane Dawson

Don’t be fooled by the title, this book is sure to get you laughing. A collection of hilarious essays filled with real-life cringe-worthy moments from the author’s life, It gets Worse: a collection of essays, is a humour-filled follow-up to Dawson’s original book about millennial life, I Hate Myselfie.

Get Scrappy: Smarter digital marketing for businesses big and small

by Nick Westergaard

Are you interested in developing a digital strategy that rivals those of the big brand companies? Get Scrappy: Smarter digital marketing for businesses big and small provides practical and innovative ideas for building your brand on a shoestring budget.

Available online as an ebook.

The Green Road

by Anne Enright

Since it’s Mother’s Day on the weekend, why not read a novel with a matriarch as the main character?

The Green Road is a story of four Irish siblings who leave their mother, Rosaleen, and their small hometown in west Ireland to start new lives in big cities across the globe. When the children return one Christmas, they find out their mother has sold the family home. The children feel their past is being erased and sold off along with their childhood home.

Canadian Pacific: the golden age of travel

by Barry Lane

Not many of us have traversed the country by train, but Canadian Pacific: the golden age of travel might make you want to do just that. Bold, colourful illustrations accompany the history of the 2000 miles of railway that span the country from east to west. Discover the impact the railway had on Canadians’ mobility, ability to travel and connection to the rest of the world.

The David Suzuki Reader: a lifetime of ideas from a leading activist and thinker

by David Suzuki; foreword by Bill McKibben

Tomorrow is earth day. Why not mark the occasion by reading some of the work from one of Canada’s leading environmentalists?

A collection of Suzuki’s published and unpublished writings about a range of environmental issues, The David Suzuki Reader highlights ways we can make meaningful, positive changes to help protect the natural world.

Great Canadian Plant Guide

editor-in-chief, Trevor Cole

National Wildlife Week seems like a good time to get into gardening. With over 1000 colour photos and vivid descriptions, Great Canadian Plant Guide can help you learn what will thrive in your garden or simply develop your ability to identify local foliage. This pocket-sized book is a handy tool for gardeners of any level to have at hand.