For OTL this week, we have Brandon Forsyth, a book buyer at Indigo.
This episode of On The Line is brought to you by Airbnb. It’s no secret that Canada is in a housing crisis. Some think that short-term rentals such as Airbnbs are the problem. But the closer you look, the clearer it gets. Attempts to lower rents by regulating short-term rentals have failed in cities like New York City – which is experiencing record high rents a year after doing so. Canada doesn’t need more regulation; it needs more supply. And Airbnbs that could be converted into long-term homes account for only 0.6% of Canada’s housing stock. Learn more at Airbnb.ca/closerlook.
In this wide-ranging conversation Jen Gerson and Forsyth chat about his recommendations for fiction and non-fiction summer reads.
This episode is also brought to you by the Métis Nation of Ontario. It's Sault Ste. Marie in the 1850s. The Upper Great Lakes and rivers of northern Ontario are bustling during the summers with the sound of paddles. Sault Ste. Marie, Fort William, Fort Frances. For Métis voyageurs, these were the highways of a growing trade. Summer was for moving canoes packed with salted fish and furs. Stops were made at supply depots run by Métis families. And a thriving economy was built on a network of Métis communities stretching across the Upper Great Lakes westward. These Métis routes became the arteries of Canada’s first economy. This July, while Canadians enjoy their vacations, remember the Métis who spent summers building Canada’s first economy. To learn more, visit OntarioMetisFacts.com
Then they get spicy, talking about deeper trends driving book sales in the culture. Gerson offers a host of opinions on what genres of books are good and bad, as well as whether or not Millennials have a writing voice. Strong arguments are offered on whether adults should be reading childrens' books.
Forsyth's book recommendations:
FICTION
SLOW HORSES by Mick Herron
MURDERBOT by Martha Wells
KATABASIS by R.F. Kuang
ONE GOLDEN SUMMER by Carley Fortune
SAY YOU’LL REMEMBER ME by Abby Jimenez
NON-FICTION
THE CRISIS OF CANADIAN DEMOCRACY, Andrew Coyne
MORAL AMBITION by Rutger Bregman
EMPIRE OF AI by Karen Hao
CHILDREN LIKE US by Brittany Penner
KING OF KINGS by Scott Anderson