It’s a quiet week on the bestseller front. The only significant new fiction entries include “A Death in Cornwall,” the latest story featuring super spy Gabriel Allon by veteran thriller writer Daniel Silva, and “The Summer Pact,” a frothy new rom-com by Emily Griffith, bringing the number of novels with the word “summer” in the title up to three.
My favourite newcomer to the Canadian non-fiction list, based on title alone, is “The Widow’s Guide to Dead Bastards,” a memoir by Alberta writer Jessica Waite. It turns on a beloved literary trope: the significant man in the protagonist’s life dies or disappears, whereupon our hero learns unsavoury secrets that suggest she didn’t know the true him at all. In Waite’s real-life situation, after her husband’s unexpected death, she discovers hidden affairs, drug use and a pornography addiction.
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It’s a quiet week on the bestseller front. The only significant new fiction entries include “A Death in Cornwall,” the latest story featuring super spy Gabriel Allon by veteran thriller writer Daniel Silva, and “The Summer Pact,” a frothy new rom-com by Emily Griffith, bringing the number of novels with the word “summer” in the title up to three.My favourite newcomer to the Canadian non-fiction list, based on title alone, is “The Widow’s Guide to Dead Bastards,” a memoir by Alberta writer Jessica Waite. It turns on a beloved literary trope: the significant man in the protagonist’s life dies or disappears, whereupon our hero learns unsavoury secrets that suggest she didn’t know the true him at all. In Waite’s real-life situation, after her husband’s unexpected death, she discovers hidden affairs, drug use and a pornography addiction.Finally, what is not on the list this week: I thought Alice Munro’s story collections might see a sales bump following the recent disclosure by her youngest daughter that Munro’s husband, the daughter’s stepfather, sexually assaulted her when she was nine. Some of the acclaimed writer’s former fans have said they can never again read Munro again; I wondered if the reverse might also be true — that the shocking revelations might prompt curiosity about Munro’s books among the uninitiated. Not so. None of Munro’s books is on BookNet Canada’s sales-tracking list of 3,000 books Canadians bought over the past seven days.Similarly, I expected J.D. Vance’s memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” to see some action after Donald Trump chose him as his running mate. No dice. For now, it seems, Canadian readers aren’t allowing current events to dictate their reading choices. Instead, summer escapism rules the day.1. The Briar Club, Kate Quinn, William Morrow (2)2. A Death in Cornwall, Daniel Silva, Harper (1)3. This Summer Will Be Different, Carley Fortune, Viking (10)4. The Summer Pact, Emily Griffin, Doubleday Canada (1)5. The Housemaid Is Watching, Freida McFadden, Poisoned Pen (5)6. The Midnight Feast, Lucy Foley, William Morrow (4)7. The Housemaid, Freida McFadden, Grand Central (3)8. Confessions of the Dead, James Patterson, J.D. Barker, Grand Central (1)9. The Burnout, Sophie Kinsella, Dial Press (1)10. Just for the Summer, Abby Jimenez, Forever (8)1. The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Press (16)2. What This Comedian Said Will Shock You, Bill Maher, Simon & Schuster (8)3. The War We Won Apart, Nahlah Ayed, Viking (7)4. Nuclear War, Annie Jacobsen, Dutton (3)5. Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed (143)6. If You Tell, Gregg Olsen, Thomas & Mercer (1)7. The Demon of Unrest, Erik Larson, Crown (11)8. On Call, Anthony Fauci, Viking (4)9. 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act, Bob Joseph, Indigenous Relations (35)10. My Day with the Cup, Jim Lang, Simon & Schuster (9)1. This Summer Will Be Different, Carley Fortune, Viking2. Body Check, Elle Kennedy, Harlequin3. Butcher and Blackbird, Brynne Weaver, Zando4. Look Both Ways, Linwood Barclay, William Morrow5. The Secret History of Audrey James, Heather Marshall, Simon & Schuster6. The Haters, Robyn Harding, Grand Central7. Leather and Lark, Brynne Weaver, Zando8. Every Summer After, Carley Fortune, Viking9. Known to the Victim, K.L. Armstrong, Doubleday Canada10. Death & Other Inconveniences, Lesley Crewe, Vagrant1. Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, Matthew Perry, Flatiron2. The War We Won Apart, Nahlah Ayed, Viking3. 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act, Bob Joseph, Indigenous Relations4. My Day with the Cup, Jim Lang, Simon & Schuster5. Fire Weather, John Vaillant, Vintage Canada6. Closer Together, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, Random House Canada7. The Prince, Stephen Maher, Simon & Schuster8. Pierre Poilievre, Andrew Lawton, Sutherland House9. A Gentleman and a Thief, Dean Jobb, HarperCollins Canada10. The Widow’s Guide to Dead Bastards, Jessica Waite, Simon & Schuster1. Reckless, Lauren Roberts, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers2. Bluey: Grannies and Other Stories, Penguin Young Readers3. The Bad Guys in the Serpent and the Beast (#19), Aaron Blabey, Scholastic4. Narwhal’s Sweet Tooth (#9), Ben Clanton, Tundra5. Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder (#12), Dav Pilkey, Graphix6. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Holly Jackson, Ember7. Powerless, Lauren Roberts, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers8. Taylor Swift, Vegara Sanchez, Isabel Maria, Borghild Fallberg, Quarto9. The Darkness Within Us, Tricia Levenseller, Feiwel & Friends10. There’s No Place Like Space!, Tish Rabe, Aristides Ruiz, Random House Books for Young Readers1. The Briar Club, Kate Quinn, William Morrow2. A Death in Cornwall, Daniel Silva, Harper3. The Secret, Lee Child, Andrew Child, Dell4. The Housemaid Is Watching, Freida McFadden, Poisoned Pen5. The Midnight Feast, Lucy Foley, William Morrow6. The Housemaid, Freida McFadden, Grand Central7. You Like It Darker, Stephen King, Scribner8. Camino Ghosts, John Grisham, Knopf Doubleday9. Fairy Tale, Stephen King, Pocket10. Our Little Secret, Lisa Jackson, KensingtonThe bestseller lists are compiled by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited from information provided by BookNet Canada’s national sales tracking service, BNC SalesData.
