U of A Virtual Book Club
Book-lovers unite! (Online, that is.)
Introducing the U of A Virtual Book Club. Connect with an online community to read and discuss a variety of engaging books of genres ranging from novels to memoirs, social justice to personal growth, and more.
The U of A Virtual Book Club is open to all members of the University of Alberta community — alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends — located anywhere in the world. As long as you have an internet connection, a comfortable place to sit and a love of reading, you’re in!
There’s no cost to join, all you need are the books. Whether you borrow a copy from the library, download to your tablet, or buy your own print copy, the format is up to you.
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Now Reading |October to December 2024
The Berry Pickers
by Amanda Peters
July 1962. A Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family’s youngest child, vanishes. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on a favorite rock at the edge of a berry field. Joe will remain distraught by his sister’s disappearance for years to come.
In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as the only child of an affluent family. Her father is emotionally distant, her mother frustratingly overprotective. Norma is often troubled by recurring dreams and visions that seem more like memories than imagination. As she grows older, Norma slowly comes to realize there is something her parents aren’t telling her. Unwilling to abandon her intuition, she will spend decades trying to uncover this family secret. For readers of The Vanishing Half and Woman of Light, this showstopping debut by a vibrant new voice in fiction is a riveting novel about the search for truth, the shadow of trauma, and the persistence of love across time.
Coming Up Next | January to March 2025
Glorious Exploits
by Ferdia Lennon
On the island of Sicily amid the Peloponnesian War, the Syracusans have figured out what to do with the surviving Athenians who had the gall to invade their city: they’ve herded the sorry prisoners of war into a rock quarry and left them to rot. Looking for a way to pass the time, Lampo and Gelon, two unemployed potters with a soft spot for poetry and drink, head down into the quarry to feed the Athenians if, and only if, they can manage a few choice lines from their great playwright Euripides. Before long, the two mates hatch a plan to direct a full-blown production of Medea. After all, you can hate the people but love their art. But as opening night approaches, what started as a lark quickly sets in motion a series of extraordinary events, and our wayward heroes begin to realize that staging a play can be as dangerous as fighting a war, with all sorts of risks to life, limb, and friendship.
Told in a contemporary Irish voice and as riotously funny as it is deeply moving, Glorious Exploits is an unforgettable ode to the power of art in a time of war, brotherhood in a time of enmity, and human will throughout the ages.
Check out our new webinar series, Beyond the Pages: U of A Authors!
Discover the rich literary talent within the University of Alberta community with our new webinar series, Beyond the Pages. In addition to the popular U of A Virtual Book Club, this quarterly event will spotlight a different U of A author — alumni, faculty, or current students — offering a unique opportunity to explore their latest work and dive into the heart of their artistic journey.
Join us on January 23 to hear from Conor Kerr, author of Prairie Edge, share his experience writing the 2024 Giller Prize shortlisted novel.
Whether you’re a long-time book club member or brand new to the group, this series will broaden your literary horizons and deepen your understanding of the creative process. It's a chance to engage with the minds behind the books, celebrate the diversity of thought and experience at the U of A, and connect with fellow readers who share a passion for storytelling.
Author Bio:
Conor Kerr, '12 BA, is a national award winning (and losing) Metis/Ukrainian writer and bird hunter living in amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton). Born in Saskatoon, raised in Buffalo Pound Lake and Drayton Valley. He is a member of the Metis Nation of Alberta. His Ukrainian family are Settlers on Treaty 4 Territory.
Conor is the author of the novels Avenue of Champions (2021), Prairie Edge (2024) and the poetry collections An Explosion of Feathers (2021), Old Gods (2023), and the forthcoming poetic novella Beaver Hills Forever (2025). His debut novel, Avenue of Champions, won the 2022 RELIT Award, was shortlisted for the 2022 Amazon/Walrus Debut Novel Award and longlisted for the 2022 Giller Prize. Old Gods was shortlisted for the 2023 Governor General’s Award for Poetry and named one of CBC’s Best Books of 2023. Praire Edge was shortlisted for the 2024 Giller Prize and the 2024 Writer’s Trust Atwood Gibson Fiction Award.
Conor is passionate about crafting narratives that focus on the relationship to the landscapes around us.
Click here for a list of previous book club picks!