Now that I’ve finished reading all the books published in 2014, it’s time to look at the year ahead. The first half of 2015 sees new work from Nobel Laureates and rock legends, critical darlings, and much-hyped newcomers. there are books about sasquatches and skateboarding and everything in between. there are, as always, too many good books. What follows are 50 titles, split evenly between Canada and the rest of the world, that I look forward to reading over the next six months.
January
You are reading: Most anticipated books of 2015
if i fall, if i die, by michael christie. This debut novel, from the skateboarder-turned-author of the lavish collection of short stories The Beggar’s Garden, follows a boy with an agoraphobic mother as he ventures “outdoors” for the first time in his life.
the deep, by nick cutter. The Troop, Cutter’s first novel (well, the first Giller Prize finalist, Craig Davidson, published under his not-so-secret pseudonym) was one of the most gleefully sadistic books of 2014. In his latest, a team of scientists descend to the marianas trench, which seems like a terrible idea to me.
the first bad man, by miranda julio. Blurred by the likes of Lena Dunham and Dave Eggers (not that I, uh, pay attention to such things), July’s first novel is about an eccentric woman whose life is turned upside down by her boss’s daughter. p>
she, by harriet lane. Lane’s second novel, which received stellar reviews when it was published in the UK last summer, appears to be a chilling study in female friendship.
the sasquatch hunter’s almanac, by sharma shields. This debut novel narrates the life of a man haunted by a childhood encounter with the mythical creature, which may be related to the disappearance of his mother. just shut up, you had me on “sasquatch”.
February
house, by carson ellis. a delightful picture book about what home means to different people around the world.
girl in a gang, by kim gordon. The co-founder of the seminal noise-rock band Sonic Youth reflects on her childhood in California, the New York art and punk scenes, and her life in music. She compares herself to Patti Smith’s only children, of course.
we are pirates, by daniel handler. Lemony Snicket’s first adult novel since adverbs was published in 2006 features a pirate girl, among other things.
getting into trouble, by kelly link. a new collection from a writer whose quirky brand of stories blend fantasy, science fiction, horror, and literary elements to great effect.
the hunger of the wolf, by stephen marche. In what is billed as Marche’s “groundbreaking” novel, the body of the heir to the fortune of an American business dynasty (and a family with terrible secrets, naturally) is found in the wilds of northern Canada.
love and lies, by clancy martin. How to Sell, Martin’s first novel, was a bleak, messy, and brilliant examination of the jewelry business. the subtitle of her new book is “an essay on truthfulness, deception, and the growth and care of erotic love.” so it’s perfect for valentine’s day.
the sculptor, by scott mccloud. One of the most respected figures in modern comics presents a new graphic novel about an artist nearing the end of his life. the sculptor is being described as mccloud’s masterpiece.
letter to a future lover, by ander monson. a treatise on marginalia and other artifacts left behind in physical books.
marching
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selfish, superficial and self-absorbed, edited by meghan daum. Sixteen writers, from Lionel Shriver to Geoff Dyer, write about their decision not to have children.
under visible life, by kim echlin. In her first novel since she earned a Giller Award nomination for The Missing, Echlin explores the lives of two women brought together by jazz.
visitors, by dave eggers. suffered its first (at least in my opinion) misfire in 2014 with your parents, where are they? and do prophets live forever, which was perhaps the result of being a bit too prolific in recent years. let’s see if she can catch up with this, her first collection of travel writing.
our endless days numbered, by claire fuller. no, these are not the lyrics of iron & wine record. rather, this debut novel is about a girl who disappears into the woods with her surviving father and reappears, nearly a decade later, alone.
the buried giant, by kazuo ishiguro. Hard to believe it’s been a decade since he never let me go, right? he could post his shopping list and I would still read it. his new novel is about a couple, beatrice and axl, who are looking for their son. the publisher says it’s a book “about lost memories, love, revenge, and war.”
dancing in the dark, by karl ove knausgaard. The fourth volume of Knausgaard’s My Struggle cycle focuses on his time as a young schoolteacher in northern Norway.
sidewalk flowers, by jonarno lawson and sydney smith. This beautiful wordless picture book follows a girl’s journey through the city.
h is for hawk, by helen macdonald. After the death of her father, a woman pursues her childhood dream of becoming a falconer. those I’ve spoken to who have read it cannot praise it highly enough.
Breakfast All Day, by Adam Lewis Schroeder. Although he has produced three acclaimed novels, Schroeder has never enjoyed commercial success. Considering the public’s infatuation with all things undead, his latest novel, about a man who might be a zombie, could be his revelation.
the right to be cold, by sheila watt-cloutier. Sure to be one of the biggest books of the spring, this is a strong call to arms on behalf not just of northern communities, which are among the most threatened by climate change, but of the world.
April
fifteen dogs, by andré alexis. This could be the best montage of spring: To settle a drunken bet on human happiness, Hermes and Apollo grant consciousness to a pack of dogs to see if any of them die happy.
the death of little creatures, by trisha cull. this promises to be a raw, poetic memoir about cull’s battle with bulimia, bipolar disorder, and substance abuse.
at the water’s edge, by sara gruen. The author of Water for Elephants returns with a novel about three friends searching for the Loch Ness Monster, which we all know is real, in World War II-era Scotland.
god help the child, by toni morrison. You don’t have to say much when a Nobel Prize winner publishes a new novel.
dreams of angels, by heather o’neill. The Montreal writer follows up last year’s Giller Award-nominated novel The Girl Who Was Saturday Night with her first short story collection.
then you’ve been publicly shamed, by jon ronson. the gonzo journalist looks at the shame in the whole world.
trust, by russell smith. The Globe and Mail columnist, and one of our best chroniclers of the modern condition, offers the first collection of short stories by him since 1999’s classic Young Men.
the way in is not the same way out, by karen solie. Her first collection since winning the Griffin Poetry Prize is being published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux in the States, which, yeah, is a big deal.
super mutant magic academy, by jillian tamaki. Perhaps best known for the stellar work she produced with her cousin Mariko, this new book should prove that Jillian is also a force on her own.
theater of the unimpressed, by jordan tannahill. the wunderkind of Canadian theater “seeks to turn theater from an obligation into a destiny.”
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bored girls, by sara taylor. one of the most intriguing debut novels of the spring, about a pair of female metalheads, begins like this: “every person i talk to seems to want to know two things. one is am i a serial killer or a mass murderer “.
beyond the limits, by emily urquhart. A folklorist and journalist who happens to be the daughter of Jane Urquhart, Emily Urquhart has produced a cultural history of albinism that sounds absolutely fascinating. (oh, and jane’s novel the night stages, which chronicles the life of an english woman trapped in gander, nfld., her missing younger brother by her and canadian artist kenneth lochhead, also comes out this month!)
father lenin and other stories, by guy vanderhaege. One of Canada’s most esteemed writers publishes his first collection of short stories in over 20 years.
may
a god in ruins, by kate atkinson. a sequel to last year’s hit life after life, which everyone in the world has read except me.
where did you sleep last night?, by lynn crosbie. A teenage girl wakes up in the hospital to discover that the spirit of Kurt Cobain has possessed the body of the boy in her bed next to her.
the familiar, volume 1: a rainy day in May, by mark z. danielewski. among the most interesting and ambitious writers – strike that, artists – at work today, this is the first of 27 volumes. yes, 27. two seven. good luck with that, mark.
near hugh, by marina endicott. Set over the course of a week in September, Endicott’s Last is about an art gallery owner and the friends and family in her orbit.
lesser beasts, by mark essig. a story of the noble pig. oink!
the creation of zombie wars, by aleksander hemon. An aspiring screenwriter’s life begins to unravel in Hemon’s first novel since 2008.
knucklehead, by matt lennox. A small-town janitor investigates the disappearance of his cousin in Lennox’s follow-up to his rough debut as a carpenter.
It’s a long story, by willie nelson. I don’t like celebrity memoirs, but iconoclastic outlaw Nelson has lived one of the most interesting lives imaginable.
the dorito effect, by mark schatzker. The Toronto journalist explores the links between taste and nutrition in his first book since steak: One man’s search for the world’s tastiest piece of meat.
June
in the unlikely event, by judy blume. the ya legend delivers its first adult novel in 15 years.
muse, by jonathan galassi. the first novel of the poet and publisher is a love letter to the industry from him.
arms, by a.j. somersault. The novelist and outdoorsman explores the history of North American gun culture and how “the idea of guns has become something many have believed worth dying for.”
Stalin’s Daughter, by Rosemary Sullivan. The professor, poet, and biographer investigates how Stalin’s only daughter ended up in a small town in Wisconsin.
the community, by philip and carol zaleski. The husband-and-wife team chronicles the writing group the inklings, whose members included j.r.r. tolkien and c.s. louis.
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