The Buzz...About Books

Honestly, I think I'm the wrong person to write about this category. Lately, I'm not finding much in the world to be optimistic about, and the books I read tend to be on the darker side. As such, my interpretation of this category may not be yours. There are lots of staff and Facebook recommendations that may be more on target. You might want check out Reagan's post on A Book that Makes you Happy for additional suggestions that might work for this category.

These are my recommendations:

100 Animals that can F*cking End You by Mamadou Ndiaye

I first encountered Mamadou Ndiaye on TikTok, where he shares facts about deadly animals in a delightfully droll way. I was thrilled when he released this fun book. Although not directly about an optimistic future, Ndiaye's warnings about dangerous animals (avoid Canada Geese!) have helped me go about my daily activities safely.  

My Brother's Husband by Gengoroh Tagame

Tokyo residents Yaichi and his daughter Kana are visited by Mike Flanagan, the Canadian husband of Yaichi's recently deceased brother Ryōji. The men had been estranged due to Yaichi's discomfort over his twin brother's sexuality. Mike and Ryōji had planned to visit Japan together, but Ryōji died before they could, so Mike has made the journey alone to learn more about his husband's culture. In the two volume series, Yaichi overcomes his own homophobia and Yaichi, Kana and Mike have become a family. 

Parkland: Birth of a Movement by Dave Cullen

I often feel frustrated by things going on in the world and my inability to change them. This book about the survivors of the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School shootings uniting to fight for gun control gives me hope for the future. These traumatized and grieving teenagers mobilized immediately and created Never Again MSG within four days of the shooting. During the past five years, the organization has coordinated marches and rallies and encouraged young people to vote and become active in politics. 

Other categories:

• A book about survival
• A book of investigative non-fiction

The Climate Book created by Greta Thunberg

Another young activist who gives me hope is Greta Thunberg. Her latest release The Climate Book is an anthology of essays from 100 scientists, historians, academics, journalists and other experts. 

Other categories:

• A book about survival
• A book by a person living with a non-apparen't disability

Staff Recommendations

All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai

This book begins in a future where all of the physical problems of life have been solved. There's no poverty, pollution or sickness left, and the only realm of innovation is entertainment. Time travel tourism is just being invented, and through a series of accidents, Tom is the first person to time travel — and ends up "returning" to a very different future. Tom has to try to fix this timeline change, but his definition of the perfect future might start to change as he explores this "wrong" future.

Other categories:

• A book about multiple timelines

—Kieran, Librarian

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

It was with great interest that I read this book about a woman who lives alone and has a past that the reader doesn't fully understand until near the end. Eleanor lives by routines and has few — if any — friends. She imagines her "perfect" partner and sets out to find him. One evening befriends an elderly man and a co-worker by accident (literally), and they form a bond and friendship that brings hope.

—Jennifer, Public Service Assistant

Manikanetish by Naomi Fontaine

This novella was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award in 2021. It is the story of Yammie, a young Innu woman who is leaving her life in Montreal to accept a teaching contract in the town she lived in as a child, Uashat, on Quebec’s North shore. After being away from Uashat for more than 15 years, she has lost her accent, knows very few words in her language, and has to deal with not being welcomed back. Being in an isolated community, the school covers all grades. Yammie chooses the high school level and is assigned to teach French. These kids come in all forms — young teen mothers, students in their 20s who have learning difficulties and those who just do not care. Alternatively, there are those who are gifted and enthusiastic and want to achieve success. Teaching them is exhausting, and Yammie sometimes feels discouraged. Things turn around for everyone when she accepts the responsibility of organizing a high school play. The bonding experience is beautiful. Naomi Fontaine wrote this book as a tribute to her community, and the teens she taught there. Written as a sort of diary, Yammie deals with personal challenges for herself and her students, with real-life issues that no teen should ever have to face. Manikanetish reminded me of To Sir With Love, and the bonding that takes place is absolutely beautiful.

—Debra, Librarian

A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers

This book is the first in a series set in a post-apocalyptic future, where the pollution and oppression of sentient robots came to a crisis. It's now been hundreds of years since the robots and humans decided to split the planet, and people have found new ways to live in harmony with nature and each other. The novel follows Sibling Dex, a monk grappling with an inner turmoil, who happens upon the robot Mosscap in the first contact since the division.

—Kieran, Librarian

The Soul of a Woman: On Impatient Love, Long Life and Good Witches by Isabel Allende

By the author of the award-winning The House of the Spirits and the wonderful The Long Petal of the Sea, Allende switches to her own story and passion for women’s rights and feminism passion. As a child growing up in Chile, she saw her mother struggle to raise her three children after their father abandoned them. Her mother was forced to move back with her paren'ts and give up financial control to her father. Her mother was also excommunicated from her church. Allende states that she became a feminist at the age of five, and she was determined to have a voice when her mother did not. Allende argues that there is still much work to be done globally, as there are still too many societies where men control women. She hopes this book will “light the torches of our daughters and granddaughters with mine.”  Even though this is a book about feminism, she also touches on the events in her life, such as her three marriages, the sudden death of her daughter Paula, and experiencing passion in her late seventies. My favourite quote from this book? “One is never too old to get younger.”

—Debra, Librarian

Recommendations from the Facebook Group

These are just some of the suggested titles from our Facebook TPL Reading Challenge 2023 discussion group. You can read all of the responses in the original post (get the link from our FB moderator). You do not need a Facebook account to read the suggestions.

• The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed
• As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
• Candide by Voltaire
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows
• Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman
• The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes
• Peace by Chocolate: The Hadhad Family's Remarkable Journey from Syria to Canada by Jon Tattrie
• The Story of Us by Catherine Hernandez

French Recommendations

If you like to read in French, check out the list of recommended books for "Un futur optimiste: suggestions pour le Défi lecture." There's a mix of books, eBooks and digital audiobooks to try.

What would you recommend for "a book about an optimistic future”? Add your suggestions in the comments section below.