Each week, Globe and Mail staffers and readers share what they’re reading now, whether it’s a hot new release or an old book they’re discovering for the first time. Tell me about a book you loved and we might publish your recommendation. Fill out this form, or send your book recommendation to Lara Pingue at lpingue@globeandmail.com
Find your next favourite book with our review archive
Summer 2026: The best new books of the season
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Midnight’s Exiles
In his beautiful and sprawling historical fiction novel Midnight’s Exiles, author Lionel Lumb tells the story of the Dunns, an extended family of Anglo-Indians. Despite their prosperous and comfortable lives, there are dark clouds are on the horizon. The Second World War is raging. The Japanese are in Burma and threatening the Indian sub-continent. Indians are pushing for self-rule, but the country is riven by historic ethnic and religious cleavages among Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims. When partition occurs in 1947, an angry mob attacks and sets fire to the home of the Dunn’s Hindu neighbours. The Dunns compromise their own safety by offering a haven. That is only the beginning of their trials. Lumb, a former journalist born in Lahore, presents a riveting portrayal of the violence and ethnic cleansing that accompanied partition into the states of India and Pakistan.
-Globe reader Dennis Gruending, Ottawa
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Lottery
Patricial Wood’s 2008 novel Lottery is exactly the book we need in our current challenging times. It tells the story of Perry Crandall, deemed “slow” by most of the world, including his beloved Gram, who raises him. Gram knows that Perry can still learn, and she instills in him the value of hard work, saving money, true friendships and respect. All of that comes in handy when Perry wins $12-million in the lottery, ushering in a set of burdens and challenges when bad actors swoop in. This is a story of friendships, acceptance, resilience, greed and not changing who you are regardless of circumstances.
-Globe reader Bill Kerr, Sault Ste Marie, ON
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Dear Everybody
Dear Everybody by Anne Budgell is a fascinating true story of a New York socialite who leaves Manhattan to take up the life of a trapper’s wife in Labrador. Barbara Mundy grew up in a notable family in New York through the Depression. Her father was a shrewd investor and by all accounts hers was a life of luxury. After a brief stint in the North with the Grenfell Mission, she returned a number of years later and fell in love with the land, the people, and one man in particular, Russell Groves. The story is woven together through her diaries, letters to her family and friends, accounts of world events of the day, and media reports from the society pages. It’s an illuminating peek into a very unusual experience. As the book title says: “A woman’s journey from Park Avenue to a Labrador Trapline.”
-Globe reader Penny Moody-Corbett
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The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell
Robert Dugoni’s 2018 novel, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, hooked me from its opening line: “There comes a day in every man’s life when he stops looking forward and starts looking back.” This story is a retrospective on a life lived, told with searching insight and dry humour. Our titular character Sam, born with an unusual physical trait that shapes his entire life, is in a quest to understand how on earth he ends up where he is as an adult. With much introspection, he finally achieves a wisdom that lets him look forward. I recommend this book wholeheartedly, especially if you’re a soul-searcher.
-Globe reader Ron Ashley, Rideau Lakes, Ont.
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The Correspondent
When a friend put a copy of The Correspondent in my hands, she said, ‘You’re welcome.’ I’m indeed thankful for this beautiful novel by Virginia Evans, which tells the life story of an aging, successful modern woman, Sybil, told exclusively through her letters to family, friends and perfect strangers. It’s the best new book I have read this year. The storyline is tight, the characters compelling. I tore through it until the climax stopped me in my tracks. Love, tragedy and redemption combine to create a story about doing your best, and understanding that you can always do better.
-Globe reader Michelle Doucet, Ottawa
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The One-Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot
I recently had the pleasure of rereading The One-Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot, and was quickly reminded why it hooked me the first time. It’s the story of the unlikely friendship between 17-year-old Lenni and 83-year-old Margot, who form a bond after meeting in the hospital where Lenni is dying. This beautiful book never sinks into maudlin emotions, and instead celebrates friendship with humour and warmth. It also raises a universal concern about being alive. As Lenni reminds us, “But it isn’t enough to have been a particle in the great extant of existence. I want, we want, more. We want for people to know us who we are and who we will be. And after we’ve gone, to know who we were.”
-Globe reader Susan Beiderwieden, Victoria
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Who Killed Charles Dickens?
Novelist Howard Kurlandski takes you to London circa 1870s with his debut novel, Who Killed Charles Dickens? The tale follows Dickens as he tries to complete his last novel amid a plot to take him down. Kurlandski masterfully paints an authentic picture, full of detailed research and language that is pure Dickens. It’s a humourous book, which is subtly woven into the plot and effectively breaks the tension. The ending will surprise readers, too.
-Globe reader Ron Zack, Toronto
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What We Keep Silent
Toronto author Karen Grose’s new thriller, What We Keep Silent, is about a hospital data breach that threatens to expose long-held family secrets. This full-throttle pulse pounder filled with blackmail and high-stakes family drama left me turning pages late into the night. It’s also a complex story, covering themes of loyalty, love, regret and our universal need to belong. What We Keep Silent is a thrilling read written by a Canadian author.
-Globe reader Yen Tran, Mississauga