LIVE SOON: Read any good books lately? If not, we can help

Our latest On The Line offers up some summer reading suggestions

Hello, friends. We’re splitting On The Line’s releases into audio and video. Videos are now in the late afternoon/evenings, and you can check ‘em out in all our usual places. (Audio options can all be found here, as ever.)

In this episode of On The Line, Jen Gerson is joined by Brandon Forsyth, longtime book buyer at Indigo, for a wide-ranging conversation about summer reads and the deeper currents shaping the book industry.

First up: recommendations. Forsyth walks us through his picks for both fiction and non-fiction, offering something for everyone this summer—from literary thrillers to deeply researched investigations.

But then things get spicy. Jen and Brandon dive into the state of book culture. What genres are thriving? Which ones are stale? Do Millennials have a distinct writing voice? And should grown adults still be reading YA or kids' books? (Spoiler: They don’t exactly agree.)

Brandon’s Summer Book Recommendations:

FICTION
• Slow Horses – Mick Herron
• Murderbot – Martha Wells
• Katabasis – R.F. Kuang
• One Golden Summer – Carley Fortune
• Say You’ll Remember Me – Abby Jimenez

NON-FICTION
• The Crisis of Canadian Democracy – Andrew Coyne
• Moral Ambition – Rutger Bregman
• Empire of AI – Karen Hao
• Children Like Us – Brittany Penner
• King of Kings – Scott Anderson

Join the queue now! Video goes live on YouTube in 30 minutes, at 7:00 Eastern and 5:00 Mountain.

You can also watch this episode of On The Line, and all our podcast releases, on our Twitter feeds: Matt’s is here. The Line’s is here. Jen is here.

On The Line wouldn’t be possible without our sponsors.

This episode of On The Line is brought to you by Airbnb. It’s no secret that Canada is in a housing crisis. Some think that short-term rentals such as Airbnbs are the problem. But the closer you look, the clearer it gets. Attempts to lower rents by regulating short-term rentals have failed in cities like New York City – which is experiencing record high rents a year after doing so. Canada doesn’t need more regulation; it needs more supply. And Airbnbs that could be converted into long-term homes account for only 0.6% of Canada’s housing stock. Learn more at Airbnb.ca/closerlook.

And:

This episode is also brought to you by the Métis Nation of Ontario. It's Sault Ste. Marie in the 1850s. The Upper Great Lakes and rivers of northern Ontario are bustling during the summers with the sound of paddles. Sault Ste. Marie, Fort William, Fort Frances. For Métis voyageurs, these were the highways of a growing trade. Summer was for moving canoes packed with salted fish and furs. Stops were made at supply depots run by Métis families. And a thriving economy was built on a network of Métis communities stretching across the Upper Great Lakes westward. These Métis routes became the arteries of Canada’s first economy. This July, while Canadians enjoy their vacations, remember the Métis who spent summers building Canada’s first economy. To learn more, visit OntarioMetisFacts.com.

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The Line is Canada’s last, best hope for irreverent commentary. We reject bullshit. We love lively writing. Please consider supporting us by subscribing. Please follow us on social media! Facebook x 2: On The Line Podcast here, and The Line Podcast here. Instagram. Also: TikTok. BlueSky. LinkedIn. Matt’s Twitter. The Line’s Twitter.Jen’s Twitter. Contact us by email: lineeditor@protonmail.com.