Free Press Book Club

Free Press
Book Club

Welcome to the Free Press Book Club!

To help ease some of the isolation-related boredom, we’ve started a monthly book club which will run completely online and is open to anyone and everyone to join.

Each month, we will choose a novel and share it on this page, as well as in an email to those who have registered to participate. We’ll send a couple of follow up notes to check in on your progress and suggest a few discussion topics and questions to think about as you go.

At the end of the month, we’ll all gather to participate in a livestream book club meeting, hosted by our books editor, Ben Sigurdson, or one of our pals from McNally Robinson Booksellers, as well as the author of the book.

You’ll be able to submit questions ahead of time, or drop them into one of the live chat boxes during the meeting. (And don’t worry, we’ll provide an easy-to-access link to the stream, so all you have to do is click.)

Right now, our focus is on local authors of varying genres and backgrounds, so we hope you’re excited to dive in.

The Book

This Has Nothing to Do With You
By: Lauren Carter

Buy Now

From Freehand Books:

When Melony Barnett’s mother commits a violent murder, Mel is left struggling with the loss of her parents and her future. For more than two years, she drifts around the continent, trying to carve out a life that has nothing to do with her past, before returning to her Northern Ontario home and adopting a rescue dog—a mastiff with a tragic history. As she struggles to help the dog heal and repair her relationship with her brother, Matt, she begins to uncover layers of secrets about her family—secrets that were the fuel for her mother’s actions.

This Has Nothing to Do With You is a compulsively readable novel that follows a dynamic cast of characters, revealing the complexity of the bonds that are formed through trauma and grief—with siblings, lovers, friends, and dogs.

Winner of the 2020 Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction.

Schedule

Thur
Oct 1

Free Press Book Club pick annoucement

This Has Nothing to Do With You, by Lauren Carter

Mon
Oct 12

Check-in

Expect an email from us to check in on your progress. We’ll offer up some discussion questions and other things to think about as you continue reading.

Mon
Oct 19

Livestream information email

This email will provide all the information you need for our livestream book club event, including the access link, some information about your viewing options and how you can submit your questions for the author ahead of time. This information will also be posted to our Free Press Book Club Facebook group.

Mon
Oct 26

Free Press Book Club meeting

Join our live chat starting at 7 p.m. CDT with special guest Lauren Carter. We’ll also announce the November book club pick at the end of the meeting.

If you have any questions, please email us at bookclub@winnipegfreepress.com