In this, the 78th episode and the final one of season 5, Linda offers the “Nine Days of Christmas” with nine different book recommendations for the holidays. Who makes the cut? Well, we could say you need to listen to find out, but we want you to find the books easily, so here they are with their links:

Alice Zorn’s Colours in her Hands (Freehand Books), Téa Mutonji’s Shut Up You’re Pretty (VS Books, Arsenal), Katherena Vermette’s Real Ones (Hamish Hamilton), Ian Williams', What I Mean to Say (Anansi), Sarah Polley's Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory (Penguin), Suzette Mayr’s The Sleeping Car Porter (Coach House Press), Derek Webster’s National Animal (Véhicule Press), Sue Goyette's A Different Species of Breathing (WLUP),and Bart Vautour’s The Truth About Facts (Invisible Publishing)

Linda speaks with Corinna Chong about her novel, Bad Land, published by Arsenal Pulp Press and long-listed for the Giller Prize. Chong, originally from Calgary, lives in Kelowna, B.C. where she teaches English and fine arts at Okanagan College. She published her first novel, Belinda's Rings, in 2013.

In her opening remarks, Linda explains why she sees the protagonist and main narrator, Regina, as … well, kind of “brat.” She's a fascinating, messy, and lovable character who has buried her life--and the secrets around that life--in the home in which she and her brother, Ricky, were raised ... until he shows up with his daughter, Jez, with a new secret of their own. The tensions that are produced open wide the secrets by the novel's end, revealing both the beauty and violence that have haunted Regina for years.

And a final reminder! Please vote for us in the Women's Podcasting Awards! Only a few days left!