Six Books You Should Read (Non-Fiction Edition)

I live my life roughly 350 pages a time. If you want to join this fast-paced, high-rolling lifestyle, here are some great reads to help get you started.

As we wind down 2024 and prepare for 2025 and whatever it may bring, god help us, I wanted to share a few non-fiction books I’ve read this year and think you might enjoy. Next month, I’ll share a list of fiction (spoiler: they’re mostly political, because what isn’t?) you should add to your to-be-read pile.

I tend to prefer non-fiction reads that are accessible, written in clear prose, deeply researched but not crammed with distracting citations, and that make a strong argument or series of arguments. I especially like books that take power — and class — seriously.

The books from my 2024 list fit the bill and I’m excited to share them with you. There’s a bit of theme here, as you may notice, as noted: powerful people, company, and organizations tend to get what they want and the rest of us…less so. But not always.

I’ve reviewed most of these books or interviewed their author, in which case I’ve linked to the review or interview in case you want to read a bit more about the book.

The Big Fix: How Companies Capture Markets and Harm Canadians by Vass Bednar and Denise Hearn

I was amazed at just how much analysis and critique Bednar and Hearn managed to fit into such a short and readable book. Of course, when it comes to Canadian companies, there’s a lot to critique. The Big Fix does a tremendous job at explaining how a handful of corporations in the country dominate the marketplace, pretending to compete with one another while actually suppressing competition at great costs to workers, consumers, and other businesses.

The book is a primer on the lazy, monopolistic Canadian economy. Put this one at the top of your to-read list.

Kenneyism: Jason Kenney’s Pursuit of Power by Jeremy Appel

In April, I talked to Jeremy Appel about Kenneyism for my podcast, Open to Debate. I also reviewed it for the Tyee. Around the same time, I recommended his book in this newsletter. I’m doing it again, because it’s just that good.

Appel does a great job assessing Jason Kenney, the man and former Stephen Harper Cabinet minister and Alberta premier. He does just as well explaining his arch-conservative political project and its effects, which we live with still, and may see again if and when Pierre Poilievre comes to power after the next federal election. If you want to understand this country’s past, present, and, indeed, it’s future, you’ll want to read this book.

A Little History of Economics by Niall Kishtainy

Last summer, I listened to this audiobook while out on walks. (Yes, audiobooks count as reading, not that anyone should have to defend how they consume information.) A Little History of Economics is an accessible primer on the long history of a subject that shapes so much of our lives. It’s helped me dig deeper into areas of the dismal science with which I was unfamiliar. Also, its discussion of mercantilism may be particularly, err, timely, as Donald Trump prepares to slap tariffs on Canada and Mexico. The book pairs well with classic and contemporary economic texts, if that’s your thing, illuminating them and putting them in historical context.

Ice in Their Veins: Women’s Relentless Pursuit of the Puck by Ian Kennedy

With the recent launch of the Professional Women’s Hockey League, women’s hockey has been in the spotlight. A casual observer might think the rise in the women’s game came from nowhere, but, of course, it didn’t.

In Ice in Their Veins, Kennedy assesses the state of women’s hockey — and hockey culture more broadly — while tracing its history back more than 100 years through various leagues, players, and events. He digs into the gendered gatekeeping and misogyny that has held women’s hockey back while telling stories of the women who resisted, persisted, and ultimately succeeded in their fight for a more inclusive sport.

In the coming days, I’ll have a podcast episode with Kennedy out. I’ll update this when it releases. Also, if you haven’t watched a PWHL game yet, I highly recommend it — especially if you can attend in person.

Paris ‘44: The Shame and the Glory by Patrick Bishop

Reading Paris ‘44, I kept thinking about our present circumstances. No, our cities aren’t occupied by Nazis, though there are plenty of them about. But Bishop’s book captures the struggles of a city — and country — occupied in the 1940s, including the tensions between factions and the decisions people made that defined them, including whether to resist, surrender, or collaborate with the cruellest and most vicious among us. It implicitly raises an uncomfortable but timely question: What would you do if…

The book is expertly detailed but nonetheless very human, telling human stories with a full appreciation of the intricacies, tensions, and horrors of the time. It’s part multiple-biographies, part history of Paris and the Second World War, and part study of power and its effect on how we decide to live — and what we decide to live with.

If you want to read more, I’ve also reviewed this book for the Globe and Mail.

Rogers v. Rogers: The Battle for Control of Canada’s Telecom Empire by Alexandra Posadzki

I hope you’ll forgive a second repeat, but Rogers v. Rogers, like Kenneyism, is indeed worth a second mention. I reviewed the book for the Globe and Mail and wrote about it briefly here, but roughly seven months after reading it, I still think about it. That’s because it’s a Shakespearean study of family and power. It’s also, much like the Big Fix, a critical assessment of corporate concentration in Canada. It’s got melodrama, it’s got big tech critique, it’s got…telecom policy. The whole Cadillac!

As I wrote back in April, “If you live in Canada, you’ve probably been hosed by a telecom company. You’ve probably overpaid for broadband or cell service because this country is three companies in a trenchcoat and they can do pretty much whatever they way. You’re probably overpaying now, in fact.”

That analysis holds up. So does this book.