Brew North is a great new book chronicling Canadian history through one of our country's most famous exports: beer.

In the new world of satirist Gary Shteyngart, past author of Absurdistan, people can't tolerate life without an äppärät and they work at corporations like LandOLakesGMFordCredit. But really, the title of his new novel tells it all: Super Sad True Love Story.

Fifty years ago, John Updike witnessed Ted William's final game with the Boston Red Sox. The article he wrote for The New Yorker, along with an autobiographical preface by Updike and a new afterword, has been published in a commemorative book by the Library of America. Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu makes for a perfect summer read.

Caitlin Cronenberg has just published POSER, a self-published collection of nude and partially nude photographs. TORO caught up with Cronenberg for a candid conversation about how the book came to be and what it means to her.

James Tabor talks about the cavers who spend weeks in darkness trying to find the deepest places on Earth, thousands of feet under the surface. It's a fascinating subculture that's chronicled in his heart-stopping book Blind Descent.

Bill Clegg was a successful New York literary agent who flamed out of his prestigious social circles by binging on crack. Miraculously, he survived and wrote a memoir from rehab: Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man.

Tom Rachman’s debut novel, The Imperfectionists, is an engaging, formally interesting work that plays to the strengths of both the short story and the novel. Each chapter deals with a staff member of an English-language newspaper headquartered in Rome, Italy.

Do you suffer from pogonophobia? If you fear the "pogonos" – the beard – consider that for every Osama Bin Laden there's also Santa Claus, and for every Attila the Hun there's also Moses. Journalists Allan Peterkin and Nick Burns, two defenders of the beard, have joined forces to write "The Bearded Gentleman," a book that's as authoritative as it is witty. With detailed advice on over 50 styles and how-to notes on all aspects of shaving, this book is much more reliable than a Google search on this topic and, as trends go, a reminder that the whiskers are coming back!

Montreal author Miguel Syjuco talks to us about his ambitious debut novel, Ilustrado, which made waves in his native Philippines and won the 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize.

The year's first great film book covers the life and career of Clint Eastwood, the most influential action star in American movie history. TORO talks with author and Eastwood's long-time friend Richard Schickel, who after decades with Time magazine, has had a first-hand look at the evolution of this iconic performer.