Staff Picks
Staff picks: volume 4
Twelve new staff favourites for summer—spanning speculative fiction, fantasy, Canadian historical fiction, nature writing, romantasy, and more.
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Staff Picks
Staff picks: volume 3
Spring has officially arrived at the cottage, and with it, a fresh wave of books we can't stop talking about. Whether you're reading on the dock, in the garden, or tucked into...
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Staff Picks
Staff picks: volume 2
From cozy magical cat shelters to high-stakes space operas, our team has curated these shelves with intention. Just look for the pink heart online and at the cottage (with removable stickers to...
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Review
Bitter wind: a review of Helm by Sarah Hall
In Helm’s expansive experience of time, the human cast feels secondary. This is a shame, given the novel quickly pivots from Helm’s subversive voice to spend the most time with them. They...
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Staff Picks
Staff picks: volume 1
Explore our collection of guaranteed good reads. Each staff pick is chosen with love by our team of expert booksellers.
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From the Cottage
The 2025 Nottawa Cottage holiday gift guide: a book for every reader on your list
Find the perfect gift with the Nottawa Cottage 2025 Holiday Gift Guide. Explore expert book recommendations and details on our exclusive holiday events.
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Review
Book review: Pulled noodles, pulled heartstrings in Annalee Newitz’s Automatic Noodle
We’ve all been told robots will take our jobs. What if they taught us how to resist instead?
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Review
Book review: Katabasis takes us deep into the underworld of the mind
Like the stinging wasps in Dante’s Inferno, something needled me as I read Katabasis, the latest from R.F. Kuang, academic and best-selling author of Yellowface, Babel, and The Poppy War series. Katabasis,...
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Review
Book review: Belching bishops and domestic affairs in The Pilgrimage by John Broderick
In 1961, Catholic doctrine heavily influenced Irish law. Books were banned for contradicting social mores. The Pilgrimage, with its extramarital affairs, homosexual liaisons, belching priests, and critique of miracle cures, stood no...
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Review
Book review: The many contradictions of Mark Twain
Over the course of Ron Chernow’s lengthy (and I mean lengthy) new biography of Mark Twain, the titular subject comes to feel like a beloved house guest who overstays his welcome. Yet,...
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Review
Review of “Perspectives” by Laurent Binet: Renaissance Scandal Meets Modern AI Concerns
Nasty rumours, intricate plots, boldfaced lies, declarations of love, and accusations of murder—letters containing all theseflit across Renaissance Italy in Laurent Binet’s epistolary “Perspectives” (translated by Sam Taylor, 2023).
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From the Cottage
Find the Perfect Mother's Day Gift at Nottawa Cottage Bookstore! ✨
Mother's Day is just around the corner (Sunday, May 12th!), and finding that perfect gift that truly resonates with Mom can sometimes feel overwhelming. But don't worry—we've curated a thoughtful collection of...
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From the Cottage
Join us for Canadian Independent Bookstore Day ✨
Is there anything more delightful than a bookstore celebration? I don't think so! This Saturday, April 26th, we're pulling out all the stops for Canadian Independent Bookstore Day at Nottawa Cottage Bookstore, and...
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Essay
AI won’t write literature—but it might push it forward
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, recently shared a short story written by an unreleased large language model (LLM) that is “good at creative writing.” He claims it’s the first time he’s been “really...
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Review
Book review: Vampires and vengeance in The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
You haven't read a book like The Buffalo Hunter Hunter before. This captivating, disturbing blend of vampire mythology and Indigenous history offers something new to the horror genre. Released on March 18,...
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Review
Book review: Three Days in June explores faithfulness, forgiveness, and family
Anne Tyler’s Three Days in June is a svelte, finely crafted exploration of faithfulness, forgiveness, and family. Her sentences string together like the lace of a wedding veil, a gossamer that reveals complexity...
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Review
Book review: Lesser Ruins Captures Modern Loss
"Anyway, I think, she's dead, and though I loved her, I now have both the time and freedom to write my essay on Montaigne . . ." With these startling words, Mark...
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Review
Book review: Held explores echoes of trauma
If you’re looking to cozy up and get lost in a ripping yarn, Held by Anne Michaels isn’t the book for you. But if you’re up for confronting life’s biggest questions, it might...
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Review
Book review: Playground by Richard Powers
Playground, the latest from Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Powers, uses the island of Makatea as a microcosm for contemporary debates about AI, environmental justice, and neocolonialism. Through its exploration of the interconnectedness...
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