Have you been reading Jessica Grant's Come, Thou Tortoise along with the Cityline Book Club? We recently chatted with Grant via Skype from her home in Newfoundland, and she graciously answered all of our book club's questions about her excellent novel. Watch the video below and find out all about Grant's inspirations for the novel, including how she ended up with a tortoise as a narrator, and what she loves most about Audrey. [embed]bcid:3067219903001[/embed] Are you enjoying Come, Thou Tortoise so far? Share your thoughts in the comments - we can’t wait to discuss it with you. Stay tuned for our list of more great novels that feature clever word play, coming up right here in the Cityline Book Club next week!

Are you reading along with the Cityline Book Club? Our latest pick is the ever-so-quirky Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant, and our Cityline staffers are really enjoying this fun read. Want to hear an excerpt? Grant recorded herself reading from the first chapter of her novel. Watch below to hear how the book kicks off! [embed]bcid:3037576692001[/embed] Are you enjoying Come, Thou Tortoise so far? Share your thoughts in the comments! We can't wait to discuss it with you!

We hope you're reading along with the Cityline Book Club and enjoying Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant! Our Cityline team has been enjoying this fun and quirky read over the holidays, and we can't wait to discuss it in our upcoming book club meeting! To help our book club get some additional insight into Grant as a writer, we asked her 10 questions about her writing habits and favourite books. 1. What was your favourite book as a child? When I was very small: The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Then, when I was a little older: The Black Stallion. Then the Oz books. Then Sweet Valley High romances (Jessica was the evil twin). Then I loved Stephen King (still do). 2. What’s your current favourite book? I don’t really have a favourite. But there are certain books that I love and will read over and over. I spent three years reading Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. I read it three times. It’s a complete world. I still haven’t figured out how he does it. 3. Was there a moment when you first knew you wanted to be a writer? There were degrees of knowing. I think I knew I wanted to be a writer before I really understood what that meant. I was just a kid telling myself stories. Then in high school a teacher told me I could write, and I was so excited. I believed him. 4. What is your favourite music to write to? I read somewhere that Stephen King wrote his early novels while high on cocaine and listening to heavy metal. I find that amazing. I’m the opposite. I’m not high, and I’ve got earplugs in my ears! 5. What author do you wish you could write like? There are authors I admire, even worship, but I don’t wish I wrote like them. That would be like wishing I weren’t myself. Authors I worship: David Foster Wallace. Virginia Woolf. Stephen King. Vladimir Nabokov. 6. Where is your favourite place to write? In a place where earplugs are not necessary because it is so quiet. On the other hand, I like writing on airplanes and in airports. 7. What time of day do you do your best writing? In the morning, first thing, when the part of my brain that dreams is still active. 8. What was your last great read? Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate. I’ve just discovered her. She’s hilarious and so clever. 9. What is the last book you gave as a gift? Chris Hadfield’s An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth. 10. What do you do when you’re not writing? I wrestle, do the odd electrical job, read, teach, try to fix things in my house. Are you enjoying Come, Thou Tortoise so far? Share your thoughts in the comments – we can’t wait to discuss it with you. Stay tuned for an audio excerpt from the novel, read by Jessica Grant, coming up right here in the Cityline Book Club next week!

We're a big group of book lovers here at Cityline, which you might have guessed if you've been following along with the Cityline Book Club this year! We read a ton of great books both for the book club (and you'll see some of those novels in our list below!) and for our own personal reading pleasure in 2013, so it was difficult to narrow it down to just five each! Winter is an excellent season for curling up with a good book, a blanket, and a hot cup of tea, so give one of our fave reads a try! Suzanne's picks:

Eleanor Catton, The Luminaries: When this book won the esteemed Booker Prize in 2013, I was impressed to find out that it's not only the longest Booker winner in history, but also that the Canadian-born Catton is, at 23, the youngest-ever recipient. I started on it straight away, and found myself engrossed in a fascinating tale about mysterious events taking place in a New Zealand gold rush town in 1866. There are more than a dozen characters with intertwining storylines, and 200 pages in you sense just how much more of the story has yet to be revealed, but trust me and stick with it. An epic literary achievement from an incredibly talented writer.

Saleema Nawaz, Bone and Bread: Considering its heavy subject matter -- a young woman struggling with anorexia -- Bone and Bread could have been an outright depressing read. Thankfully, Nawaz imbues the story of sisters Beena and Sadhana with such heart and warmth, you find yourself caring deeply for them and wanting to see what happens next in their lives. We were fortunate enough to be able to learn about Nawaz's writing process for this novel, via our Cityline Book Club's interview with her, and given that neither she nor anyone in her circle of family and friends suffers from anorexia, her treatment of the subject is exceptional. She doesn't gloss it over in the least, nor does she overdramatize it. I can't recommend this title enough.

Lisa Moore, Caught: From the opening pages of Lisa Moore's Caught, we're along for the ride as David Slaney manages to escape from prison. As he hitchhikes his way across Canada to reconnect with his partner-in-crime, we readers have the book's title in the back of our heads. Will he be caught? And if so, how? A clever and well-constructed story from one of our most talented scribes.

A.S.A. Harrison, The Silent Wife: When this book was released, it was dubbed 'this year's Gone Girl.' While it has some similarities to the Gillian Flynn bestseller -- the story of a disintegrating relationship, the his-and-hers narratives -- I found The Silent Wife to be the smarter, better read. It centers on the story of Jodi and Todd, a Chicago couple who have been together for decades but never bothered to marry. When one of Todd's dalliances threatens to shake the foundations of their relationship, Jodi finds herself doing things she never imagined possible in order to hold on to her way of life.

Matt Zoller Seitz, The Wes Anderson Collection: My one non-fiction title on the list is this fabulous literary ode to one of film's most creative minds.  Any fan of writer-director Wes Anderson's films knows how meticulously crafted they are, and this book is the same, from the cover art that references all seven of his films, to the in-depth investigations of each film. There are transcribed conversations between critic-author Matt Zoller Seitz and Anderson, behind-the-scenes photos, sketches, and many more curiosities about Anderson's filmmaking process. A must-have for any fan of his work.   Suzie's picks: Saleema Nawaz, Bone and Bread: Orphaned as teenagers, sisters Beena and Sadhana grow up under the care of their Sikh uncle, who runs a Jewish bagel shop in Montreal. As they near adulthood, the once close sisters begin to drift apart: at 16, Beena finds herself pregnant from one of the "bagel boys", while Sadhana becomes obsessed with perfectionism and drives herself to anorexia. For a 450-page book, I can't believe how sad I was to be leaving these characters once I reached the end. Nawaz is a beautiful writer who crafted an incredibly rich and vivid story in these two sisters and their twisting, complex lives as youth and adults. Janet E. Cameron, Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World: Don't be fooled by its frothy title - this stunning debut novel packs a punch. Skillfully covering a range of difficult topics from homophobia to bullying to parental abuse, Cameron's story follows Stephen's coming-of-age in small town, Nova Scotia. With a distant, pot-smoking father and an overly dependent mother, Stephen's life already has its fair share of complications -- and it only goes downhill from there when he realizes he's fallen in love with his extremely homophobic best friend. Stacey May Fowles, Infidelity: It takes two to tango, and in this beautifully written novel, Fowles shows the reader just how messy an affair can be. What makes this story so captivating is the rich and complex characters Fowles creates - none of these characters are wholly good or wholly bad, and it's impossible to blame only one party for their dalliances. Fowles also tackles more than just the anatomy of an affair in this work, as she deftly deals with issues of infertility and cancer. This is the type of read that sticks with you well beyond the last page. Rainbow Rowell, Eleanor & Park: Aimed at teens but a hit with adult readers as well, this story of two misfit teenagers who fall in love against the odds is sure to tug on your heartstrings, even if you’re not much of a romantic. Set over the course of one school year in 1986, Eleanor and Park’s unlikely relationship will bring you back to your own first love, and how desperately you believed it would also be your last. The most powerful elements of this story were the parts left unsaid, the back story left somewhat to the readers' own imagination. We get to know Eleanor and Park as they get to know each other, which adds so much to the beauty and all-consuming nature of this novel and the couple's relationship. Jane Christmas, And Then There Were Nuns: My sole non-fiction title on my "best of" list is one of the books that most surprised me this year. Christmas' memoir about her journey to find out if she's "nun material" wonderfully balances an investigation into anti-feminism in institutionalized religion with intriguing insights into modern monastic life. The sisters Christmas meets along the way are an amazingly diverse cast of secondary characters and add great vibrancy to this engaging story. What was your favourite book of 2013? Share your picks in the comments below!

It seems to be the year of the short story here in Canada! First Alice Munro won the 2013 Nobel Prize for Literature in October, and then in November, our Cityline Book Club pick Hellgoing by Lynn Coady won the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize. Canada has always been a strong producer of amazing short stories, so to help you check out more great collections, we've rounded up some of our recent faves. Sarah Selecky, This Cake is for the Party: Shortlisted for the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize, this debut book is one of my very favourite short story collections. Selecky's use of language is brilliant and incredibly thought-provoking. Her characters are rich and complex, and while the situations they end up in are generally rather bleak, you still can't help but fall for the beautiful moments in these excellent stories. Rebecca Rosenblum, Once: This debut collection of 16 small stories portrays the messy lives of 20-somethings in an all too accurate way. From students to waitresses to street hustlers, this debut collection is a captivating look at human relationships that is all at once self-assured and tentative, harsh yet tender. Elisabeth de Mariaffi, How to Get Along with Women: Longlisted for the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize, de Mariaffi's debut collection focuses on female relationships and the power struggles that come along with them, whether these are romantic relationships or female friendships. The author's keen eye for detail and stunning ability to get into the minds of her characters makes these stories irresistible. Vincent Lam, Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures: Winner of the 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize, this collection is unique in this list as the only book of connected stories. Four young medical students are the main characters who run a connecting thread through each of the 12 interwoven stories that give an insider's look into what it means to be a doctor. (It helps that Lam is a medical doctor himself!) Russell Wangersky, Whirl Away: This incredibly charming collection of east-coast stories was shortlisted for the 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize. These stories get under your skin, and the character development is superb for such short, slice-of-life stories. Do you love short stories? We'd love to hear about your favourite collections -- tell us about them in the comments below!