The last Saturday of April is Independent Bookstore Day. This week Carmela Vedar, the owner of The Book Wardrobe, joins the show to talk about her store in Streetsville, Mississauga and how it came to be. Plus, scholar David Williams discusses the everlasting impact of the great Irish poet, Seamus Heaney.

Books discussed on this week's show include:

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Wintering Out by Seamus Heaney

Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks

Kim Echlin doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff. She's an author, translator and teacher who has written about political unrest and violence, and, in her reading life, is inspired by the writers who do the same. Her favourite writers bear witness to the world’s darkness and make meaning from these difficult stories. Kim’s latest book of essays pays tribute to her favourites, and it’s called Tell Others: Storytelling for a World in Turmoil. Plus, Toronto musician Lia Pappas-Kemps talks about her undying love for Zadie Smith.

Books discussed on this week's show include:

Tell Others: Storytelling for a World in Turmoil by Kim Echlin

Intimations by Zadie Smith

Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks

Graham Wright is a musician who spent almost twenty years playing keyboards in the band Tokyo Police Club, and has also done solo projects. Even before he developed his love for music, he had a passion for books. He joins the show this week to recommend three of his recent reads, all of which riff on the idea of home or at least finding your place in a hard to pin down world. Plus, CBC Books producer Daphné Santos-Vieira on the CBC Poetry Prize, and recommends a poetry collection that hit home.

Books discussed on this week's show include:

Pay as You Go by David Eskor Johnson

How Much of These Hills is Gold by C. Pam Zhang

Julius, Julius by Aurora Steward de Pena

Yield by Jaime Forsythe

Check us out on Instagram @cbcbooks and TikTok @cbcbooks