Do not start reading Free as a Bird at 10:30 at night, because you won’t be able to put it down. And if, by some miracle, you manage to tear yourself away at midnight, don’t start reading again at breakfast or you will get no work done all morning. It’s that good.

The book was shortlisted for a GG this year. But Gina McMurchy-Barber has already won a Governor General’s Award, for excellence in teaching Canadian history. Now that’s an impressive bio. (And I know her, which makes me cool by association.)