Julian Barnes says his new novel is his final. It’s called Departure(s), and it’s about two people who fall in love when they’re young and then meet again decades later. The story is told through the perspective of a writer named Julian … who has a lot in common with the author himself. The book was released on Julian’s 80th birthday, and after four decades of writing and a Booker Prize win under his belt, Julian is finally putting down the pen. This week, he joins Mattea Roach to reflect on his literary legacy, why he feels less afraid of death and his recent secret wedding.

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For Michael V. Smith, the answer is a resounding yes … and he explores that in his new book, Soundtrack: A Lyric Memoir. It’s a collection of poems about snapshots in his life, each named after a different song or album. He dives into growing up gay during the AIDS crisis, finding his first love and coming of age on the dance floor. The book celebrates music and memory, and is a deeply personal look into the songs that send us back in time. This week, Michael tells Mattea Roach about the albums that made him, reading old journal entries and what it really means to be a man.

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• Music, sex and finding the soundtrack to queer joy
• Reliving the soundtrack of the 2000s

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This week, Bookends is celebrating libraries with a special Canada Reads event at the Hamilton Public Library.

Morgann Book truly lives up to her name. As one of Canada’s biggest book influencers, she shares her love of literature with millions of followers … and she’s taking that to the next level as a contestant on this year’s Canada Reads. Morgann is championing It’s Different This Time, the debut novel by Joss Richard. It’s a second chance romance about two former roommates with some very unresolved feelings, and it draws from Joss’s own experiences as a TV producer in LA. Joss and Morgann joined Mattea on-stage to talk about exes, preparing for Canada Reads and why there are so many chefs in romance novels.

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