To The River by Olivia Laing

Part travelogue, part dreamy meditation on whatever comes to literary editor Olivia Laing’s mind (Virginia Woolf ’s relationship with her husband, England’s ancient history, the exact cartography of Hell, according to Dante), this meandering memoir follows Laing as she embarks on a trek along the River Ouse, from its origin in Sussex all the way to the English Channel.

To The River, Olivia Laing, $16. Available at Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.