10 years ago, Martha Sharpe moved back to Toronto with a suitcase full of books. Formerly the editorial director at Simon & Schuster Canada, Sharpe had the idea to open a bookstore full of “choosily chosen” titles—a place that would offer a carefully curated collection of books to Toronto readers.
But the story of Flying Books actually begins more than 100 years ago, at the 1917 Canadian National Exhibition. When Amelia Earhart witnessed the airshow at the CNE, she was blown away by the possibilities of modern aviation. For Sharpe, reading is like taking flight. So, taking inspiration from the barrier-breaking pilot, who lives on in the bookstore’s logo, Sharpe opened Flying Books in 2015, on the first day of the CNE.
Flying Books now has two locations—on College St. and Queen St. W, and is much more than just a bookstore. Through its publishing program, established in 2019, Flying Books has published three titles, with a fourth on the way. And to help support the next flight of authors, its writing school offers literary coaching, manuscript reviews, and workshops led by acclaimed writers.
To mark the indie bookstore’s big milestone, we asked Sharpe to reflect on a decade of Flying Books by highlighting 10 titles that have shaped the past 10 years for her—admittedly a difficult task for even the choosiest of booksellers.
“Even though Flying Books is all about choosily choosing what we sell and publish, choosing my ten favourite books from the last ten years is extremely daunting,” Sharpe says. “The list that follows is from my vantage point in 2025…these are the books I come back to over and over again, and that I know I will continue rereading during the next ten years and beyond.”
Here is Sharpe on her picks from the past 10 years of Flying Books:
Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados
“An international success that started right here at Flying Books! We published Happy Hour in Canada in September 2020, and then it was published in September 2021 in the UK and US, with rave reviews in the New York Times, the New Yorker, The Guardian, and many more places. But Canada loved Happy Hour first! It’s a beautifully beguiling portrait of two young women living in New York City during the summer of 2013. They have no money, but they have style and a sense of adventure, and anyone who reads it wants to see them win.”
Good Girl by Anna Fitzpatrick
“Our second title centres on a young woman named Lucy who works at an indie bookstore. She grapples with the contradictory rules that make carving out a place in the world so fraught and confusing for young women. It sneaks in some incisive social commentary and it’s also hilarious and pretty spicy!”
City in Flames by Tomas Hachard
“Our third book is a dystopian love story. A young couple meets on a dating app just as the Toronto-like city they’re both from becomes the centre of intense political violence following the sudden rise of an authoritarian populist leader known as “P.” We published this book in 2023, and it’s incredible how it keeps remaining relevant to whatever sociopolitical atrocity has gone on ever since.”
The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante
“The final book in the extraordinary Neapolitan Novels. I still get a lump in my throat when I think of the episode hinted at in the title (which for some reason caught me by surprise while I was reading it? I think I’m still recovering). This suite of novels changed my life for the better. An incredible work of art.”
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
“This is the book that broke out Ta-Nehisi Coates to the wide audience he deserves. I have been reading him since his essay on reparations that first appeared in The Atlantic. His books are beacons, and always beautifully written.”
Normal People by Sally Rooney
“I read this in two sittings and then immediately reread it. So compelling and propulsive. Rooney is a maestro with language and characterization. I have also never seen such a wide and varied audience for a work of literary fiction. Readers of every demographic group have gobbled this up!”
All Fours by Miranda July
“The main character sets out on a cross-country road trip, and as soon as she exits the freeway, this book turns chaotic in the very best way. I read it and then I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by July. I swear I recommend this book at least once every time I’m in one of our stores.”
I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
“I’m very proud to say that I acquired this book when I was editorial director of Simon & Schuster Canada. The most haunting thing about Iain Reid’s writing is how spare it is. He opens up so much for the reader by keeping his sentences lean. And oh my god what surprising turns this book takes!”
The Year of Last Things by Michael Ondaatje
“It had been more than twenty years since Ondaatje had released a collection of new poems, and did he ever make it worth the wait. There is breathtaking use of language and layered meaning in these poems. I’ll be reading and rereading this book forever.”
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
“This is the book that cured my pandemic reading slump. I was sent an advance reader’s copy and got to read it a few months before it came out. No other novel I picked up during that time seemed to pertain to what was going on, and my mind would just wander — until Alam’s book. In it, there is a catastrophic incident that comes out of nowhere and changes everything — and it had me glued to the pages.”
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