DISCOVER: MPMG Top Reads of 2025
This past fall the MPMG team started a book club to celebrate our love of literature.
We began with James by Percival Everett, then Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, and now we’re onto Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler.
In addition to the above, check out our staff picks for your next great read!
Laura Murray, Founding Partner:
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
I had the pleasure of reading a number of incredible books in 2025, but this one, in particular, remains top of my list. The Safekeep, winner of the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction and shortlisted for the Booker Prize, is a historical fiction novel set in the Netherlands in the summer of 1961. It is a quietly gripping novel that explores the long-lasting impact of the Holocaust. From the opening pages, the story felt controlled and intimate, yet it steadily revealed layers of secrecy and desire coupled with unexpected twists and turns that cleverly reframed motives and relationships. The Safekeep had me guessing until the very end, and the final revelations resonated long after I finished reading with haunting emotional clarity.
Brian Paterson, Partner:
The Ripple Effect by Greg Wells
In the endless sea of the self-help genre, this one stood out for me. Written by Canada’s own Dr. Greg Wells, the book advocates for small improvements that ripple out into transformational change. Focusing on four pillars of sleep, exercise, nutrition, and mental health – his grounded, practical approach of making ‘1% better’ tweaks to daily routines revolutionized my own approach to self-care this year.
Angela Poon, Communications Manager:
Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
I had Five Little Indians by Michelle Good on my TBR list for many years. When I finally picked it up this past summer, I couldn’t put it down. An unflinching window into the life-altering consequences of Canada’s horrifically abusive residential school system, Five Little Indians follows five Indigenous survivors as they navigate life (and death) after their release in and around Vancouver over the course of decades, from the 1960s to 1980s. While a haunting indictment of the systemic abuse and neglect of Indigenous peoples in Canada, it’s the novel’s depiction of the survivors’ courage, grit, compassion, and resilience that makes this story so impactful.
Sijia Cheng, Digital Marketing Manager:
Pick a Colour: A Novel by Souvankham Thammavongsa
In Pick a Colour, Souvankham Thammavongsa transforms simplicity into revelation. With precise, unadorned, and quietly devastating sentences, she draws readers into a world where the smallest moments feel like they carry the weight of entire histories. Thammavongsa often honours the stories that go unseen: the quiet resilience, the humour tucked beneath hardship, the beauty found in choosing one’s own shade in a world eager to assign one. A book that’s both intimate and quietly powerful.
Bronwyn Henderson, Media Relations Coordinator:
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
As a lover of dark academia, The Secret History has been on my list for a long time. I finally took it off the shelf this fall, and the novel exceeded my already high expectations. Set at an elite New England college, The Secret History follows a group of clever, eccentric misfits as they dabble beyond the boundaries of normal morality, gradually slide into pure hedonism. A perfect, enthralling read to pick up during the colder months!
Andy Warner, Digital Marketing Coordinator:
Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert D. Putnam
If you’ve ever wondered why Vancouver is so cold — socially speaking, of course — this book tells the story of how communal and societal fabrics have evolved since the heyday of bowling (1950s–‘60s). Vancouver isn’t the only city seeing a decline in after-work drinks, neighbourhood association memberships, and civic engagement. Putnam analyzes scores of data from the latter half of the 20th century across several cities and towns to determine why people are more isolated than ever. His writing gives hope that today’s loneliness epidemic can be treated and maybe even cured, if we’re willing to put in the work.
Categories: MPMG