Having recorded solo records, created compositions for television, film and modern dance, and toured with visual artist Shary Boyle, the term singer/songwriter doesn’t quite do Christine Fellows justice. Awaiting the November release of her fourth full-length record (Nevertheless), this busy Winnipegger took time out of her schedule to share with us some of her favourite reads.

Effigy, Alissa York (Random House). This book was just short-listed for the Giller Prize. I have a great love of Alissa and her writing. One of my favourite books of all time is her first collection of short stories, Any Given Power (Arbeiter Ring Publishing, Winnipeg).

You Are Not a Stranger Here, short stories by Adam Haslett (Anchor Books). These stories are devastating. Haslett is such a fine writer.

Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World’s Most Revered and Reviled Bird, Andrew Blechman (Grove Press). I am really into pigeons. According to this book, so are a lot of quite unusual people, including one fellow, named Dr. Pigeon, who wraps himself in tin foil (shiny side down works best) to keep warm on cold nights.

The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil, George Saunders (Riverhead/Penguin Books). I have such a fierce love for George Saunders.

I tried to read Big Papi: My Story of Big Dreams and Big Hits, David Ortiz with Tony Massarotti (St. Martin’s Press) because I love David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox, and the book was a gift from my husband, but it’s a really, astonishingly terrible book. But I still love Big Papi.