Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands | 2022 | Kate Beaton | Buy |
This collection contains Kate Beaton’s graphic memoir Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands, published in 2022. The book is an account of Beaton’s time working in the oil sands of Fort McMurray, Alberta, where she went to pay off her student loans after graduating from university.
Ducks covers the economic pressures that push young Canadians toward resource extraction jobs, the isolation and boredom of camp life, and the sexual harassment women face in an overwhelmingly male environment. The book won Canada Reads 2023 and was named one of Publishers Weekly’s Top Ten Books of 2022. It marked a significant departure from the humor of Hark! A Vagrant, showing Beaton could handle deeply personal material with the same honesty she brought to her comedy.