Along with some levity, brevity would benefit a historical novel that features social-climbing in a remote town. —Jessica Poon reviews Bamfield Posh, by Louis Druehl (Vancouver: Granville Island Publishing, 2024) $23.95 / 9781989467695
“Hartley guides us in reflecting on her mother’s values, ways of living, her love for life and purpose. She assists us to take stock in how we live, what we do, what we say and to remember these things matter, and to find a loving purpose and meaning in being there for others, no matter how difficult it may be.” Jeffrey Stychin reviews Love and Salt Air: A Heart Map of Loss and Healing by Lisa Hartley (The Self Publishing Agency Inc., 2022) $19.90 / 9781777936907
Characters struggle with loneliness and death in a debut story collection buoyed by a hopeful tone. —Bill Paul reviews Blue Runaways, by Jann Everard (Victoria: Stonehewer Books, 2024) $23.95 / 9781738993307
By turns funny and incisive, a debut essayist is a connoisseur of everyday absurdities. —Brett Josef Grubisic reviews Laser Quit Smoking Massage: Essays, by Cole Nowicki (Edmonton: Newest Press, 2024) $21.95 / 9781774390917
“Since the Oscars began in 1927, Canadians have been getting nominated and sometimes winning in most of the categories. Some have even been from British Columbia.” Ron Verzuh writes the essay Hello Oscar, Eh! The Canadian and BC Legacy at the Academy Awards.
From “the city to rural backroads, Siemens takes readers on an unforgettable journey.” —Valerie Green reviews Call of the Void, by J.T. Siemens (Edmonton: NeWest Press, 2024) $22.95 / 9781774390863
“There is much to learn from this candid autobiography by a performer who rarely let the mask slip…” Linda Rogers reviews The Tao of Taro by Taro Zion Joy (Victoria: FriesenPress, 2022) $16.49 / 9781039148666
“…although educational institutions promote diversity in their course offerings, content, culture, and student body, the reality is that diversity among the leadership in these institutions is rare.” Natalie Virginia Lang reviews Diversity Leadership in Education: Embedding Practices of Social Justice edited by Catherine McGregor and Shailoo Bedi (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2024) $44.95 / 9780228019251
“Today, typography can be approached in many different ways whereas at many times in history there was simply a single story and single entry point. ” Thomas Girard writes Where We Enter, a third essay in his series for The British Columbia Review on the subject of typography.
Reviewer enthralled by the tenth Émile Cinq-Mars murder mystery. —Ron Verzuh reviews A Patient Death, by John Farrow (Holstein, ON: Exile Editions, 2023) $32.95 / 9781550969856
“Crossland indeed supplies an intriguing way of learning about the communities of which he has been a member for over two decades; not by discussing social, political, or cultural features, but rather through the ends of many of the community members.” Matthew Downey reviews Death Calls: A Coroner’s Memoir by Robert Crossland (Victoria: FriesenPress, 2023) $21.99 / 9781039168329
A poet’s debut meditates on family, ancestry, diaspora, and selfhood. —Harold Rhenisch reviews Shima, by Sho Yamagushiku (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2024) $22.50 / 9780771010927
With mesmeric effects, a debut novel blends the beautiful, surreal, and disturbing. —Daniel Gawthrop reviews The Invisible Hotel, by Yeji Y. Ham (Toronto: Bond Street Books, 2024) $34.00 / 9780385698054
“The book forms both a personal case study in the psychology of how vulnerable individuals are susceptible to cults, and how destructive to one’s worldview it can be trying to leave one.” Ryan Mitchell reviews Misguided: My Jesus Freak Life in a Doomsday Cult by Perry Bulwer (Vancouver: New Star Books, 2023) $26 / 9781554202058
Debut eco-thriller is “controlled, crafted, deliberate—and, to boot, utterly purposeful.” —Theo Dombrowski reviews Adrift, by Lisa Brideau (Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Landmark, 2023) $25.99 / 9781728265681
“What you are holding is clearly much more than a conventional report of a ‘project.'” Theo Dombrowski reviews Wetland Project: Explorations in Sound, Ecology and Post-Geographical Art by Brady Marks and Mark Timmings (Vancouver: Figure 1 Publishing, 2022) $45.00 ISBN 9781773271996
Sophomore story collection has “a finger firmly on the pulse of contemporary life and delivers trenchant criticisms of human foibles.”
—Candace Fertile reviews Last Woman, by Carleigh Baker (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2024) $24.95 / 9780771004148
“So, why doesn’t Canada have an official bird yet?” Trevor Marc Hughes reviews The Canada Jay: The National Bird of Canada? by David Bird (ed.) with foreword by Robert Bateman (Surrey: Hancock House, 2022) $9.95 ISBN 9780888397171
Bowen Island inspires a poet and painter to celebrate how “here, right here, is a blessing.” —Mary Ann Moore reviews Water Forgets Its Own Name, by Jude Neale & Nicholas Jennings (Victoria: Ekstasis Editions, 2023) $27.95 / 9781771715300
“…plenty of other BC writers are available to adapt novels and short stories, the latter being a great source of filmable material.” Ron Verzuh writes When Hollywood Calls: An Essay on How Books Get Made Into Movies in BC.