“Reynolds calls for more education about the history of colonialism in schools and universities, which is fair enough, although Canadian historians have been writing on the subject for, oh, about fifty years.” Robin Fisher reviews Canada and Colonialism: An Unfinished History by Jim Reynolds (Vancouver: Purich Books, 2024) $32.95 / 9780774880947
“These two authors have produced a charming, colourful book that is easy to read and understand for kids of all ages. Children will ‘soon advance from quick after-school snacks and summer picnics to breakfasts in bed and full-course family dinners.'” Valerie Green reviews Let’s Eat: Recipes for Kids Who Cook by DL Acken and Aurelia Louvet (Victoria: Touchwood Editions, 2023) $40 / 97817711514132
“Harrington devotes a separate chapter to each of the fifteen largest islands, namely Gabriola, Thetis, Salt Spring, North and South Pender, Saturna, Mayne, Galiano, Hornby, Denman, Quadra, Cortes, Savary, Bowen, Gambier, and Lasqueti, in that order.” Jack Little reviews Voices for the Islands: Thirty Years of Nature Conservation on the Salish Sea
by Sheila Harrington (Victoria: Heritage House, 2024) $34.95 / 9781772034929
Novel about American socialite struggles to unearth the woman behind the “constant posturing.” —Candace Fertile reviews Peggy, by Rebecca Godfrey with Leslie Jamison (Toronto: Knopf Canada, 2024) $36.00 / 97803458082
Poetry volumes highlight a poet’s “impeccable way of seeing the grieving, dreaming world” as well as another’s “no readily-digested messages.” —Catherine Owen reviews Distractions, by Eve Joseph (London: Baseline Press, 2023) $15.00 / 9781928066873 and Signal Infinities, by Melanie Siebert (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 2024) $22.95 / 9780771013980
“At this point, I texted a friend, who wisely said, ‘I think people are reading for sex, not cooking accuracy.’ Remember: this is a romance. The restaurant is just a vehicle for the romance.” —Jessica Poon reviews Knives, Seasoning, and a Dash of Love, by Katrina Kwan (Toronto: Random House Canada, 2024) $24.95 / 9781039012417
“There’s an entire library of books about the marvels of a province that so many put at the bottom of their vacation bucket lists, certainly too many to cite here. But a few recent titles in the not-so-often-reviewed list caught my eye.” Stephen Hume reviews On the Trail: 50 Years of Engaging with Nature by Langley Field Naturalists (Surrey: Hancock House, 2023) $19.95 / 9780888397591, Gumboot Guys: Nautical Adventures on British Columbia’s North Coast by Lou Allison and Jane Wilde, (Qualicum Beach: Caitlin Press, 2023) $26 / 9781773861180, Fried Eggs and Fish Scales: Tales from a Sointula Troller by Jon Taylor (Madeira Park, Harbour Publishing, 2024) $24.95 / 9781990776656 & Backpacking on Vancouver Island: The Essential Guide to the Best Multi-Day Trips and Day Hikes by Taryn Eyton (Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2024) $26.95 / 9781778400100
Poetry volume presents “a diverse offering of entrances into the common and yet infrequently written about life of one woman inhabiting her own time, planting flowers while ‘knowing full well the battle [she] will wage and lose.'” —Catherine Owen reviews Whiny Baby, by Julie Paul (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2024) $19.95 / 9780228020745
“All of the recipes I tried were good. I was a bit hesitant about mixing rhubarb into banana bread, but hey! It was rhubarb season, so I thought I’d try it, and my taste-testers all liked it.” Rebecca Coleman reviews The Side Gardener: Recipes & Notes from My Garden, by Rosie Daykin (Toronto: Appetite by Random House, 2024) $45.00 / 9780525612179
Expansive sophomore novel showcases an author’s “talent for delving into the minds of different personalities across several decades.” —Jessica Poon reviews The Leap Year Gene, by Shelley Wood (Toronto: HarperCollins Canada, 2024) $25.99 / 9781443473163
“After reading McDonald’s memoir…I found him refreshingly spontaneous and unpredictable…I knew from an interview last year focused on his nonfiction book, The Future is Now: Solving the Climate Crisis with Today’s Technology, that he’s one of the most contagiously positive and enthusiastic people I’ve ever met…” Cathalynn Labonté-Smith interviews Bob McDonald, author of his memoir Just Say Yes (Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, 2024) $34.95 / 9781771624206
“Crossing the River is the author’s personal journey of atonement – coming to terms with her birthright of white privilege. The book gives voice to a different narrative of Canada’s history and offers personal insight into the meaning of reconciliation.” Sage Birchwater reviews Crossing the River: An Unsettling Memoir by Sandra Hayes-Gardiner (Calgary: BixBooks, 2023) $20 / 9781777296759
“A whole tradition of poetry met postmodernism in him, as he has achieved what he set out to do—carry it forward, weave it in, pass it on to us, and then let us swim on upstream, as his hands lift away.” —Harold Rhenisch reviews Poems Selected and New, by D.C. Reid (Victoria: Ekstasis Editions, 2023) $25.95 /8781771714129
“So, my verdict: this is good art. It provoked me and changed me, in big and small ways.” —Petra Chambers reviews All Things Seen and Unseen, by RJ McDaniel (Toronto: ECW Press, 2024) $24.95 / 9781770417090
“So, he transplants himself to a new life, a new take on things. How many of us would like to do the same if we only had the courage?” Harvey De Roo reviews The Road to Appledore: or How I Went Back to the Land Without Ever Having Lived There in the First Place, by Tom Wayman (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2024) $26.95 / 9781990776632
“I’m writing this in part to address the request from readers of my other typography texts to write about Bringhurst, or perhaps pursue a retrospective. Both of these requests are solid and probably long overdue, so in this I attempt to take a first look at this pursuit.” Thomas Girard reviews two earlier books by Robert Bringhurst of Quadra Island, bringing readers a discussion on these influential titles: The Elements of Typographic Style & The Solid Form of Language.
“The emphasis on our human ‘neuroplasticity’ or the ability of the nervous system to alter its functions and responses following injury, ends up giving the most accurate approach to why the pain occurs, while offering hope for possible re-configurings of its pertinacity, if not resolutions.” Catherine Owen reviews The Pain Project: A Couple’s Story of Confronting Chronic Pain, by Kara Stanley with Simon Paradis (Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2024) $26.95 / 9781771648400
“Howard White, the founder of Harbour Publishing and author of Raincoast Chronicles, is well qualified to write this updated edition of his popular guide to B.C.’s Sunshine Coast. He has lived there since childhood in the 1950s and has travelled to every nook and cranny of the jagged coastline, visiting all the unique communities along the way.” Ron Verzuh reviews The Sunshine Coast: From Gibsons to Powell River (Third Edition)
by Howard White, photography by Dean van’t Schip (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2024) $36.95 (hard cover) / 9781990776809
Debut story collection balances “visually rich absurdity … and the general malaise of youth with admirable, poetic flair.” —Jessica Poon reviews Hello, Horse: Stories, by Richard Kelly Kemick (Windsor: Biblioasis, 2024) $22.95 / 9781771966078
“What do schools of dead fish, a cure for Alzheimer’s, and nuclear fusion have in common?” A debut psychological thriller answers this question and more. —Jessica Poon reviews The Outlier, by Elisabeth Eaves (Toronto: Random House Canada, 2024) $24.95 / 9781039008045