Career retrospective of Okanagan poet is an “elegant and marvellous book to read and to hold” as it maps the emergence of a singular, formally idiosyncratic style. —Sharon Thesen reviews Molecular Cathedral: The Poetry of John Lent, Selected With an Introduction by Jake Kennedy (Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2024) $21.99 / 9781771126373
“At 60 years old, the Comox Valley Writers Society (CVWS) might just be the oldest writing society in the province. To celebrate the milestone, Terrance James decided to document this niche history…before memory of the early days was lost forever.” Dave Flawse interviews author Terrance James, author of History of the Comox Valley Writers Society: 60th Anniversary 1964-2024
Third novel of a complex, magic- and power-laden series (this volume set in a parallel historical time) grabs attention and does not let go. But be sure to read books One and Two before Three, writes Myshara Herbert-McMyn in her review of Crest (The Call of the Rift, Book Three), by Jae Waller (Toronto: ECW Press, 2021) $23.95 / 9781770414587
“This important book spans five decades and a global geography. In its ten chapters, historical geographer and professor emeritus at York University, James R. Gibson weaves together the complex economic and transportation history of the maritime fur trade along the northwest coast of North America in a remarkable study.” Kenneth Favrholdt reviews the revised edition of Otter Skins, Boston Ships, and China Goods: Voices of the Maritime Fur Trade of the Northwest Coast, 1785-1841, by James R. Gibson (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2024) $47.95 / 9780228007319
A poet’s playful, “intellectually vigorous” pastiche “left me inquisitive, sometimes to the point of being bewildered, but this bewilderment is a good thing. It provides us with existential insights that, for one thing, are a counter-language to the blithe and frenetic thoughtlessness of our own profoundly unpoetic administered world,” writes Peter Babiak in his review of Recombinant Theory, by Joel Katelnikoff (Calgary: U Calgary Press, 2024) $26.99 / 9781773855790
“Sprawling [and] ambitious” 1940s-set debut novel captures the death and male camaraderie of wartime Europe and the romantic challenges of a mixed-race couple in Vancouver. —Jessica Poon reviews The Riveter, by Jack Wang (Toronto: House of Anansi, 2025) $24.99 / 9781487007614
“Whether illustrating the unique contents or uniform structure of carts, the carefully pruned or overgrown hedges guarding homes, or the materiality of prefabricated elements such as iron, brick, or stone, Yamamoto’s drawings encourage us to take a closer look at the structures which surround our daily environment…” Stella Gatto reviews Carts, Hedges, Lions by Taizo Yamamoto (with essays by Kevin Chong, Aaron Peck and Jackie Wong), (Vancouver: Figure 1 Publishing, 2024), $40 / 9781773272429
“The absence of further information is both liberating and frustrating at the same time. On the liberating side of that coin, it is a pleasure to flip through the book wondering what the next page will bring. The purely visual experience allows me to focus on personal familiar favourites, unburdened by any knowledge or misconceptions (apart from my own).” Wayne Norton reviews Classic Photographs of Song and Dance and British Columbia, by Bradford Critchley (Vancouver: South Blossom Books, 2024) $18.49 / 9798326042392
In a wide-ranging and eclectic debut volume of poems, themes range from personal growth and transformation to motherhood and ancestry. —Mary Ann Moore reviews Soft Shelters, by Marie Metaphor Specht (Norfolk County, ON: Write Bloody North, 2023) $20.00 / 9781778162619
In a magical and original folktale, as three precocious daughters learn to play music, they outsmart wily, bullying Emperor Wang, who learns his own valuable lessons. —Alison Acheson reviews The Three Sisters, by Paul Yee (illustrated by Shaoli Wang) (Vancouver: Tradewind Books, 2024) $24.95 / 9781990598265
Aspiring ballerina meets NHL rookie. Eventually, romance blossoms. “Any reader remotely familiar with the trope of I’m Only Pretending to Like You will know where this story is going; however, it’s how Khabra delays the inevitable that I was most impressed by,” writes Jessica Poon in her review of Spiral, by Bal Khabra (Toronto: Berkley, 2025) $24.95 / 9780735250468
Elegant, careful, sparse, and yet complex verse that is “a dense, rich reflection on the natural world and the human impact” presents a poet who is “a walker, a watcher, a muser, a recorder.” —Steven Ross Smith reviews The Middle, by Stephen Collis (Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2024) $18.95 / 9781772016420
“Michael Prokopow, former curator of the Design Exchange, is a cultural historian with a distinguished academic career investigating the varied international streams influencing Western Canadian architects and designers…He is particularly sensitive to the fact that no self-declared Indigenous architects, or clients, are represented in these pages.” Martin Segger reviews Reside: Contemporary West Coast Houses by Michael Prokopow (Vancouver: Figure 1 Publishing, 2024) $55 / 9781773272634
“Of course, throughout the book Butler wrestles with the degree of knowledge a non-Indigenous person requires to have a truly culturally informed appreciation of Coastal Peoples’ artwork. As a reader, I was somewhat enmeshed in this wrestle at first, then found a kind of community in Butler’s struggle in the knowledge that I was not alone in my wish to be respectful and culturally informed.” Trevor Marc Hughes reviews What Is This? Who Am I? Culturally Informed Appreciation of Coastal Peoples’ Artworks by Richard Butler (Victoria: A&R Publishing, 2024) $12.65 / 9798339967507
“It’s all BC coastal lore – this is Harbour Publishing and Howard White after all. Yet each volume is very different from the other. And the many authors involved amount to a virtual who’s who of the coast’s contemporary non-fiction writers.” Howard Macdonald Stewart reviews Raincoast Chronicle: Fifth Five, by Howard White [ed.] (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2024) $60 / 9781990776939
“The absence of major nuclear reactors in British Columbia may lead British Columbians to believe that nuclear energy is not an immediate concern. Not so. It is important to remember that, from its inception in 1961, BC Hydro has repeatedly proposed building reactors in the earthquake-prone Lower Mainland.” Dr. Loys Maingon reviews Nuclear Is Not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change by M.V. Ramana (Brooklyn, NY: Verso, 2024) $39.95 / 9781804290002
“What Todd has written and photographed is a riveting, honest book which Bruce Kirkby aptly states in his introduction – examines ‘mortality, meaning and connection’ with a ‘ruthless honesty (which) reminds me at times of Anthony Bourdain on two wheels.'” Isabel Nanton reviews Inside the Belly of an Elephant: A Motorcycle Journey of Loss, Legacy and Ultimate Freedom by Todd Lawson (Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2023) $30 / 9781771605755
“At first, I was intimidated by the complexity and scope of the book. Especially with so many voices involved. But very quickly Wake provides a conduit into Berger’s story that makes it reader-friendly.” Sage Birchwater reviews Against The Odds: The Indigenous Rights Cases of Thomas R. Berger by Drew Ann Wake (Calgary: Durvile & Uproute Books, 2024)
$37.50 / 9781990735486
“This is a fun and informative cookbook that will connect camp cooks to the land. Its compact size encourages novice or experienced adventurers to carry it along on their backcountry trips.” Paul Geddes reviews The Well-Fed Backcountry Adventurer: Easy Trail-tested Campfire Recipes Inspired by 1920s Mountaineers by Bryan Thompson (Toronto: Canadian Expedition Heritage Society, 2024) $7.99 / 9781068946202
“Langford is a retired scholar who knows the communities and has a special knowledge of towns like Fernie, Sparwood, and others in the East Kootenay district…He also knows his mining labour history and he helpfully supplies short sidebars of specific mine leaders.” Ron Verzuh reviews The Lights on the Tipple Are Going Out: Fighting Economic Ruin in a Canadian Coalfield Community by Tom Langford (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2024) $39.95 / 9780774869294