Jack Frost is nipping at BC and many areas of the province have received their first dusting of snow! We can’t think of a more perfect setting to curl up with a BC book. Here are a few of our Fall favourites that will make the perfect addition to your TBR list this season.
NON-FICTION
From Denmark to the Cariboo: The Epic Journey of the Lindhard Sisters by Linda Peterat (Heritage House)
“An intriguing and very readable true story of three adventurous Danish sisters caught up in the British Columbia gold rush now a century and a half ago” — Jean Barman, award-winning author of British Columbia in the Balance: 1846–1871
Butter and Flower: Cannabis-Infused Recipes and Stories for the Cannacurious by Ann Allchin (Touchwood Editions)
A book of cannabis-infused recipes for those looking to indulge in the recreational and medicinal benefits of edibles. The collection includes delicious recipes for blondies, cookies and even savoury treats, plus stories from those who partake in the edibles.
A Time of Light and Shadow: To Asia, Africa, and the Long Way Home by Ella Harvey (Rocky Mountain Books)
Ella Harvey’s diverse career and her adventurous spirit have taken her to remote regions of the world. She has lived on five continents and worked on four. In this memoir, she chronicles the harsh realities of crisis work in Asia and Africa.
Chasing Africa: Fear Won’t Find Me Here: A Memoir by Lisa Duncan (Rocky Mountain Books)
“Lisa Duncan’s memoir Chasing Africa is as expansive as Africa itself. She dreamt of this trip, longed for these travels. And yet, in the years leading up to her departure, her father and brother fall ill with neurological diseases and her mother becomes a full time caregiver. As Lisa decides between following her dream or staying home, the reader feels her strength and cheers for her as she makes the decision to go.” — Stella Harvey, author of the novels Nicolai’s Daughters, The Brink of Freedom, and Finding Callidora; founder of the Whistler Writers Festival.
Holden After and Before: Love Letter for a Son Lost to Overdose by Tara McGuire (Arsenal Pulp Press)
A stunning book that traces the life of the author’s son Holden, a graffiti artist who died of an accidental opioid overdose at the age of twenty-one. The story begins with Holden’s death, and the author leaps through time to create a moving elegy for her son’s tragic death.
Ron Thom, Architect: The Life of a Creative Modernist by Adele Weder (Greystone Books)
Ron Thom is known across the country for his renowned buildings—Massey College, Trent University, the Shaw Festival Theatre, and landmark houses—continue to inspire generations of architects, as well as the legions of people who work, study, visit, and live in them. This book offers a definitive biography of the architect’s life.
In the Name of Wild: One Family, Five Years, Ten Countries, and a New Vision of Wildness by Phillip Vannini and April Vannini, with Autumn Vannini (UBC Press)
When one family set out to consider what wildness and wilderness mean to people around the world, their journey revealed something very different from the picture-perfect notion of untouched nature they imagined. Travel with the Vannini’s across five continents, ten countries and five years.
FICTION
Citizens of Light by Sam Shelstad (Touchwood Editions)
“Once I started reading Citizens of Light, I couldn’t put it down—in true Shelstad form, it’s funny and charming, but also achingly human. A refreshingly unique literary voice.” — Amy Jones, author of We’re All in This Together.
I Am Claude François and You Are a Bathtub by Stuart Ross (Anvil Press)
A clever and outrageous collection of short stories that explores the idea of fame through the lens of 1960s-70s French pop and disco icon Claude François.
The Rooftop Garden by Menaka Raman-Wilms (Nightwood Editions)
Nabila is a researcher studying seaweed in warming oceans. When her childhood friend Matthew disappears from his Toronto home, Nabila travels to Berlin to find him and try to bring him back.
Ghost Geographies by Tamas Dobozy (New Star Books)
Tamas Dobozy is a Governor General’s Award finalist and Writers’ Trust Award winner. In this latest collection of short stories, he explores the idea of utopia.
POETRY
Cactus Gardens by Evelyn Lau (Anvil Press)
The ninth collection of poetry by award-winning author and former Vancouver poet laureate Evelyn Lau, exploring the complexities and intensities of our relationships.
The Big Melt by Emily Riddle (Nightwood Editions)
The debut collection of poetry from Emily Riddle. The Big Melt is rooted in nehiyaw thought and urban millennial life events. The poems explore themes of kinship, troubled history, and utopia.
Shapeshifters by Délani Valin (Nightwood Editions)
“Délani Valin cracks open pop culture and history to transform being into a mutable, kaleidoscopic experience. Deftly wielding vivid personae, the poet refuses to “bifurcate [her] history” and, instead, forges a stunning poetic tapestry that welcomes every stray strand of personal and collective stories.” — Adèle Barclay
Witness Back at Me: mis-mothering & transmigration by Weyman Chan (Talonbooks)
A powerful collection by Weyman Chan that parallels his childhood loss of his mother to breast cancer with the loss of his Two-Spirit Métis friend and mentor, writer Sharron Proulx-Turner.
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Superpower?: The Wearable-Tech Revolution by Elaine Kachala, illustrated by Belle Wuthrich (Orca Book Publishers)
This book asks young readers to question the pros and cons of technology and consider if innovation can go too far. Children will learn all about the inventors, designers, engineers, scientists and young people responsible for the wearable-tech revolution.
AWOL by Marla Lesage (Orca Book Publishers)
A moving graphic novel, AWOL explores the realities of PTSD from a kid’s perspective. The book includes an author’s note and kid-friendly mental health resources.
In the Key of Dale by Benjamin Lefebvre (Arsenal Pulp Press)
A coming-of-age novel about a queer teen music prodigy who discovers pieces of himself in places he never thought to look.
The Museum of Odd Body Leftovers: A Tour of Your Useless Parts, Flaws, and Other Weird Bits by Rachel Poliquin, illustrated by Clayton Hanmer (Greystone Books)
Perfect for readers aged 7-11, The Museum of Off Body leftovers offers young readers an illustrated guide to our “leftover body parts” and a history of why they exist.
Oolichan Moon by Samantha Beynon, illustrated by Lucy Trimble (Harbour Publishing)
“Samantha Beynon and Lucy Trimble have created a beautiful, heart-warming story featuring a nutritious and iconic little fish of the Northwest Coast.” — Nancy Turner, Professor Emeritus, University of Victoria, and author of Plants of Haida Gwaii and The Earth’s Blanket