Today is Book Lovers Day, which means it’s time to let loose the bibliophile in you! Join us as we crush over the latest that BC books have to offer. In this list, you will find something to cozy up with no matter your preferences.
Put down that phone and turn off all other technological distractions. Pick up one of these books, let its contents pull you in close, and spend some quality time with these local bookish dates.
Citizens of Light
by Sam Shelstad (TouchWood Editions)
Suburbia can be monotonous and boring, but you know what they say: still waters run deep. This is the case with Colleen Weagle, who lives a typical life of work-eat-cram-in-a-hobby-in-the-few-free-hours-you-have-left-in-the-day-sleep when it is upended when her husband is found dead in a bog in the middle of the night. In this novel (which won the 2023 Crime Writers of Canada Best Crime First Novel Award), Colleen must leave her mild-mannered life behind to find the truth about her husband’s death, a quest that will take her to the seedy underworld of a faded tourist trap and force her to confront her past.
If you like the show Twin Peaks, novels by Ottessa Moshfegh, or the early works of Kate Atkinson, this “noir anti-thriller” is for you!
Out now!
We all yearn for connection; we all want to heal. This novel encapsulates what it means to overcome our darkest moments and find ourselves again.
After receiving shocking news that puts her in the hospital, the novel’s protagonist, Graziana, undertakes a transformative journey of recovery and rebirth, which includes a pilgrimage to Italy to bike the famous Via Francigena. Her eight-year-old daughter Hazel is left in the care of her grandfather, and the wilful child and grumpy old man must undertake their own journey of building a connection with each other.
Taking us from Red Deer to Rome, from the Amazon to Andromeda, Grazie is full of defiant tenderness in the face of violence.
Out now!
Take Off!
by Lea Beddia (Rebel Mountain Press)
Would you go out of your way to help someone who has caused you pain? This question is at the heart of this YA novel about Marisa, a gay and out teenager, who must decide whether to help her long-time bully or win extra credits at a survival camp that will help her pursue her dreams.
“A suspenseful survival tale well stocked with both physical and ethical challenges.” — Kirkus Reviews
Out now!
Imagine going on vacation with David Suzuki—relaxing in nature, exploring, and learning new things. Now imagine if this vacation turned into a book… This is what Four Seasons by the Sea feels like.
Four Seasons by the Salish Sea is a personal account and an informative crash course on the salt-waters of the West Coast, from Port Renfrew on the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Desolation Sound. Since moving to Vancouver Island from the Prairies in the early 2000s, Carolyn Redl has amassed a deep and rich well of observations, knowledge, discoveries, and delights of the sea. The book is illustrated with breathtaking photographs of sea lions, lighthouses, meadows, owls, Douglas firs, and a cornucopia of mysteries of wonders found in this part of the world. Four Seasons by the Salish Sea is a love song to the region’s geography, flora, fauna, and natural history.
“A series of lovely excursions in a beautiful part of the world. These warmly shared stories and photos feel like a visit with friends.” — Bill Arnott, bestselling author of A Season on Vancouver Island
Out now!
Love being in nature but want to avoid having 47+ tabs open when planning your trip and then have to be glued to your smartphone trying to get cell service for the whole vacation? Get this book, and take pride in going truly off-grid.
Camping British Columbia, the Rockies, and the Yukon lists over 150 camping sites with detailed information on facilities, pros and cons, and accessibility. Every provincial, territorial, or national park campground in the region is listed alphabetically, along with clear maps and directions, more than 100 photos, and the latest health and safety regulations.
“I always look to Jayne Seagrave for the scoop on Western Canada’s campgrounds. Her concise descriptions, useful tips, and delightful anecdotes make it easy to find the perfect campsite. This book should be your go-to guide for camping adventures in the parks.” —Stephen Hui, author of Destination Hikes In and Around Southwestern British Columbia
Out now!
Rubymusic: A Popular History of Women’s Music and Culture by Connie Kuhns (Caitlin Press)
Music journalism meets feminist history in this explosive journey through the Pacific Northwest’s groundbreaking women’s music scene in the ’80s and ’90s.
Rubymusic Radio launched at Vancouver Cooperative Radio in 1981 and enjoyed a 15-year successful run, playing music solely by women. It quickly grew into something much bigger, introducing listeners to countless artists through radio, magazines and newspaper columns and on stage at Vancouver’s annual Folk Music Fest, and serving as a powerful platform for the feminist movements taking place in Vancouver’s punk scene and throughout music history in the 80s and 90s.
“Connie Kuhn’s writing reaches into the past and swirls us into memorable and surprising details, tussles, turns and intriguing accounts of this unfolding revolution of women’s voices in music, gloriously illuminating the ever-present spiritual, societal, and social legacy of this movement.” —Lillian Allen, two-time JUNO Award winner, dub poet and university professor
Out now!
Accidental Blooms: A Memoir
What happens when a cancer epidemiologist at New York City’s Columbia University wakes up one morning suddenly unable to walk? In her memoir, Keiko Honda recounts what she lost and gained since her paralysis, as she learns through lived experience the importance of community to healing. This scientist-turned-artist has had to plunge across unfamiliar borders and discover beauty along the way. Accidental Blooms is a story of profound transformation that demonstrates how tragedy can teach one to see anew.
Out October 20, 2023
Instead is a captivating journey of a woman who chooses adventure over motherhood and the lifelong impacts of that decision. Maria Coffey shares her guilt-ridden relationship with her Irish Catholic mother; her baby debates with Dag in unlikely situations, like kayaking through a storm; the doubts that rear up in remote cultures where her childfree choice is unfathomable; and how children eventually – and surprisingly – come into her life.
This adventure story with a twist delves into the universal themes of choice and consequence, making it a compelling read for those curious about unconventional paths and embracing the unexpected.
Out October 3, 2023
This travel memoir follows Ella Harvey, a young woman with a taste for adventure, through the 1970s and ’80s as she works as a nurse in war-torn Lebanon, treks solo in the Indian Himalayas, serves at a Red Cross refugee camp in Cambodia, and works with the nomadic Issa in Djibouti, Africa. Along the way—and in the years that follow—Harvey explores one woman’s complicity in privilege, a troubled past with her mother, and reflections on solitude and friendship, youth and aging, longing and belonging.
“Ella Harvey’s expansive journey seamlessly weaves the exploration of the external together with the internal, opening new perspectives into the depths of the human spirit and what it means to live a meaningful life.” —Michael Schauch, author of A Story of Karma: Finding Love and Truth in the Lost Valley of the Himalaya
Out October 25, 2023
Once Upon an Effing Time
Marrying humour and heartbreak, Once Upon an Effing Time is a story about a mother and daughter duo in the late 1960s, their dysfunctional relationship, and their criminal misadventures. Buffy Cram weaves a tale of Elizabeth’s childhood filled with multiple personas, Bob Dylan, fortune telling, doomsday cults, and conspiracy theories about the moon landing. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test meets the Book of Form and Emptiness, this darkly funny page-turner blurs the lines between magic and reality.
October 7, 2023
Burr
by Brooke Lockyer (Harbour Publishing)
Dive into this Gothic novel set in grunge-era 1990s Southern Ontario, where a young girl is desperate to reunite with her dead father and her mother retreats into the past in all its familiarity and wildness, until her daughter’s disappearance spurs her into action.
Mixing realism and the fantastic, Brooke Lockyer’s debut novel explores rural living, the ghosts of the past, and the nature of grief and longing that reach beyond the grave.
“Original. Exquisitely written. Lockyer takes her story of a young girl dealing with the death of her father in directions that foil your expectations, turning a painful world of loss and mourning into a celebration of life. Utterly charming.” –Rosemary Sullivan, author of The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation
Out now!