Merry December to everyone!
It is almost the time for the seasonal exchange of gifts. If you are looking to expand your loved ones’ bookshelves with some new and unexpected reads, we have the list for you!
- If your partner is a CanLit enthusiast and enjoyed reading Who Has Seen the Wind by W.O. Mitchell, they will be delighted to receive Dustship Glory by Andreas Schroeder. This prairie classic is also set in Saskatchewan and tells of Tom Sukanen’s attempt to build a ship in the middle of a wheat field during the Depression.
- If your grandfather has a penchant for regional history and pioneer stories, he will love trailblazing with Pierre Maturié in his memoir, Man Proposes, God Disposes: Recollections of a French Pioneer. Maturié travels from France to northern Alberta in 1910 hoping to find wealth, independence, and, of course, adventure.
- If your sister lives in Edmonton and loves the river valley, the poplar trees, the coyotes, and winter, she will want Poems for a Small Park by E.D. Blodgett for her coffee table. This little book of poetry by a regional favourite contains poems in Chinese, Cree, Michif, Ukrainian, and French and photographs of the beloved North Saskatchewan River valley.
- If your mother picks up history pamphlets every time you visit the Canadian Rockies, she will love Ecology and Wonder in the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site. This book contains a wonderful photographic adventure across Western Canada’s most breathtaking mountain range.
- If your family historian is chasing down the secrets of the past, they will enjoy Letters from the Lost: A Memoir of Discovery by Helen Waldstein Wilkes. An investigative memoir reminiscent of I Have Lived a Thousand Years by Livia Bitton-Jackson, Letters from the Lost follows Helen’s family’s letters back to Europe where she unravels her family’s hidden history.
BONUS STOCKING STUFFER: Need a tiny book to fit into a stocking? Roy & Me: This Is Not a Memoir by Maurice Yacowar is the perfect size. Set in 1950s Calgary, a young Maurice Yacowar is hired as a cub reporter by Roy Farran who has a controversial past. This memoir blurs fact and fiction creating an interesting reflection on the blend of rumours and truth that defined Roy Farran.
