Val’s Book Reviews Letters from Gerald by R.W. Butler Altona: Friesen Press, 2024$22.49 / 9781038305459 I was pleasantly surprised to find that fiction about ornithology could hold my attention to the very last page. West coast author R.W. Butler’s debut novel on this specialized topic has much to commend it. The book concerns young Eleanor […]
Eleanor, on the ascent Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews Dear Arlo: letters to my grandson by Olga CampbellVancouver: Jubaji Press, 2024 This memoir by Olga Campbell is a mixture of prose, art, poetry, and recipes interspersed with letters to the author’s grandson, Arlo. It tells the tragic story of a legacy of trauma. Campbell herself is a second-generation holocaust survivor born
A tragedy of generational trauma Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews My Turquoise Years: A Memoir (Twentieth Anniversary Edition) by M.A.C. Farrant Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2024$21.95 / 9781772016369 My Turquoise Years is the 20th Anniversary reprint edition of M.A.C. Farrant’s original memoir with five additional stories added, plus an introduction by Lynne Van Luven and a new preface. This is not a typical memoir
Non-typical memoir, non-typical family Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews Celebrities Who Have Met Me: A Child of the Lost Empire by John D’EatheVancouver: Adagio Media, 2024$21.99 9781999433925 John D’Eathe’s memoir is a whimsical look at the fall of the British Empire, told through anecdotes of his life as D’Eathe travelled through many countries and observed how the once-great British Empire has
What lasts (and what doesn’t) Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews The Champagne Letters by Kate MacIntosh Toronto: Gallery Books, 2024 $36.99 / 9781668061886 In The Champagne Letters, Kate MacIntosh has successfully managed to create two parallel stories set in two different eras: one in nineteenth-century France and the other in the present day. Her narrative flows seamlessly between discrete eras
A Grand Dame and a divorcée Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews A Traveller’s Guide to Historic British Columbia (revised) by Rosemary Neering Vancouver: Whitecap Books, 2023 $34.95 / 9781770503700 Now revised and updated, Rosemary Neering’s A Traveller’s Guide to Historic British Columbia is a fascinating historical journey through the province. She begins the book with some powerful words: “More than 30 years ago,
Our journey from past to present Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews Owls, Doughnuts, and Democracy by Jason A.N. Taylor Victoria: independently published $7.99 (e-book) / 9798333346148 My first impression of Owls, Doughnuts and Democracy was that it was simply a bizarre book of political ramblings by the author—and not the type of book I would normally have sought out. After a beat, I
Are we ready for Direct Democracy? Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews The Imposter by Johanna Van Zanten Las Vegas: Histria Books, 2024 $29.99 / 9761592113767 Johanna Van Zanten has created an intriguing story spanning two World Wars in Europe in her second novel The Imposter. Like her first novel (Between a Rock and a Hard Place) The Imposter explores the overwhelming decisions that
The wars: before, between, after Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews Let’s Eat: Recipes for Kids Who Cook by DL Acken and Aurelia Louvet Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2023 $40 / 97817711514132 If you have been searching for a cookbook for your children, Let’s Eat – Recipes for Kids who Cook by DL (Danielle) Acken and Aurelia Louvet, is the one for you. These
Back to School Cookin’ Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews Apocalypse Child: Surviving Doomsday and the Search for Identity at the End of the World by Carly Butler Qualicum Beach: Caitlin Press, 2024 Apocalypse Child is an unimaginable story that would be difficult to believe unless you knew that author Carly Butler had actually lived it and is now generously sharing her story with readers. Butler begins
