Great Historical Fiction

It may be easy to overlook this slim novel on the bookshelves, especially with those Giller long-listed heavyweights vying for your attention, but please pick this one up. It will leave you gasping.

Desjardins masterfully pulls you along as the characters slowly reveal the grievances and hurts of their pasts. Just as you begin to wonder where it is heading she unleashes the brutal, shocking climax, ending the novel with no concern for the sentimental reader. It is perfect. That Lily McEvoy is swallowed whole by her bitterness, that her selfishness and pride erodes her soul (as literally as does her obsession with and consumption of salt) leaving her bereft and isolated is a just and fully satisfying outcome. Hats off to Desjardins.

Praise:
“In carrying us to a very dark place where totters the border between our country and that of legends … Desjardins offers to Québécois literature one of its great contemporary Gothic novels … [A] true jewel from a writer as discreet as gifted.” — Le Libraire

Do not skip this gem when you're out shopping for this fall's great Canadian literature.

A Covenant of Salt
Martine Desjardins

Talon Books * 978-0-88922-566-4 * $17.95 paperback * In stock

For more about the book go to Talon Books.com

Purchase from your favourite local bookstore or click here:
Amazon.ca
Chapters.ca

Polar Bear Scare

It's common knowledge that human activity is leaving a terrible stain on our planet. No where is this felt more accutely than in the Arctic and Canada's northern territories. The ice caps are melting and polar bears are now officially facing extinction. What can we do and where do we begin?

Jean Davis Okimoto's picture book Winston of Churchill comes at precisely the right time. IChurchill, Manitoba, the Polar Bear Capitol of the world, is the setting for her story about global warming, starring the indomitable Winston. There is no other picture book that takes on global warming with such intelligence, clarity, and humour. Getting our children reading about these issues early is the key to cultivating a greener society.

Winston of Churchill will be published this December by Sasquatch Books.
978-1-57061-357-9 * $19.95 cloth * Ages 6 to 10
Written by Jean Davis Okimoto
Illustrated by Jeremiah Trammell

To purchase go to your favorite local bookstore or click here:
Chapters.ca
Amazon.ca

Pick it up in Paperback

Birth
The Surprising History of How We Are Born

978-0-8021-4324-2 * $17.50 * In stock

Tina Cassiday takes all the romance out of the miracle of giving life in this fascinating, gory read. The horrors that women have suffered giving birth over the centuries is documented here in detail. While it is graphic, Cassidy doesn't paint an entire picture of doom and gloom as she goes on to highlight the process by which women have gained ownership over their personal birthing experience.

Praise:

"There is a collective, willful amnesia about birth . . . that has been begging for (Cassidy's) clear-headed dissipation. We want it to be meaningful and we want it to be mercifully brief. This book is both." - The New York Times Book Review

"Fascinating, funny, and occasionally shocking - should be at the top of every pregnant woman's reading list." - Kirkus Reviews (starred)

Purchase from your favourite local bookstore or online at:
Amazon.ca
Chapters/Indigo.ca

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Sebastian Copeland who has won Professional Photographer of the Year in the book category at the 2007 International Photography Awards. The IPA is the most prestigious photography contest for both professional and amateur photographers-- it is the Oscars of photography contests.

Visit photoawards.com for more information and a complete listing of winners.

Copeland won for his stunning book Antarctica: The Global Warning
The book features a Forword by Mikhail Gorbachev and an Introduction by Leonardo DiCaprio

9781933784199 | $68.95 cl | Earth Aware Editions

Coming this October

Move over Paris and Posh - Miller was caught too!

While it may be a bit of a stretch to put these three in anywhere near the same category, Miller is at least a celeb on the local scale.

The paparrazi have caught him here holding Time Out Toronto. Time Out is one of our favourite travel publishers and have been called "The best city guides in print." by The Independent.

Time Out Toronto * 978-1-84670-015-6 * $24.95 paper * In stock

Order from your favourite local bookstore or online at:
Chapters/Indigo.ca
Amazon.ca

Visit timeout.com for a complete list of guides.

Are Books the new Celeb Accessory?

Have books replaced Paris's beloved chihuahua? Is Posh now shopping for books over baubles, clothes, jewellery or whatever it is she normally shops for?

Whatever the case publishers and booksellers alike can agree that this is great pr for their books: glam girl publicity is more than welcome.

PGC Books seen here:

Paris is holding The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
ISBN 978-1-57731-480-6 * $17.50 paper * New World Library

Posh is holding Skinny Bitch by Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman
ISBN 978-0-7624-2493-1 * $17.00 paper * Perseus Books Group

New in Paperback

The Return of the Player
by Michael Tolkin

978-0-8021-4302-0 * $16.50 paper * In stock

The sequel to the Hollywood classic The Player, and a satire on power, wealth, and family in the twenty-first century

This book has a slick, new package and is getting rave reviews:

“Poor Griffin Mill—once a mover in Los Angeles—is down to his last six million dollars, and that isn’t the worst of it in Tolkin’s sharply observed sequel to The Player. Tolkin’s still got a firm hold on Tinseltown’s fluttery pulse.”— People (Critic’s Choice)

“Tolkin remains impressive as a scorched-earth social satirist.”— The New York Times

“Heartfelt and cynical, a powerful dark comedy that transcends . . . Hollywood satire.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“At once funny, absurd, and hopeful, The Return of the Player is, above all, surprising.”— Kirkus Reviews

“Tolkin's understated style and over-the-top characters continue to amaze. Only in Hollywood could this bizarre tragicomedy seem even remotely plausible. Recommended for collections with readers lusting for the lives of the rich and famous.” — Library Journal

To purchase go to your favourite local bookstore or,
To order from Amazon online Click Here
To order from Chapters online Click Here