A Book of Ecological Virtues: Living Well in the AnthropoceneEdited by Heesoon Bai, David Chang, and Charles ScottPublished by University of Regina PressReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$39.95  ISBN 9-780889-777569 I made several “notes to self” while reading this anthology. Although not a critical marker re: the book’s literary or academic merit, it does indicate that the text spoke to me on a personal level. Read Canticle to the Creatures (St. Francis), I scribbled. Try editor/contributor David Chang’s awareness practice on Pg. 226/227. Google Peter H. Kahn, Jr. Share the quotes on grief with ____.   This heartening anthology of well-constructed essays addresses how one can live both ethically and full-heartedly during this epoch’s “sombre reality of ecological degradation.” The trio of editors – all professors at Simon Fraser University – asked diverse contributors to consider not only what living well looks like in these times, but also what “suffering well” means. “No one discipline, tradition, or orientation has privilege over another,” the editors explain. Indeed, they have forged a “textual garden” in which scholars, educators, and poets from various disciplines and traditions – Buddhism, Christianity, psychology, ecology, ethics, traditional knowledge systems, etc. – present their interesting, individual responses, each “marked…

Spirit Sight: Last of the Gifted, Book Oneby Marie PowellPublished by Wood Dragon BooksReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$18.99   ISBN 9-781989-078280 I’m grateful that Regina writer Marie Powell provided a map (Wales, 1282), glossary, and character list with her galloping new young adult fantasy, Spirit Sight: Last of the Gifted, Book One, because as one who doesn’t naturally gravitate toward the oft complex fantasy genre, these guideposts were helpful. Powell’s a veteran writer – see her complete library of books at mariepowell.ca – with more than forty books published, and she’s clearly not lacking one iota in inspiration. She explains that this particular novel series – the characters return in Last of the Gifted: Water Sight, Book Two – was inspired by her “adventures in castle-hopping across North Wales to explore her family roots” in 2006. The amount of research required to write a book of this complexity is impressive, and the writing’s made even more interesting as Powell fused fact and fiction: she based the story on the real-life Welsh prince, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (d. 1282), his French wife Elinor – who was held captive by England’s King Edward for three years – and the fictional characters of supernaturally-gifted…

If It Wasn’t for the Money: A Sam Anderson Mysteryby J.A. MartinePublished by Wood Dragon BooksReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$19.99   ISBN 9-781989-078341 If It Wasn’t for the Money: A Sam Anderson Mystery, by Saskatchewan author J.A. Martine – aka business writer Jeanne Martinson – is a rather delectable novel, in more ways than one. The story concerns twin sisters who’d inherited “bloody millions,” their down-on-their-financial-luck husbands, the adventurous magazine writer Sam Anderson (who possesses an interesting, lottery-related back story), and an initially clownish retired Regina cop, all of whom we meet on an Alaska-bound cruise ship. Smooth sailing? Oh no … this is a mystery, after all.  The characters are well-drawn – especially Sam, who leads photography workshops on the ship and rappels down a rockface for a travel story – and plausible, and as the author employs multiple points of view, readers are able to enter into each of the major character’s concerned minds.  Martine explains that the lavish fictional ship, the “Sea Wanderer,” is an amalgamation of Alaskan cruise ships she’s obviously had experience with, as I could easily imagine “the grand lobby with its elegant multi-level staircase,” the “[buzzing] excitement of the first-time passengers,” and the…

If These Places Could Talk: Snapshots of Saskatchewanby Crista Bradley, with artwork by Wendi NordellPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing Review by Keith Foster$19.95          ISBN 978-1-988783-59-8 You’re never too young, or too old, to learn and explore. Crista Bradley’s book, If These Places Could Talk: Snapshots of Saskatchewan, enables young readers and adults to do both. Although technically a children’s book geared for ages five to ten, If These Places Could Talk will definitely appeal to adults as well. It’s perhaps of even more interest to adults than to children. Creating a multi-generational book is no small feat. This book is ideal for grandparents to read to their young ones. It will not only delight children, but grandparents can take a trip down nostalgia lane, supplementing Bradley’s text with their own memories of growing up in Saskatchewan. The text, photos, and Wendi Nordell’s illustrations will undoubtedly trigger many memories. These forty-eight pages cover a lot of territory, depicting ninety-one places in Saskatchewan, and cover a variety of topics, from homes, offices, churches, schools, businesses, and recreation sites. A two-page map pinpoints where each site is located. Each photo or illustration is accompanied by a thumbnail text describing…

Uncertain Harvest: The Future of Food on a Warming Planetby Ian Mosby, Sarah Rotz, and Evan D.G. FraserPublished by University of Regina PressReview by Elena Bentley$27.95      ISBN 9780889777200 Does a diet of algae, caribou, kale, millet, tuna, crickets, milk, and rice sound like the food future you imagined for yourself? Don’t worry, authors Ian Mosby, Sarah Rotz, and Evan D.G. Fraser are not predicting that the solution to our “collective food future” relies on these eight staples (despite what a quick glance down the contents page might imply). Rather than predict how we can create “a sustainable, resilient, and equitable food system,” Mosby, Rotz, and Fraser “critically assess the food futures being imagined and implemented this minute” in their new book Uncertain Harvest: The Future of Food on a Warming Planet.  Part of what makes this book a success is its non-prescriptive approach. Right from the preface, the authors acknowledge that predicting the future is, and has been, futile. Algae pipelines, radiation-grown potatoes, self-replicating steaks – none of these previously put-forward solutions ever came to pass, nor were they even viable.  It’s unsurprising to learn, then, that the authors’ conclusions don’t involve glowing tubers or magical hybrid seeds;…

Baba’s Babushka: Magical Ukrainian AdventuresWritten by Marion Mutala, Illustrated by Amber Rees, Wendy Siemens, Olha TkachenkoPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$39.95  ISBN 9-781988-783611 Before one reads a single word of Baba’s Babushka, it’s evident that this  illustrated children’s book is far beyond the ordinary. The 175-page hardcover emanates quality, from the phenomenal production – including colourful, full-page illustrations opposite the text pages, each bordered in a Ukrainian embroidery design – to the heft of the paper used, the contributions of three skilled illustrators, the inclusion of Ukrainian recipes, and a glossary for the numerous Ukrainian words used in the text. The package is highly impressive … and then there are the four heartwarming, connected tales Mutala spins within the book.  Saskatchewan’s Mutala is already known for her award-winning, Ukrainian-themed children’s books, including More Baba’s, Please! and My Dearest Dido: A Holodomor Story, but this latest publication – essentially four books in one – is her tour de force. In each magical story, young Natalia – who lives on a farm near Hafford, SK – is whisked into her ancestral past when her recently-departed and much-loved grandmother’s (Baba’s) colourful babushka (head scarf) materializes – via flowers, swirling…