Books and the City: Psychogeographical Wanderings Around Toronto’s Independent Bookstoresby Annabel TownsendPublished by Pete’s Press, The Wandering SeriesReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$24.99 ISBN 9781069000996 It’s entirely wonderful to finish a book and immediately recognize that the author could be your new best friend. Annabel Townsend is a British-born, Regina, SK writer, and her nonfiction title Books and the City: Psychogeographical Wanderings Around Toronto’s Independent Bookstores contains all the elements I require for a wildly successful read: it’s well-written and structured; its author is passionate and clear about her mission; and it opened my mind while delivering a plethora of fun. Huge points also for the adventure of big-city, solo travel; staying in hostels; and using Toronto’s Bike Share program. And, naturally, I share her belief in the “magic” that bookstores (and books) contain. Books and the City details Townsend’s January 2024 pursuit to find a particular book, Stroll, by Torontonian Shawn Micallef, whom she heard present at the Toronto International Festival of Authors in 2022. Like Micallef, Townsend is a psychogeographer. Psychogeography, she explains, is “a marriage of psychology and geography but with a good dose of creativity and ethnography thrown in.” It’s “a lens through which we can view…

The Lavender Childby Harriet RichardsPublished by Shadowpaw Press RepriseReview by Toby A. Welch  $24.99 ISBN 9781998273201 The Lavender Child is a beautifully unique and creative story with unforgettable characters and a plot that keeps readers intrigued. I wasn’t surprised to learn that this powerful read was a winner of the Saskatchewan Book Awards First Book prize when it was initially published. If you are like me and wonder what the title is referencing – what the heck is a lavender child? – I have the answer! When one of the main characters is born, Dion, he is limp and looks close to death. Another child was born into the family decades earlier that only lived for two weeks and fought for every breath. Both babies were a shade of blue, hence “lavender child.” (I should mention that this book might be a bit challenging for people who have lost babies or experienced children with health issues.) I loved that when reading this story about three generations of a family that we are thrown back into a time when life wasn’t so chaotic and technologically driven. But it’s not so far back that this would be considered historical fiction. After all, the book mentions…