Gods of a New Worldby Ryan MelsomPublished by Shadowpaw PressReview by Michelle Shaw$26.99 ISBN 9781998273379 A mind-bending thriller set in a dystopian future is not something I usually read, but Ryan Melsom’s immersive world and powerful writing in Gods of a New World kept me turning the pages. All 336 of them! What initially drew me to the book was its premise. A thriller set in a world controlled and reshaped by trillionaires using superpowered AIs – “a world where miracles are engineered and secret technology is wired into the very air”. It sounded frighteningly almost relatable. Within this world we are introduced to the two central characters: James Kessler – a childhood survivor of the “Bad Times” (when the world as we know it crumbled), who is now living a very pleasant life as a cog in the new social structure; and Maree Shell – a privileged executive living the high life in the controlling hierarchy of the new society. These two unlikely collaborators are confronted with a frightening conspiracy by the gods of this new world to seize control of reality itself, by encoding their consciousness into the world — stripping away the free will of the world’s…

Kisēwātisi: Be Kindby Elizabeth Merasty, Illustrations by Brie Phillips, Woodland Cree Translations by Edie VennePublished by Your Nickle’s Worth Publishing (YNWP)Review by Michelle Shaw$19.95 ISBN 9781778690624 The simplest stories and actions sometimes have the deepest effect. Elizabeth Merasty’s new, beautifully illustrated children’s book, about simple acts of kindness, belie the deeper narrative of her mother’s stay at a residential school. As a child Merasty’s late mother, Catherine Conner (née Merasty), made the long journey, with her siblings, by boat from Pelican Narrows to the Sturgeon Landing Residential School in northern Saskatchewan. The book opens with an encounter told through the eyes of a child – Elizabeth – who is at the grocery store with her mother. Suddenly a woman appears, recognises her mother and hugs her with tears in her eyes. They begin to laugh and talk in Cree. Later, Elizabeth’s mother explains that they went to boarding school together and shared many experiences. She says it’s been almost 40 years since they went to school, but the woman was happy to see her because she remembers the kindness she experienced. “Be kind,” she tells her daughter. “You will never be sorry you were kind.” The soft-cover book is illustrated…

Ways to Go: Rediscovering Travel as told through Two Himalaya Adventures – 1971 and 2023Edited by Bob Henderson and Torbjørn YdegaardPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Michelle Shaw$29.95 ISBN 9781778690549 In most mountaineering exploits that I’ve read or heard about, the point always seems to be about reaching the summit – and the blood, sweat and tears involved to get there. Ways to Go explores a completely different approach. How can we travel more intentionally and responsibly with less impact on the world around us? The book is shaped around a particular journey. In 1971, three Norwegian mountaineers – Arne Næss, Sigmund Kvaløy Setreng, and Nils Faarlund – embarked on an expedition to the Sherpa community of Beding, Nepal, located in the Rolwaling Valley near the sacred mountain of Tseringma. The men were scholars, philosophers and activists and their perspective was vastly different to most of the mountaineers of their day. They weren’t interested in simply forging ahead to reach the summit of a sacred mountain regardless of the wishes of the local community. They had a more focused, thoughtful approach – and they decided theirs would be an anti-expedition. Ways to Go explores the development of eco-mountaineering and…

Kohkum’s Royal Bannockby Wilfred Burton, Illustrated by Hawlii Pichette, Michif translation by Irma Klyne and Larry FayantReview by Michelle ShawPublished by Thistledown Press$14.95 ISBN 9781771872744 I wasn’t surprised to discover that Kohkum’s Royal Bannock, a beautifully illustrated full colour picture book, was written by a former elementary school teacher, because it’s full of details, concepts and questions that are cleverly designed to keep young readers fully engaged with this very entertaining story. One day Xavier’s Kohkum gets a letter from the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan. The letter states that the Queen will be visiting the next day and asks Kohkum to make her famous bannock and jam for the royal visitor. Startled by this news, Kohkum quickly works out that that she would need to make enough bannok for six people. So, she and Xavier go to the store to stock up on flour, baking powder and shortening. Back home, Kohkom suggests that they get a good night sleep and bake the bannok in the morning so that it is fresh. But the next morning when they get up very early, they turn the letter over and discover that there will actually be 300 guests joining the Queen! And the…

Cupboard Loveby Mark MortonPublished by Shadowpaw Press RepriseReview by Michelle Shaw$29.99 ISBN 9781998273355 If you’ve ever wondered about the plural of asparagus (asparagi), or the origins of Camembert (invented during the French revolution) or why there are so many spellings of perogie…perogey…piroghi (it’s complicated),then wonder no more. Mark Morton’s extensively researched Cupboard Love: A Dictionary of Culinary Curiosities explores the definitions and origins of a vast array of culinary terms in a fascinating and very witty way. From à la (as in à la carte and à la king) to zuppa inglese, Morton examines how the definitions of words have developed – sometimes far from their original meanings. This is actually the third edition of the book (so clearly, it’s stood the test of time) and it has been updated and expanded. It was originally published in 1996 and was one of three books nominated for a 1996 Julia Child Cookbook Award in the Food Reference/Technical Category (Calphalon Award) and was included in The Globe and Mail’s list of “required reading” notable books for 1997. I’m a linguistic nerd so I was fascinated about Morton’s research process through the years. When the book was first published in 1996, his primary…

Metis Matriarchs: Agents of TransitionEdited by Cheryl Troupe and Doris Jeanne MacKinnonPublished by University of Regina PressReview by Michelle Shaw$34.95 ISBN 9781779400116 As I read Métis Matriarchs, I couldn’t help thinking of the old adage that history is written by the victors. Or, as the editors Troupe and MacKinnon put it: ”Until recently, historical scholarship of the Canadian Prairies has privileged the masculine…” This book offers another, long overdue, perspective. Métis Matriarchs is a meticulously researched, family-centred biographical collection of essays exploring the lives of several prominent Métis women during a period of immense change, from the late nineteenth to the mid- twentieth century in what is now Western Canada. It shows how they held families and communities together, providing cultural continuity and stability while in many cases also providing economically for their families. Respected for their wisdom and experience, they acted as healers and midwives, raised families and passed on cultural values, stories, practises and traditions. This is such an important book and hopefully part of a growing body of work chronicling the lives and importance of Métis women in Canadian history. As the editors note: “Scholarship on this period has not until recently begun to examine the significance…

Building Bridges: A Big City Mayor reflects on Leadershipby Donald J. AtchisonPublished by Wood Dragon BooksReview by Michelle Shaw$19.99 ISBN 9781990863745 “So, what’s it like to be the mayor?” This is a question that Don Atchison gets asked a lot. He was Saskatoon’s Mayor for four consecutive terms (2003 to 2016) and, before that, served three terms as a City Councillor. So, he wrote a book. As he says: “If you aspire to be a carpenter, a doctor, or a farmer, it’s not difficult to find information about the role…It’s much more difficult to find out what it would be like to be a city counsellor or mayor. As a result, many people run for public office without fully understanding what they’re getting into.” But this is not just a book about leadership. It’s also a memoir detailing Atchison’s own journey from a young sport-loving boy from the prairies, his life as a businessman (his family owned a menswear store in Saskatoon) and his life in public office. What shines throughout the book is his love for Saskatoon. Although he was at times a somewhat controversial figure, I don’t think anyone ever doubted his commitment to the city. Many people…

The Pathological Casebook of Dr Frances McGill – New Editionby Myrna L. PetersenPublished by Ideation Entertainment IncReview by Michelle Shaw$25.00 ISBN 9780973889383 Crime novels are my go-to genre, so I was thrilled to discover this biography of Saskatchewan’s very own Sherlock Holmes – a forensic pathologist who worked closely with the RCMP for many decades and was involved in hundreds of cases. Dr Frances McGill (1882-1959) was Canada’s first female pathologist and a pioneer in forensic medicine. Although she grew up in Manitoba and received her medical degree at the University of Manitoba, her professional life was spent almost entirely in Saskatchewan. As Provincial Bacteriologist and Pathologist for Saskatchewan, and later Director of the Saskatchewan Laboratories, she was involved in numerous lifesaving and life-changing endeavours including producing anti-flu vaccines for the Spanish Influenza Pandemic in 1918 and 1919, setting up free clinics for Venereal Disease throughout the province after World War One (she also set up the first Wasserman tests for Syphilis) and was a forerunner in allergy testing. But it’s as a Forensic Pathologist that she’s arguably most well-known. In 1923 the Attorney General’s Department asked the Provincial Laboratory to assist with numerous criminal investigations and Dr McGill began…

The Day My Mother Walked on Waterby Helen MourrePublished by Your Nickels Worth PublishingReview by Michelle Shaw$19.95 ISBN 9781778690389 This slim collection of essays is my first encounter with prairie writer Helen Mourre’s work, and I was quickly captivated by her thoughtful and detailed descriptions of a life well lived. I consciously slowed down as I read through the essays in The Day My Mother Walked on Water, partly because I didn’t want them to end but also because I wanted to savour each word picture and ponder Mourre’s musings on faith, family, and the seasons of life. The essays are firmly grounded in Saskatchewan– even those that take place elsewhere are still solidly tethered to the province. In each essay Mourre slows us down to a particular place and time and gives us snapshots of her life through the years. On the beach of a northern lake as a child where she nearly drowned, traveling to Hungary with her husband Paul to visit their son, adventuring with friends to Italy, the poignant last few months of her father’s life and, in the final essay, contemplating her new reality as her husband enters the beginning stages of dementia. Mourre’s stories…

A Rainbow Makes a Promiseby Marion MutalaPublished by Millennium MarketingReview by Michelle Shaw$19.99 ISBN 9781738153879 Marion Mutala really is a creative dynamo. A Rainbow Makes a Promise is her twentieth book and once again she beautifully combines poetry and music into a kaleidoscope of creativity. Saskatchewan author Mutala is perhaps best known for her national best-selling and award-winning children’s book series, Baba’s Babushka: Magical Ukrainian Adventures, which was recently collected in a beautiful 175-page illustrated limited edition hardcover. But she’s also written poetry (her second book of poetry, Race to Finish, was published in 2021), a cookbook (Baba Sophie’s Ukrainian Cookbook) and even a crime novel set in Saskatoon (The Mechanic’s Wife). In an interview a few years ago, she said, “it seems the more I write the more ideas flow.” And that really seems to be true. A Rainbow Makes a Promise celebrates the rainbow as a symbol of peace, love, and hope. Each page explodes with colour. The pictures are big and bold, and each page is bordered by a beautiful, colourful geometric Ukrainian embroidery motif. Mutala uses a variety of artwork styles throughout the book, including photos, watercolours, hand drawn illustrations and AI generated images. The words…