The weather is hot and humid, cottages and campsites are calling, and book lovers are searching for summery reads. Happily, Turnstone’s got a book for every reader under the sun.
The weather is hot and humid, cottages and campsites are calling, and book lovers are searching for summery reads. Happily, Turnstone’s got a book for every reader under the sun.
Enjoy our 2016 Summer Reading List!
NON-FICTION FOR THE SUMMER
'DINOSAURS' OF THE DEEP: DISCOVER PREHISTORIC MARINE LIFE
by Larry Verstraete
ISBN: 9780888015730 I $25.00
Driving across the North American Heartland, surrounded by prairie, it is almost impossible to imagine that this was once a huge inland sea. The Western Interior Seaway once teemed with predatory creatures. At the top of this prehistoric food chain ruled the mighty mosasaur, the T. Rex of the sea.
Through a cooperative partnership with the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre (CFDC), home to ‘Bruce’, the world’s largest mosasaur skeleton, author Larry Verstraete and paleoartist Julius Csotonyi bring the ancient marine creatures of the Seaway to vivid life.
Recommended for: amateur and expert paleontologists alike; Jurassic Park fans; those looking to dig up some fun this summer
DEAD MAN ON A BIKE: RIDING WITH CANCER
by Wayne Tefs
ISBN: 9780888015297 I $19.00
Wayne Tefs is the Dead Man on a Bike, his posthumous follow-up memoir to Roller Coaster: A Cancer Journey. Diagnosed with a rare cancer in 1994, Tefs spent the next 20 years raising a family, writing acclaimed works of fiction, battling cancer, and cycling. Always cycling.
Recommended for: cyclists, philosophers, and cycling philosophers; anyone travelling a hard road
MIKE GRANDMAISON'S ONTARIO
by Mike Grandmaison
ISBN: 9780888015150 I $35.00
Winner of the Premier Print Awards 2015 Certificate of Merit in the Category Art Books
“Mike Grandmaison’s Ontario is my Ontario. Every image in this collection takes me to a place I know, a place I’ve seen a thousand times, and yet a place I’m seeing as if for the first time. It’s the Ontario I see when I close my eyes. Except for an occasional silo or lighthouse, it’s the Ontario that has been here for 10,000 years, and now, thanks for these superb photographs, will remain with us for a long time to come.” – Wayne Grady
Recommended for: outdoorsy folk; photography fans; readers getting away or coming home for the summer
LETTERS TO BRIAN: A YEAR OF LIVING AND REMEMBRANCE
by Martha Brooks
ISBN: 9780888015211 I $21.00
Winner of the Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award for Nonfiction
In daily love letters written to her husband and soul companion, Brian, over the year following his death from brain cancer, critically acclaimed author, playwright, and jazz singer Martha Brooks leads us on a journey through grief that is both deeply personal and undeniably universal.
“These beautifully rendered tableaux are a lasting imprint of what’s been revealed in this memoir—the impressive measure of the man, Brian Brooks, and the profound love and loyalty of his wife, Martha.” –Marjorie Anderson, Winnipeg Free Press
Recommended for: readers seeking a true and beautiful love story
MANITOBA BUTTERFLIES: A FIELD GUIDE
by Simone Hébert Allard
ISBN: 9780888014139 I ON SALE for $23.40 (40% off)
Winner of the Mary Scorer Award for Best Book; Finalist for the 2014 High Plains Book Award, Medicine & Science category; Finalist for the Lane Anderson Award for Best Canadian Science Writing
“In Manitoba Butterflies, Simone Hebert Allard has created a field guide to native butterflies that will be of interest to scientists, while still being accessible to amateur enthusiasts of all levels of experience. The species pages are clear and intuitive, and will be a pleasure to use in the field. This will be a must-have book for all serious butterfly enthusiasts (watchers, rearers, and collectors) in Western Canada and in the Northern Tier of States in the US.” –Jeffrey Marcus, Associate Professor, University of Manitoba
Recommended for: those looking to relax and read in their garden this summer; nature and butterfly lovers
SHORT FICTION FOR THE SUMMER
ARMIN'S SHORTS
Little Fictions by Armin Wiebe
ISBN: 9780888015464 I $19
Showcasing a selection of stories from Armin Wiebe's 30 year writing career, Armin's Shorts features tales from the familiarly fictitious Mennonite community of Gutenthal, re-imagined origin stories from the Tlįchǫ of the subarctic, and flights of pure fantasy set in modern day Winnipeg.
“Armin Wiebe is a national treasure and I am heista kopp in love with this book.” —Susie Moloney, author of A Dry Spell, The Dwelling, and The Thirteen
Recommended for: readers of top tier Mennonite fiction; fans of short stories that pack a punch and tickle the funny bone
THERE CAN NEVER BE ENOUGH
New and Selected Stories by David Arnason
ISBN: 9780888014504 I $12.60
David Arnason is one of the most loved and prolific short story authors on the prairies. Over a lifetime of writing David Arnason has crafted some of the most memorable stories in the Canadian literary canon, and now for the first time the very best of Arnason's stories have been compiled into a single volume, There Never Can be Enough: New and Selected Stories.
Recommended for: fans of fables; anyone who enjoys a short slice of story mid-summer
NOVELS FOR THE SUMMER
NO ESCAPE FROM GREATNESS
by Jeffrey John Eyamie
ISBN: 9780888015372 I $19.00
"Beautifully written, sharply observed, warm, wise, and funny, No Escape From Greatness is the thing we've all been waiting for . . . the Great Canadian Novel! But if there is already one (what the hell do I know, I'm an American, we don't know anything!) then, by God, this one is the next one!"
--Steve Kaplan, Script Consultant, Author, The Hidden Tools of Comedy: The Serious Business of Being Funny.
Recommended for: prodigal sons and daughters; fans of comedy with heart; anyone chasing a dream
VISITING FELLOW
by Dave Williamson
ISBN: 9780888015761 I $19.00
“Dave Williamson perfectly captures the awkward beginning stages of a relationship between two normal adults, each with their own assortment of baggage and communication failings.” –Alia Eisele, Moonlight Gleam’s Bookshelf
Recommended for: the lovestruck, lovelorn, and everyone lost in the middle; travellers seeking light-hearted fare
THE ROAD TO ATLANTIS
by Leo Brent Robillard
ISBN: 9780888015556 I $19.00
“An intimate portrait of a family blown apart by a tragic accident—a grievous loss that can never be reversed, only borne. As sensitively as a surgeon, Robillard traces the impact of that terrible moment on each of his characters, and we watch, breathless, as each finds their own way to heal.” —Merilyn Simonds, author of The Paradise Project
Recommended for: readers looking for well-crafted literature perfect for those rainy summer days
POETRY FOR THE SUMMER
GLORYLAND
by Carla Funk
ISBN: 9780888015792 I $17.00
Carla Funk, in her fifth book of poetry illuminates the small and marvellous marginalia of earth, like the glistening trail of a snail en route, and looks prophetically to the not-so-distant future where cities burn and the body falls to ruin. A meditation on endings, intermingling wonder and praise with question and elegy, Gloryland offers poems for an apocalyptic age.
Recommended for: poetry fans in search of art in the end times
DEPARTURES
by Dennis Cooley
ISBN: 9780888015631 I $17.00
Recovering in hospital after a burst appendix, plagued by hallucinations and poisonous mistrust, Dennis Cooley retreats to memories of ancestors and of his rural Saskatchewan roots, in departures, his 20th book of poetry.
“With departures Dennis Cooley coils and uncoils the language of our bodies, the subtle string of cells and letters which bind us to each other and to language. The writing of grief is never simple, never clear—it is a tangled ball of ribbon, sound and story. Here Cooley unwinds and unweaves, reknits and retangles but is never at a loss for words.” –Derek Beaulieu, Calgary Poet Laureate
Recommended for: lovers of language and wordplay; readers coming to terms with mortality; Cooley devotees
NEVER MIND
by Katherine Lawrence
ISBN: 9780888015594 I $17.00
In Never Mind, Katherine Lawrence constructs a centuries-old immigrant tale that is fiercely feminist, surprisingly modern and darkly funny. The voice in these exquisite poems is a 19th century woman who straddles both old and new worlds as she navigates her own interior landscape. Observations are wry, intimate, and shot with musicality.
Recommended for: those seeking Little House on the Prairie with a razor-sharp edge; fans of fiery and urgent poetry
QUESTIONS I ASKED MY MOTHER
by di brandt
ISBN: 9780888015051 I $7.20
Winner of the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award (League of Canadian Poets). Nominated for the Governor-General’s Award for Poetry and the Dillons Commonwealth Poetry Prize.
questions i asked my mother is a seminal work of both Canadian and Mennonite literature. Originally published in 1987, the collection embodies a bold vision of the feminine that confronts centuries of patriarchal culture. Powerful and lyrical, Brandt’s poems bridge the impossible contradictions between traditionalism and the postmodern in extraordinary gestures of creative defiance and tenderness.
In this new edition, poet and scholar Tanis MacDonald reflects in a critical essay on the far-reaching impact and continuing relevance of Di Brandt’s groundbreaking collection.
"This is finely crafted rage." —Border Crossings
Recommended for: fans of Di Brandt, lovers of exquisite Mennonite poetry, those looking to rage against the machine
EXQUISITE MONSTERS
by K. I. Press
ISBN: 9780888015259 I $19.00
With vicious wit, K. I. Press pries open the intimacies of our lives in her collection of poetry, Exquisite Monsters. Fearless and weird, she splays open motherhood and mourning, laying them cheek by jowl next to biomechanical androids, and explosions of pop culture myths.
Recommended for: the little biomechanical monsters in your life
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MOTHS
by Shirley Camia
ISBN: 9780888015334 I $17.00
In her latest work, Camia exposes her experiences in Canada as a child of immigrants. Although true for many, the newcomer experience magnifies the “strands of the past” that are “bound to the present.” Like a voyager though time and space, she perceives her present through a film of nostalgia for a home she never knew, while she faces a future laden with the expectations of a family who risked everything for a better tomorrow.
Recommended for: poetry lovers heading home for the summer
EIGENHEIM
by Joanne Epp
ISBN: 9780888015174 I $17.00
Examining death and birth, loss and love, deep searching and unquenchable longing, Epp reaches back to her rural Mennonite roots while restlessly exploring what lies just beyond the sun’s reach.
Recommended for: readers seeking quiet, powerful poetry to bask in
CUTTHROATS & OTHER POEMS
by Ted Dyck
ISBN: 9780888015013 I $17.00
This is the gentlest of philosophy texts wrapped up in fish paper and what lovely paper.
—Bill Robertson, The StarPhoenix
Recommended for: fishing philosophers seeking the perfect boat companion
RAVENSTONE
JANICE MACDONALD
ANOTHER MARGARET
ISBN: 9780888015518 I $16.95
Anxiety is the watchword at most school reunions, with side-eye comparisons of greying hair and extra pounds. Not for Randy Craig. She’s more concerned with resolving a twenty-year-old CanLit scandal. While helping her best friend organize their reunion at the University of Alberta, Randy’s tumultuous past as a graduate student comes rushing into the present, as she faces off against old ghosts and imminent death.
Recommended for: students enjoying a school-free summer; fans of dangerous CanLit
THE ROAR OF THE CROWD
ISBN: 9780888014702 I $16.95
Wherever Randy Craig goes, trouble seems to follow. With the help of her friend Denise, Randy has landed a summer job with a high school theatre program linked to the FreeWill Shakespeare Festival. But when a local actor shows up dead and Denise is the prime suspect, Randy has to find to a way to solve the mystery while surrounded with suspects who have no trouble lying to her face.
Recommended for: mystery readers looking for the perfect way to kick-off their Fringe Festival experience
CONDEMNED TO REPEAT
ISBN: 9780888014153 I $16.00
For anyone other than Randy Craig, a contract to do archival research and web development for Alberta’s famed Rutherford House should have been a quiet gig. But when she discovers an unsolved mystery linked to Rutherford House in the Alberta Archives and the bodies begin to pile up, Randy can’t help but wonder if her modern-day troubles are linked to the intrigues of the past.
Recommended for: lovers of mystery and history
CHADWICK GINTHER
TOO FAR GONE
ISBN: 9780888015419 I $16.95
Enlisting Manitoba's giants, dwarves, and elves to watch over Winnipeg, Ted takes advantage of a lull in Surtur's fires to hitch a ride back to Edmonton for his best friend’s wedding and search for answers. While he's there he tries to mend fences with family and friends, dodges a legion of Surtur fanatics intent on setting the giant free, and learns he has three days left to live. Without Loki or the Norns to help, he won't solve the riddle and see another day.
It's the end of the world as Ted knows it—time to face his doom.
Recommended for: readers of gritty urban fantasy—buy the whole trilogy for an epic Summer of Surtur
TOMBSTONE BLUES
ISBN: 9780888014450 I $16.00
After beating back the might of Surtur, Ted Callan is getting used to his immortal powers. The man who once would stop at nothing to rid himself of his tattoos and their power might even be said to be enjoying his new-found abilities.
However, not everyone is happy the glory of Valhalla has risen from the ashes of RagnarÖk. With every crash of MjÖlnir, Thor, former god of thunder, rages in Niflheim, the land of the dead.
Now that Ted’s woken the dead, there’s going to be hell to pay.
Recommended for: fans of Nordic myth and zombie apocalypse
THUNDER ROAD
ISBN: 9780888014009 I $16.00
Winner of the Mary Scorer Book Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher, Winner of the Michael Van Rooy Award for Genre Fiction, Nominated for the Prix Aurora Award for Best Canadian Science Fiction/Fantasy Novel in English
In a flash, Ted Callan’s world exploded and amid the flames he saw the incomprehensible, the burning figure of the fire giant Surtur. Before long, Ted learns that the creatures of Norse folklore walk among us and his fate is forever tied to them.
Ted wants nothing more than to have his old life back. No more magic. No more smart-ass gods. To get it, Ted is willing to fight his way through any creature of legend. The problem is, if he succeeds, it might just be the end of the world.
Recommended for: readers seeking summer fun via vicarious fistfights, tattoos, and meddling gods
KAREN DUDLEY
KRAKEN BAKE
ISBN: 9780888014665 I $16.95
Kraken Bake, the sequel to the critically acclaimed Food for the Gods (a finalist for the Boney Blithe Award, The High Plains Awards, and the Aurora Awards) mirthfully re-imagines the world of ancient Greece like you’ve never seen before.
Recommended for: reality-TV bingers; anyone preparing for memorable summer barbeques
Turnstone Press Ltd.
