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July & August 2017

 

TAKE A WINNER TO THE BEACH

2017 McNally Robinson Best Book of the Year Award
The Break
by Katherena Vermette 
$22.95. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

When a young Métis mother spots someone in trouble on an isolated strip of land outside her house, she calls the police. In a series of narratives, people who are connected, both directly and indirectly, with the victim — police, family, and friends — tell their stories leading up to that fateful night to reveal a comprehensive mosaic about the social fabric of Winnipeg’s North End.

2016 Scotiabank Giller Prize & 2016 Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction
Do Not Say We Have Nothing
by Madeleine Thien 
$22.00. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

In this intimate and grandly political novel, Thien follow the lives of two successive generations of a Chinese family: those who lived through Mao’s Cultural Revolution in the mid-twentieth century and the children of the survivors who became the students protesting in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

2017 Regina Public Library Book of the Year Award
The High Mountains of Portugal
by Yann Martel 
$22.00. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

In a great quest for meaning, Martel's mesmerizing novel is told in three intersecting narratives that touch the lives of three different people and their families, and takie us on an extraordinary journey through the last century as the author exploraes the impact and significance of great love and great loss, belief and unbelief.

2017 Edgar Award for Best Novel
Before the Fall
by Noah Hawley 
$20.99. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

Eleven people — ten privileged and one down-on-his-luck painter — are on board a private jet that plunges into the ocean shortly after takeoff. The only survivors are the painter and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining member of a wealthy media mogul's family. Amid the suspense, the relationship between the painter and the young boy raises questions of fate, human nature, and the ties that bind us together.

2017 National Business Book Award
Weaponized Lies
by Daniel J. Levitin 
$22.00. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

It’s raining fringe theories, fake news, and pseudo-facts. These lies are getting repeated. Daniel Levitin shows how to disarm these socially devastating inventions and get the North American mind back on track. Here are the fundamental lessons in critical thinking (previously published as A Field Guide to Lies) that we need to know and share — now.

2017 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction
LaRose
by Louise Erdrich 
$19.99. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

While out hunting deer, Landreaux Iron accidentally kills Dusty, his neighbour's five-year-old son. Following an ancient means of retribution, he and his wife give their own five-year-old son, LaRose, to the grieving parents in this inspiring novel that explores loss, justice, and healing.

2016 Governor General's Literary Award for Non-Fiction & 2017 University of Saskatchewan Non-Fiction Award
A World We Have Lost
by Bill Waiser 
$70.00. Hardcover. Add to Cart

By the early nineteenth century, a distinctive western society had emerged in the North West, one that was challenged by young dominion of Canada. By the time Saskatchewan entered confederation as a province in 1905, the world that Kelsey had encountered during his historic walk on the northern prairies had all but vanished.

2017 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour
Yiddish for Pirates
by Gary Barwin 
$21.00. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

Set in the years around 1492, Yiddish for Pirates recounts the compelling story of a Bar Mitzvah boy who leaves home to join a ship’s crew. Told in the ribald, philosophical voice of a 500-year-old Jewish parrot, this is a hilarious, swashbuckling tale of pirates, buried treasure and a search for the Fountain of Youth.

2016 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize
A Disappearance in Damascus
by Deborah Campbell 
$22.00. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

In the midst of an international crisis, journalist Deborah Campbell finds herself swept up in the disappearance of Ahlam, her guide and friend. Haunted by the prospect that their work together has led to her friend’s arrest, Campbell sets out to find her, while fearing she could be next. A frank, personal account of the triumph of friendship.

2017 Best Translated Book Award for Fiction
Chronicle of the Murdered House
by Lucio Cardoso
$25.95. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

Translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson. Long considered one of the most important works of twentieth century Brazilian literature, the novel relates the dissolution of a once proud patriarchal family that blames its ruin on the marriage of its youngest son to a vibrant, unpredictable, and incendiary young woman.

2017 Muslims for Peace and Justice Fiction Award
New Albion
by Dwayne Brenna
$19.95. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

New Albion follows the lives of the employees of the New Albion theatre in London, England, in 1850. Fighting it’s own reputation and a playwright so addicted to laudanum that the actors must band together as a community and a family in the face of of every obstacle — and there are many.

 

WHAT TO READ

A collection of recent books particularly recommended by Chris Hall. Look for our in-store What To Read display tables.

The Noise of Time
by Julian Barnes
$19.95. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

This novel begins in 1936, with Dmitri Shostakovich fearing for his livelihood and even his life. He has just been denounced in an article that certainly reflects the opinion of Joseph Stalin himself. Every night as he waits to be arrested, Shostakovich reflects on his predicament and his own personal history. Barnes elegantly guides us through his life as he weighs the merits of appeasing those in power against the integrity of his music.

Pond
by Claire-Louise Bennett
$22.00. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

Capturing the interior reality of its unnamed protagonist, this novel focuses on a young woman living a mostly solitary existence on the outskirts of a small coastal village. Rather than using the usual conventions of narrative, it focuses on the details of her daily experience — from page long fragments on the best way to eat porridge or bananas to story-length stretches of narrative — always suffused with the immediacy of the physical world that we remember from childhood. Indeed, reading it reminded me of being a child, pleasantly lost on a summer day.

Paper
by Mark Kurlansky
$22.95. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

Paper is one of the most essential pieces of human technology. For the past two millennia, the ability to produce it in ever more efficient ways has supported the proliferation of literacy, media, religion, politics, education, history of paper and its uses, Kurlansky ranges from ancient Asia through the achievements of the Islamic world to our present day, when we discuss going “paperless.” In so doing he challenges some common assumptions about where civilization has come from and where we’re taking it.

Magic and Loss
by Virginia Heffernan
$23.00. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

This book makes a bold claim: The Internet is among mankind's greatest masterpieces — a massive work of art. Its cultural potential and societal impact often elude us and Heffernan reveals the tensions underlying our confusion. Life online offers much in the virtues of its highly visual, social, portable, and global incarnation. Yet with all these magical things, we also sometimes feel the loss of something as our perception, experience, and understanding of the world is altered. This is a great book for anyone interested in where the internet is going or where it can be taken.

The Return
by Hisham Matar
$19.95. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

In 2012, Matar journeys to his native Libya after thirty years’ absence. Twenty-two years earlier, Matar's father, a former diplomat and military man turned political dissident, was kidnapped in Cairo by the Libyan government and believed to have been held in its most notorious prison. Now, the prisons are empty and little hope remains that his father will be found alive. Yet, the author writes, hope is "persistent and cunning." Matar is the kind of writer worth reading no matter what the story. The fact that this story is his own makes it even more powerful.

The Art of Rivalry
by Sebastian Smee
$27.00. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

Rivalry is at the heart of some of the most fruitful relationships in art history. This book follows eight artists — Manet and Degas, Matisse and Picasso, Pollock and de Kooning, Bacon and Freud — each linked to his counterpart by admiration, envy, and ambition. Each relationship culminated in an early rupture in a budding intimacy that was both a betrayal and a trigger for innovation.

Reservoir 13
by Jon Mcgregor
$21.99. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

In a small village in the heart of England a teenage girl on holiday goes missing. The villagers join the search, fanning out across the moors as the police set up roadblocks and a crowd of news reporters descends on their home. The search goes on but so does life. In this subtly powerful novel, the rhythms of nature and the routines of lives slowly reassert themselves though the effects of the disappearance ripples over the years.

The Lonely City
by Olivia Laing
$25.00. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

When Olivia Laing moved to New York City, she found herself inhabiting loneliness on a daily basis. She started to find comfort through discovering the works of artists who explored the lonely city. Moving from Edward Hopper's Nighthawks to David Wojnarowicz's AIDS activism, Laing investigates what it means to be alone, illuminating not only the causes of loneliness but also how it might be resisted and redeemed. Equal parts biography, memoir and art criticism, The Lonely City celebrates the strange and lovely state of solitude.

All We Shall Know
by Donal Ryan
$22.00. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

Melody Shee is in trouble. At 33, she is pregnant with the child of a 17 year-old Traveller boy and not by Pat, her husband. Now the boy’s gone, and Pat leaves too, full of rage. She's trying to stay in the moment, but the future is looming, while the past won't let her go. Mary, a bold Traveller woman, comes along just in time and may save Melody's life. Following the nine months of her pregnancy, Melody’s presence will stay with you long after you finish this novel.

Shot-Blue
by Jesse Ruddock
$19.95. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

Rachel is a young single mother trying to escape the world and living with her son, Tristan, on a lake that borders the remote north. But soon, and unexpectedly, Tristan will have to live alone, his youth burdened by his separation from others. The wild place that is all he knows will be overrun by strangers — strangers inhabiting the lodge that has replaced his home, strangers who make him fight, talk, and even love, when he doesn't want to.

 

AUTHOR FOCUS

JULY
Julia Glass

Born in 1956, Julia Glass studied painting in Paris before working as a copy editor in New York. But she didn't begin to devote herself to fiction writing until her late 30s, following a series of devastating events in her private life: her first marriage ended, she discovered she had breast cancer and, soon after that, her younger sister committed suicide. Reeling from these misfortunes, Glass poured the emotions from these troubling times into her debut novel, Three Junes, which won the 2002 National Book Award for Fiction and established her as a sensitive chronicler of modern times.

Her sixth book of fiction, A House Among the Trees, is the story of an unusual bond between a revered children’s book author, Mort Lear, and his assistant, Tomasina Daulair.

When Mort dies accidentally at his Connecticut home, he leaves his property and all its contents to Tomasina Daulair, who is moved by his generosity but dismayed by the complicated directives in his will. They have known each other for more than four decades, and by the end of his increasingly reclusive life, Tomasina found herself living in his house as confidante and helpmate, witness not just to his daily routines but to the emotional fallout of his strange boyhood. Now Tomasina must try to honour Mort's last wishes while grappling with their effects. (Hardcover. $36.95. Pantheon. June)

 

AUGUST
Linden MacIntyre

Linden MacIntyre’s first novel, The Long Stretch, was nominated for a CBA Libris Award and his boyhood memoir, Causeway: A Passage from Innocence, won both the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Nonfiction and the Evelyn Richardson Award. He really hit his stride, however, with his second novel, The Bishop’s Man (2009). It was a number one national bestseller, won the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Dartmouth Book Award and the CBA Libris Fiction Book of the Year Award. His work has since gone on to dominate the bestseller lists, topping off an illustrious career in broadcast journalism where he won ten Gemini awards during the twenty-four years he spent as the co-host of the fifth estate.

MacIntyre returns with The Only Café, a moving mystery and an illuminating exploration of how the traumatic past, if left unexamined, shadows every moment of the present.

Pierre Cormier had secrets. Though he married twice, became a high-flying lawyer and a father, he didn’t let anyone really know him. And he was especially silent about what had happened to him in Lebanon, the country he fled during civil war to come to Canada as a refugee. When, in the midst of a corporate scandal, he goes missing after his boat explodes, his teenaged son Cyril doesn't know how to mourn him. But five years later, a single bone and a distinctive gold chain are recovered, and Pierre is at last declared dead. Which changes everything. (Hardcover. $34.00. Random House. August)

 

OUR FEATURED PAPERBACKS

JULY
The Witches of New York

by Ami Mckay
Regular price: $22.00.
Our July 30% Off price: $15.40.
Add to Cart

The year is 1880. Two hundred years after the trials in Salem, Adelaide Thom has left her life in the sideshow to open a tea shop with another young woman, Eleanor St. Clair, who feels it’s finally safe to describe herself as a witch. Together they cater to Manhattan’s high society ladies, specializing in cures, palmistry and potions. In McKay's third novel, all is well until one bright September afternoon, when an enchanting young woman named Beatrice Dunn arrives at their door seeking employment.

 

AUGUST
Rather Be the Devil

by Ian Rankin
Regular Price: $15.99.
Our August 30% Off Price: $11.19.
Add to Cart

The dark heart of Edinburgh is up for grabs. Or is it? A young pretender, Darryl Christie, may have staked his claim, but a vicious attack has left him vulnerable and an inquiry into a major money laundering scheme threatens his position. And has old-time crime boss and Rebus' long-time adversary, Big Ger Cafferty, really settled down to a quiet retirement? Or is he waiting until Edinburgh is once more ripe for the picking? In Rankin's latest crime novel, Rebus may be off the force, but he's not off the case.

 

WANNA PLAY?

A recommendation from our boardgame guru, Josef.

KINGDOMINO: A board game of lords seeking new lands
Kingdomino is a great all-ages game. Players select domino style tiles featuring different terrain to create the most profitable kingdom for themselves. Clever strategic choices bundled in a bright and quick game (plays in 15 minutes) have propelled Kingdomino to the top as winner of the 2017 Spiel de Jahres (German game of the year)! Wonderful for family game night or patio evenings with friends. Ages 8 & up. $26.00.

 

HISTORY TAKES A TURN

Stand Up

Italy’s Rosselli family were members of the cultural elite in Florence at the start of the 20th century. Led by their fierce matriarch, Amelia Rosselli, they were also vocal anti-fascists. As Mussolini rose to power in Italy, the Rossellis took leading roles in their opposition to him, and when Mussolini established a police state, the Rossellis and their anti-fascist friends transformed from debaters and critics into activists.

As punishment for their participation in revolutionary activities, the Rossellis’ homestead was ransacked and members of the family were imprisoned. Others fled the country to escape a similar fate, but two were eventually assassinated on the orders of Mussolini’s government. After the outbreak of WWII, Amelia fled with the remaining members of the Rosselli family to New York City. Their visas were arranged by Eleanor Roosevelt herself.

Continuing The Resistance Quartet she began with A Train in Winter and Village of Secrets, Caroline Moorehead delivers a picture of Italy during the first half of the 20th century in  A Bold and Dangerous Family through the stories of these brave people and their friends. She reveals the rise and fall of Mussolini and his black-shirted Squadristi; the ambivalence of many prominent Italian families to Mussolini and their seduction by his promises; and the bold, fractured anti-fascist movement, so many of whose members died at Mussolini’s hands. (Softcover. $26.95. Random House. August)

Introductory Italian I. In this four-part series, educator Olexandr Shevchenko offers an introduction to basic phrases and conversational Italian that is ideal for European travellers. The classes take place in the Community Classroom on Tuesdays, September 5, 12, 19, 26 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Pre-registration required. Cost $120.00 per person. Register online.

 

Interesting Times, Now and Then

The election of Donald Trump produced a frightening escalation of tensions that could potentially generate shock waves around the world to the economy, to national security, and to the environment. In No Is Not Enough, Naomi Klein embraces a lively conversation with the reader to expose the forces behind Trump’s success and explain why he is not an aberration but the product of our time — Reality TV branding, celebrity obsession and CEO-worship, Vegas and Guantanamo, fake news and vulture bankers all rolled into one. And she shares a bold vision, a clear-eyed perspective on how to break the spell of his shock tactics, counter the rising chaos and divisiveness at home and abroad, and create the world we need. (Softcover. $24.95. Knopf. June)

Three political leaders, two Americans and one Canadian, presided over the reshaping of the North American continent during the fiery 1860s. Jefferson Davis tried to create a country by establishing the Confederate States of America during the Civil War; Abraham Lincoln’s crusade to save the Union honed the industrial-military power that would one day dominate the world; and John A. Macdonald led the drive to keep the diverse British North American provinces out of American hands. Now out in  paperback, Staking Claims to a Continent by James Laxer explores the high stakes involved, not only for the continent but also the entire global order, as these three national projects competed to create viable nation states. (Softcover. $19.95. Anansi. June)

 

WHERE'S THE MYSTERY?

Doing the Canadian Whodunit

The Winners' Circle
by Gail Bowen
$32.00. Hardcover. Add to Cart

Joanne Kilbourn-Shreve and her husband, Zack, have traditionally invited Zack’s law partners to spend the Thanksgiving weekend at their cottage. As Joanne and Zack make their way home at the end of another pleasant weekend, little do they realize that within weeks, a triple homicide will rip apart the lives of those related to the lawyers who, at the end of their first year in law school, styled themselves “The Winners’ Circle.” Dazed by grief, Joanne sets out to seek answers to impossible questions in The Winners' Circle, the seventeenth book in the Joanne Kilbourn series by Regina author Gail Bowen.  E   SASKATOON EVENT SEPT 7 & WINNIPEG EVENT SEPT 14

Two Nights
by Kathy Reichs
$34.99. Hardcover. Add to Cart

Kathy Reichs steps beyond her classic Temperance Brennan series in a new standalone thriller featuring a woman with physical and psychological scars, and a killer instinct. Sunnie has spent years running from her past, burying secrets and building a life in which she needs no one and feels nothing. But a girl has gone missing, and the family needs Sunnie’s help. Is the girl dead? Did someone take her? If she is out there, why doesn’t she want to be found? It’s time for Sunnie to face her own demons because they just might lead her to the truth about what really happened all those years ago.

The Substitute
by Nicole Lundrigan
$19.95. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

Warren Botts is a disillusioned Ph.D., taking a break from his lab to teach middle-school science. Gentle, soft-spoken, and lonely, he innocently befriends Amanda, one of his students. But one morning, Amanda is found dead in his backyard, and Warren, shocked, flees the scene. As the small community slowly turns against him, an anonymous narrator offers insight into events past and present. As the tension builds, we gain an understanding of the power of secrets, illusions, and memories. The Substitute by Nicole Lundrigan is a finely crafted page-turner and a chilling look into the mind of a psychopath.

A Stranger in the House
by Shari Lapena
$24.95. Trade paperback. Add to Cart

You come home after work, excited to have dinner with your wife. But she’s not there. In the kitchen, there's a pot on the stove, her cellphone and purse are in the bedroom, exactly where they should be. You call her friends, then you call the police and learn she's been in an accident in the worst part of town. But why would she go to that neighbourhood? And why was she driving so fast? Was she running toward something? Or away? A Stranger in the House, the new thriller by Shari Lapena (The Couple Next Door), asks unsettling questions that threaten to tear a couple apart.

 

MAKING THE CONNECTION

Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8
by Naoki Higashida
$29.95. Hardcover. Add to Cart

A follow-up to The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida, which opens a rare window into the mind and world of an autistic, non-verbal person, now coping with a young man's life. Higashida wrote The Reason I Jump as a 13-year-old boy with severe autism. Now he shares his thoughts and experiences as a 24-year-old. Based on his hugely successful blogs in Japan, he offers insights into life, identity, education, his family, our society, and personal growth. Introduced by award-winning author David Mitchell (co-translator with his wife KA Yoshida), this book is part memoir, part critique of a world that sees disabilities ahead of the individual, and part self-portrait-in-progress of a young man who happens to have autism.

Autumn
by Karl Ove Knausgaard
$36.00. Hardcover. Add to Cart

A love letter to his unborn daughter, Autumn by bestselling novelist Karl Ove Knausgaard and illustrated by Vanessa Baird is for every reader who thinks about what the world holds for their child. He writes one short piece per day, describing the material and natural world with the precision and mesmerizing intensity that have become his trademark. The first book in a deeply personal quartet entitled The Seasons, Autumn is a riveting personal encyclopedia of everything from chewing gum and tin cans to the migration of birds and the stars. Through close observation of the objects and phenomena around him, Knausgaard reveals how vast, unknowable and wondrous the world is.

 

DIFFERENCE

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” — Haruki Murakami

The publication of Yuri Herrera's debut novel Kingdom Cons (Paperback, $19.50, And Other Stories) is cause for much celebration. Now all three novels by one of the most interesting contemporary Spanish language novelists are in print via And Other Stories in critically acclaimed translations by Lisa Dillman.

Herrera, a young Mexican novelist, is an author of borders; those of place particularly, but also those of language and mind, of life and death. Those interstitial areas where reality and myth collide. His first translated novel,  Signs Preceding the End of the World ($20.50, And Other Stories) received the 2016 Best Translated Book Award and was heralded as a poetic, moving triumph. The story of a young woman, Makina, who leaves Mexico behind to search for her brother in the United States takes the form of a mythic journey into the unknown.

His second translated novel,  The Transmigration of Bodies ($20.50, And Other Stories), is a violent noir, shot through with black humour. The Redeemer, a fixer for two local crime families, must attempt to broker peace in the midst of a mysterious plague. Within its pages Herrera savages the black and white nature of most crime fiction, shading all in an amorphous grey, and plays with the archetypalnature of Western storytelling, specifically that of Romeo and Juliet. Kingdom Cons foregrounds the mythic nature of his project. The Artist, a singer of narcocorridos that celebrate the exploits of local criminals in his city, joins the court of The King, a local drug lord. As he writes his songs in homage to his criminal associates, elevating their crimes to legend, the court crumbles about him and the futility of their existence becomes clear. Written in the style of a fable, this slim, poetic volume is a concentrated shot of all that makes Herrera’s work so defiantly unique.

Despite the blood-soaked and body strewn nature of his work, Herrera is an eminently readable and deeply humorous writer. His novels are shot through with moments of delight and striking imagery.

Taken together Herrera’s work forms an informal “border trilogy” — one that demonstrates clearly how tenuous the world surrounding us truly is and how our understanding of place can be upended in a heartbeat. Written in an effortlessly flowing and colloquial style reminiscent of the best of Simenon, he is one of the few authors able to capture the uncertainty of our times while carving a path into our future.

— John Toews

 

GET STUFF DONE WITH STANDARD ISSUE

Form meets function with STANDARD ISSUE notebooks. Whether you're exploring the great frontier or an idea for your next big project, these notebooks are an ideal choice, pairing clean, utilitarian designs with high-quality construction for a premium writing experience.

Each journal is packed with features to help keep you organized. STANDARD ISSUE notebooks & accessories start at $17.00. Please visit us in-store to browse this line.

 

THE WOOLY BULLY

Poking Sacred Cows

From the icy terrain of Siberia to the cutting-edge genetic labs of Harvard University,  Woolly by Ben Mezrich takes us on a Jurassic Park-like story of the genetic resurrection of an extinct species: the woolly mammoth. A group of scientists works to make fantasy reality by sequencing the DNA of a frozen woolly mammoth and splicing elements of that sequence into the DNA of a modern elephant. Will they be able to turn the hybrid cells into a functional embryo and bring the extinct creatures to life in our modern world? More than a story of genetics, Woolly illuminates the race against global warming, the power of modern technology, and the ethical quandary of cloning extinct animals. (Hardcover. $35.00. Atria. July)

In 1976 Richard DawkinsThe Selfish Gene caused a seismic shift in our understanding of biology by proffering the gene-centered view of evolution. In  Science in the Soul, a carefully curated collection of forty-two pieces of his shorter work, Dawkins focuses on what science is and how it is done, the inexhaustible wonders of nature, the importance of critical thinking, and the great minds who have changed his life — including Charles Darwin, Carl Sagan, and Christopher Hitchens. Dawkins' clarity of thought, felicity of expression, and sober confidence in rationality are on full display in this career-spanning collection, showing him, again, to be an ingenious maker of connections and the fearless assassin of sacred cows. (Hardcover. $37.00. Random House. August)

 

Portage & Main Press, 50 Years of Books

Portage & Main Press is celebrating a half century of trailblazing, from publishing educational materials that help guide the next generation, to award-winning books from Indigenous authors that tell stories of inclusion and reconciliation.

Fired by a desire to give Manitobans a voice both within and outside the province’s borders, Winnipeg bookseller Mary Scorer started Peguis Publishers in 1967. Since then subsequent owners, Mary Dixon who bought the company in 1985, and Annalee Greenberg and Catherine Gerbasi who took over in 2007, have continued and expanded Mary Scorer's original vision. Congratulations!

 

THIN AIR 2017: September 22 - 30

Winnipeg's THIN AIR 2017 runs from September 22 to 30, with more than a week of readings, talks, conversations, and more, at venues throughout the city and beyond.

At the Winnipeg International Writers Festival, invitations for featured writers are flying out, and acceptances keep coming in. But you can get a head start with the THIN AIR 2017 Summer Reading List:

  • Andrew Pyper (The Only Child)
  • Bethlehem Terrefe Gebreyohannes (Fire Walkers)
  • Michael Fraser (To Greet Yourself Arriving)
  • Anne Fleming (The Goat)
  • Steve Burrows (A Shimmer of Hummingbirds)
  • Allan Stratton (The Way Back Home)
  • Monia Mazigh (Hope Has Two Daughters/Du pain et jasmin)
  • Suzette Mayr (Dr. Edith Vane and the Hares of Crawley Hall)
  • John Conrad (Among the Walking Wounded)
  • Terry Griggs (The Discovery of Honey)
  • Jordan Abel (Injun)
  • Dominique Scali (In Search of New Babylon/A la recherche de New Babylon)

 

The Word on the Street 2017: Sunday, September 24

The Word On The Street, Saskatoon's annual celebration of the written word, is moving to Broadway! Broadway Avenue will be transformed into an exciting indoor/outdoor festival this fall, featuring local authors and writers from across Canada, and activities for all ages. Stay tuned for more details about this year's line-up of authors, and in the meantime, save the date: Sunday, September 24. See you there!

 

IT'S PICNIC TIME

Handcrafted from woven willow, Napa-Botannica Wine-n-Cheese Picnic Basket from Picnic Time is the perfect take-along for an intimate setting for two. With two hand-blown wine glasses, two cotton napkins, a small cotton tablecloth, a hardwood cutting board, a cheese knife, and a corkscrew, the basket includes the ideal accessories for a romantic, elegant picnic. $98.00. Other Picnic Time baskets and cooler totes available from $34.00.

With adjustable shoulder strap for easy carrying, Picnic Time's Growler Tote, made from waxed cotton canvas, holds a 64-oz. glass beer growler. $48.00.

Featuring the finest combed fibers for luxurious softness, Faribault Mill Travel Blankets are naturally lightweight, breathable and offer year-round comfort. Perfectly portable for the stadium or shore with a leather handle and waterproof nylon backing. $196.00.

Handmade from solid wood & sealed with a food-grade coating, Wood Barrel Tumblers from Final Touch are perfect for serving your favourite cocktail, beer or any other cold beverage indoors and out. Sold in sets of two, $30.00.

Please visit us in-store to browse these items.

 

A SUMMER BREEZE

Nina George Writes Novels for What Ails You

Nina George's The Little Paris Bookshop, featuring a "literary apothecary" who dispenses books to heal his customers, took the English-reading world by storm in the summer of 2015. She appeared to be an overnight success. In fact, George had already published 29 novels, including mysteries, science thrillers and erotic fiction, and was well known in her native Germany.

With all the buoyant charm that made The Little Paris Bookshop an instant hit, George's new novel,  The Little French Bistro, is a story of self-discovery and second chances in which a suicidal German woman travels to the French coast, intending to drown herself in the sea. Once there, however, the allure of a quaint seaside village leads her to continually delay her plans. (Hardcover. $35.00. Crown. June)

 

CANADIAN CONFIDENTIAL

Kitchen Confidential, Manitoba Style

With more than 80 recipes and countless recollections, Out of Old Manitoba Kitchens by Christine Hanlon tells the story of Manitoba's early inhabitants through the foods they ate.

Discover how Indigenous pemmican was the perfect recipe for propelling the fur trade, how Scottish bannock became a staple for First Nations, and why a Manitoba social always ends with kielbasa. Tuck into tales of Franco-Manitoban tourtière, Icelandic vinarterta, and Mennonite rollkuchen. From the campfires of the Métis buffalo hunt and the outdoor kitchens of the early settlers, to the bread ovens of the Ukrainian immigrant and the dining halls of the Winnipeg General Strike, discover the contributions Manitobans of all stripes have made to a rich culinary heritage. (Hardcover. $24.95. MacIntyre Purcell. July)

 

True North Glorious and Free

With an introduction by Yann Martel, Glorious & Free, by Kim Bozak and Rita Field-Marsham redefines how Canadians see themselves by shining a light on thirty-three daring individuals who, through the way they lead their lives, reveal the most beautiful thing about this country: that here individuals are free to be whoever they dream themselves to be so long as they are courageous enough to embrace their vision. Told through a series of intimate interviews and photographs, and featuring original illustrations by Frank Viva, Glorious & Free is an artistic and enduring vehicle to celebrate this new Canadian identity, a timely and fulfilling image of who we are today, and who we can be tomorrow. (Hardcover. $50.00. Anansi. July)

 

Canada in the Community Classroom

  • Great Canadian Classical Musicians with educator Don Anderson. October 4, 2017, 10:00 am to noon.
  • Exploring the Mystery of Canada’s Identity Through the Lens of the Icelandic–Canadian Experience with educator Glenn Sigurdson. October 13, 2017, 2:00 to 4:00 pm.
  • Ten Defining Moments in Canada, 1867 to the Present, with educator Allan Levine. November 16, 2017, 7:00 to 9:00 pm.
  • Bacteria: Made in Canada Solutions with educator Dr. Kathryn Bernard. November 30, 2017, 7:00 to 9:00 pm.

Each class requires pre-registration. Register online.

 

OUR SIGHTS & SOUNDS

Music CDs & Records

The Beatles. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Anniversary Edition. CD $18.99. 2-CD Deluxe Set $27.99.  Super Deluxe 6-Disc Set (includes 4-CDs, a DVD, & a Blu-ray) $185.99.  Vinyl 2-LP Set $43.99. It was 50 years ago this June when The Beatles ushered in the Summer of Love with this groundbreaking masterwork that has become popular music’s most universally acclaimed album. All the deluxe versions feature previously unreleased alternate takes of each of the album’s 13 songs, and more. (Universal. June)

Thomas Morgan & Bill Frisell. Small Town. CD $15.99. Vinyl 2-LP Set $40.99. Guitarist Bill Frisell and bassist Thomas Morgan showcase the poetic chemistry of their playing captured live at New York's Village Vanguard. Paying homage to jazz elder Lee Konitz, this album features several country/blues-accented Frisell originals, including the hauntingly melodic title track, and concludes with an inimitable treatment of John Barry's famous James Bond theme "Goldfinger." (Universal. June)

Imelda May. Life, Love, Flesh, Blood. CD $14.99.  Deluxe CD $19.99 (includes 36 page booklet & 4 bonus tracks).  Vinyl $24.99. The fifth full-length release for the Irish singer-songwriter finds May taking a detour from her Rockabilly roots with a solid set of ruminative country soul ballads. The new album's stripped-down, introspective aesthetic ("sophisticated and gorgeously rendered," writes Matt Collar) reflects May's own soul-searching and growth over the past three years. (Decca. May)

Cantus. Northern Lights. CD $14.99. Known for "Vuelie," the opening musical number of Disney's Frozen, the all-female Norwegian choir releases its Decca debut, featuring "Vuelie" and other pieces of captivating Norwegian choral music. Ranked as one of the leading choirs in the world by Interkulture, the 30 singers who make up Cantus come from various backgrounds — firefighters to architects — and perform in bunads, the traditional rural Norwegian style of clothing. (Decca. June)

 

DVD & Blu-Ray Movies

Stalker, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. Blu-ray $43.99. Three men travel into a mysterious territory in the Russian wilderness called the "Zone" where there is said to be a magical room which has the power to make wishes come true. But in the Zone, nothing is what it seems. Objects change places, the landscape shifts and rearranges itself. Increasingly unsure of their deepest desires, the men find themselves wondering if they can, in the end, take responsibility for the fulfillment of their own wishes. (Criterion. July)

Lost in America, directed by Albert Brooks. Blu-ray $43.99. In this hysterical satire of Reagan-era values, a successful Los Angeles advertising executive and his wife quit their jobs, buy a Winnebago, and follow their Easy Rider fantasies of the open road. When a stop in Las Vegas nearly derails their plans, they’re forced to come to terms with their own limitations and those of the American dream. An iconic example of Brooks' restless comedies about insecure characters searching for satisfaction in the modern world. (Criterion. July)

The Zookeeper's Wife, directed by Niki Caro. Blu-ray $36.99. In 1939 Poland, Antonina Żabińska and her husband, Dr. Jan Żabiński have the Warsaw Zoo flourishing under his stewardship and her care. When the Germans invade and Jan and Antonina are forced to work under the Reich's chief zoologist, they fight back by covertly working with the Resistance and put into action plans to save lives out of what has become the Warsaw Ghetto, with Antonina putting herself and her children at great risk. (Universal. July)

Home Fires Season 2. DVD $50.99. With the fall of France, Great Britain stands alone against Germany. The Battle of Britain rages in the skies and the threat of invasion is palpable. For some of Great Paxford's women, the war throws off peacetime limitations, allowing them to flourish in unexpected ways, while others tread difficult paths amid chaos and uncertainty. As Britain finds itself increasingly beleaguered, relationships, friendships and loyalties within Great Paxford are tested as never before. (PBS. May)

 

McNALLY ROBINSON for Babies, Kids, and Teens

 

BABIES

Baby toys, teddy bears, clothing, gifts, and, of course, books in our baby boutique

 

Big and Small, Room for All

For the first time in board book format, Big and Small, Room for All by Jo Ellen Bogart and illustrated by Gillian Newland is a concept book that explores the size of animate and inanimate objects and their places in the universe. It introduces children to the concept of “we” — that humans are a big part of the world, but a small part of all of existence.

From the immensity of the cosmos to the miraculous world of things too small to see, Big and Small, Room for All celebrates how we are all connected to the universe and to each other. (Board Book. $10.99. Tundra. July)

 

The McNally Robinson for Babies Makeover

Big changes for little people have been occurring at our Saskatoon location. We have reorganized the McNally Robinson for Babies store-within-a-store to make it a more enjoyable and convenient place to shop. With board books, pop-ups and books for nursery and toddler-aged children, McNally Robinson for Babies is your one stop shop for baby books and toys,teddy bears and clothing. It's still located on the mezzanine, but the move has shifted many sections, so if you can't find exactly what you're looking for, ask your friendly neighbourhood bookseller.

For more information, call the Kids department at (306) 955-1477.

 

Lovable Dogs & Cats

Found Dogs
by Erica Sirotich
$22.99. Children's hardcover. Add to Cart

Found Dogs by Erica Sirotich is a counting book for preschoolers that features an adorable assortment of wriggly, wraggly rescue dogs and the loving families of all kinds who take them in. (July)

Counting with Tiny Cat
by Viviane Schwarz
$21.00. Children's hardcover. Add to Cart

Viviane Schwarz brings a feline spin to counting in Counting with Tiny Cat. Tiny Cat starts with one red ball. But then one turns into two! three! and… four! Oops, bonk, now there’s more! Will Tiny Cat ever have just enough? (July)

Dogs
by Emily Gravett
$12.99. Children's hardcover. Add to Cart

Now in board book format, Dogs features gorgeous canines of every shape, size and colour bounding through this classic by Emily Gravett. Can you choose one dog to love best of all? (July)

Cat Nap
by Toni Yuly
$11.50. Children's hardcover. Add to Cart

Cat Nap by Tony Yule, now available in board book format, is filled with opposites (big and little, black and white, sleepy and awake), bringing simple concepts to life through bold art and charming language. (June)

 

Color Me Bath Books

Color Me: Who's in the Pond? and Color Me: Who's in the Ocean? by Surya Sajnani are two beautifully illustrated bath books that magically change colour when you dip them in water.

Children meet a range of animal characters and sea creatures in these squeezable and lightweight bath books which transform in a child's hands to make for hours of bathtime fun. ($16.95 each. QED. April)

 

Small Potatoes Outfits & Colibri Snack Bags

For your sweetie pie, Small Potatoes has new reversible bonnets and summer dresses in which to enjoy the great outdoors in style. Bonnets $25.00. Dresses, 4 sizes available to fit children ages 6 months to 2 years, $39.00 each. Small Potatoes is a Winnipeg-based company specializing in hand-made baby clothing and accessories.

Little ones can enjoy a quick, refreshing snack when out and about with Colibri Snack Bags. These bags are great for sliced fruit or veggies and other snacks. Machine wash in cold water and dry on low, or hand wash and hang to dry. Various sizes available, from $8.00 to $38.00. All Colibri products are proudly manufactured in the small Manitoba community of St. Adolphe.

 

KIDS

 

Take a Canadian Author to the Beach

Chase Ambrose forgets everything after falling off a roof and losing consciousness. He forgets his name. He forgets his parents. And he's shocked to discover he's the biggest bully at Hiawassee Middle School. He ruined lives. Even his little halfsister is terrified of him.

Gordon Korman balances humour and heart in Restart, a reinvention story about a bully who must come to terms with who he was and what kind of person he wants to become. (Hardcover. $21.99. Scholastic. June) (Ages 8-12)

Animals come from far and wide for safety, luxury and comfort of the Heartwood Hotel.

In Book One of the series, A True Home, by Kallie George and illustrated by Stephanie Graegin, Mona the mouse seeks refuge in the hotel during a storm. It turns out she is precisely the maid they need. But all is not acorn soufflé and moss-lined beds. Danger lurks nearby, and Mona has to use her wits to protect the place she’s come to love. (Hardcover. $16.99. HarperCollins. July) (Ages 7-10)

Eddie, the star of The Tiny Hero of Ferny Creek Library by Linda Bailey and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson, is a tiny green bug who loves to read.

He lives behind the chalkboard in Mr. Wang’s fourth grade classroom with his parents, his 53 brothers and sisters, and his Aunt Min. But when he learns there's a plan to close the library, Eddie braves running sneakers, falling books, and terrifying spiders as he musters all the courage a little bug can to save the library. (Hardcover. $19.99. Tundra. June) (Ages 7-10)

Mort Ziff Is Not Dead by Cary Fagan opens during the winter of 1965 when Norman Fishbein wins a thousand dollars in a contest and decides to take his family on a vacation to Miami Beach.

There Norman encounters Mort Ziff, an aging comedian who is performing at the hotel. Battling obnoxious siblings, sunburns, and a corporate millionaire, Norman is determined to help Mort save his career. In the process, he discovers an inner strength he didn’t know he had. (Hardcover. $18.99. Puffin. August) (Ages 8-12)

 

Discover Canada Puzzle & Game

This giant 100-piece floor puzzle is perfect for little ones to learn about Canada, the provinces and iconic landmarks. The 3 foot puzzle also comes with 21 stand-up figures to use in a seek and find game. A guide book is included with facts about each province. Great for all ages and family fun.

$30.00. Ages 5 & up. Please visit us in-store to find this item.

 

Events for Young Readers

Summer Reading Club
Our 2017 Summer Reading Club runs to Tuesday, September 5. Join the club, join the fun. Anyone who is reading independently can join and the rules are super simple. Purchase three kids books and pick a prize from our treasure chest. Purchase three more books and you receive a free book, valued at $10 or less. Please register at McNally Robinson for Kids to receive your book club cards and enjoy a rewarding summer of reading fun. The Summer Reading Club takes place at both our Winnipeg and Saskatoon locations, so please get in touch with your nearest bookstore to join the club!

Preschool Storytime
For kids aged 3-5. In Winnipeg, Storytime takes place in our Atrium and continues every Wednesday at 10:00 am throughout the summer. In Saskatoon, Storytime takes place in our Story Circle and continues every Tuesday at 10:00 am. No registration is required, just drop in. Children, however, must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Also coming up...

  • Canada 150 (Saskatoon): July 2 in our Saskatoon store, celebrate Canada's 150th birthday with stories, crafts and more in the Story Circle at 11:00 am.
  • International Cat Day (Saskatoon): August 12 in our Saskatoon store, stories and crafts in the Story Circle at 11:00 am.
  • Usborne Day (Winnipeg): Join us all day at our Winnipeg location on August 26 for Usborne Day, featuring activities, colouring sheets, prizes and more.

 

Somewhere Else

Frank thought her summer couldn't get any worse, until big, weird, smelly Nick Underbridge rescues her from a bully. Frank quickly realizes there's more to Nick than meets the eye. When she's athis house, she hears the most beautiful music coming from a hidden door. Beyond the door is a world of amazing creatures. As she and Nick start to become friends, Frank realizes Nick's secret world also contains great danger, and Frank must figure out how to help her new friend, the same way that he has helped her. With black-and-white illustrations by Levi Pinfold, The Song From Somewhere Else by A. F. Harrold is a powerful story about unlikely friendship, strange magic, and keeping the shadows at bay. (Hardcover. $22.99. Bloomsbury. July) (Ages 8-12)

Pablo, who drifted into the seaside town of Isla as a baby, has no idea where he comes from. An undiscovered country perhaps. Or maybe he’s a pirate baby. The only one who might know is Birdy, his parrot. After all, she was there, holding onto the raft. But unlike most birds who live in Isla, Birdy can neither talk nor fly. Or, at least, she never has. Until one day, when strong winds begin to blow — winds similar to the ones that brought Pablo to shore — Birdy begins to mutter. Pablo and Birdy by Alison McGhee and illustrated by Ana Juan is a charming tale laced with magic realism about a boy's quest to find out who he is and the companion who holds more answers about more things than Pablo ever imagined. (Hardcover. $23.99. Atheneum. August) (Ages 8-12)

 

Keep Your Brain Entertained

Labyrinth
by Theo Guignard
$25.99. Children's hardcover. Add to Cart

Labyrinth by Theo Guignard explores worlds made of plants, giant skyscrapers, wild habitats, and futuristic cities as you trace your way through 14 magical mazes. With things to spot along the way, each maze grows in complexity with every turn of the page. (March) (Ages 7-10)

The Prehistoric Times
by Stella Gurney
$12.99. Children's paperback. Add to Cart

The Prehistoric Times by Stella Gurney, Matthew Hodson, and Neave Parker is a newspaper-style activity book for the discerning dinosaur, packed with paleo puzzles, fearsome facts and giganto games. (June) (Ages 5-8)

Hangman Puzzles for Clever Kids
by Jack Ketch
$8.50. Children's paperback. Add to Cart

Wherever they go, young problem solvers can pull out Hangman Puzzles for Clever Kids or Hangman Puzzles for Smart Kids by Jack Ketch and play the popular game of Hangman. Each collection features 90 Hangman puzzles. ($8.50 each. July) (Ages 8-12)

Origami City
by Taro Yaguchi
$29.95. Children's paperback. Add to Cart

A revolutionary new concept in paper folding, Origami City by Taro Yaguchi & Simon Arizpe marries the joy of paper folding with the foolproof appeal of paint by numbers. (August) (Ages 6-10)

 

Pocket Microscope

Have you ever studied a leaf close up? Explore the amazing world around you with this handheld microscope and discover detail invisible to the naked eye. Powerful optics reveal clear sharp focus at 30x magnification to reveal images fascinating to any young scientist. No batteries required.

$14.00. Ages 6 & up. Please visit us in-store to find this item.

 

8 New Graphic Novels to Read this Summer!

 

Lost & Found

Lost and Found Lena by Winnipeg's Jennifer Beasley Gillies and illustrated by Jason Baskin is a gorgeously whimsical picture book with a light hearted but poignant moral tale.

Lena is forever losing things and finds herself at the Lost and Found most days! One day she helps another little girl to find her lost blue hat and ends up making a new friend in the process. A feel good story with a strong female character at the helm. (Hardcover. $19.95. Quarry Press. August)

 

TEEN SCENE

 

Love is the Final Word

Years ago, Rachel had a crush on Henry Jones. The day before she moved away, she tucked a love letter into his favourite book in his family’s bookshop, but Henry never replied. Now Rachel has returned to the city — and to the bookshop — to work alongside the boy she’d rather not see for the rest of her life. But in the wake of her brother's recent drowning, Rachel can't feel anything anyway. Or can she? Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley is a love story about two teens who find their way back to each other in a bookstore full of secrets, grief and hope, and letters hidden between the pages. (Hardcover. $23.99. Knopf. June)

Underneath her carefully constructed facade, Samantha McAllister has a secret that none of her popular friends in junior school would understand. She has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries. But when Sam meets Caroline — someone with a refreshing sense of humour and no style — she begins to see the world in a different light, until she finds a new reason to question all she holds dear.  Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone, now in paperback, is a riveting story of true friendship, self-doubt, self-confidence, and self-acceptance. (Softcover. $10.99. Disney-Hyperion. June)

Adam has schizophrenia. He sees and hears people who aren’t there: the beautiful girl who understands him; the Mob Boss who harasses him; and the naked guy who’s unfailingly polite. It should be easy to separate the real from the not real, but Adam can’t. As Adam starts fresh at a new school, he begins a drug trial that helps him ignore his visions. When he meets Maya, he desperately wants to be the great guy that she thinks he is. But then the miracle drug begins to fail.  Words on Bathroom Walls by Julia Walton is a measured look at schizophrenia and an unexpectedly funny debut. (Hardcover. $23.99. Random House. July)

 

Not Your Typical Fantasy

Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies
by Lindsay Ribar
$14.99. Young adult softcover. Add to Cart

Aspen Quick has never really worried about how he’s affecting people when he steals from them. But this summer he’ll discover just how strong the Quick family magic is, and how far they’ll go to keep their secrets safe. Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies by Lindsay Ribar is a fast-paced, twisty story about power, addiction, and deciding what kind of person you want to be, in a family that has the ability to control everything you are. (June)

Waste of Space
by Gina Damico
$24.99. Young adult hardcover. Add to Cart

Cram ten teens into a spaceship and blast off: that’s the premise for the ill-conceived reality show Waste of Space. The kids who are cast know everything about drama and nothing about the fact that the production is fake. In Waste of Space, the novel by Gina Damico, scientists partner with a shady cable network to create a spaceship replica that attracts millions of viewers. Then, suddenly, all communication is severed. Trapped and paranoid, the kids must figure out what to do when this reality show loses its grip on reality. (July)

Who Runs the World?
by Virginia Bergin
$14.99. Young adult softcover. Add to Cart

Set in the near-future, Who Runs the World? by Virginia Bergin is a funny, edgy novel that asks the question: what would a world with no men be like? For one thing it's lively, it's creative, and life really is pretty good, if you're a girl. It's not so great if you're a boy, but 14-year-old Lily wouldn't know that. Until she meets Mason, she thought they were extinct. (July)

Akata Witch
by Nnedi Okorafor
$14.99. Young adult softcover. Add to Cart

Twelve-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria. Her features are African, but she’s albino. She’s a terrific athlete, but can’t go out into the sun. There seems to be no place where she fits in, until she discovers something amazing: she's a "free agent" with latent magical powers. Now in softcover, Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor weaves a story of magic, mystery, and finding one’s place in the world. (July)

 

OUR VIBRANT COMMUNITIES

What's coming up in Winnipeg & Saskatoon

Winnipeg

World's Giant Dinosaurs
To September 4. The Manitoba Museum. World’s Giant Dinosaurs comes to the Museum’s newly renovated Alloway Hall. This exhibit presents a touring collection of some of the world’s largest dinosaurs. Fossils, casts, robotics, videos, and other media are used to illustrate the story of how dinosaurs evolved to such immense sizes, and how they dominated life on land for well over 100 million years. manitobamuseum.ca

Points of View: A National Human Rights Photography Exhibition
July 1 2017 to March 3 2018. Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Using crowdsourced images from across our nation, this vibrant exhibition reflects themes in four categories: freedom of expression; inclusion and diversity; reconciliation; and human rights and the environment in a showcase that reveals the many diverse perspectives and experiences of Canadians for our country’s 150th anniversary. humanrights.ca

Canada Day at The Forks
July 1. The Forks. Bring the family for a great day of celebration and tonnes of fun. theforks.com

Prairie Dog Central Railway
Various dates of departure throughout the summer for day/evening trips on a train pulled by a steam locomotive. pdcrailway.com

Winnipeg Folk Festival 2017
July 6 to July 9. Birds Hill Provincial Park. Discover some of the best, most diverse folk music from North America and around the world at the 43rd annual Winnipeg Folk Fest. This internationally acclaimed folk music festival features 70 acts, ten stages, a family area, camping, and delicious local and organic food all in a beautiful prairie park setting. winnipegfolkfestival.ca

Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival 2017
July 19 to July 30. Various venues. North America’s second-largest Fringe Festival showcases more than 170 local, national and international theatre companies, offering performances of comedy, drama, improv, dance and more. winnipegfringe.com

Canada Summer Games
July 28 to August 13. Winnipeg hosts the Canada Summer games featuring 16 sports, over 250 events and a major cultural festival. The Canada Games are this country’s largest multi-sport event for young athletes and in 2017 will celebrate their 50th anniversary and Canada’s 150th birthday. 2017canadagames.ca

Folklorama Kicks Off
July 29, 2017. The Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Folklorama Kick-Off is a free event at Memorial Park on Saturday, July 29 from 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Browse the Bell MTS Marketplace, check out the interactive children's activities, the cultural and sporting demonstrations, and quench your thirst in the new wine and beer area. folklorama.ca

Manitoba Electronic Music Exhibition
August 10 to 13. Various venues. MEME is Western Canada’s leading electronic music and digital arts festival, featuring four days of concerts, workshops and performances throughout downtown Winnipeg. Expect to hear the latest international sounds of techno, dub, house and experimental music in a festive setting that celebrates creativity through technology. Bringing together local and international electronic musicians and digital video artists, MEME has quickly become a must-do festival for those that enjoy a refined and high-tech multi-media experience. memetic.ca

The Winnipeg BBQ & Blues Festival
August 11 and 12. Burton Cummings Theatre and Smith Street. The 6th annual Winnipeg BBQ & Blues Festival will take over Smith Street in front of the Burton Cummings Theatre and will feature the best in international, national and local blues performers along with a food and beverage garden and retail vendors. winnipegbbqandblues.ca

Interstellar Rodeo
August 18 to 20. The Forks. The Interstellar Rodeo is an intimate, taste-making music festival which will be held for the third time in Winnipeg at The Forks. With its stellar artistic line-ups, unique wine pairings and gourmet food trucks, Interstellar Rodeo has quickly become a main summer staple of entertainment in Winnipeg. interstellarrodeo.com

Oddblock Comedy Festival
August 24 to 27. Park Theatre. A block party style, four-day comedy festival in Winnipeg's South Osborne neighbourhood. oddblock.ca


Saskatoon

Pets in the Park
July 9. 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Kiwanis Memorial Park North. Pets in the Park (PIP) is one of Saskatoon's most popular summer events which combines fun for the entire family with fundraising for a great cause. Families can bring their on-leash pets to the park and enjoy a wonderful day together. petsinthepark.ca

Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan
South Saskatchewan Riverfront. Twelfth Night directed by Will Brooks. July 5 to August 20. Bluegrass music, cross dressing, gender bending, miscommunication, trickery and characters in a love triangle that don’t know they are in a love triangle. Richard the III directed by Sky Brandon. Richard, King Edward IV's youngest brother, is on a mission to steal the throne from his sibling at any cost and take revenge on a world that has pushed him aside. shakespearesask.com

Ness Creek Music Festival
July 13 to 16. Big River Saskatchewan. Enjoy an outdoor music and culture festival in Saskatchewan's boreal forest with four unforgettable days of great music, camping, and community. McNally Robinson is a proud ticket-vendor for Ness Creek. Pick up your tickets in-store! nesscreek.com

Potashcorp International Fringe Festival
August 3 to 12. Broadway District. The PotashCorp Fringe Theatre and Street Festival is an annual theatre and cultural celebration in the heart of the Broadway District in Saskatoon. Four city blocks are the outdoor setting for theatre, arts, crafts, food and busking for the 40,000 visitors attracted annually. potashcorpfringe.ca

Persephone Theatre presents BOOM
August 8 to 20. Remai Arts Centre, Rawlco Radio Hall From the creative team behind MacHomer comes an explosive solo performance that documents the music, culture and politics that shaped the Baby Boom generation (1945-1969). BOOM takes us through 25 turbulent years, and gives voice to over 100 influential figures and musicians. With cutting-edge multimedia, unforgettable characters and tour-de-force storytelling this stunningly staged production is a mindblowing experience for audiences of all generations. persephonetheatre.org

John Arcand Fiddle Fest
August 10 to 13. The John Arcand Fiddle Fest is a four-day, family-friendly, affordable festival. A one-time gate admission gives you complete access to workshops, concerts, showcases, competitions, old time dances, Métis Cultural Camp, and more. There’s free shuttle service from four Saskatoon locations, free un-serviced camping, an on-site concession and a large children’s activity area. johnarcandfiddlefest.com

Regina Folk Festival
August 10 to 13. Victoria Park. Regina Folk Festival Inc. (RFF) is a non-profit organization that throws some wonderful events throughout the year. Bur first and foremost, there is the Festival itself! Held annually in Victoria Park on the weekend following the long weekend in August, the Festival is a much anticipated and immense celebration of music and community. reginafolkfestival.com

Folkfest 2017
August 17 to 19. Various venues throughout Saskatoon Folkfest is an annual three-day multicultural festival showcasing 18 ethnic pavilions. Each pavilion promotes their unique culture through dynamic entertainment, delicious ethnic cuisines and intriguing demonstrations and engaging displays. Something for the whole family. saskatoonfolkfest.com

Rock the River
August 18 to 20. Delta Bessborough Gardens. Saskatchewan's classic rock festival returns to Saskatoon! The bands, including The Headpins, Randy Bachman, Kenny Shields and Streetheart, Glass Tiger and more, still love to perform and play the music you loved back then and still love today. rocktheriversaskatoon.ca

Ukrainian Day in the Park
August 26. 11:30 am-7:30 pm. Kiwanis Memorial Park. Saskatchewan's largest public outdoor Ukrainian festival featuring Ukrainian entertainment, dancing, music, food, beer gardens, children's activities, cultural displays and souvenirs. ukrainiandayinthepark.ca


THE COOL PLACE TO BE
Keep cool this summer with one of our two new refreshing cocktails made from the best spirits, liqueurs, fresh juices and garnishes. Or cool down with one of two new refreshing smoothies made from fresh ingredients and juices. All our summer drinks are mixed to keep you fresh and cool.

PRAIRIE INK PARTNERS UP FOR OUR NEW SUMMER MENU
To bring you the best in fresh and local produce this summer, Prairie Ink is teaming up local farmers to make our summer menu packed with delicious and healthy options. In Winnipeg we are partnering with Jardins St-Léon Gardens, a St. Boniface, family-owned outdoor farm market that sells produce grown or made by over 200 local producers. And in Saskatoon, we are partnering with the PayDirt farming community.

BICYCLE COOKIES
In the ongoing effort to raise funds for the MS Society, the McNally Robinson Book Peddlers cycling team are biking to Gimli once again August 26 to 27 in the 2017 Gimli MS Bike, formerly knowing as "Biking to the Viking." To support our brave-hearted cycling team in their fundraising efforts, Prairie Ink Winnipeg is selling specially made Bicycle Cookies August 1 to August 8, with all proceeds going to the MS Society.

PRAIRIE INK JOINS THE FRAY OF LE BURGER WEEK 2017
Le Burger Week is a culinary competition September 1 to 7 to crown the burger champion of Winnipeg. The chef from each participating restaurant creates a signature burger, and goes head-to-head to win Le Burger Week crown. Drop by, try our burger, and of course… vote for us.

PRAIRIE INK'S NEW WEBSITE!
Prairie Ink's new independent web site is almost ready to go live. Just a few more tweaks and you'll be able to go online and check out all things Prairie Ink twenty-four hours a day.


 

For more information on Prairie Ink, or to make a reservation, please give us a call.
Winnipeg 204-975-2659
Saskatoon 306-955-3579

Visit our Prairie Ink site for hours, menus, upcoming events, and more.

 

Thank you for reading.

The Bookseller is published by McNally Robinson Booksellers each January, March, May, July, and September. It is mailed to Reader Reward Card members, and is available in-store and right here on our website.

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