DK Eyewitness: New paperback series

For over 25 years, DK's Eyewitness books have been one of the most trusted non-fiction series in classrooms, libraries and homes around the world. This summer the award-winning series gets a fresh look both inside and out. The introduction of paperback editions, eye-catching jackets, and updated interiors ensure that the Eyewitness series will continue to be relevant in our ever-changing world to satisfy the minds of curious kids.

The first twelve titles to be re-issued in the new-look softcover editions at only $10.99 (about half the cost of the hardbacks!) include Ancient Egypt, Dinosaur, Hurricane and Tornado, Titanic, and World War I with more to follow.

Brand new to the series is Wonders of the World. Highlighting the seven wonders of the world -- the Pyramids of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis, the Statue of Zeus, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria -- this book showcases the architectural feats and the marvels of engineering behind these timeless treasures.

June's Author of the Month: TERRY FALLIS

Terry Fallis' first book, The Best Laid Plans, won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour and was crowned the 2011 winner of CBC's Canada Reads as "the essential Canadian novel of the decade."

In No Relation, the fourth novel by "CanLit's...king of chuckles" (Telegraph-Journal), Earnest Hemmingway has a problem that makes sharing his moniker with a famous author a minor inconvenience. His father wants him to come home and run the family business. As a complex familial battle plays out, Earnest's awkward name leads him in directions he never imagined.

This Guy's on Fire

Food Network superstar Guy Fieri takes it outdoors with Guy on Fire. In this practical cookbook for all backyard chefs, Fieri shares his favourite tips, techniques and recipes for outdoor cooking, whether you're hosting a backyard barbeque, relaxing around the campfire or tailgating on game day. Stuffed with original recipes, dozens of colour photos and loads of great tips, Guy On Fire is guaranteed to get your grill going with palate-pleasing appetizers, phenomenal main courses for meat, fish, poultry and vegetables, cool salads and fabulous desserts.

Legendary pitcher Nolan Ryan grew up in Texas with a passion for cattle ranching and the food of the Southwest. His first cookbook The Nolan Ryan Beef & Barbecue Cookbook offers 75 recipes for sizzling T-bone and rib-eye steaks, mouthwatering burgers, slow-cooked barbecue ribs, and more. Working with chef Cristobal Vazquez, Nolan presents a fresh take on the Tex-Mex standards of his childhood. The book includes family recipes for Sunday roasts and brisket, savory side dishes and a few favorite desserts as well, including Ruth Ryan's Special Occasion Carrot Cake.

Without ignoring the traditional beef patty, Weber's Big Book of Burgers by Jamie Purviance goes beyond the bun to reinvent the burger with modern twists and alternative ingredients such as pork, poultry, seafood and veggies. And Purviance doesn't stop there. With recipes for sausages, hot dogs and brats, plus sides like onion rings, as well as drinks such as milkshakes, he inspires the backyard chef with 160 reasons to fire up the grill for a complete outdoor eating experience.

This article came from the May/June edition of our news magazine, The Bookseller. You can access a digital issue of the magazine here, or pick up your own free copy inside of our stores.

Our Icelandic Heritage

In 1875, when the first Icelandic settlers arrived in the Canadian West to found a colony on the west shore of Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba was a tiny "postage stamp" province of approximately 33,000 square kilometres. New Iceland was one of the earliest group settlements in the West. With its heart in the town of Gimli, today the reserve of land originally homesteaded by the Icelandic pioneers is part of Manitoba's Interlake region. Today 100,000 Manitobans can trace a connection to their ancestral homeland of Iceland.

One of those descendants, Glenn Sigurdson, blends personal memoir, family history and Icelandic lore in a unique and wide-ranging autobiography. Vikings on a Prairie Ocean focuses on the Sigurdson family fishing enterprises on Lake Winnipeg through the twentieth century as a background for exploring the Icelandic settlement of Manitoba. The perils of summer and winter fishing on an unpredictable and unforgiving lake are interwoven with accounts of Aboriginal partnerships, colourful characters, and a proud, resilient family.

Join us this Thursday, May 29th, in our Winnipeg store for the launch of Vikings on a Prairie Ocean!

That's happening at 7:00 pm in our Atrium, and all are invited to attend.

The influence of Manitoba's Icelandic heritage remains a powerful force. A strong instinct to tell stories and make myths can be found in the books of David Arnason (The New Icelanders, Baldur's Song) and W.D. Valgardson (What the Bear Said), while a new generation of non-native Icelandic writers such as Chadwick Ginther in his Thunder Road trilogy are adapting the old Norse myths and transforming them into tales of gods and supernatural beings interacting with Manitoba mortals.

An inviting community, Gimli's annual Icelandic Festival of Manitoba, "Islendingadagurinn," draws huge crowds every August long weekend. Gimli in the summer season is always packed with visitors out for a delicious pickerel lunch and a swim in our own inland freshwater sea.