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Antique print of 'Champignon' mushroom varieties by Vignerot Demoulin after Millot; color lithograph, 1897. Photo: GraphicaArtis/Getty Images
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Nurture and Nature: 7 New Non-Fiction Titles
The best recent non-fiction titles explore outdoor adventure, forgotten Innu history, mushrooms, weather and pickleball / BY Rosemary Counter / January 12th, 2023
Perhaps it’s a byproduct of the pandemic’s so-called urban exodus, but bookstores are filled to the brim with books devoted to nature, history and outdoor adventure, all with solid Canadian roots. Here are our picks for the best of fall non-fiction, with a quick round of pickleball – North America’s fastest-growing sport – on the side, just for fun.
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1Alone in the Great UnknownJust two years after she relocated from Washington State to Babine Lake, B.C., Simpson’s happy-ever-after life was turned upside down by her husband’s sudden death. Spoiler alert: The children’s book author decides to stay at Ookpik Wilderness Lodge – a fishing chalet so deep in the bush that winter visitors arrive on snowshoes – despite the grizzly bears that threaten her life and the loggers that encroach on her home.
Just two years after she relocated from Washington State to Babine Lake, B.C., Simpson’s happy-ever-after life was turned upside down by her husband’s sudden death. Spoiler alert: The children’s book author decides to stay at Ookpik Wilderness Lodge – a fishing chalet so deep in the bush that winter visitors arrive on snowshoes – despite the grizzly bears that threaten her life and the loggers that encroach on her home.
2Chasing RiversEqually brave and adventure seeking, the author, a Canadian outdoor guide, rides the wildest rafting rivers in B.C., the Grand Canyon and beyond – until a tragic accident changes everything. Before she dares face the rivers again, a guilt-filled Glouberman writes about how she must first face herself in this bold memoir of self-redemption.
Equally brave and adventure seeking, the author, a Canadian outdoor guide, rides the wildest rafting rivers in B.C., the Grand Canyon and beyond – until a tragic accident changes everything. Before she dares face the rivers again, a guilt-filled Glouberman writes about how she must first face herself in this bold memoir of self-redemption.
3Kinauvit?: What’s Your Name?Dunning, last year’s Governor General’s Award fiction winner for Tainna, unveils another piece of conveniently forgotten Canadian history, when, between 1941 and 1978, Inuit people were forced to wear mandatory ID tags. Dunning’s years of research and interviews with Inuk affected by the “Eskimo Identification Tag System” were prompted by a question she once posed to her mother – “Mom, what are we?” – and the book is another reminder of colonization’s dehumanizing effect on Indigenous people.
Dunning, last year’s Governor General’s Award fiction winner for Tainna, unveils another piece of conveniently forgotten Canadian history, when, between 1941 and 1978, Inuit people were forced to wear mandatory ID tags. Dunning’s years of research and interviews with Inuk affected by the “Eskimo Identification Tag System” were prompted by a question she once posed to her mother – “Mom, what are we?” – and the book is another reminder of colonization’s dehumanizing effect on Indigenous people.
4The Vanishing PastHistory is fraught with secrets and shame, but before we discount it entirely, Kent, a Toronto-based journalist – with degrees in history and anthropology in her pocket – argues the subject of history deserves a more prominent place in our schools (and minds). Her manifesto on the oft-demoted subject will renew your passion for the past and the future.
History is fraught with secrets and shame, but before we discount it entirely, Kent, a Toronto-based journalist – with degrees in history and anthropology in her pocket – argues the subject of history deserves a more prominent place in our schools (and minds). Her manifesto on the oft-demoted subject will renew your passion for the past and the future.
5MushroomingThese fascinating little fungi can be delicious or poisonous, hallucinogenics or aphrodisiacs. Authored by Borsato, an Ontario experimental artist, with delightful illustrations by Oseid, Mushrooming is an enchanting ode to a weird and wonderful world full of shrooms, and the fungi foragers who seek them.
These fascinating little fungi can be delicious or poisonous, hallucinogenics or aphrodisiacs. Authored by Borsato, an Ontario experimental artist, with delightful illustrations by Oseid, Mushrooming is an enchanting ode to a weird and wonderful world full of shrooms, and the fungi foragers who seek them.
6Weather PermittingViewers will recognize St. Clair’s face in an instant; for 25 years, the Weather Network host covered the wildest storms and extreme events on live TV. Now he tells what happened behind the camera in this book – part memoir, part scientific explanation – all of it homage to how floods, wildfires and storms shape Canada and Canadians.
Viewers will recognize St. Clair’s face in an instant; for 25 years, the Weather Network host covered the wildest storms and extreme events on live TV. Now he tells what happened behind the camera in this book – part memoir, part scientific explanation – all of it homage to how floods, wildfires and storms shape Canada and Canadians.
7Pickleball Is LifeAs promised, a break from dense Canadiana with this darling dessert of a book for the pickleballer in your life. (Everyone has one, it seems.) New York non-fiction writer McHugh knocks this keepsake guide out of the court with a smooth backhand, exploring the ever-expanding sport’s history, rules, etiquette and major players – all with colourful infographics and cheeky illustrations of the quirky game and its quirkier mix of devotees. – Rosemary Counter
As promised, a break from dense Canadiana with this darling dessert of a book for the pickleballer in your life. (Everyone has one, it seems.) New York non-fiction writer McHugh knocks this keepsake guide out of the court with a smooth backhand, exploring the ever-expanding sport’s history, rules, etiquette and major players – all with colourful infographics and cheeky illustrations of the quirky game and its quirkier mix of devotees. – Rosemary Counter