Gluten-Free Baking
250 recipes
Recommended by Gabi, Surrey

A great baking book not just for those with celiac disease but anyone who would like to bake healthier treats, breads, cookies.

Recommended for those who follow the Wheat Belly Diet.

The recipes I have tried so far all worked and there are plenty of tips and ideas to make variation of baked goods.

Cinder
Marissa Meyer
Recommended by Orsi, at Surrey

"Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness.

The setting is 126 years after WWIV, New Beijing. "

 

First book in the Lunar Chronicles.

 

It seemed like a good idea to start reading this book on Sunday evening. It was past 1:00 AM when I put the book down and forced myself to sleep. On Monday I ran to home to finish it to find out what happens to Cinder, her little sister Peony, Prince Kai, and the evil lunar Queen.

I hardly can wait for the next book!

The Time In Between
Maria Duenas
Recommended by Jane at Surrey

The inspiring novel of a seemingly ordinary woman who uses her talent and courage to transform herself first into a prestigious couturier and then into an undercover agent for the Allies during World War II.

History;Metropolitan
Vancouver
by Chuck Davis

Harbour Publishing worked with Davis on The Chuck Davis History of Metropolitan Vancouver for five years, and has collaborated with the Vancouver Historical Society to complete the volume in 2011 to mark the city's 125th anniversary, as was the author's plan. Arranged chronologically, and illustrated with a trove of archival photographs, this volume includes influential characters both famous, like White Spot founder Nat Bailey, and nearly-forgotten, like Sara Anne McLagan, the first female publisher of a daily newspaper in Canada, plus many tales of eccentric locals and celebrity visitors. Here too are Vancouver's unforgettable and formative events, from the tragic collapse of the Second Narrows Bridge to the city's first rock 'n' roll concert ("the ultimate in musical depravity").

Tiny sunbirds...
Christie Watson
Recommended by Sara, Semiahmoo

Coming-of-age story, set to Nigeria.

I am Half-Sick
of Shadows
Recommended by Connie at Richmond

Flavia de Luce's Christmas investigation.

Gold Mountain Blues
Ling Zhang
Recommended by Caitlin at Ladner

The story of Chinese Fong Tak-Fan, the 16 year-old boy who comes over Canada. 

Struggles and sacrifices of the labourers who built the Canadian Pacific Railway and laid the groundwork for the evolution of the modern Chinese-Canadian identity. A novel about family, hope and sacrifice, Gold Mountain Blues is a marvellous saga.

The story spans form the 1860's to present day.

11/22/63
Stephen King
Recommended by Trish, Ladner

ON NOVEMBER 22, 1963, THREE SHOTS RANG OUT IN DALLAS, PRESIDENT KENNEDY DIED, AND THE WORLD CHANGED. WHAT IF YOU COULD CHANGE IT BACK?

Master storyteller, Stephen King spins a new, fictional angle to the story. Not only for Stephen King fans.

The Paris Wife
Paula McLain
Recommeded by Donna in South Surrey

Based on facts it's a fictionalized story about Hemingway and his first wife and their lives and companions in the early 20th century Paris.

It's a very interesting read, it captures the last century very well.

When She Woke
Hillary Jordan
Recommended by Trish, Guildford Centre

Roughly inspired by the classic The Scarlet Letter, but thoroughly up-to-date, this dystopian novel is about a young woman who awakes at the start of the book completely red.  Criminals are genetically turned into “chromes” instead of sent to jail (red, yellow, blue and green, depending on their crime) and Hannah Payne’s crime was to have an abortion.  Her sentence was then lengthened with her refusal to name either the doctor who performed the abortion, or her lover.

It’s a journey of self-discovery – When She Woke is about Hannah’s own awakening to her own rights, choices and decisions, and the consequences that follow. It reminded me of both The Hunger Games, and The Handmaid’s Tale. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it highly.

The Hypnotist
Lars Kepler

This book is recommended by many of us at Black Bond Books.

It’s a very intriguing thriller, not only for Stieg Larsson fans.

Tumba, Sweden. A triple homicide, all of the victims from the same family, captivates Detective Inspector Joona Linna, who demands to investigate the grisly murders -- against the wishes of the national police. The killer is at large, and it appears that the elder sister of the family escaped the carnage; it seems only a matter of time until she, too, is murdered. But where can Linna begin? The only surviving witness is an intended victim -- the boy whose mother, father, and little sister were killed before his eyes. Whoever committed the crimes intended for this boy to die: he has suffered more than one hundred knife wounds and Lapsed into a state of shock. He's in no condition to be questioned. Desperate for information, Linna sees one mode of recourse: hypnotism. He enlists Dr. Erik Maria Bark to mesmerize the boy, hoping to discover the killer through his eyes. It's the sort of work that Bark had sworn he would never do again-ethically dubious and psychically scarring. When he breaks his promise and hypnotizes the victim, a Long and terrifying chain of events begins to unfurl.

Wildflower Hill
Kimberly Freeman
Recommended by author, Kate Morton

Emma, a prima ballerina in London, is at a crossroads after an injured knee ruins her career. Forced to rest and take stock of her life, she finds that she’s mistaken fame and achievement for love and fulfillment. Returning home to Australia, she learns of her grandmother Beattie’s death and a strange inheritance: a sheep station in isolated rural Australia. Certain she has been saddled with an irritating burden, Emma prepares to leave for Wildflower Hill to sell the estate. Beattie also found herself at a crossroads as a young woman, but she was pregnant and unwed. She eventually found success—but only after following an unconventional path that was often dangerous and heartbreaking. Beattie knew the lessons she learned in life would be important to Emma one day, and she wanted to make sure Emma’s heart remained open to love, no matter what life brought. She knew the magic of the Australian wilderness would show Emma the way. Wildflower Hill is a compelling, atmospheric, and romantic novel about taking risks, starting again, and believing in yourself. It’s about finding out what you really want and discovering that the answer might be not at all what you’d expect.

The Psychopath Test
Jon Ronson
Recommended by Orsi; Semiahmoo location

While reading this book you will experience the “Medical student-syndrome”. You will keep wondering if you are psychopath and/or how many people you know might be psychopaths.

A journalist investigates psychopaths and the industry of doctors, scientists, and everyone else who studies them. This book was inspired by Snakes in Suit, by Canadian psychologist Robert Hare and Paul Babiak.

Still Missing
Chevy Stevens

Realtor Annie O’Sullivan was abducted after one of her open houses and held captive for a year in a remote cabin. The story of her captivity is revealed as she relives her terrifying experience through sessions with her psychiatrist. A frightening and unsettling tale, Annie fights to get back her life and independence while figuring out why she was abducted. Stevens is a local author and this is her debut novel.

The Long Song
Andrea Levy
Recommended by Trish; Guildford location

I just finished Andrea Levy's The Long Song. It's the story of July, a slave in Jamaica in the nineteen century. It's beautifully well written (Andrea Levy won the Orange Prize for her last book, Small Island, and this one was shortlisted for the 2010 Man Booker) and now I know a bit more about the history of Jamaica. If you liked The Help and The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society and wondered what to read next, this is it. 

Everyday Eden
Christina Symons

Using inexpensive, often recycled, materials and easy techniques, this lively collection of garden projects and practices will delight beginner and experienced green thumbs alike. Whether you have just five minutes or an entire weekend, this full-colour book is designed to delight and inspire. Here are step-by-step instructions and gorgeous photography for lovely gifts from the garden, delightful recipes and cocktails and inspiring weekend garden projects, plus fun things especially for children to make and grow like flowerpot cupcakes and personalized pumpkins. With ideas on everything from gorgeous succulent sculptures and living willow fences to fresh ways to arrange flowers and plan stylish garden soirées, Everyday Eden maximizes enjoyment of outdoor spaces--from balcony-sized urban green spaces to rural acreages.

Learn more about the project at everydayeden.com!

The Immortal Life of
Henrietta Lacks
Rebecca Skloot

How can one be immortal without being a teenage vampire? Henrietta Lacks and her constantly multiplying cancer cells are the answer.

The book is the story of a young, African-American woman who was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1951. Before starting treatment the attendee took a small sample of her cancer cell to pass it down to the lab. Thus the HeLe cell line was born. After sixty years it’s still growing and going strong. The cells have been sent out and got experienced with all over the world. They have been to space, they have helped many scientists to achieve the Nobel-prize, including for finding the cure for polio.

Henrietta Lacks died few month after the diagnosis but to date, among all cell lines, hers is the most common and easiest to use.

This book is a beautiful combination of science, 20^th century American, and African-American history. The reader explores the details of the story along with the writer and some of the Lacks family members who until the seventies weren’t even aware that their mother was still “alive”.

 

Orsi, Semiahmoo Shopping Centre

Bossypants
Tina Fey
in paperback

This roughly chronological autobiography of Tina Fey is a highly entertaining feminist manifesto.

The book magnificently leads the reader through important crossroads of Tina Fey’s professional and personal life with wonderfully crafted satire. From her early improve years to getting an interview with Lorne Michaels to be a writer on SNL, and to starting her own, award-winning sitcom while trying to balance her marriage and motherhood with work. The book is very openly targets only women; the references are impossible to understand - if you are a male. At one point Tine Fay actually apologizes to any man who accidentally purchased the book and tries to offer a more man-friendly explanation to her metaphor.

Overall it is a very interesting book that feels brutally honest, but again, it probably isn’t.

 

Orsi, Semiahmoo Shopping Centre

Art of Racing
in the Rain
by Garth Stein

How do you write a review for a book that is “that good”? From start to finish, this humorous and poignant story is told through the voice of a dog named Enzo as he watches his people family go through life’s trials and tribulations. Looking the next great book to read? This is definitely it!