McNally Robinson at The Forks
213-1 Forks Market Road R3C 4L9 Winnipeg, MB, Canada

I've moved on in my kitchen travels, now exploring the food of the Arab world. My guide is Reem Kassis and her beautiful new cookbook, The Arabesque Table: Cont...emporary Recipes from the Arab World (Phaidon.com). Phaidon.com always produces beautiful cookbooks and this one is no exception. I own several and they have served me well in my culinary travels. Pictured below is my introductory meal from the book. That's the Lamb and Halloumi Pasta Bake (page 72) which is a great way to introduce oneself to some of the different flavours in the book while keeping to a pretty familiar method. The saltiness of the halloumi cheese played off the savoury filling in a very interesting way. I paired it with the Dill, Mint, and Cranberry Almond Salad (page 104). The combination of Dill and Mint was a recent discovery for me and I recommend trying it, especially if you are a fan of dill. Happy reading and happy eating!

I have a longstanding rule of thumb that I don't read novels longer than 300 pages. I do but I put up resistance when they are longer and need an extra impulse ...or persuasion to commit to a longer book. This from long experience of books that are just TOO LONG! So now you know how much of a compliment it is for me to say that Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead (Penguin Random House Canada) is, at 608 pages, just THE RIGHT LENGTH! It tells the story of Marian Graves who is a daredevil aviator in the early 1900s, orphaned as an infant with her twin brother Jamie. It also follows Hadley Baxter who is a contemporary movie star preparing to play the role of Marian. The three storylines interweave producing a great read of a novel that, ahem, flies along to a satisfying ending. It's simply a great read and just one of my What to Read recommendations for May. For this and other current and recent What to Read picks, look here https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/home/browse/category/2802/ You can hear all of my month's What to Read recommendations when I visit Simeon Rusnak on Classic 107 at 8:30 in the morning of the first Friday of every month. And watch for them in the books pages of the Winnipeg Free Press every Saturday. In Saskatoon you can hear them on CFCR 90.5 FM - Saskatoon Community Radio when I visit Darryl Dozlaw at 9:30 in the morning of the first Thursday of every month. Thank you for reading!

I posted earlier this month that I may be developing a "thing" for bird books. Here's further evidence... Whenever I see a hummingbird (my parents had feeders i...n the yard when I was growing up and I see them at the lake where I spend some time in the summers) I find that I stop everything I'm doing and watch, mesmerized. They don't give you much time and so you have to pay attention to the time they do give you. Jon Dunn has written a fantastic book about hummingbirds that offers a larger context to accompany those pauses. It's called The Glitter in the Green: In Search of Hummingbirds (Hachette Book Group Canada) and in it Dunn, a natural history writer, travels the Americas in search of the 300 varieties of these tiny birds. He explores their role in Indigenous cultures, and their fascination for European collectors of the past as well as today's birders. And it's this week's What to Read recommendation. Look here for more recent What to Read recommendations: https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/home/browse/category/2802/ And listen in the morning at 8:30 on the first Friday of every month when I discuss my recommendations with Simeon Rusnak of Classic 107. Look for those books as well in the Saturday books pages of each week's Winnipeg Free Press. In Saskatoon you can hear me in the morning at 9:30 on the first Thursday of every month when I discuss them on CFCR 90.5 FM - Saskatoon Community Radio with Darryl Dozlaw on his Green Eggs and Ham Show.

On our continuing travels in the kitchen, we're sticking with France this week and another meal from our featured cookbook, `A Table: Recipes for Cooking + Eati...ng the French Way by Rebekah Peppler (Chronicle Books). Pictured are my versions of Mayo Roast Chicken (pg 115) and Winter Tian (pg 165). The latter was a completely new approach for me. Those are thinly sliced butternut squash, potatoes and sweet potatoes and underneath? Sauteed mushrooms. Mmmm. Not every dish will succeed in impressing upon my daughter the wonderful taste of mushrooms, but this one did. And it makes for quite a presentation. It is the only reference to Winter I'm willing to make right now and I look forward to trying the Summer version with zucchini, eggplants, and tomatoes as soon as I can! Happy eating! And travelling!

What are you up to on Monday night? You should join me for the Winnipeg Free Press Book Club at 7pm. I will join the Free Press's Jen Zoratti to speak with Arie...l Gordon about her wonderful book, Treed: Walking in Canada's Urban Forests. I chose Treed as one of my What to Read recommendations when it was released two years ago. I'm enjoying it again in preparation for our discussion. It walks us through the urban forest of, mostly, Winnipeg and points out aspects of nature that I wouldn't have noticed otherwise. I can promise you that you will look at your outside world more carefully after reading it. For more information on the Bookclub and how to register look here https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/browse.php?txtCatID=2731 Hope you can join us.

One hundred thousand people rushed north in the hopes of striking it rich when word got out that gold had been discovered in the Klondike in 1897. Brian Castner..., Writer calls it a "greed-fuelled mass delusion" in his new book on the episode, Stampede: Gold Fever and Disaster in the Klondike (McClelland & Stewart). The vast majority of these people had no idea what they were getting into. They were unprepared for mining and the terrain let alone the frigid temperatures. Castner does a great job of telling the stories of some of the individuals who were caught up in this madness. Stampede is this week's What to Read recommendation. Every month I choose five books to suggest to you. Watch for our displays in the stores but you can also see the current and recent picks here: https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/home/browse/category/2802/ In Winnipeg you can listen to my picks when I visit with Simeon Rusnak on Classic 107 on the first Friday of every month at 8:30am. And watch for my picks in the books pages of the Winnipeg Free Press every Saturday. In Saskatoon you can listen to my picks when I visit with Darryl Dozlaw on CFCR 90.5 FM - Saskatoon Community Radio on the first Thursday of every month at 9:30am.

I posted earlier this month that I may be developing a "thing" for bird books. Here's further evidence... Whenever I see a hummingbird (my parents had feeders i...n the yard when I was growing up and I see them at the lake where I spend some time in the summers) I find that I stop everything I'm doing and watch, mesmerized. They don't give you much time and so you have to pay attention to the time they do give you. Jon Dunn has written a fantastic book about hummingbirds that offers a larger context to accompany those pauses. It's called The Glitter in the Green: In Search of Hummingbirds (Hachette Book Group Canada) and in it Dunn, a natural history writer, travels the Americas in search of the 300 varieties of these tiny birds. He explores their role in Indigenous cultures, and their fascination for European collectors of the past as well as today's birders. And it's this week's What to Read recommendation. Look here for more recent What to Read recommendations: https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/home/browse/category/2802/ And listen in the morning at 8:30 on the first Friday of every month when I discuss my recommendations with Simeon Rusnak of Classic 107. Look for those books as well in the Saturday books pages of each week's Winnipeg Free Press. In Saskatoon you can hear me in the morning at 9:30 on the first Thursday of every month when I discuss them on CFCR 90.5 FM - Saskatoon Community Radio with Darryl Dozlaw on his Green Eggs and Ham Show.

What are you up to on Monday night? You should join me for the Winnipeg Free Press Book Club at 7pm. I will join the Free Press's Jen Zoratti to speak with Arie...l Gordon about her wonderful book, Treed: Walking in Canada's Urban Forests. I chose Treed as one of my What to Read recommendations when it was released two years ago. I'm enjoying it again in preparation for our discussion. It walks us through the urban forest of, mostly, Winnipeg and points out aspects of nature that I wouldn't have noticed otherwise. I can promise you that you will look at your outside world more carefully after reading it. For more information on the Bookclub and how to register look here https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/browse.php?txtCatID=2731 Hope you can join us.

I've really had enough of this COVID thing, and I know I'm not alone. I also know I'm not the only one that really misses travelling. But I'm not going to take ...this sitting down or at least on an empty stomach; I've decided that since food is one of the best things about travelling, that I'm going to take a tour of the world with cookbooks. Each month we're going to feature a different cookbook from a different part of the world, and I'm going to cook from it, using some of the kitchenware and ingredients that we can also feature. First stop on this tour! France, of course, with `A Table by Rebekah Peppler (Chronicle Books). Here are photos of my version of Chicken Confit (page 200) and Gratin Dauphinois (AKA French Scalloped Potatoes) (page 229) all looking good in and on their Le Creuset cookware and plate. I used the wonderful olive oil from Zoe olive oil that I can't recommend highly enough. It was a pretty good meal if I do say so myself. One of the best things about this book is it has a section for Aperitifs and another for Digestifs. How French! And I may have sampled a bit. I was so excited I forgot to take a photo! Next time. Bon appetit everyone!

One hundred thousand people rushed north in the hopes of striking it rich when word got out that gold had been discovered in the Klondike in 1897. Brian Castner..., Writer calls it a "greed-fuelled mass delusion" in his new book on the episode, Stampede: Gold Fever and Disaster in the Klondike (McClelland & Stewart). The vast majority of these people had no idea what they were getting into. They were unprepared for mining and the terrain let alone the frigid temperatures. Castner does a great job of telling the stories of some of the individuals who were caught up in this madness. Stampede is this week's What to Read recommendation. Every month I choose five books to suggest to you. Watch for our displays in the stores but you can also see the current and recent picks here: https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/home/browse/category/2802/ In Winnipeg you can listen to my picks when I visit with Simeon Rusnak on Classic 107 on the first Friday of every month at 8:30am. And watch for my picks in the books pages of the Winnipeg Free Press every Saturday. In Saskatoon you can listen to my picks when I visit with Darryl Dozlaw on CFCR 90.5 FM - Saskatoon Community Radio on the first Thursday of every month at 9:30am.

I feel like I can claim that I'm not that interested in birds. I mean I enjoy hearing them and seeing them but I don't seek them out. But I find myself immersed... in yet another bird book, this time A Most Remarkable Creature: The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey by Jonathan Meiburg (Penguin Random House Canada). Perhaps I just like reading about birds but I know for certain that I do enjoy reading about the fascinating people who are interested in birds. REALLY interested in birds. People like Len Hill who ran a park called Birdland in England in the mid twentieth century. Or William Henry Hudson, a naturalist and writer who was born in Argentina but worked in Victorian-era England. But the real stars of this show are the birds and specifically a breed called caracaras. These are predatory birds who show a curiosity and intelligence far beyond their feathery brethren. They take an unmistakable interest in humans, seem disarmingly conscious, and steal things for fun as well as nourishment. They really are characters. I invite you to indulge your interest in birds even if, like me, that interest takes you by surprise. Thanks for Reading

Our Author of the Month for April is Helen Oyeyemi. We've been big fans for years and have featured her past books like Gingerbread, What is Not Yours is Not Yo...urs, and Boy, Snow, Bird. Her newest novel, Peaces (Penguin Random House Canada), is also this week's What to Read recommendation. Peaces is a novel in which newlyweds are invited on a train journey by an aunt. On the dreamlike journey aspects of their past come aboard to revisit them. And their pet mongoose meets another mongoose and may or may not fall in love. Serious with just the right amount of strange. We highly recommend it as well as her other books. To see more about Helen and her books, click through to her feature here https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com//Our-April-Author-of-the-M And check out this lovely video she made just for us! https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1168301950276979 Current and recent What to Read recommendations are here https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/home/browse/category/2802/ Listen on the first Friday of every month when I join Simeon Rusnak on Classic 107 at 8:30 in the morning to talk about each month's What to Read recommendations. And watch for them in each Saturday's Winnipeg Free Press in the books pages. In Saskatoon you can hear me on CFCR 90.5 FM - Saskatoon Community Radio on the first Thursday of each month at 9:30am. I join Darryl Dozlaw on the Green Eggs and Ham show.

It's the first Friday of November and so those of you familiar with my feed will know that I chatted with Simeon Rusnak of the Morning Light show on Classic 107... for the next installment of What to Read. Today I was joined by our Children's Bookseller, Kai Bergen, to include some books for young readers. The kids books discussed were Oliver Jeffers' What We'll Build (HarperCollins Canada) and Breakdown, the first installement of the new Reckoner Rises series, by David Robertson (Highwater Press). I discussed three adult titles. They were If I Knew Then by Jann Arden (Penguin Random House Canada), Ottolenghi Flavor by Yotam Ottolenghi (Penguin Random House Canada), and Broken Ribs and Popcorn by Geoff Kirbyson. You can see the Zoom recording of the conversation here https://classic107.com/news-main//wtr-the-november-edition Look for my What to Read recommendations in the Saturday books pages of the Winnipeg Free Press or see our beutiful display in McNally Robinson Booksellers Grant Park. Or click here for these and last month's selections: https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/home/browse/category/2802/

A big thank you to Richard and Julie on 680 CJOB for having me on their show this afternoon. We talked books and reading and take out at Prairie Ink Restaurant ...& Bakery, Winnipeg! Here are a few of the books I had at the ready. I recommend them all though we only got to mention a couple on the show. See more

My What to Read recommendation for this week is Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music by Alex Ross. In this suitably huge book at 784 pages, the T...he New Yorker’s music critic examines Richard Wagner’s immense influence. Despite his outright anti-semitism and later connections Nazi Germany made with him, Wagner’s music and ideas continue to permeate our art, writing, movies, and even TV commercials. Listen to my What to Read segments on Classic 107's Morning Light with Simeon Rusnak on the first Friday of every month at 8:30. Including tomorrow! And watch for my What to Read recommendations in the books pages or on the website of the Winnipeg Free Press every Saturday.

My What to Read book recommendation for this week is War: How Conflict Shaped Us by Margaret MacMillan (Penguin Random House Canada). We like to think that peac...e is our natural state and war is the exception, but the evidence would argue the opposite. In this global history of war, MacMillan examines all the reasons for it and all the ways it inhabits our lives. If peace isn’t our normal state, then we shouldn’t take it for granted. Listen to my What to Read recommendations on Classic 107 on the first Fridays of each month at 8:30 am and watch for it in the books pages of the Winnipeg Free Press every Saturday.

Many thanks to CTV Morning Live - Winnipeg for having me on the show this morning to talk about Spooky Books. The conversation included the classic Dracula by ...Bram Stoker (various editions), Cursed Objects by J.W. Ocker (Quirk Books), The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones (Simon & Schuster Canada), The Residence by Andrew Pyper (Simon & Schuster Canada), and A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik (Penguin Random House Canada). My apologies if any viewers experience nightmares tonight! See more

I'm very excited to see this new arrival on our shelves; the new book by one of my favorite authors, Andre Alexis. The Night Piece (McClelland & Stewart) is his... collected short fiction, taken from his debut collection, Despair and Other Stories of Ottawa, and Beauty and Sadness as well as a few previously uncollected stories. I had been reading Alexis for years and so was thrilled when he broke through to win the Scotiabank Giller Prize for his novel, Fifteen Dogs (Coach House Books). I recommend everything that he writes. Click here to see more about this new release. https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/9780771006630//night-piece