Paul Cresey

May 16, 2023 | 49thshelf.com | Paul Cresey |Trevor Corkum |Marta Balcewicz |MaryLou Driedger

The Bookseller: Jo Treggiari, Block Shop Books (Lunenburg, NS)The Picks: Tell Me Pleasant Things About Immortality, by Lindsay WongA wild, taut, and darkly funny collection of immigrant horror stories. A whip-smart, visceral blend of Chinese folklore, modern life, and Canadian immigration experience. The ghosts and monsters portrayed here are achingly human despite their sometimes gross behaviour. Transformation is a big theme.

May 12, 2023 | 49thshelf.com | Marta Balcewicz |MaryLou Driedger |Jane K. Marshall |Paul Cresey

White Riot explores the historical context and aftermath of the 1907 anti-Asian riots in Vancouver. It’s a powerful mix of art and social history. Why is it important for the book to come out at this moment in time?

May 11, 2023 | 49thshelf.com | Robert Wiersema |Paul Cresey |Trevor Corkum |MaryLou Driedger

I have a special fondness for books that subtly or not subtly celebrate the oddity and eeriness of lived experience—capturing and harnessing the odd unsettling we’d feel from, say, an absurdist novel, but within situations that are not absurd per se, in that we are liable to encounter them in our everyday, real world—sometimes to humorous and pleasing and sometimes to daunting or horrifying effect.