19 Books Like Fire Weather

Who knew that an entire book about a piece of embroidery could be so fascinating.

I stayed in a small hotel in Bayeux pre-pandemic and, on a whim, strolled over to the small museum that holds this 1000-year-old, massive, 200-foot-long tapestry telling the story of the Norman Conquest. I saw for myself the intricate embroidery, the artistic flair, the comic details, and the horror of war, spread out like one of today's graphic novels. When I heard about this book on CBC radio, I had to get myself a copy. I'm so glad I did.

It reads like a novel, not an academic work, although I suppose it is.

It takes the tapestry section by section and weaves a story out of history that is quite remarkable. The characters come alive. It is almost like watching a movie in your head. And to think it was all embroidered by a… show more.

I read most sailing/cruising books that I come across, but this was something really different. Suzanne's account of the decade she spent as a child, sailing around the world with her brother and parents is anything but the romantic idyll you might expect. The narrative takes on ever darker, more gothic undertones as it gradually becomes evident that Suzanne's parents care little for the dreams and aspirations of their daughter as they set about fulfilling their own dream of following in the wake of Captain Cook around the world. Particularly poignant is a moment when Suzanne's father simply confiscates the few dollars that she has saved up - from babysitting - to buy a new dress, "because we need it for the cruising kitty." If it all sounds a bit bleak, Google Suzanne's Wikipedia entry after you finish the book and you'll see what a success she subsequently made of… show more.

This is the story of an early fur trader in the Canadian wilderness in the mid-1600s. What a tale!

Pierre is 14 when he wanders from his fort hunting ducks with two friends, only to be surprised by an Iroquois war party. His friends are killed, but because of his extraordinary good looks, something the Iroquois admired, he is saved and adopted by an Iroquois family far away from Trois Riviere Fort.

How this man survived his own life is beyond understanding. He learns to speak Indigenous languages, dresses, and acts like an Iroquois warrior, and only escapes back to the French when he is recognized as such by a Dutch fur trader who helps him.

His life is an endless series of hair-raising activities with Indigenous, French, English, and Dutch friends and enemies. He ends up writing his memoirs for King Charles, where they are discovered in the Queen's… show more.

I live near the Grand Canyon, and have traveled lots of miles in her beauty. But this book took me to a whole other world. The writing is exceptional. He shares the stupid decisions they made, as well as the successes. It's a book of integrity about what happens in the back country, especially if you're not prepared.

This book is totally overwhelming and has changed the way I think of the whole of the 20th century, and people as a whole. What an incredible way to tell a historical story that has no single true viewpoint. And so, so powerful.

The full title of this memoir by Cea Sunrise Person is North of Normal: A Memoir of My Wilderness Childhood, My Counter Culture Family, and How I Survived Both, which basically sums up this fascinating and wild ride through Cea’s unconventional upbringing in a pot-smoking, free-loving, clothing-optional, canvas tipi-sleeping, non-conforming family in the Canadian wilderness. Gaining this unique view into the psychology and emotional fallout of the eccentric family lifestyle was shocking, heart-breaking, and inspirational all at once. You will never read another book quite like it.

I’d read the reviews, so I was prepared for a great book. I wasn’t prepared to be thrown out of my comfort zone—but in the best possible way.

Mandel made me sit with what it really means to lose everything and still create something beautiful. It’s not about saving the world; it’s about creating a new dream and making it your home. I loved how it celebrates art, memory, and the strange persistence of humanity even when everything else is gone.

This book reminded me that hope is often raw, painful, and ultimately necessary.

A true story of myth, madness, and greed, The Golden Spruce is one of those books that has hauntingly stuck with me since I read it. It’s the story of a forestry worker named Grant Hadwin who committed a bizarre act of environmental violence in Haida Gwaii and then mysteriously disappeared under suspicious circumstances. The book traces the life and career of Hadwin in an attempt to explain what possessed him to cut down a 300-year-old mystic golden Sitka Spruce known as Kiid K’iiyas, which has been a sacred part of the Haida People’s oral history for generations. John Vaillant’s description of the psychology of the man and the beauty of the wilderness in which Hadwin spent his life left such an impact on me that when I visited Haida Gwaii I hiked the trail to the now fallen sacred tree.

This is a classic novel set in and beloved by readers across British Columbia, where I live. Like all my favorite novels, this one is full of heart.

It led me into the world of First Nations in a way that invited me to live it, too, which is what I love about any of my favorite reads.

I want to get into other minds and understand what and how they see and feel, and this tale of a son taking his dying father on a last journey did just that, recalling lost loves, lost chances, the toll of war, and a tender reconciliation that reminds me that we can always heal when we open ourselves to possibility.

In these difficult times when I flinch at the news daily, I need stories like this that give me hope and heart.

I randomly found The Break in a bookstore and was drawn in by the cover, which features a light-skinned Indigenous woman wearing a black dress covered in florals. It immediately reminded me of a ceremonial dress that was taken from White Earth long ago and now sits in a museum in Washington DC.

There is grief in the many removals and losses Indigenous people have endured through the years, and real human consequences that echo down the generations. But I feel fuller and wiser when I get to explore this through other’s perspectives.

There are many characters to keep track of in this book, but it is gratifying to get lost in their journeys, gleaning insights and teachings from their stories.