Join us in-store for an evening of adventure, discussion, and prizes with a local author. We are located in the Britannia Shopping plaza on Elbow Drive and 49th Ave SW. Books will be available for sale at the event.
 

Though modern science and technology have given us comfort and security, for many people, something deeper is also needed; something that takes us closer to our evolutionary roots in nature. This book will allow the reader to experience, from the comfort of central heating and plumbing, some of the world's most beautiful northern wilderness areas. W. J. Becker shares three wonderful trips on Canada’s northern rivers with inspiring, educational, and accessible photos and prose—whether you’re a wilderness enthusiast or an armchair adventurer.

 

The experiences recounted here centre on voyages along three epic northern Canadian Rivers: the South Nahanni, especially memorable because of its legendary canyons and its mysterious history; the Firth for its austere Arctic beauty; and the Tatshenshini for its dramatic glaciers—all are rich in untamed natural beauty. The extensive collection of photographs included gives the reader a taste of the wonder of these incredible wilderness areas.

 

Rafting the Great Northern Rivers includes sidebars and stories about the natural history, the human history, and the geology of each river valley—from Klondike Gold Rush lore, to lessons for identifying bear tracks, to the strange and unusual sights of aufeis, glaciers, and icebergs.

 

These wilderness areas are a precious heritage and need to be preserved and protected. Becker believes that the wilderness regions of the world can provide great inspiration and enjoyment through ecologically sound travel.

Join us for a Saturday Signing for local sci-fi author!

Have you ever thought, WHAT would happen IF…? Think no more—read instead. This collection of thirteen short stories speculates about futuristic realities where the rules don't apply and comedic chaos consumes. Artificially Intelligent Mowers rigidly manage a neighbourhood's lawns. Air Balloon hotties search for love between crosscurrents. A teenaged Pulitzer-winner hunts monsters draped in blankets. With a hint of horror alongside plausible parodies, YOU KNOW WHAT I THINK? leaves readers with more questions than answers. 

This event will be held in-person at Owl's Nest Books!

Bring 5min of work to share or just hang out and listen in a safe and supportive environment.

Join us for an reading and signing event!

An Intrepid Woman’s Memoir

In her first 66 years, Karen Christie lived and worked on 6 continents, moving at least 32 times. Every decade provided unique opportunities for a rich and rewarding life. Karen’s 20s took her from Norway and northern Canada to Down Under, circling the Pacific Ocean, both by plane and bicycle. By the end of that decade, Karen had learned to say, “Yes!” to life, and, “No!” to fear. This set her up with work assignments for the next four decades in these challenging places: famine-ridden Ethiopia in her 30s, post-conflict Bosnia in her 40s, war-torn Kandahar and Kabul, Afghanistan in her 50s and 60s, and Haiti after its horrific 2010 earthquake. How did it all come about? Hop on for the journey.

Join us for a Saturday Signing!

An Intrepid Woman’s Memoir

In her first 66 years, Karen Christie lived and worked on 6 continents, moving at least 32 times. Every decade provided unique opportunities for a rich and rewarding life. Karen’s 20s took her from Norway and northern Canada to Down Under, circling the Pacific Ocean, both by plane and bicycle. By the end of that decade, Karen had learned to say, “Yes!” to life, and, “No!” to fear. This set her up with work assignments for the next four decades in these challenging places: famine-ridden Ethiopia in her 30s, post-conflict Bosnia in her 40s, war-torn Kandahar and Kabul, Afghanistan in her 50s and 60s, and Haiti after its horrific 2010 earthquake. How did it all come about? Hop on for the journey.
 

Join us for an LGBTQ+ book club discussion in-person or register to attend via Zoom by contacting Rhianne at QUEEReads YYC


NATIONAL BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE

“A must-read about modern Britain and womanhood . . . An impressive, fierce novel about the lives of black British families, their struggles, pains, laughter, longings and loves . . . Her style is passionate, razor-sharp, brimming with energy and humor. There is never a single moment of dullness in this book and the pace does not allow you to turn away from its momentum.” —Booker Prize Judges

Bernardine Evaristo is the winner of the 2019 Booker Prize and the first black woman to receive this highest literary honor in the English language. Girl, Woman, Other is a magnificent portrayal of the intersections of identity and a moving and hopeful story of an interconnected group of Black British women that paints a vivid portrait of the state of contemporary Britain and looks back to the legacy of Britain’s colonial history in Africa and the Caribbean.

The twelve central characters of this multi-voiced novel lead vastly different lives: Amma is a newly acclaimed playwright whose work often explores her Black lesbian identity; her old friend Shirley is a teacher, jaded after decades of work in London’s funding-deprived schools; Carole, one of Shirley’s former students, is a successful investment banker; Carole’s mother Bummi works as a cleaner and worries about her daughter’s lack of rootedness despite her obvious achievements. From a nonbinary social media influencer to a 93-year-old woman living on a farm in Northern England, these unforgettable characters also intersect in shared aspects of their identities, from age to race to sexuality to class.

Sparklingly witty and filled with emotion, centering voices we often see othered, and written in an innovative fast-moving form that borrows technique from poetry, Girl, Woman, Other is a polyphonic and richly textured social novel that shows a side of Britain we rarely see, one that reminds us of all that connects us to our neighbors, even in times when we are encouraged to be split apart.

Join us for an evening of absurdism with local artist and author!

Art, culture, and bottomless bits of time were precious commodities all controlled by one organization - La Famille Faux. Can Tessa-Marie, a reluctant historical custodian, mend her madness long enough to save the world she loves most or will she fall victim to her own crushing reality?


Words by Rebecca Derry. Imagery by Mandy Stobo.


Genre: Absurdist

Absurdism: a philosophy based on the belief that the universe is irrational and meaningless and that the search for order brings the individual into conflict with the universe.

Join us for an evening of reading and discussion with local author!

He has been given many names and lived in several places. Throughout his life he’s met a lot of folks - some kind and others not. To be considered useful, he’s expected to fulfill specific roles without fail. But one accident changes his life forever, branding him as defective, which has everyone questioning his worth in the world - even him.

Although most people may not see it, he has much to offer. In return, all he wants is to be loved. He wishes for someone to see beyond his flaws and truly understand him. He often wonders, though, if such a thing is realistic to hope for. After all, he is just a horse.

One day, he meets Kiyomi - a thirteen-year-old girl who seems to truly appreciate all that he is. They quickly bond and together form a relationship seemingly pre-destined in the stars. But the horse can’t help wondering, will this relationship last, or will history repeat itself and see him discarded once again?

Horse Karma by Amber Zierath is a heart-warming story told from an unlikely point of view - a horse. It depicts the unbreakable bond between human and horse, with careful observation and extensive descriptions of equine behaviour. It will reaffirm the belief that the love you offer has ways of coming back, in a more profound way, of course. 





 

Join us for an evening of Canadian history. 

For over two centuries, the Métis have fought for recognition as an Indigenous people and as a Nation. This struggle has played out on the battlefield, in the courts, and at the negotiating table, often over issues of governance, land rights, and resources. It wasn’t until 1982, when the government patriated the Constitution, that Métis rights were officially recognized by Canada. The True Canadians chronicles Métis challenges and achievements over those 40 years and well before. Focused on Alberta, the book traces the growth of the Métis Nation of Alberta, which in 2022 ratified its own Constitution, the same year as the 40th anniversary of Canada’s Constitution Act. The title refers to the fact the Métis are the people born of this land.

Join us for a Saturday Signing!

A powerful family drama about fractured lives, secrets, addiction and ultimate reinvention.

In 1995, sisters Adrienne and Cass unravel the mystery behind their father, Dr. Alexander Muir, a doctor during World War 11's Italian Campaign and later a psychiatrist. As children they barely recall the sudden death of their father, but, through a series of family letters, they learn, despite their mother's best efforts, that their father suffered from PTSD due to war time experiences and died by his own hand. While their mother is ashamed of her late husband's downfall, the sisters find learning about their father cathartic, inspiring them to move forward with their lives.

 

Join us for an evening of Alberta film history with local author!

Alberta?s magnificent landscape has served as a popular location for filmmakers since the dawn of the movie industry. For film pioneers, Alberta embodied the myth of the Great Northwest, a primeval mountain wilderness and the last western frontier. In turn, Canadian entrepreneurs were eager for American studios to drape Alberta landscape across the backdrop of their movies, an advertisement without equal.

A Stunning Backdrop is the untold story of six rollicking decades of filmmaking in Alberta. Mary Graham draws on twelve years of exhaustive research to reveal a film history like no other, illuminating the deep importance of the province to Hollywood. She explores the often friendly partnerships between American filmmakers and Indigenous communities, particularly the Stoney Nakoda, that provided economic opportunities and, in many cases, allowed them to retain religious and cultural practices banned by the Canadian government.

Beautifully illustrated with archival photography and featuring century-old set stills alongside photographs of the locations as they appear today, by Jean Becq, Solomon Chiniquay, Jeff Wallace, George Webber, and Paul Zizka, A Stunning Backdrop is the fascinating, often surprising, always unconventional story of film in a province whose rugged, compelling, multifarious, terribly beautiful landscape continues to inspire filmmakers and audiences around the world.

Join us for an LGBTQ+ book club discussion in-person or register to attend via Zoom by contacting Rhianne at QUEEReads YYC

An instant #1 New York Times bestseller!

Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale in this blend of Chinese history and mecha science fiction for YA readers.

The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn't matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.
 
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.​
 
To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia​. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.

Join FreeFall Magazine in launching Volume 33 Number 1 at Owl’s Nest Books. There will be readings from some of the great work in this issue, snacks, and good friends! 




 
 

Join us for a Saturday Signing with local picture-book-for-adults author!

BABIES WITH RABIES: AN ABC SURVIVAL GUIDE is a rhyming ABC picture book for adults about parenting while facing off against rabid, teething babies. It’s full of dark dystopian and zombie-esque humour and inappropriate advice that will appeal to fans of K IS FOR KNIFEBALL and GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP and those looking for humourous gift books to parents.

Join us for an LGBTQ+ book club discussion in-person or register to attend via Zoom by contacting Rhianne at QUEEReads YYC

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • STONEWALL BOOK AWARD WINNER • ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR by The New York Times • Time • Buzzfeed • NPR • New York Public Library • Publishers Weekly • School Library Journal

A genre-defying novel from the award-winning author NPR describes as “like [Madeline] L’Engle…glorious.” A singular book that explores themes of identity and justice. Pet is here to hunt a monster. Are you brave enough to look?

There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their life. But when Jam meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colors and claws, who emerges from one of her mother's paintings and a drop of Jam's blood, she must reconsider what she's been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster, and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption's house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also to uncover the truth, and the answer to the question--How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?

Join us for an evening reading and signing event with local author!

I have a nice job, a nice one-bedroom apartment, and a few nice friends. My days are filled with drab meetings, subway commutes, and lonely nights watching must-see Thursday TV.
I used to be the life of the party but now lead a lackluster existence since my mom’s death. I'm twenty-five but I might as well be seventy-five.
Desperate for change, I take off for a three-week vacation to Greece in search of fun. And I meet him. He reignites my zest for living and the thought of returning to my dull routine after getting a taste of sublime is soul-crushing.
So, I don’t. I sell everything and leave for England to reunite with him for my grand escape – but there are no piña coladas. Instead, I get a roller-coaster relationship, lame temp jobs, and endless misunderstandings while sharing a flat with Aussies, Kiwis, and the sexcapade Spanish couple in a sketchy part of London. But as my delicious and cringeworthy moments collide I discover a path that changes the course of my life forever.
**
Grab your backpack and get ready for an adventure in the ‘90s when the internet was scarce but laughs weren’t. Finding Color is book one in the five-part Back in a Year series, a true story of a young woman traveling around the world. Each book can be read independently, but it’s more fun to take the full trip.


 

Join us for an evening with local fantasy author!

Enter a lush world of cataclysmic storms, planet-wide jungles, floating cities and devastating magic in this explosive new science fantasy, perfect for fans of N.K. Jemisin, Tasha Suri and Martha Wells.

High above a jungle-planet float the last refuges of humanity—plant-made civilizations held together by tradition, technology, and arcane science. In these living cities, architects are revered above anyone else. If not for their ability to psychically manipulate the architecture, the cities would plunge into the devastating earthrage storms below.

Charismatic, powerful, mystical, Iravan is one such architect. In his city, his word is nearly law. His abilities are his identity, but to Ahilya, his wife, they are a way for survival to be reliant on the privileged few. Like most others, she cannot manipulate the plants. And she desperately seeks change.

Their marriage is already thorny—then Iravan is accused of pushing his abilities to forbidden limits. He needs Ahilya to help clear his name; she needs him to tip the balance of rule in their society. As their paths become increasingly intertwined, deadly truths emerge, challenging everything each of them believes. And as the earthrages become longer, and their floating city begins to plummet, Iravan and Ahilya's discoveries might destroy their marriage, their culture, and their entire civilization.