Alberta Books for Lifelong Learners

Can’t decide what to give the lifelong learner on your list? A locally published book is a perfect option! Browse our recommendations below. With topics ranging from sports theory to inclusive education— there is bound to be a book perfect for them to dive into.

Counting Bones by Ellen Anderson Penno

When she was twenty-four years old, Ellen Anderson Penno lost her partner in a climbing accident while they were ascending Mount Baker in Washington’s Cascade Range. The avalanche hid his body in a crevasse just weeks before Penno was slated to begin medical school, and she soon found herself torn between deferring her studies for a year, or starting right away with a full course load. Rather than succumbing to grief and risk never beginning her medical education at all, Penno plunged deep into her studies, surrounded by death on all sides, struggling to maintain her way through her turbulent emotions and a rigorous med school schedule.

Counting Bones: Anatomy of Love Lost and Found

Ellen Anderson Penno

Published: Apr 15, 2024 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774390924

Hockey on the Moon by Jamie Dopp

Fantasy and reality come together in sports and Jamie Dopp argues that nowhere is this blurring of the borders of reality more evident than in Canadian hockey. Using imagination as a unifying theme, Dopp offers in-depth analyses of key texts of hockey literature, with a focus on how these texts reveal the imaginative possibilities of the game.

Hockey on the Moon: Imagination and Canada’s Game

Jamie Dopp

Published: Nov 26, 2024 by Athabasca University Press
ISBN: 9781771994132

The Educational Assistant’s Guide to Supporting Inclusion in a Diverse Society by Carole Massing, Bonnie Anderson, Carol Anderson, Sarah Dewhurst

The Educational Assistant’s Guide to Supporting Inclusion in a Diverse Society is an accessible, practical guide to acquiring the key skills and knowledge you need to be an effective, professional enhancement to the classroom. Chock-full of pro tips, tricks, tools, and tales from EAs who understand the importance of an individualized, holistic approach to student learning, The Educational Assistant’s Guide is your introduction to the many varied roles and responsibilities of the effective EA. Updates for the second edition include five new chapters, a core-skills focus, targeted instructional strategies, EA wellness assessments, and more.

The Educational Assistant's Guide to Supporting Inclusion in a Diverse Society

Carole Massing , Bonnie Anderson , Carol Anderson

Published: Jul 15, 2024 by Brush Education
ISBN: 9781550599589

Half-Light by Amy Kaler

Braiding together personal, collective, and historical explorations of what it means to “go west,” Amy Kaler offers deep reflections on the meaning of life, middle age, and climate catastrophe. She explores “ruins” of the human history of the North American settler west—faded hamlets, bunkers, fields of cars, bends in the river—that serve as emblems of hope, generational commitment abandoned by contemporary heirs, faith, hubris, even carelessness. These stops are intertwined with reflections on aging, temporality, and change, making the book feel like a deeply satisfying road trip with a thoughtful friend. Moving from meditative to ardent to sobering in compelling and measured ways, Half-Light shimmers with urgency and suggestion.

Half-Light: Westbound on a Hot Planet

Amy Kaler

Published: May 30, 2024 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772127409

Peggy and Balmer by Tom Radford

Following the lives of his grandparents Peggy and Balmer Watt, Tom Radford tells the story of two journalists who arrive in Edmonton the first day of the province’s life, September 1, 1905, as Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier announces Alberta as the great hope for “Canada’s Century” that lies ahead. But Albertans already have a contrary vision in mind, a government strong enough to challenge the constitution that binds them. Peggy and Balmer find themselves in the midst of a conflagration that will last a century—their marriage falls apart, their newspapers go bankrupt, and Alberta veers towards the extremist politics of today.

Peggy & Balmer

Tom Radford

Published: Nov 15, 2024 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774391068

Stories Left in Stone by Troy Nahumko

Stories Left in Stone explores the lives, histories, and artistic legacies of Cáceres and Extremadura. Author Troy Nahumko has lived in Cáceres’ Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for over a decade. His journey starts at the Cave of Maltravieso, where prehistoric art stirs a profound curiosity about the city’s rich tapestry of past and present. Through personal narrative and interviews with locals, expats, and experts, Nahumko shares sociological, archaeological, and historical insights. From local history and cuisine to descriptions of the region’s natural beauty, Nahumko’s storytelling paints a vivid and empathetic portrait of the people and heritage of this lesser-known region of Spain.

Stories Left in Stone: Trails and Traces in Cáceres, Spain

Alberta Books for Lifelong Learners