The Next Chapter

Shelf Life Books' JoAnn McCaig reveals what books are popular in her Calgary store

The popular independent bookstore is based in Calgary’s Beltline District.
JoAnn McCaig is the co-owner of Shelf Life Books in Calgary. (Submitted by JoAnn McCaig )

JoAnn McCaig is co-owner of Shelf Life Books, an independent bookstore located in Calgary's Beltline District. The store carries fiction and nonfiction and McCaig says it features one of the largest poetry sections in Western Canada.

She checked in with The Next Chapter to discuss the popular books at the store.

Rising by Sharon Wood

Rising is a memoir by Sharon Wood. (Alexis McKeown, Douglas & McIntyre)

"This is a memoir about Sharon Wood, the first Canadian woman to summit Mount Everest. It isn't just a 'victory over adversity' memoir. It's quite thoughtful about the cost of that kind of endeavour and the cost of the fame that goes along with it."

Corridor Nine by Sophie Stocking

Sophie Stocking is a novelist based in Alberta. (Thistledown Press)

"It is a really interesting first novel. The central character is a young wife and mother named Bernadette. The day she takes her youngest child to school, she receives the news that her father has died. The deceased father, a character by the name of Fabian, is in this purgatory as he tries to sort through all the mistakes he made in his life. He's trying to make peace with his daughter. In turn, Bernadette is trying to make peace with her father's legacy. It's funny, very wise and very inventive."

Baddie One Shoe by Natalie Meisner

Natalie Meisner is a Nova Scotia playwright and poet. (nataliemeisner.com, Frontenac House)

"The title is a nice play on words. The women featured in this poetry book are definitely not  goody two shoes. The book mentions women such as Frida Kahlo, Tallulah Bankhead and Georgia O'Keeffe. Natalie is celebrating women who don't follow the rules."