UFV Library

Pick a Colour by Souvankham Thammavongsa was recommended as an introspective book with commentary on class divisions and an interesting setting (a nail salon) but it isn't considered a plot heavy book. It won the Giller Prize in 2025. This book is about a nail salon owner as she works for privileged clients who don't even know her true name.

What is the most interesting book setting you've read?

The instructions for this remarkably simple salad will net you a very pretty presentation: radish slices between accordion-cut cucumbers on a bed of lettuce looks refreshing on a hot day, especially when you’ve been filling up on hot dogs and burgers! The problems seem to start when you try to serve this lovely combination. How on Earth do you portion out cucumbers that aren’t cut all the way through? Does everyone get half a cucumber that they have to lift onto their plate without losing the inserted slices of radish? The chef is meant to drizzle salad dressing over the vegetables before serving, so what if you get way too much or too little in your portion? What do you do with the lettuce under the other veggies? Personally, this recipe works better as a foundation. Start with the crisp simplicity of lettuce, cucumber, and radish, toss them together like a normal salad, add some garnish along a similar theme (nothing too heavy! A little green onion, soft feta, and dried cranberries all go a long way) and save yourself some hassle.

Find Cucumber radish salad from Salads on HarvestIR (https://loom.ly/x4YIH5A)

This week's staff pick is Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. This is a great read for anyone who doesn’t feel like they fit into societal expectations of what “normal” or “ordinary” is. If you haven't read Japanese fiction before, this is a great book to get you started.

Our Scholarly Communications and Copyright Librarian, Janelle Sztuhar, will be a panelist at an upcoming BCcampus webinar: Growing Institutional Open Education Initiatives.

In 2025–26, British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), Simon Fraser University (SFU), and the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) embarked on year-long projects funded by open education institutional grants from BCcampus. Now that their projects are complete, representatives from these institutions have been invited to talk about how they expanded their institutional open education initiatives.

Sztuhar and fellow panelists Hope Power (SFU) and Ian Linkletter (BCIT) will discuss their project goals, the challenges they faced along the way, and advice they have for others wishing to grow open education at their own institutions. Bring your curiosity and your questions for these dedicated open education practitioners!

When: June 22, 11am-12pm (recording will be made available after event)

For more information and to register visit: https://loom.ly/Jn46N8g

Look, it’s not entirely clear what makes this cake recipe a “picnic cake,” nor what earned it a spot in this cookbook in particular, but I’m certainly not going to pick a fight with Edith Adams. Its designation as an outdoor dessert may come from its size (the batter is intended to fill an 8x13 pan, which is plenty for a gathering) or its transportability (the cake is cooled in its pan, so no removal required, and if you have one of those baking dishes with an accompanying lid, you’re golden) or some other overlooked aspect; regardless of its intended purpose, it looks fantastic. A full cup of shortening and two cups of bananas will keep this thing moist for a LONG time, so go ahead and make it a day in advance! Just try and make sure to keep it away from all of the ants that are going to smell the sugar and come running. 🍌

Find the full recipe in HarvestIR. Banana Picnic Cake from Edith Adams' Barbecue Book: Successful Recipes for Outdoor Meals at Home, Picnic Spot, or Camp. https://loom.ly/qSOSFDM

Alumni always have a home at UFV, and in the library it is no different. The library is still here to help our Alumni whether it is three days after you graduate or 13 years. Alumni can still check out books and journals, use library computers (with guest access), and there are some options for databases. Visit https://loom.ly/IYJUmTE for details or speak to a library staff member.

Dive into this week's pick It's All about the Land: Collected Talks and Interviews on Indigenous Resurgence by Taiaiake Alfred. This book exposes how racism underpins and shapes Indigenous-settler relationships. Renowned Kahnawà:ke Mohawk activist and scholar Taiaiake Alfred explains about the Candian government's reconciliation agenda, and shares his speeches and interviews from the past two decades. Rooted in ancestral spirit, knowledge, and law, It’s All about the Land is a perfect read for Indigenous History Month.

It's all about the land

Congratulations to all of our UFV graduates! Wishing you the best and brightest futures. You made it! 🎓🎉

In celebration of the gorgeous Valley weather and summer’s long evenings, we’re kicking off a month of recipes for outdoor dining with this shockingly fiddly recipe from the 1965 Calgary Stampede and Rotary Club barbecue. Spareribs are always a win, as is anything Hawai’ian-inspired (your humble author has, perhaps, a mild bias towards brown sugar and pineapple in all applications) but holy crow, these instructions call for the chef to baste the ribs every two to three minutes for a full hour! The good news is that since spareribs need to be cooked to well-done, they’re pretty difficult to overcook – but it might be an idea to take the cooking in shifts if you’re making this for a crowd. No one wants to be the only person fussing over the meat while your friends are all having the times of their lives playing Flip 7 at the backyard picnic table. Ask me how I know.

Find the full recipe in HarvestIR: Hawaiian Grilled Spareribs and Sauce from The Stampede Barbecue Round-Up for Outdoor Living. https://loom.ly/SGZrIX0