This August 12th, we're celebrating a day we love at Shop moi ça: "I'm buying a Quebec book"!
At Shop moi ça, we love EVERYTHING it represents:
- Encouraging passionate authors
- Reading in a language that reflects us
- Strolling through local bookstores (with a frothy latte in hand)
- And... treating ourselves (or others) to a story that touches, makes us think, or simply feels good.
And since we love sharing our finds, here are our team's favorite recommendations, along with a few other suggestions sorted by style. It's like a book club, Shop moi ça style!
Shop Moi Ça Team's Favorite Suggestions (in their own words!)
Lissa's (co-founder and big-hearted boss) suggestion:
Le Ti‑pou d’Amérique de 7 à 12 ans: mieux le comprendre pour mieux intervenir — Sarah Hamel.
"If you've ever had a moment of panic in front of a child having a meltdown at the mall... this book is for you. It's funny, real, and makes you feel less alone."
A kind and insightful guide to better understand our young ones. Practical, accessible, and reassuring - a real toolbox for parents and educators.
Clo's (boutique manager & great Quebec find hunter) suggestion:
Sois belle et tais‑toi — Marie Gray
"It's not light reading, but it's necessary. This book shook me up, in a good way. Each new story hits you hard with style."
A series of hard-hitting short stories exploring the different facets of the female condition. Powerful, intelligent, and touching.
Loulou's (head packer and sensitive soul) suggestion:
Bon stress, Bad stress: briser le cercle infernal — Jean‑Yves Dionne
"I like to understand how my brain reacts... especially when I have 100 boxes to prepare and I can't breathe! This book really helped me."
A practical guide to better understand the faces of stress and turn it into an ally. Clear, well-explained, and super applicable to real life.
Lenka's (content creator, corporate logistics pro, and pastel box fairy) suggestion:
"When I need to disconnect or have a nice mother-daughter moment, I take out our books and alcohol markers, and I can finally breathe! For us, these books are like a paper spa."
Collections of gentle and inspiring illustrations to slow down and feel good, one stroke at a time.
Two suggestions from Fred (co-owner, marketing, and corporate coordinator):
1- Nous étions le sel de la mer — Roxanne Bouchard.
"A detective novel with salty hints of poetry. The investigation is good, but it's the nostalgic atmosphere of the river that captivated me the most."
A detective novel set in Gaspésie, as beautiful as it is enigmatic. The sea, secrets, people – a perfect trio.
2- Les paysages intérieurs: solastalgie, mémoire et territoire — Catherine D’Amours.
"It's gentle, it's intelligent, it encourages me to connect differently with my hometown (the same as the author's), and it made me want to take care of the world around me."
A touching and poetic essay on our connection to places, the environment, and collective memory. Eco-literature at its best.
For food lovers: updated cooking suggestions
Chez Simon cuisine urbaine — Simon De L’est
A gourmet road trip without leaving your kitchen! From Italy to the Caribbean, Simon serves up simple, flavorful recipes with just enough spicy anecdotes... like a Kashmiri pepper!
To see and try some of Simon's recipes, click here!
La Bible des collations: Plein d’idées savoureuses et nutritives pour toutes les occasions — Laurence Bergeron
Endless snack ideas! Muffins, energy balls, spreads… Laurence manages to make them both delicious AND nutritious. Perfect for guilt-free snacking between boxes… with often disguised ingredients that no one would guess!
To see and try some of Laurence's recipes, click here!
For our young readers
Nutshimit: Un bain de forêt — Illustrations by Elise Gravel
Dive into the Innu forest with Nutshimit, where the air smells of fir and moss!
This book, for ages 6 and up, is a poetic stroll hand-in-hand with a child discovering the magic of nature — the rustling of leaves, the caress of the wind, the song of the water. Gentle illustrations by our beloved Elise Gravel, heartwarming words… We read it like taking a deep breath: slowly, to better savor it.
And as if that weren't magical enough, the adventure continues with bonus content:
- Educational guide;
- Activity sheets on conifers and fruits;
- Pashimineu recipe;
- Coloring pages (forest and trees);
- Printable poster;
- Glossary with audio to hear and pronounce Innu words.
A true treasure to explore with family or in the classroom, to experience the forest… without even leaving your living room!
Mon grand animalier du Québec — Éditions Petits Génies
"Welcome to the jungle... of Quebec!" Mon grand animalier du Québec is your passport to meet 73 local creatures – from melodic birds to insects hidden in the moss. Each double page is a micro-adventure: an incredible photo + fascinating little facts (weight, appetite, favorite home). And why stop there? At the end, a clever quiz and endangered species make us think while having fun.Suggestions that make you say: "Okay... I'm settling in here with my book, and I'm not moving!"
Civilisés — Patrick Sénécal
Want to end the summer with a refreshing breeze at your back (and not just because the evenings are getting shorter)? Civilisés is pure Sénécal: a tension that slowly builds, characters you think you know... until everything changes. In this novel, the Quebec countryside becomes the setting for an unsettling closed-door drama, where the line between "human" and "civilized" blurs with every page. It's dark, intelligent, and reads in one sitting, perfect for a late afternoon on the porch, when the sun hides behind the trees.
En route vers nowhere — Sophie Laurin
A road trip that tastes like lime-raspberry slush and roadside poutine. Sara and Sébastien, friends since the summer of '96, hit the road in 2007 in an old clunker ready for recycling... and for all the surprises awaiting them. Between laughter, ambiguous moments, and gas station coffee, this novel evokes heatwaves, the nostalgia of burned CDs, and summers where anything still feels possible.
Shall we meet in the "local books" section?
Buying a Quebec book means treating yourself a little... but it also means supporting passionate people: authors, illustrators, publishers, printers, and booksellers. It's also about celebrating our language, our creativity, our world.
On August 12th, silence your phone... and let a local author take you on a journey by buying a Quebec book from an independent bookseller!
Happy reading!
