Over the course of the last 6 years on Daybreak, Russell Bowers and Angie Abdou have gathered monthly to discuss new Alberta books. On the final Daybreak Christmas Book Show, they chat one last time about 4 new books from, Theresa Shea ("The Shade Tree"), Micheline Maylor ("The Bad Wife"), Ken Haigh ("On Foot to Canterbury"), Colin Harris (Take me Outside: Running Across the Canadian Landscape")

Over the course of the month of December, CBC is looking into the high cost of food. A recent Dalhousie University study pegged food inflation at 5% and the group, Vibrant Calgary, found families are spending roughly $220/month more this year over last. Budgets are tight so to examine how some folks are coping, Russell Bowers reached out to 3 Albertans for his show, Daybreak. Joan Karlowsky is a retiree in Calgary, Georgia Hanson is a teacher in Fort MacLeod, and Shauna Ogston is a stay-at-home mother is Calgary.

You can find more of these stories and other ways to save money on groceries on our website, cbc/ca/calgary, or google CBC Calgary and The High Cost of Food. You can also contribute your own story and any helpful hints you may have found

The Romance genre is the most popular fiction genre on the bookshelves and millions of readers consume these tales of love every day around the world. Eight Alberta romance writers have combined their talents to publish an eight-novel collection under the title, "Hugs, Kisses, and Mistletoe Wishes." The stories range from sexy to historical but in keeping with the season, these eight writers decided to stick with “sweet romance,” charming feel-good love stories set during the holidays. One of the authors involved is Ellen Jorgy and joined Russell from her home in Red Deer county.

Daybreak's books reviewer, Angie Abdou ("This One Wild Life") joins Russell to discuss a new book about multilingualism by Julie Sedivy, as well as a new children's adventure by Jocey Asnong.

Each year, the clubs belonging to the National Hockey League take it in turns to select amateur players from all over the world. Some of the young athletes already come with reputations for greatness but most of the teams draft in hope of finding raw talent. During the last 50 years, a handful of these drafts have played a pivotal role in shaping the NHL for a generation. The story of those drafts is detailed in a new book, "Inexact Science: The Six Most Compelling Draft Years in NHL History," and it's written by father and son, Evan Dowbiggin and Bruce Dowbiggin (Of Ice and Men, Cap In Hand, The Meaning of Puck.)

For the first time in 40 years, Swedish pop megastars, ABBA have returned to record shops with a album of new material. Fans and retailers alike were excited by the news, as was University of Alberta instructor, Jon Eason. He teaches Scandinavian Studies and this new music was a welcome sound in his classroom. He joined Russell to chat about and listen to the album.

Books reviewer, Angie Abdou stops by for the month of October to have a chat about "Praying to the West: How Muslims Shaped the Americas" by Omar Mouallem of Edmonton.

During the federal election, politicians and pundits have plenty of opportunity to express their views, so at Daybreak, Russell decided to reach out to some of the voters who will actually cast a ballot this year. Bonnie Beaumier is a part-time teacher, James Raworth is lawyer, and Wendy Stans is a florist.

During the federal election, politicians and pundits have plenty of opportunity to express their views. Meanwhile at Daybreak, Russell decided to reach out to some of the voters who will actually cast a ballot this year. Jeff Yip is an oil and gas engineer in Calgary, Chuck Orlick is an accountant from Stettler, and Kismet Caffet is an office manager in Medicine Hat.

Books reviewer Angie Abdou is back for the month of August. Angie is a professor of creative writing at Athabasca University and she's the author of "The One Wild Life," a memoir about hiking and adventuring with her daughter. However, Angie joins Russell to chat about 3 Alberta books on her desk this week-end.