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Olivia Laing on Writers and Drinking

by Dan
Biography & Memoir / December 17, 2013

In her forthcoming book The Trip to Echo Spring (published later this month by Picador), Olivia Laing examines the link between writing and drinking through the lives of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, John Berryman, John Cheever, and Raymond Carver. 

All six of these writers were alcoholics and not only did they drink together, the subject of drinking surfaces in some of their finest work. 

Having grown up in an alcoholic family herself, Laing travelled from Cheever's New York to Williams's New Orleans, and from Hemingway's Key West to Carver's Port Angeles, trying to make sense of this ferocious, entangling disease, and to unravel the high price of creativity:

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My Favourite Books of 2013, Alisha Whitley

by Alisha
Art & Photography + Fashion & Textiles + Fiction / December 17, 2013

I have fallen prey to a fascination with the ‘20s, and if the number of Pinterest boards devoted to this era is any indication, I am definitely not alone. Here are a few of my favourite ‘20s-themed titles from 2013:

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

Z depicts all the glitz, glam, and debauchery of the Roaring Twenties, as well as the romance, scandal, and ultimate demise of the infamous Fitzgeralds. Told from the point of view of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s spunky wife and muse—the quintessential flapper, Zelda Fitzgerald—Z follows the literary couple’s romantic start to their notorious ruin. Inspired by letters exchanged between the two, as well as correspondence between Scott and his editor, agent, and friends (notably, Ernest Hemingway), Z offers a glimpse into the Jazz Age and features glamorous members of the Lost Generation, including Gertrude Stein, Gerald and Sara Murphy, and Ezra Pound (to name a few). From smoky speakeasies in New York to glitzy hotels in Paris and bootleg champagne in Hollywood, I was transported to an era in which everything was new and possible but success—particularly for the ambitious wife of a successful but doomed novelist—was ultimately fleeting.

Well-Read Women

If Z gets you in the mood for some Gatsby, look no further than Samantha Hahn’s Well-Read Women. This stunning book features portraits of literature’s most iconic heroines—including Daisy Buchanan—in pen and watercolour. Paired with hand-lettered quotations from the characters’ dialogue, each spread evokes the spirit and sensibility of its heroine as she was written. It’s unique, it’s gorgeous, and I can’t get enough of it.

Victoria & Albert Museum 1920s Fashion Notecard Set

If you’re feeling the flapper fashion, turn your attention to Victoria & Albert Museum 1920s Fashion Timeline Notecards from Chronicle Books. These retro-glam notecards capture the essence of 1920s fashion and make me want to chop my hair into a bob, don a headpiece, and rock a drop-waisted, beaded dress.

      

Alisha Whitley, Marketing Coordinator

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Rose George: Inside the Secret Shipping Industry

by Dan
Current Affairs / December 16, 2013

Almost everything we own and use travels to us by container ship through a vast network of ocean routes and ports that most of us know almost nothing about. Speaking at a recent TED conference in Singapore, Journalist Rose George, author of Ninety Percent of Everything, tours us through the world of shipping, the underpinning of consumer civilization:

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My Favourite Books of 2013, Chelsea Newcombe

by Chelsea
Art & Photography + Food & Drink / December 16, 2013

Well-Read Women

It's hard to pinpoint exactly why I love Well-Read Women so much, because it draws from the many reasons why certain books become important to me: liveliness, nostalgia, sadness, beauty, and memorable characters. Samantha Hahn's ethereal watercolour portraits of literature's leading ladies are juxtaposed against one of their signature quotes, and it makes for a gorgeous read. Anne Shirley is my absolute favourite ("Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?")

Burgoo

There is a special place in my heart for the Burgoo restaurant. I have memories of being there with friends, family, and even right after I graduated from college. Half-starved after the long ceremonial affair that is a UBC English Department graduation ceremony (there were many of us), my parents asked where I wanted to get lunch. Easy answer: "Burgoo!" No one does comfort food better, and thanks to their cookbook now everyone can bring it home. We're in Raincouver after all, and sometimes the only cure for the grey sky blues is cheesy biscuits and a hearty stew.

Chelsea Newcombe, Sales Associate

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Nurturing Healing Love: An Interview with Scarlett Lewis

by Jamie
Author Q & A + Biography & Memoir / December 13, 2013

I want to provide perspective to kids and to the whole world that if I can choose to forgive Adam, then you can certainly look into your own life and choose to forgive.

On December 14, 2012, Scarlett Lewis lost her six year old son Jesse at the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. Following Jesse's death, Scarlett went on an unexpected journey, inspired by a simple three-word message her son had scrawled on their kitchen chalkboard shortly before he died: ‘Norurting Helin Love’ (Nurturing Healing Love).

Even in her unimaginable grief, Scarlett drew courage from Jesse’s words and came to understand the power of forgiveness, even for Adam Lanza, the man who killed her son. Scarlett founded the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation to develop programs to teach children about the power each of us has to change our thoughts and choose a life without fear and hate. She also now works with the Seeds of Empathy program, which is well known in Canadian schools.

On the day of the massacre, everyone had the same two questions: How could something like this happen? What can we do to keep it from happening again?

In an extended interview last week by telephone, Scarlett answered these essential questions and more. 

It's been incredibly difficult nearing the anniversary, but being able to talk to people because they actually care—I've seen and felt the compassion from day one—is an amazing gift.

 

Jamie: First of all, I just wanted to say all of our hearts and prayers go out to you and to the other families of Sandy Hook. The events of last year are still so vivid in our minds. I wanted to offer our condolences.

Scarlett: Thank you. I very much appreciate that.

Jamie: I was wondering if this attention around the anniversary causes you more pain, or do you actually find solace in the fact that the world will be focusing on it?

Scarlett: December 14th was the third worst mass shooting in America's history, but it was actually the greatest day of compassion that the world has ever seen, in my eyes. And that's true authentic compassion, which is when someone feels someone's pain, empathizes with someone. The world came together to support us, and I can say that because I was the recipient of that compassion. I started the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation to keep that momentum going.

It's been incredibly difficult nearing the anniversary, but being able to talk to people because they actually care—I've seen and felt the compassion from day one—is an amazing gift and I want to spread Jesse's message of nurturing, healing, love, so I appreciate any opportunity that I get.

Jamie: I think one of the most powerful moments in book is actually your description about survivors of the genocide in Rwanda reaching out to you.

Scarlett: It was a profoundly life changing experience to have someone from another country, another culture, reach out to express their condolences. Their message was so incredibly powerful because we weren't in touch personally with anyone who really understood what we were going through, except for the other families, and early on we weren't really in touch with them. For someone who had suffered something similar, actually even greater, to take the time and effort to reach out to us was a huge gift, and it was life changing. I mean, that really started our healing process.

Jamie: I was thinking about your own faith and something that Dr. Laura Asher writes in the book: "Grieving is a sacred act, you must respect it and treat it as such." Are there ways to deepen the sacred aspect of grieving as a culture? Are there things that you've learned that you could pass on to our readers?

Scarlett: Well first of all, we don't acknowledge death and dying in our culture. I mean it happens, but we don’t talk about it unless it happens. We don’t teach anything about it in school; we don't prepare ourselves in any way for death and dying. And of course everyone is going to die and it's a natural part of life. There's so much shrouded mystery around it, and it's really not a mysterious thing. I really think that it would be helpful if we talked about it. But it's difficult. Loss of any kind is difficult.

I do believe that grieving is sacred. It's a time when personally I felt very close to Jesse. Of course I wanted his physical body here with me, but I did feel very close spiritually to him. I had to work on my trauma before I could actually grieve. And even the fact that Dr. Laura framed it like that to me—you know, “grieving is a sacred act”—her just setting out that intention, and me being open minded, just being bewildered and not having any expectation of what it would be like, I accepted what she said and it became a sacred act for me. And of course when you don't think that there is an end to your spirit and you believe that your spirit goes on—that you will be reunited at one point with your loved one—that is definitely a comforting feeling.

I feel so connected with the world because I know that they are grieving with me. I know that because countless people have told me in the most beautiful ways. They're mourning with me.

Jamie: One of the things that touched me was how generous you were with family pictures in the book—the image of Jesse in the bathtub will speak to the heart of anyone who has a six-year-old boy. Like when you talk about his scent and keeping his clothes close to you, the photos allow us to enter a little bit into your grieving process.

Scarlett: Well you know, I feel so connected with the world because I know that they are grieving with me. I know that because countless people have told me in the most beautiful ways. They're mourning with me. They're supporting, they're sending their love and they've created these beautiful handmade gifts.

I wanted to give them insight into his life—to offer them a glimpse of this beautiful, precious young boy… to offer a glimpse into his life. I wanted them to know him, because they're grieving him but they never had the pleasure of knowing him. I wanted to give the reader that as well.

Jamie: You’ve said you ask yourself the same two questions that everyone asked that day: "How could something like this have happened?" And "what can I do to keep it from happening again?"

Scarlett: Some parents thought that it was guns. I personally saw the situation and thought that the whole tragedy started at some point with an angry thought in Adam Lanza's head. I pictured him as a young boy with an angry thought at some point, and I pictured him kind of stewing in this anger because he didn't have the tools nor the nurturing environment to be able to handle this emotion—which is totally normal when you have the tools to deal with it, but he didn't. And so at some point he tried to get relief from this horrible feeling of anger by blaming someone else. He blamed his parents, he blamed his classmates, he blamed his brother, he blamed someone. And when he did that, he became a victim. When he blamed somebody else for what he was feeling, he gave away all of his personal power—he's a victim and powerless to change his situation. Prolonged victimization leads to rage, and rage creates these acts of violence.

On December 14th the world came together in the greatest show of compassion in my mind that mankind has ever known.

I've gone in recently and talked to schools about forgiveness, and kids raise their hands and say, "What is forgiveness?" Well that's a great question. You know, we don't talk about all the aspects of forgiveness. "How long does forgiveness take?" What a great question, you know?

I think what I'm trying to do also is provide perspective—like the Rwandans provided perspective to me. If I can choose to forgive Adam, then you can look into your own life and choose to forgive—whatever's holding you back, whatever person or thing has caused you pain and is leaching your personal power from you.

We are all on planet Earth together, and our reason for being here and the way that we are going to survive is if we help each other. We're all in this together; we're all one. There is no separateness and we just need to realize that. On December 14^th the world came together in the greatest show of compassion in my mind that mankind has ever known. I want to keep that momentum moving forward with the foundation.

Jamie: You mentioned in the book how proud you are of Jesse. I just want to end here by saying he must be extremely proud of you.

Scarlett: I feel so blessed to carry on the torch that Jesse has passed to me and to be able to teach through his example of bravery. A lot of his actions in his final moments saved his friends’ lives—nine of them. I use that example because it takes bravery to make the right choices. Choosing gratitude, choosing forgiveness, choosing compassion—it takes bravery to do that. It's not always the easiest thing to do. Sometimes it takes bravery to be kind to someone. Sometimes it takes bravery to be truthful and honest. If a six-year-old can stand up to a mentally deranged shooter at the other end of a semi-automatic weapon and choose that moment to save his friends’ lives, then we can make the right choices in our lives. We can choose truth and honesty. We can choose gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion. And we can all have a role in making this a better world.

Jamie: Thank you.

Scarlett: Thank you very much Jamie. I appreciate the opportunity.

Jamie: It’s been a great honour.

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My Favourite Books of 2013, Sandy Cooper

by Dan
Kids + Picture Books + Psychology & Self-Help / December 12, 2013

On a Beam of Light

This is simply a beautiful and gentle book. In its text and its lovely pen and ink illustrations it explains how Einstein was an imaginary thinker… always questioning how things worked and why things were the way they were. What an inspiring story to get kids thinking about science and wonder about big magical ideas. Every parent, Grandparent and teacher will love this book.

Scarlet
I am not a sci-fi fan at all… but from the first book with Cinder (I loved her spunk and street smart intelligence), I became a fan. I eagerly anticipated and then devoured this second book in the Lunar Chronicle series.  Fairy tales mixed with sci-fi. Who knew? Scarlet is so feisty and such a survivor. The way the author brings these two character’s lives together is brilliant. I can’t wait until the third one.

Flora and the Flamingo
This book is such a delight. An unlikely friendship between a little ballerina (in her bathing cap), and a pink Flamingo… the little girl trying to mirror the dance moves of the Flamingo. Their relationship grows with each leap and lunge. I love this wordless picture book with interactive flaps… silent, beautiful and oh so graceful.

E-Squared
A fun and inspiring read. We are energy… and you can use that energy. Rather than take it on faith, you are invited to conduct nine 48-hour experiments to prove there really is a positive, totally loving force in the universe. Pam Grout is a funny and intelligent person so the book was an enjoyable read. I took this information with a grain of salt and am keeping an open mind. But it has certainly changed the way I think.. and focus my energy!

E-Squared proves the following: 

1. There is an invisible energy force or field of infinite possibilities.
2. You impact the field and draw from it according to your beliefs and expectations. 
3. You, too, are a field of energy. 
4. Whatever you focus on expands. 
5. Your connection to the field provides accurate and unlimited guidance.
6. Your thoughts and consciousness impact matter.
7. Your thoughts and consciousness provide the scaffolding for your physical body.
8. You are connected to everything and everyone else in the universe.
9. The universe is limitless, abundant, and strangely accommodating.

Sandy Cooper, Director of Field Sales

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My Favourite Book of 2013, Larisa Sviridova

by Dan
Biography & Memoir / December 12, 2013

You think you know who you are. You have a degree or two. You have a job and a family. Perhaps you even have an expensive car, a house and a dog. Imagine one day finding yourself not having any of the above. You are thousands of miles away from what you thought was your home and you have nothing. Who are you? An alien.

The ingenious German social psychologist and philosopher Erich Fromm said: "If I am what I have and if I lose what I have who then am I?”  A collection of essays written by Aleksandar Hemon, an American writer of Bosnian descent, The Book of my Lives is about who we are, how we become what we think we are and how we lose ourselves by losing what we had. This book caught me off-guard. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me suffer. I didn't read it—I lived through it.

Hemon writes about his childhood in socialist Yugoslavia, and I have a feeling that I played on the same playground. “… we were all Pioneers and we all loved socialism, our country, and it’s greatest son…”. He remembers his family's borscht and I can feel the taste of it in my mouth. “… the food needs to be prepared on the low but steady fire of love and consumed in a ritual of indelible togetherness.” He tells about his first months in America, “… my displacement was metaphysical to the precisely same extent to which it was physical.”—Still is for me. 

What if you lose someone you truly love? Suddenly all you have is solely pain.

My favorite book of the year, The Book of my Lives written by Alexandar Hemon.

Larisa Sviridova, Data Specialist

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My Favourite Books of 2013, Pete MacDougall

by Pete
Kids + Picture Books / December 10, 2013

My favourite book of the year is The Snatchabook. My daughter was about a year and half old when this book came home for the first time making she and I the perfect test audience. It was a huge hit the first night, and fast became a family favourite. Snatchabook is at times a mischievous brat who a toddler can relate to (not mine...), he gets sad and just wants to have books read to him by someone (something they all can relate to), and its a book about books which we both love. The illustrations are warm and nostalgic, and the story reads aloud beautifully. A bed time classic.

And being the Dad of a daughter Vader's Little Princess is up there as well. Jeffrey Brown's illustrations, and captions are right on point, and a not so welcome but funny window in to my future.

Peter Macdougall, Director of National Accounts

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Book Launch - PICTURING TRANSFORMATION: NEXW-ÁYANTSUT - December 17th

by Danielle
Art & Photography + Environment + Events / December 09, 2013

December 17, 2013 | 6-8pm | Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre | Free event! | Join the authors and others from the Utsám' Witness Community for a book signing and slide show. Light refreshments will be served. Please support our efforts to sell 1000 books by the New Year. Less than 300 books to go! Slideshow will feature images from the book and the project, including images of Aaron Nelson-Moody's work which began during the project and the photographs of Shel Neufeld. With musical guest Sylvi.

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My Favourite Books of 2013, Jamie Broadhurst

by Jamie
Vancouver / December 09, 2013

My favourite books of 2013 are two books that I started 2012 but am still reading due to technical difficulties.

I started reading Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity by Andrew Solomon last November. I was on an early morning Friday flight home from New York having been away for the week on business. I needed to do class prep for a class I was teaching that afternoon so naturally I went to the newspaper stand for some procrastinatory reading material for the six hour flight. Both the New Yorker and New York magazine had picked Far From the Tree for their lead extended reviews. I was in tears reading both articles (fortunately I had no seat mates) and when I landed in Vancouver I downloaded the book. When I saw my son that night I squeezed him especially tight.

Because it was digital I didn't know the book is a doorstopper. Yet Solomon is a rare thing; a double National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize shortlisted genius. It is the best book on ethics I have ever read.  Or almost finished reading.

Most parents have children with the expectation they will form what Solomon calls “vertical relationships.” That like the proverbial apple, your children will not fall far from the tree. What happens when they don't? Solomon maps the contours of "horizontal relationships” where children are different from their parents in ways that are sometime shattering and analyzes the communities that form around disabilities and differences that sometimes rival or replace parental bonds. Deaf children, blind children, Downs’s children, children of rape, autistic children, gifted children. It is debatable whether all these situations are as thematically similar as Solomon would have us believe, but his thesis about horizontal communities allows Solomon to catalogue some of the very best of human behaviour and the very worst of what can happen to the most vulnerable.

And you are surprised. One mother of severely disturbed boy states she copes with his violent fits because in their house with few amenities he has smashed all that there is to smash and all that they have left is each other.

The second book is War and Peace which I am also reading on my Kobo.  I had been given a copy as school prize years ago and never progressed too far but thanks to digital readers and public domain it was easy to start again. It is said that part of the success of Penguin Paperbacks is that they fit into the pocket of solder’s uniforms in the Second World War. It is the same for the Kobo reader. Very handy on buses and in coffee shops.

And it fits in the inside pocket of my jacket.

War and Peace seems far less intimidating on a digital reader, as you never really have any idea how much more text you have in front of you and soon you are caught up in the storylines and the  miracle of  immersive reading. I find it strangely comforting that the Tolstoy’s characters can’t get beyond the chaos of the incidental and the see the grand sweep of history. Who can?   And the scene where the  Russians are trying to fire a bridge to stem the French advance and where clearly the colonel in charge has no real control over events but has the supreme confidence to appear to have control over events seems to me a potent lesson on both the strength and futility of human leadership.

I broke my Kobo last summer alas, with a quarter of Far From the Tree  to go and on the eve of the battle of Borodino, when the haughty Austrians are convinced that victory is in their grasp. (Spoiler alert: it isn't). But I just bought a new reader this week and so Andrew Solomon and the Napoleonic Wars will continue for me over Christmas. They will be excellent company. 

Jamie Broadhurst, VP Marketing

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