Blog
Reader Review of the Canadian Traveller’s Diary
by monique t
Travel / March 06, 2006
Nancy from North Saanich (Victoria), BC has kindly allowed Raincoast to reproduce her letter regarding the 5th edition of the Canadian Traveller's Diary.
Nancy had this to say:
"I just want to let you know how much I appreciate the Travel Diary. I just purchased my third copy and was delighted to do so. I have bought them as gifts and recommended them to others who are also happy with them.
"I was told by a bookstore last year that you had stopped printing the diary. As we are planning a trip this spring, I began shopping around for another journal that would meet my now, high standards. I searched the internet and found nothing even close. I looked in a few other places as well and last weekend, stopped at Tanner's Books in Sidney to see what they had. I could not believe it when they produced edition 5 of your diary.
"I love the Canadianess of them; the radio Canada listings, the Canadian embassies, the Canada Direct phone numbers. I love the paperback and plastic cover, the packing lists, the time zone map, the do-it-yourself calendar (better than the pre-printed ones that became out of date), the perforated note paper, everything.
"In future editions, you might consider reducing the pages for rolls of film and travelers cheques as not many use them anymore.
"A couple of lines to enter the phone number to call if you lose your credit card would be useful, perhaps under the generic title of 'other emergency numbers' or something similar.
"Thank you, thank you for a most useable travel tool."
Thank you Nancy. Raincoast welcomes feedback and reader reviews of all its publications. If you would like your book review posted on this site, email your review to (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or post a comment on this blog.
I Am 8-Bit book
by monique t
Graphica + News / March 05, 2006
Coming soon from Chronicle Books is I Am 8-Bit by Jon M. Gibson.
I Am 8-Bit collects the original work of over 100 artists featuring art inspired by classic videogames of the 80s. Included are pieces from the I Am 8-Bit exhibition in Los Angeles, as well as pieces from the second exhibition scheduled for April 2006.
Game Informer has a good article on the upcoming I Am 8-Bit show and the book.
"The original show was so successful, in fact, that it has spun off a nifty paperback coffee table book titled i am 8-bit: Art Inspired By Classic Videogames Of The 80's. While the book won't be released for sale until April, we here at Game Informer have already perused one of the early versions of the book. With a forward written by Spin Magazine's senior writer Chuck Klosterman, and the rest of the book penned by Curator Jon Gibson, it gives a heartwarming look at what inspired each of the artists to create their bitty art. Spanning over 150 pages, the book will contain 100 different selections of art from the show, with a number of commentaries by the artists." (GameInformer.com)
Loretta LaRoche Speaks at The Power Within
by monique t
News / March 03, 2006
Loretta LaRoche will be speaking at The Power Within, alongside Bill Clinton and Lance Armstrong. Plus Stephen J. Dubner, who wrote Freakonomics, and other high-profile speakers.
Loretta LaRoche's new book, Squeeze the Day is coming out in May.
Event descriptions are available on the website or below: The Power Within
Stress Management
Loretta LaRoche
Life Is Short--Wear Your Party Pants!
In her own lighthearted and enlightening workshop, Loretta will show us how we become crazed and humourless. Then she shows us how to lighten up and let go by reframing our thoughts, celebrating life and learning to use irreverence rather than irritability to get through life. We explore why we behave the way we often do, and how to increase our sense of optimism, joy and humour. Loretta's wit, wisdom and humor are a common-sense view of life that leave audiences inspired, motivated and roaring with laughter. Loretta shows how humor can benefit the health of an organization and its employees, and improve productivity in the workplace.
Dates:
Ottawa, March 6, 2006
Ottawa Congress Centre
8:30AM to 5:30PM
Montreal, March 7, 2006
Le Palais des Congrès de Montréal
8:30AM to 5:30PM
Vancouver, March 10, 2006
General Motors Place
9:30AM to 6:00PM
At the Oscars: And the winner is ...
by monique t
Fiction + News / March 03, 2006
Grab your popcorn, sit back and enjoy the show. Uncle John is giving a big old hooray for Hollywood in the latest Bathroom Reader devoted to the trials, triumphs and trivia of tinseltown. Featuring the inside stories, quotes, quizzes and bits of lore that Uncle John's readers have come to expect. Get the scoop on Hollywood legends and landmarks; discoveries, big breaks and comebacks; scandals, secrets and murder mysteries.
From Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges into Hollywood.
Test your Oscar knowledge:
In 1973, during the famous streaker incident, a man named Robert Opal raced naked across the stage as what actor was introducing the next presenter?
a. David Niven
b. Charlton Heston
c. Rock Hudson
d. Jim Nabors
In 1997, when John Cameron shouted, "I'm king of the world!" in his acceptance speech when he won the Best Director Oscar for Titanic, he was quoting
a. one of the real survivors of the Titanic disaster
b. a line from the film
c. a poem by Rudyard Kipling
d. himself, in front of the mirror every morning
Woody Allen has been nominated countless times as Best Director and for Best Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen), and once as Best Actor. But has he ever appeared at an Oscar ceremony?
a. No
b. Only once: in 1977 when he was nominated for Best Actor, Director and Screenplay for Annie Hall
c. Only once: in 2002, as part of a tribute to New York after the 9/11 attacks
d. Twice, for b and c above
In other Oscar news, Craig Ferguson, host of The Late Late Show, has published a novel. [Update: Apologies, I got one funny guy confused with another. Jon Stewart is hosting the Oscars, but Ferguson's novel is still really funny and would be a great film, something similar to Big Fish.]
Between the Bridge and the River by Craig Ferguson.
Ferguson's novel is fantastically funny.
Between the Bridge and the River is messy and offensive, with over-the-top language and insults about race, sex, body parts and nationality. (It is written by Craig Ferguson, right.)
The basic plot is that the lives of two childhood friends from Scotland and two brothers from the American South intersect in absurd ways, resulting in the invention of a new religion.
Ferguson's clever stand-up is evident in the book, but so are beautiful passages of writing about life and love.
Craig Ferguson's Between the Bridge and the River is a send-up of everything from organized religion to Hollywood.
Giant Squid on Display in London
by monique t
March 02, 2006
Rebecca Morelle, BBC News science reporter, reported on Tuesday, Feb 28, that one of the biggest and most complete giant squids ever found is on display at London's Natural History Musuem
The article features a photo of the giant squid, stretched out in a glass tank.
I wonder what Miles would think?
Listen to author Jim Lynch talk about his research for The Highest Tide, a novel in which 13-year-old protagonist Miles O'Malley discovers a live giant squid.
The Raincoast podcast for The Highest Tide is available from iTunes by searching for “Raincoast” or the RSS feed is available from Feedburner: http://feeds.feedburner.com/raincoast
For more on the giant squid on display in London, check out:
Collison Detection
Winner Announced: Raincoast Olympics Contest
by monique t
News / February 27, 2006
Congratulations to Gina of Kinmount, Ontario.
Gina is the winner of a table hockey game and a copy of Uncle John's Shoots and Scores, a book of hockey trivia.
Alison Pick Wins CBC Literary Award
by monique t
Fiction + News / February 27, 2006
The front page of today's National Post Arts & Life section is entirely taken up by a lovely profile/excerpt/photo of Alison Pick and her book, The Sweet Edge.
Alison is the winner of the CBC Literary Awards.
Links:
National Post article
CBC Literary Awards article
"From stanzas to bonanza: CBC Literary Award winner Alison Pick makes the leap from poetry to novels" by Vanessa Farquharson, National Post
It might seem the best way for a poet to become a novelist would be to test the waters of the short-story genre. But when Alison Pick waded in, she didn't get very far.
"It's one of the most difficult forms because it requires the density of poetry but the narrative of fiction," she says, adding, "I wrote some really crappy short stories."
But instead of running back to the safety of stanzas, she decided to dive head-first into the fiction pool instead. It paid off. Her new book, The Sweet Edge, is a seamless marriage of poetic language and engaging dialogue. So far, it's received nothing but positive reviews.
Later in the article Pick says, "I think of my poetry and fiction as separate but complementary," she adds. "It's not uncommon to hear poets say you can't do both, like there's a feeling that if you move to fiction you're selling out ... But for me it definitely felt like an organic, real pull. It's the same muscle being exercised, just in different ways."
Quick facts about Alison Pick:
She won the CBC Literary Award for her book Question & Answer (Raincoast), a collection of poetry.
Pick recently embarked on the 60-day canoe trip in the Arctic that her Sweet Edge protagonist takes.
She studied at the University of Guelph and was writer in residence at the Wallace Stegner House, S.K.
Alison Pick is the 2002 Bronwen Wallace Award winner for most promising unpublished writer under 35 in Canada.
Excerpt of The Sweet Edge
Click the link to read a PDF excerpt of The Sweet Edge. Or see below for the excerpt featured in the National Post:
Adam's roommates leave for the weekend and he invites Ellen over for dinner. They've known each other for months but this is the first time they've been alone together in one of their houses. Adam has a copy of the Dating Survival Handbook.
If your date is choking, do the Heimlich, Ellen reads aloud.
Nobody has a date. A date is so old fashioned.
How do you know if you're on a date or a date?
Good point, agrees Adam.
And then there's the blind date. A truly bizarre and tortuous social ritual.
Have you ever been on a date?
Ellen has been on several dates. No, she says.
Me neither. I usually just hang out with the person.
And they look at each other, they can't look away, they can't wipe the grins from their faces.
Ellen is used to boys having a crush on her. She knows the things that all very beautiful women know. How to say no. Be kind, very kind, turn them down without acknowledging that they have asked. Never ever sit them down and say you aren't interested. They do not want to hear this, they do not want to feel rejected. All the silly computer boys, the fawning boy from Spanish 101, the boys from boarding school with their penny loafers and golf clubs. She has an equanimity code, a standard set of procedures to enact as though all boys are equal but what she really likes is a boy who takes control. She likes to ask questions--she has another question and another--she likes to tip her head back and laugh. Adam is confident and not too swayed by her looks. He has words to fill a silence. He has an opinion, always, and strong advice to give. You should grow your hair again, Ellen, he says.
You saw me with longer hair?
I liked it.
You liked it better?
You're one of those women whose hair gets shorter as they get older.
The ripe old age of twenty-seven.
Feeling Stressed? Take a Break
by monique t
February 24, 2006
Relaxation Consultant Darrin Zeer travels around the world encouraging people to stay calm and be successful.
Whether it is office yoga, travel yoga or a full-on office spa treatment, Darrin can ease the ache and pain of any day's work.
You can also relax on Darrin's website. Try this break,
RelaxYoga.com/take-a-break.htm
If chaos is your natural state, try Darrin's funny blog,
RelaxYoga.com/darrins-blog.htm
For all Darrin Zeer books visit, Raincoast.com
Vancouver’s History of Peace and Ecology: Event at Planetarium
by monique t
News / February 22, 2006
Vancouver Historic Society and Rex Weyler, author of Greenpeace: The Inside Story, are holding an event at the Vancouver Planetarium this Thursday on "Vancouver's history of peace and ecology."
Thursday evening, February 23
7:30 at the Planetarium
About the event:
Learn how the Vancouver peace and ecology movements grew from the influence of Dukabours, Mennonites, Quakers, Buddhists, Unitarians, First Nations, Christians, Visionary city councils, American War Resisters, beat poets, End the Arms Race organizers, BC Voice of Women, the BC labour movement, Provos from Amsterdam, Diggers from San Francisco, and dedicated neighbourhood activists.
Colour Confidential: The make over show
by monique t
News / February 17, 2006
Set your timers! Raincoast's own sales rep Saffron Beckwith will be opening the doors to her home on Colour Confidential, Canada's premiere make over show.
Thursday February 23rd on the Women's Network, 9 pm EST
The show will feature the Beckwith-McIntosh family in its world premiere.
Make it over to the TV for the make over.
And then unleash your inner decorating diva with one of Saffron's recommended design and decorating books:
Kids' Rooms by Jennifer Levy (Chronicle Books)
52 Ways to Make a House a Home by Lynn Gordon (Chronicle Books)
Paint Magic by Jocasta Innes (Frances Lincoln)
Colour in Decoration by Annie Sloan and Kate Gwynn (Frances Lincoln)
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