Get a recommendation from Vancouver Island booksellers without the ferry lineups. All three of these suggestions come hand-picked from local, independent bookstores and we’ve extended this reading list with three more books from our own to-be-read pile. Enjoy!

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Volume One Bookstore (Duncan) Recommends Along the E&N

The small size of Duncan, with a population hovering around 5,000, isn’t prohibitive when it comes to bookselling. Volume One Books has been serving the community since 1972, and these days they’re open seven days a week, ready to provide the latest in BC books for the young, old, and everyone in between. 

Volume One Books recommends Glen A. Mofford’s Along the E&N: A Journey Back to the Historic Hotels of Vancouver Island, published by Touchwood Editions. Booksellers like Volume One know that “local folks like local books” and that they “love to find photos and stories about their families.” It’s no surprise that this book has appeared on the BC Bestseller list. From the publisher:

Along the E&N celebrates the historic and still-surviving hotels and roadhouses that sprung up near the E&N. Within this carefully researched historical narrative, you’ll find stories of the Halfway House in the Esquimalt District, the murder and suicide at the Mt Sicker Hotel, and the iconic Quinsam Hotel in Campbell River, burned down in 2017. This book chronicles the history of more than thirty hotels ― many long gone, destroyed by fire, or simply demolished, like the Lorne Hotel in Comox, and others that have been remodelled into modern-day neighbourhood pubs ― such as the Rod & Gun in Parksville and the Waverley Hotel in Cumberland.
(read more)

Peppered with the fascinating stories of patrons and proprietors alike, Along the E&N resonates with the haunting echoes of the train’s iconic whistle.

Munro’s Books (Victoria) Recommends Quarrels

The great team at Munro’s Books says: “In addition to being one of our favourite writers, we are so pleased to have Eve Joseph as a loyal customer and friend. We were delighted when Quarrels won the 2019 Griffin Poetry Prize — it’s a wonderful acknowledgment of this wise and thoughtful writer. These evocative prose poems are richly rewarding: on first reading, you’re immersed in the moment of the poem; a second reading allows you to delight in the language of the poem; the third time through, you’ll feel the impact of the poem.”

Independent BC publishers, like Anvil Press, publisher of Quarrels, are well-represented on national literary award lists. For those keeping count, another BC-published book won the Griffin prize two years ago — Jordan Abel’s Injun, published by Talonbooks. If you’re interested in learning more about the shortlist and winners of the Griffin Poetry Prize, go to their website and sign up for updates.

Mermaid Tales Bookshop (Tofino) Recommends Wild Fierce Life

If you thought Duncan’s population was small, you may be surprised to learn that the city of Tofino, located on the western edge of Vancouver Island, has only around 2,000 residents. Even so, Mermaid Tales Bookshop is a cozy store that stocks great BC books, including Joanna Streetly’s Wild Fierce Life: Dangerous Moments on the Outer Coast, published by Caitlin Press. Streetly happens to have been Tofino’s first Poet Laureate. But Wild Fierce Life isn’t poetry — it’s more like a series of vignettes, portions of Streetly’s coastal-dweller life. From the publisher:

From a near-death experience while swimming at night to an enigmatic encounter with a cougar, these stories capture the joys and dangers of living in a wild environment. Streetly’s vivid storytelling evokes a sincere respect for nature, both its fragility and its power.

Full of unflinching self-examination and a fidelity to the landscape of Vancouver Island’s outer coast, these stories reveal the interplay between inner and outer landscapes — the evolution of a woman uncovering the pleasures and dangers of the wild life.
(read more)

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If you liked these books, you may also like…

The Hot Springs Cove Story: The Beginnings of Maquinna Marine Provincial Park by Michael Kaehn (Harbour Publishing)

(from the publisher) Up until the 1930s, Refuge Cove was one of the most remote places on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Tucked into Clayoquot Sound, it sheltered boats from Pacific storms and its hot springs provided welcome relief for anyone waiting for bad weather to pass. In spite of its natural wonders, the cove was undeveloped and transiently populated. But everything changed in 1933, when supply boat operator Ivan Clarke saw a business opportunity. Clarke originally had plans to develop the hot springs into a health resort, but in the end decided to donate part of his land to the people of British Columbia. Meticulously researched and complete with historical photos and ephemera, The Hot Springs Cove Story is the story of Ivan Clarke and his family’s lives, the story of a community and the story of a geographical wonder. (read more)

I Am a City Still But Soon I Shan’t Be by Roger Farr (New Star Books)

(from the publisher) A former member of the artist-run Kootenay School of Writing collective, Roger Farr’s critical writing on avant-garde poetics and radical social movements has appeared in Anarchist Studies, Armed Cell, Fifth Estate, Perspectives on Anarchist Theory, The Poetic Front, West Coast Line, and XCP: Cross Cultural Poetics. Described as “a poet of great heart and aesthetic/political commitment,” Roger Farr is the author Surplus (2006), Means (2012), and IKMQ (2012), a finalist for the BC Book Prize in Poetry in 2013. He is Convener of Creative Writing at Capilano University in Vancouver. (read more)

Beckoned by the Sea: Women at Work on the Cascadia Coast by Sylvia Taylor (Heritage House)

(from the publisher) The twenty-four women featured in this inspiring and fascinating book represent a variety of industries — from conservation, commercial fishing, and marine biology to safety and rescue, tourism, and the arts. Weaving together elements of social history, culture, geography, and environmentalism, author Sylvia Taylor draws on in-depth interviews, meticulous research, and her own experience as a deckhand on a commercial fishing boat. Beckoned by the Sea investigates the myriad ways in which women have contributed to the marine industries that sustain the people and shape the culture of North America’s west coast — and reveals how the sea itself has touched the lives of these women by giving them not just a livelihood but an infinite source of inspiration and personal fulfillment. (read more)