The first instalment of Read Local BC’s nine-part gift guide series
Gift-giving is tough in a world where everything one could ever want is at our fingertips (now eligible for free next-day shipping!) And on top of narrowing your search for the perfect gift, you’re trying to be more mindful, less wasteful, and support businesses in your community. These are the complex conditions that lead to late-December crises in the candle aisle: would your aunt be more into Kumquat Beach or Cedar Melody?!
In a 2019 BookNet Canada survey, Canadians reported the following reasons for why they read:
“The most popular reason was to relax (65%). Other popular answers were: for enjoyment and to use their imagination (55%); to be entertained or for a good story (52%); to learn or improve skills (46%); to pass the time (44%); to discover interesting topics (36%); to become immersed in another world (36%); and to escape reality (36%).”
A book is the gift of relaxation, pleasure, creativity, inspiration, entertainment, connection, knowledge, discovery, and escape. We don’t know a candle, throw pillow, or pair of novelty socks that can do that.
Better still, when you buy a BC-published book from a local independent bookseller you support people in your community like artists, writers, skilled freelancers, and small-business owners, and give yourself the gift of a vibrant local cultural industry that reflects you and your experiences–and we think you deserve a gift, too.
That’s why this holiday season we’re curating gift guides that feature the best of BC-published books for everyone on your list.
Books to Relax With
Our first collection will inspire deep breathing, quiet reflection, and winter walks.
109 Walks in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland by John Halliday and Alice Purdey (Greystone Books).
Since its first edition in 1976, 109 Walks has guided more than 100,000 locals and visitors alike to the best viewpoints, urban forests, and coastal headlands of British Columbia’s stunning Lower Mainland. This latest edition continues and builds on the legacy of its beloved predecessor with more than twenty completely new trails, a striking selection of photographs, and updated directions that include GPS coordinates for easier route-finding. This edition also features more options in the Sea-to-Sky Corridor, Surrey, and the Fraser Valley—as well as walks that take less than three hours to complete—making it more accessible and expansive than ever before.
E.J. Hughes Paints British Columbia by Robert Amos (TouchWood Editions).
A retrospective on one of BC’s most famous artists that features beautifully reproduced landscape paintings from all over mainland BC, and unveils new photographs, sketches, and ephemera from the artist’s estate. E. J. Hughes (1913–2007) is British Columbia’s best-loved landscape painter. His lavish, picturesque views of the province are appreciated by art professionals and the public alike.
Quebec City in the Mid-Sixties by Pierre Anctil, photographs by Jean-Louis Anctil (Midtown Press).
This selection of 101 photographs reveals a time in history when change is inescapable and also highlights what makes Quebec City a travel destination: the majestic river, the harbour, Quebec Winter Carnival, and traditional neighbourhoods. Family life is also represented: birthdays, Christmas and New Year’s, winter sports, and summer holidays. Fifty years later, this bygone, seemingly simple era appeals to our emotions and is close to our hearts.
Winterlust: Finding Beauty in the Fiercest Season by Bernd Brunner (Greystone Books).
In Winterlust, a farmer painstakingly photographs five thousand snowflakes, each one dramatically different from the next. Indigenous Peoples thrive on frozen terrain, where famous explorers perish. Icicles reach deep underwater, then explode. Rooms warmed by crackling fires fill with scents of cinnamon, cloves, and pine. Skis carve into powdery slopes, and iceboats traverse glacial lakes. This lovingly illustrated meditation on winter entwines the spectacular with the everyday, expertly capturing the essence of a beloved yet dangerous season, which is all the more precious in an era of climate change.
Yoga Baby by Amy Hovey (Orca Book Publishers).
This exuberant rhyming board book celebrates the simple joy of yoga and the natural shapes that even the littlest yogis and yoginis can make with their bodies. Poses such as happy baby, child’s pose and downward dog are ones you will see children spontaneously explore from a very young age. Babies and toddlers intuitively know the movements that restore their bodies and minds. Yoga Baby celebrates this mindful playfulness with a diverse selection of babies doing what babies love to do: feeling good and having fun!