Read All Over - Jason Donaldson

Got your ears on? Jason Donaldson here, I am a very lucky guy. I teach high school theatre on Salt Spring Island and coordinate the Gulf Islands School of Performing Arts. I am a family man, in love with my sweetheart and my three sons. I play acoustic music on guitar and mandolin and I'm training to run a 1/12 marathon in Haida Gwaii this summer. I am neglecting my garden right now. It's never boring.

		Read All Over celebrates the bookworm in all of us, showcasing readers in Vancouver and the books they love most.

What book makes you feel like a kid again?

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. I used to work at Cadboro Bay Books in Victoria. It's a small book store which specializes in, among other things, children's books. I was organizing the books one day and I came across this book from my childhood. I hadn't thought of that book since I encountered it as a child. I probably never would have thought of it again if it wasn't for this experience. It was a surprise, a flood of memories triggered and inspired by this chance encounter.

What books have changed your life?

Pecos Bill when I was a young boy, To Kill a Mockingbird when I was in high school, Crime & Punishment and Impro when I was a young man, The Incomplete Folk-Singer in my mid-twenties, The Ashley Book of Knots as I neared thirty and Philippe Gaulier's The Tormentor and Anne Bogart'sViewpoints most recently. Those books stand out, but I can't complete this without mentioning George Bowering for his novels, his poetry, his histories and our shared love of baseball.

The one book you always recommend is...

How do you like your books served up best - audio books, graphic novels, used paperbacks, library loaner, e-reader…

Purchased or gifted, new books please, in paperback. I am a bit too much of a gear-head. I buy more books than I can handle and have this ineffable love for the residual paper fluffs and soft covers and textured paper and new book smells, let alone what's in 'em. Plus, I am romanced by the idea of having enough leisure to read all of the books I get my hands on. I'm currently working on a master's degree in arts education; SFU sends me bundles of library books - that's my second favourite serving style.

Your life story is published tomorrow. What's the title?

Librarian vs. English Professor - who is sexier?

I profess.

Where is your favorite place to crack open a good book in Vancouver?

Early in the morning on the walkway towards Stanley Park, just past the Bayshore. There's a specific bench there and the few times I've went there it has provided me with the exact sanctuary I was looking for.