Browsing “Vancouver Book Club”

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	Wherein we look at some of the local books that have been published this year and give you some ideas of what to get your book-loving friends and family for Hanukkah, Solstice, Festivus, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or just because it’s a day ending with “y”.
	Don’t forget to support your local independent bookstores!

One Good Hustle
by Billie Livingston
Random House

Do you know someone who loves to curl up with an entertaining book? Someone who might need a bit of down time from the hectic holiday season? Then Billie Livingston’s third novel One Good Hustle is the book to buy so you can cross another name off your list.

Livingston’s protagonist Sammie is having a tough time juggling life with an alcoholic, suicidal mother and an absentee, con artist father, plus all the usual demands of a teenager in 1980s’ Burnaby: slutty girlfriends, drinking parties in the bush, and a male best friend who wants something more. And then there’s the constant fantasy she entertains of driving off into the sunset with her father to live the hustler’s life.

Read our full review HERE.

Click to read our previous Holiday Lit List suggestions.

	Read All Over celebrates the bookworm in all of us, showcasing readers in Vancouver and the books they love most.
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	Kagan Goh is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, a spoken word poet, journalist, actor and mental health activist. Kagan has been published in anthologies such as Strike the Wok: an anthology of Contemporary Chinese Canadian fiction; Henry Chow and Other Stories from the Asian Canadian Writer’s Workshop; and Alive at the Center. Select Books published Kagan’s first book Who Let In the Sky? in Singapore.Kagan was diagnosed with manic depression at 23 in 1993 on Valentine’s Day. Over a period of ten years, he suffered several psychotic episodes and a dozen hospitalizations. He started writing about his experiences and became involved in Vancouver’s literary community. His personal mission is to educate people about mental health issues and fight the stigma against the mentally ill.

What are you currently reading? Your thoughts on it?
I am currently reading J.J. Lee’s The Measure of a Man. It is the story of a son who inherits his father’s last remaining suit and how this suit comes to symbolize the son’s desire to literally measure up to his father. The suit becomes a metaphor for his relationship with his father: how the suit being large reflects how his father was a bigger man not only in size but also in stature; and how in changing and altering the suit to suit his needs, the son is literally tailoring his father’s suit to measure to himself as he is now, not just his father’s son but a man to measure of his own.

How do you like your books served up best – audio books, graphic novels, used paperbacks, library loaner, e-reader?
I like buying used paperbacks. I spend an inordinate amount of time and money in second-hand bookstores. I am a bit of a hoarder when it comes to books. Acquiring books is my weakness or addiction. But then there are worse things I could be addicted to. I occasionally listen to audio books, but mainly for self-help material such as audio books on spirituality, meditation or self-improvement. I enjoy using the library but being a slow reader, I prefer buying and owning my own copy of books so I can read at my own speed and leisure. I haven’t adapted yet to e-readers. Call me old-fashioned but I like to read books in hard copy. I don’t think e-readers are the end of books as has been predicted. I believe that books will have longevity as long as people love reading.

What books have changed your life?
Henry Miller’s Rosy Crucifixion Trilogy: Sexus, Plexus and Nexus, as well as Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn are books that have changed my life. Henry Miller liberated literature from the canon of the literati; freeing literature from its stuffy old-fashioned antiquated conventions by infusing it with absurdist Dadaist-like ramblings of philosophy as well as passionate pornographic passages of eroticism. Furthermore, he reinvented the memoir mixing and blending lived experience with surrealist dream – like delirium of fantasy that transcended everyday facts to get beneath the skin of universal truths.

The one book you always recommend is?
I always recommend Jack Kerouac’s On the Road: The Original Scroll. Kerouac described how the writing “went fast because the road is fast.” He had written the whole novel on a strip of paper 120 feet long. He just rolled it through the typewriter and wrote without paragraphs. It just rolled out on the floor and looked just like the road. He wrote it fast and furious as if he was traveling on a long mania-induced sleep deprived road trip. Influenced by Zen Buddhist teachings, he followed the practice of “first thought, best thought” – writing without halting to revise or edit his work. Instead, he wrote from gut instinct which gave his work a fresh, raw, unpolished, accelerating and spontaneous energy and excitement. I recommend the original scroll – the legendary first draft which is rougher, wilder, and racier than the 1957 edition. Real names are used as opposed to pseudonyms giving the manuscript an air of documentary authenticity and subjective realism.  Kerouac is arguably the most famous experimental writer of his time.  Like Henry Miller before him, he helped liberate literature from the traditional literary canon; in the similar way Jackson Pollock liberated painting with his experimental accidental “mistakes” that brought about new startling possibilities in abstract experimental painting. In my opinion, the original scroll is far superior to the edited, sanitized and censored 1957 edition. Reading the original scroll is like reading a totally different book – one truer to Kerouac’s original vision. The publication of the original scroll is a cause for celebration for fans of Kerouac’s writing – rediscovering On the Road as it was originally conceived and envisioned.

Which writer excites you right now?
Tim O’Brien is the writer that excites me right now. He is well known for writing about the Vietnam War and the impact it had on the American soldiers who fought there. I read his Vietnam novels Going After Cacciato and the critically-acclaimed The Things They Carried, a collection of semi-autobiographical, inter-related short-stories inspired by O’Brien’s wartime experiences in Vietnam. For my money, he is the most exciting writer to emerge in this generation. He is our modern-day Hemingway.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
It would be a toss-up between two writers: my father, Goh Poh Seng who was a Singaporean literary pioneer and novelist, poet and playwright; and Raymond Carver, the short story writer and poet who was called the modern-day Chekhov. My father was a major influence in my life. From him I inherited my love for literature and specifically poetry. He was my mentor, teacher and best friend. As for Raymond Carver, I consider him a major influence in the sense I started writing narrative poems that eventually became prose pieces or short stories. From Carver, I learned how to write economically, sparsely and concisely and to condense my narrative.  When I write prose now, I write my prose in the same way I write poetry, with line breaks and short sentences, thus ensuring the writing is tight and economical; that there is no excess fat in the language; that the prose sings in its musicality and lyricism; that its rhyme and meter flow and hum with a human heartbeat.

Photo: Gayle Mavor

Your life story is published tomorrow. What’s the title?
Prodigal Songs of the Open Road. A memoir I am writing about growing up in Singapore and my outer journey of having traveled extensively throughout Southeast Asia and Canada, mirrored by my inward journey of recovering from manic depression, seen not so much as a mental illness but more so as a spiritual emergence.  Sort of a hybrid cross between Michael Ondaatje’s Running in the Family and Jack Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums.

Kagan Goh’s upcoming spoken word performance SURVIVING SAMSARA takes place on December 14th at 8 pm at the Prophouse Cafe (1636 Venables Street). The work recounts his struggles with manic depression as he tries to survive the highs of mania and the lows of depression, tossed up and down upon the restless seas of Samsara. Kagan’s deeply personal stories illustrate his transformation from victim to survivor to activist.

	Wherein we look at some of the local books that have been published this year and give you some ideas of what to get your book-loving friends and family for Hanukkah, Solstice, Festivus, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or just because it’s a day ending with “y”.
	Don’t forget to support your local independent bookstores!

The Life & Art of Ina D. D. Uhthoff
by Christina Johnson-Dean
Book #5 in the Unheralded Artists of BC Series
Mother Tongue Publishing

Steer clear of drippy Monet calendars and Modigliani daybooks when you’re shopping for the art lover in your life this holiday season. Thanks to the intrepid work of Mother Tongue Publishing there is a much better option available: the beautiful collection of books included in the Unheralded Artists of BC Series. Any (or all) of the books from this brilliant series would make an excellent gift, but I found the biography of Vancouver Island artist Ina D.D. Uhthoff particularly inspiring.

The Life & Art of Ina D. D. Uhthoff tells the story of an artist, teacher, critic and single mother who immigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1913 after training in drawing and painting at the Glasgow School of Art. Uhthoff first settled in the Kootenays and then in Victoria where she became an influential member of the visual arts community – a contemporary of Emily Carr, founder of the Victoria School of Art, art critic for the Victoria Daily Colonist and a key force in the establishment of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. She studied with Mark Tobey in his master class in Emily Carr’s studio, exhibited with the Island Arts and Crafts Society in Victoria and at the Canadian National Exhibition in Vancouver, alongside major artists of her era. She became a member of the BC Society of Fine Arts and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (London). Her work is in the permanent collections of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, BC Archives, the Glenbow Museum, the University of Victoria Legacy Gallery and the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Vancouver From Kitsilano, circa 1914, ink on paper, Ina D.D. Uhthoff (courtesy of Mother Tongue Publishing)

Author and art historian Christina Johnson-Dean gave an Illustrated Talk on The Life & Art of Ina D.D. Uhthoff at the Vancouver Public Library one rainy afternoon this fall and opened the event by passing around a tin of cookies (delicious!) and copies of the Uhthoff family shortbread recipe. I left the talk amazed by this little-known BC artist and I remain awed by her accomplishments, which include, on top of everything else, a killer shortbread recipe. Yes, some women really are that fabulous. To say nothing of Christina Johnson-Dean who set new standard in my mind for author events: write a great book, give a fascinating talk and bring a batch of cookies you made using your subject’s recipe.

Vancouver from Rowing Club, circa 1914, ink on paper, Ina D.D. Uhthoff (courtesy Mother Tongue Publishing)

It’s a gift to all of us that Mother Tongue Publishing is bringing stories of unheralded BC artists like Ina D.D. Uhthoff to life. Be sure to include a batch of Ina’s shortbread cookies when you give this book to your favourite art history buff.

Click to read our previous Holiday Lit List suggestions.

	blank Wherein we look at some of the local books that have been published this year and give you some ideas of what to get your book-loving friends and family for Hanukkah, Solstice, Festivus, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or just because it’s a day ending with “y”.
	Don’t forget to support your local independent bookstores!

Gorilla Food: Living and Eating Organic, Vegan, and Raw
by Aaron Ash
Arsenal Pulp Press

Just in time for holiday cooking, entertaining, and making healthy resolutions comes this gorgeous book from Aaron Ash, owner of Vancouver’s Gorilla Food  raw restaurant.

Starting off with an information-rich introduction that covers food philosophy, preparation techniques, basic equipment and staple ingredients, Aaron then leads us into the most important meal of the day with a delicious Brazilian Blackberry Grawnola recipe and it just keeps getting better as he presents recipes such as Savory Tomato Crepes, Dark Cherry Avocado Mousse, Pesto Pizza and then to finish off, Hot Xocolate.

One of the drawbacks for me about raw food has always been the forethought that is required to prepare anything beyond a salad. Nuts often need pre-soaking; crackers and burgers need to be dehydrated for hours, sometimes days. This doesn’t lend itself well to a busy lifestyle. Aaron Ash doesn’t try to convince us otherwise and gives clear directions as to how long a particular recipe will take. Eating a raw food diet fits into the increasingly popular slow food movement, the idea that we need to slow down, enjoy and fully appreciate how and with what we are nourishing our bodies. Gorilla Food makes it easier to do just that.

Click to read our previous Holiday Lit List suggestions.

	blank Wherein we look at some of the local books that have been published this year and give you some ideas of what to get your book-loving friends and family for Hanukkah, Solstice, Festivus, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or just because it’s a day ending with “y”.
	Don’t forget to support your local independent bookstores!

Bull Head
by John Vigna
Arsenal Pulp Press

Do you have someone on your gift list who likes a little testosterone mixed in with their bookish desires? If so, this might be the just the book you’re looking for.

There is a pervasive attitude that men, especially rural men, must be strong at all times. Weakness is, well, a weakness. Don’t cry. Don’t complain. Life not fair? Suck it up. Be a man.

This is the environment of the men we find in Bull Head (Arsenal Pulp Press), John Vigna’s debut story collection. They’re country men, small-town denizens. Loggers, truckers, farmers. Men trying to find their place in their world, trying to make their own stories fit in with what is around them. They’re both tough and vulnerable, emotionally raw and at times hair-trigger explosive. Mostly they’re just trying to make sense of their lives.

Violence is present in all these stories, but rather than being front and center it lurks in the shadows, waiting to deliver a sucker punch. Guns, of course, come into play, as do hands, trucks, and words. Sharp, biting words that do more damage in the long run.

Each story seems to act as a different element of one big story, different points of view of the same microcosm of society.They are populated by people feeling the rawness of isolation, physical but mostly emotional. Widowers looking to find a way to fill that hole that can never be filled. Young men trying to figure out what the world expects of them and how thay can achieve it.

In an earlier interview, Vigna said, “I’ve always had that sort of warmth or interest in how people make their lives work, when they’re tied together with the resources. The challenges that go on for people of all demographics in small areas is tremendous, just like it is in the city, but there are other factors in play. So I have a real keen interest in how people make it all work and how they relate to the world. I think that’s where it comes from. My time living in those areas has been really moving. There are just so many different people trying to make a go.”

Another great story collection from another great local writer. Sounds like another great gift idea.

In the spirit of an eco-conscious holiday, parts of this post have been recycled from an earlier one, which you can read HERE.

Click to read our previous Holiday Lit List suggestions.

	blank Wherein we look at some of the local books that have been published this year and give you some ideas of what to get your book-loving friends and family for Hanukkah, Solstice, Festivus, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or just because it’s a day ending with “y”.
	Don’t forget to support your local independent bookstores!

Liquor, Lust, and the Law: The Story of Vancouver’s Legendary Penthouse Nightclub
by Aaron Chapman
Arsenal Pulp Press 

The past couple of years have seen the publication of some incredible books about Vancouver history: Vancouver Noir, At the World’s Edge: Curt Lang’s Vancouver, and Fred Herzog Photographs immediately come to mind. Now Aaron Chapman and Arsenal Pulp Press give us a look into a Vancouver landmark and the family that have kept it going for more than 60 years.

Most people today know the Penthouse Nightclub as a “Downtown Vancouver Exotic Haven,” but in the first two decades after brothers Joe, Ross, Mickey, and Jimmy Filippone opened it in 1947, it became the place to see and be seen. It was a popular spot for visiting musicians and actors to relax, get a drink (or four), and listen to music. Any not just any music. Acts like Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr, Nat King Cole, and Duke Ellington performed there, and the Penthouse was one of the few places in Vancouver where African-American musicians could perform.

Chapman covers all of this, plus the more lurid aspects of the club’s history from the 1970s and 80s. He worked closely with current owner Danny Filippone in gathering family history, stories, and photographs. The 160 photographs throughout the book capture the famous and infamous aspects of The Penthouse, and Chapman doesn’t shy away from or gloss over the steamier side of the club’s history.

Liquor, Lust and the Law is a great read and a look into a part of the history of “No Fun City” that is usually kept behind closed doors.

Vancouver Heritage Tours will be hosting tours Tuesday Dec. 11 at the Penthouse. Join Danny Filippone and Aaron Chapman for a night of stories, food, drink, and entertainment as they take you on a “behind-the-scenes” tour of the historic family business. Aaron Chapman will also be selling signed copies of his book, so you might want to check off a few people from your holiday list. Details and ticket information at heritagevancouver.org.

Click to read our previous Holiday Lit List suggestions.