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Read All Over celebrates the bookworm in all of us, showcasing readers in Vancouver and the books they love most.
I’m an author from Vancouver (born & raised). Last year my first novel The Three Fates of Henrik Nordmark was released. It’s quirky and funny and is loosely set in Vancouver. My next novel (which hits stores this Spring) is entitled The Last Hiccup and it’s set in 1930’s Russia. I still have a day job, but I’d like to make a go of this writing thing, maybe someday escape my cubicle and live by the beach.
--Christopher Meades
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Where is your favorite place to crack open a good book in Vancouver?
I like to sit in the JJ Bean on Commercial Drive, read and eat a chocolate chip zucchini muffin. Often I’ll look up and notice that of the 30 people in the coffee shop, I’m the only one without any visible tattoos. But it’s still a cool, relatively quiet, place to enjoy a book.
Favourite Vancouver/Lower Mainland writer?
While I mostly read fiction, I’m a big fan of a poet named Bren Simmers. Her work is thoughtful, nuanced and somehow manages to transcend the genre.
What books have changed your life?
Back in the day, I remember reading The Carpathians by Janet Frame and Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov in the same two week span. Those two novels, more than any, inspired me to be a writer
The one book you always recommend is…
Perfume by Patrick Suskind. It’s just amazing. He writes like Nabokov and tells such a remarkable story. Suskind has a way of describing the most base aspects of humanity without being negative. It’s my vote for best book ever.
What book makes you feel like a kid again?
Hippos Go Berserk by Sandra Boynton. I read it everyday to my two little girls. It’s about a hippo who feels lonely and invites his friends over to play. I now (regretfully?) have the entire book committed to memory. I could recite it anywhere – under water, on a tightrope, completely inebriated...
How do you like your books served up best – audio books, graphic novels, used paperbacks, library loaner, e-reader…
Definitely trade paperbacks, new from the store. I still like the feel of a well crafted book in my hands. I’m a little afraid of library books. People take them home and read them in the bathroom.
Your life story is published tomorrow. What’s the title?
Secrets and Fabrications of a Man Who Avoided the Sun
What is next on your reading list?
I’ve just starting Girl in Shades by Allison Baggio. I’m only 60 pages in, but what’s remarkable about her writing is how wonderfully she paces her story. Next up on the list is The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt.
