Helping artists through coaching and big picture planning, to get clarity on the next best steps, so they can be confident, breathe easy and build a sustainable, successful career.
[Silent Book Club ~ Ottawa Chapter] SBC613 Inaugural Book Swap!!... and... Why Do You Read?
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SBC613 is pleased to announce its first-ever Book Swap! Book swaps are great opportunities to shed some of your old reads and welcome in some new ones: a wonderful, free exchange of recycle, re-use, and RE-READ. Join us at Anina’s Café in Vanier Tasty snacks, treats, and beverages will be available to purchase as you browse! How it works:
Anina’s Café is located at 280 Joffré-Bélanger Way in the heart of Vanier. · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · “There are some stories you can’t hear enough. ― Ann Marie MacDonald, As the Crow Flies March is soon sliding into April and for me, that means we're at a time of the calendar when I am tickled to live in a country that elevates literature to a SuperBowl level, with what is referred to as the "battle of the books", an annual competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. Canada Reads, complete with its debates and champions, its pundits and plot twists, has become so ingrained in my identity as a Canadian, albeit a colonial identity at best, that I cannot imagine someone not being familiar with it. And yet, that's exactly what happened recently when attending one of our meetups. When I brought up the annual battle being in its 24th (!) year and my shock at realising how long it's been around, one of the other readers looked askance and admitted that she had never heard of Canada Reads, though she has lived in Canada and in the Ottawa area for years. I did my best to hide my surprise or at least to curb it delicately. I let it morph it into a nonchalant "Oh, is that so?" I immediately felt the priviledge of my reaction, right down to the depth of my colonial roots. And, once we got to chatting about the literary radio-battle, I found myself finding a new love for how deeply Canada cares about art and literature. One book to rule them all. If you are unfamiliar with Canada Reads, Reader, please let me introduce you to what I love most about every book club I've ever attended: the juicy chats about the themes and characters, the story-arcs and tropes that make up the very best of the stories we read, fiction or non fiction. I know that some people can take or leave those discussions; and some people downright loathe the moments at book club when Smarty-Pants KnowItAll drones on and on and on about symbolism and thematic structure. Admittedly, it can be tedious and admittedly I have often been that Ms. KnowItAll. *sigh* But, it can also spark some compelling debates and discussions. Over a number of months, five books are presented as contenders, each championed by a Canadian celebrity who takes their place around an actual table, to extole the literary virtues of the book they've chosen. Then in the span of four days, through a classic, Survivor-style "voting-off" process, books are elimiated from the round and the number of books goes from five to one. "... the great Canadian book debate is looking for one book to change the narrative." This year, as I listened to the thoughtful arguments and debates around which book Canada "should read", it truly got me to thinking about why people read. Why do I read?? The answer may seem obvious to some, but I own that for me, there was a significant shift in my thinking, as I listened to the various ideas passionately brought to the table by each of the champions of the five books. There was a candid memoir of a childhood in Newfoundland; a tense, psychological thriller; a poignant story of lasting love; a novel about motherhood, family secrets, migration, isolation, and mental illness; and a story of the racism and prejudice experienced by a Two-Spirit Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder, and how she survived it all. *whew!* What a mix of books! How can one book only, be chosen? The question that was brought up repeatedly during the debates, was "is this the book that all of Canada needs to read?" At first, I was incensed that the very first book to be voted out was the thriller. What makes a thriller any less worthy, I shouted silently as I listened. I kept wanting to shout to my radio, it depends on why each Canadian reads! And in trying to find a book that will change the narrative, one inevitable question was, "Whose narrative?" That question shifted my view. It made me realise that although much of my reading is for pleasure (cozy mysteries, interesting novels, the occasional manifesto on creativity), I also choose to read to change the narrative of my life. That's the answer to that question: Whose narrative? Well, my narrative as a reader. Although reading for pleasure is absolutely right and good and necessary, becoming too complacent in my cozy, interesting stories, can only stunt my growth as a reader and as a person.
I realise that I read to feel comfortable, to immerse myself in cozy English manors where there might be a murder. I read to slip inside the emotions and mindset of the characters who are navigating situations that are either completely foreign ~ or all too familiar ~ to me. I read to sit in my favourite chair, fire dancing in the fireplace, hot tea warming me as I sip. And yet, Reader, where I am in life right now, I also want to read to challenge myself and shift a narrative that's become a little too comfortable. What about you? I'd love to know why you read, Reader. Are you looking for something to take you away from the familiar of your day-to-day? Do you read to affirm that where you are in life is exactly where you're meant to be? Is reading your way of discovering distant lands and new ways of life? Or to speculate on what the world will look like years from now, a world so different as to be unrecognizable? · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · Now that you know a little of why I read, here's what I am reading these days... I am up to my chin in Nancy Atheron's Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil, the sixth book in the Aunt Dimity series. The writing in these books is tasty and descriptive, the characters classically developed, à-la-WhoDoneIt... just enough for us to understand their role in the mystery at hand, and enough for us to understand the village dynamic. Our book club book for this month is Girlfriend on Mars by Deborah Willis. I own a certain disdain for some of the characters, so I've been finding it really hard to get into. I'm about a quarter of the way in, so wish me a titillating twist or a thrilling turnaround, that will grip me and keep me reading! I have set aside Steve P. Aitchison's The Witches of Scotland Series (The Dream Dancers: Akashic Chronicles, Books 1-8). The thought of reading a witchy series, not written by a woman, is giving me pause. But, Reader, if you have read them and think I should go ahead with them, please write back and let me know! On audio, I still have The Creative Act by Rick Rubin started. I decided to delve into the author a little more before listening to his book on creativity. I'm glad I did. He's quite inspiring, and I look forward now, to listening to his book. As always, I've a hand reaching for Sarah Faith Gottesdiener's The Moon Book every now and then, to help me navigate my creative, lunar practice. As always... warmly and bookishly, · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · As always, please use the signup links... Another thank-you coming your way: we are so very grateful to those of you who are using the signup link: https://www.ticketleap.events/events/silent-book-club-ottawa. It truly helps us to keep our host venues up to date with how many people to expect at any meetup. So... thank you! Please bookmark that link and use it when making your SBC plans. Also... you can subscribe to the Silent Book Club ~ Ottawa Chapter's Google Calendar (if you use Google Calendar, that is) so that all of our meetups show up on your calendar. Go to our webpage scroll all the way to the bottom and click where the arrow points to. Follow the prompts and you'll get the info directly on your G'Calendar. In the description field of each meetup "event" in the calendar, you'll find the link you need to sign up. Easy peasy! Once you've visited the link and explored what's there, please let me know what you think! · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · APRIL EVENTS 📆 If you'd like to add our events to your Google calendar, please click here and subscribe! 📝 All meetups are now available for signup here! This helps our hosts know how many people to expect. Thank you! As always, please pay close attention in the list below to the start times for various gatherings. Not all meetups are at the same time. We have one that starts a touch earlier than most and one that's in the afternoon! Read carefully below and when you sign up. ⭐ = New! (Click here to email me, if you're looking to host a meetup in your area!)
How does it work?
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Helping artists through coaching and big picture planning, to get clarity on the next best steps, so they can be confident, breathe easy and build a sustainable, successful career.
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