With the cold, damp depths of January upon us, and the CBC's Canada Reads 2013 "battle of the books" coming up in February, there is perhaps no better time to find Bowen Island readers cozied up with a book.
It also seems a great time to bring local readers together for an evening to discuss one of the Canada Reads selections while enjoying a glass of wine for a true literary salon experience.
This year, Canada Reads has divided the country into five regions B.C. and the Yukon, prairies and north, Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic and selected one novel to represent each region. Richard Wagamese's Indian Horse will represent B.C. and the Yukon. The book is the fictional memoir of Saul Indian Horse, a northern Ojibway man looking back on his life, including a traditional early childhood, the horrors of residential school and his rise to hockey stardom.
It is this moving, magical, all-Canadian tale that we will discuss at a free event for readers on Wednesday, February 6, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Gallery at Artisan Square. The Bowen Readers' Salon is co-sponsored by the Bowen Island Arts Council and the Bowen Island Library, with generous support from the Friends of the Library. Everyone is welcome.
Copies of Indian Horse are available at the Bowen Island Library (print and e-book), Phoenix Books, and at all major booksellers.
Grab a copy, email [email protected] to reserve your space for the Bowen Readers' Salon, and start reading!
When the Canada Reads 2013 debates get underway on February 11, Olympic champion Carol Huynh will defend Indian Horse. The other regional selections are: David Bergen's The Age of Hope (prairies and north) defended by Ron MacLean; Jane Urquhart's Away (Ontario) defended by Charlotte Gray; Hugh MacLennan's Two Solitudes (Quebec) defended by Jay Baruchel; and Lisa Moore's February (Atlantic) defended by Trent McClellan.
Find full details of the books and the defenders are at cbc.ca/books canadareads.
