The Read Local BC’s Bestseller list highlights the titles of independent, B.C.-owned publishers sold in independent B.C. bookstores. Discover a few of their picks for the month of November:
The Hidden Life of Trees: A Graphic Adaptation
by Peter Wohlleben and Fred Bernard
Featuring 240 pages of full-color illustrations and text covering the entirety of The Hidden Life of Trees, this adaptation honors the spirit of the original book by seeking to change the way the world looks at trees, and will inspire generations of readers to celebrate the natural world and protect our last remaining forests before it’s too late.
Slumach’s Gold: In Search of a Legend—and a Curse
by Brian Antonson, Mary Trainer and Rick Antonson
Newly expanded and revised, Slumach’s Gold: In Search of a Legend—and a Curse chronicles Canada’s most enduring lost-mine mystery. For more than 130 years, people have been captivated by the story of a secret cache of gold with nuggets “the size of walnuts,” supposedly buried near Pitt Lake in southwestern B.C. Knowledge of its exact whereabouts died with Slumach, a Katzie Nation man executed for murder in 1891. Slumach, according to rumours that spread like wildfire in the years following his death, placed a curse on the hidden motherlode to protect it from interlopers and trespassers.
300 Mason Jars: Preserving History
by Joanne Thomson
A charming art book exploring universal themes of family through 300 watercolour paintings of objects “preserved” in Mason jars.
The fragmented history of one family’s hope, challenge, failure, and persistence is beautifully depicted in this book of watercolour images by artist Joanne Thomson. Combining still-life painting with visual storytelling, Thomson presents everyday artifacts—from flowers to fruits, tools to toys, and photographs to farm equipment—and places them in, on, beside, or behind a glass jar.
Gumboots in the Straits: Nautical Adventures from Sointula to the Salish Sea
Edited by Lou Allison and compiled by Jane Wilde
Returning to the fascinating 1970s migration of young people to B.C.’s West Coast, Gumboots in the Straits gathers more stories of the romance of the sea and the demographic and personal change of that time. As many young men made their way to Vancouver Island and the many other islands scattered throughout the Salish Sea and beyond in search of opportunity and new adventures, they discovered paths beyond the reach of roads and new horizons, both physical and metaphorical, where all seemed possible.
Brewmasters and Brewery Creek: A History of Craft Beer in Vancouver, Then and Now
by Noëlle Phillips
This rigorously researched deep dive into the history of craft beer in Vancouver makes an exciting addition to books on the city’s history, certain to appeal to beer-lovers and history buffs alike.
The book is illustrated with photos, original newspaper clippings, and maps, with stops into basement archives and sunlit tap rooms.
Discover more B.C. Bestsellers here.
