A character in her own right and book #46: Emily Carr

It's always interesting moving, particularly when it's moving to a new country! There's always so much to explore - new towns, cities, and in Canada of course, there is the great outdoors. But I'm a people person, when I don't have my nose in a book that is, so it's the characters of any new town or city that really intrigue me - particularly those who have shaped the city itself.


Here in Victoria, on Vancouver Island, one such character is Emily Carr. I first came across her in the form of a statue. She's sitting outside the Fairmont Empress Hotel, complete with a pet monkey on her shoulder. My next encounter with her was inside the Royal BC Museum, where an exhibition depicting her artwork is currently on display. Yet I still had absolutely no idea who she was, and why she was such an icon to this Canadian province. 


Fortunately, the answers were in Emily Carr: The Incredible Life and Adventures of a West Coast Artist, by Cat Klerks. A short, 100-page, biography of this remarkable, yet rather eccentric woman, who finally found fame at 70-years-old. 


One of six children, Emily travelled to London in pursuit of her artistic dreams, spent time in Paris, Vancouver and San Francisco, before returning to Vancouver Island to sketch indigenous totem poles. She had few friends, a sister she was close to, established a boarding house called "The House of Allsorts" and eventually turned to writing selections of short stories, most of which were published posthumously.


This little book had everything I wanted to know about Emily. I've since visited Emily Carr House, now a heritage site in James Bay, and still on my to do list is the art gallery, named in her honour. A lonesome individual, she seemed to spend her time searching for solace in painting and writing, yet has left a legacy and in doing so become a character in her own right.

Book #9: Recipe for Bees

I love a light read! And this one was absolutely perfect for a lazy afternoon. I avoided all housework, all email communication and my growing 'to-do' list to curl up with Recipe for Bees  – thoroughly indulgent and thoroughly enjoyable! 

A soft story – Recipe for Bees by Gail Anderson-Dargatz is nothing really to write home about, nor one that will imprint itself on the memory in years to come – but unlike my previous reading material, Recipe for Bees came along at just the right moment.

It’s the story of Augusta, told as her son-in-law is undergoing an operation for a brain tumour, yet what this side story has to do with the actual plot is anybody’s guess. It doesn’t provide any addition to the main theme, nor is there any connection to be made in a twist at the end, but its harmless none-the-less. The same could be said about the bees in the story. Why there’s this added element to the book, I’m not sure. There are very few mentions of it – other than the first opening paragraph – and as you delve into Augusta’s story, one forgets honeybees are even buzzing around.

Yet, I love a good historical novel, which this had elements of. Augusta went back in time, recalling life as a girl, a young married woman, gossip in the town, affairs, relationships, and growing old with her husband. A sweet story but nothing mindblowing, memorable, or magical about it – just sweet enough to go with a cup of tea.

Book #5: One Red Paperclip

(and January's Wild Cherry (Red) cover love challenge book)

Whenever I visit someone’s house I inevitably end up at their bookshelf, scouring the shelves to see what their bookshelf says about them. Do we have similar reading tastes? Is there anything I can borrow? Ideas for my next book purchase? And how many of their books have I already read!

When we visited friends in south London, sure enough, I was found standing next to their fireplace, perusing their bookshelf – and that’s when I noticed One Red Paperclip. It immediately caught my interest, so I filed it away as a book to add to my own bookshelf.

But, one week later I received an email from said friend, saying he’d like to buy us One Red Paperclip  and did we already have it on our bookshelf – meant to be or what?!

And that’s how One Red Paperclip ended up as book number five for my 2011 reading challenge. The story of Kyle MacDonald himself, who began by trading one red paperclip and worked his way up to eventually being able to trade a house – trading on the way a snowmobile, a date with Alice Cooper, a camping stove, and a fish pen – among other such items.

A quirky story, a great idea, but unfortunately a rather boring read. I’d recommend cheating this one and going to his blog instead: http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/