Meet Me In The Stacks

Nathan gets to reuse his accordion rendition of our theme to welcome you to this second special episode of Sea & Cedar magazine readings!  It's like a literary adult storytime for you, really. Works included: Orca Cafe by Anna Russell West Coast Mornings: the view by Chris Lihou Tracks by Deborah Graham You can READ this issue of Sea & Cedar online or in print .  You can also SUBMIT your own work...

Does your family have war stories?  Are they shared or unspoken?  Join blues musician George Halpern for his father's action-packed war story from his book From School to Sky: Joseph's Tale of War.  You can borrow his book here or find out where to purchase it here .  See photos here .  This event was originally at the Nanaimo North Branch in early 2023.

Nathan quizzes Darby on such topics as: what kind of library is an  osmothèque? detective or dancer? Shakespeare word, or not? and many more... YOU could win FREE BOOKS FOR LIFE!  Please redeem your prize at your nearest branch. 

Nathan and Darby talk about books (again) and important topics like "what is a new year anyway?"  We may or may not be late with this segment about our top picks from 2022 (though we are totally early for Nowruz/Persian New Year, so there!). Our top picks: FICTION GENERAL FICTION: A Funny Kind of Paradise by Jo Owens -Victoria author TOP SERIES: The Rockton/Casey Duncan series by Kelley Armstrong...

When Nathan gets a bee in his bonnet, he really goes all the way.  Listen to him talk about phone booths and "computer phones".  Yes, this is library related, really.  Don't get Nathan started again.  Please. Darby brings you 5 books to talk about.  They are book club approved!  Or you can just think about them really hard by yourself. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson...

Nathan is inspired to procure an accordion to welcome you to this special episode of Sea & Cedar magazine readings!  It's like a literary adult storytime for you, really. Works included: Steelhead! by Jess H. Brewer The Long View & Youth is an Absence by Diane Massam Hockey Fights by Miles Hayes Cedar Psalm III by Allie Picketts Back Road Bonanza, Solstice Ceremony,  &  Raining Glory by Neall Calv...

Nathan tests your library trivia knowledge and then lets you self-evaluate to assign your own points.  Listen in to hear what prizes are on offer. 

Longtime library employee Jeremy Tolmie talks to Dahlia about his life and his book called Kicking ASSpergers: One Meltdown at a Time .  Find his book on his publisher's website , Jeremy's website , or in the library catalogue . Jeremy Tolmie has written three previous books—Living with Asperger's Syndrome, Living with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Living on the Autism Spectrum. His goal in sharin...

We hear ya...  Summer can be a busy time and we have some local short fiction to squeeze in while you do something else.  Meet winners from the 2022 Islands Short Fiction Contest !  They are here for you. Stories included today: The Grimathonian Monster written by and read by Mira Vickers, 1st place in the junior category The Push written by and read by Lillith Stoyko-Lang, 1st place in the youth...

Get right into the live vibe of this event from Pride Month at Courtenay library with author Sydney Sunderland.  I Am Everything In Between highlights kids who don't fit into stereotypical gender ideals. The book is published by Rebel Mountain Press in Nanoose. Find it in the library catalogue , see more info from Rebel Mountain , and find it in your local bookstore!

Kendra talks with Vivi and Catherine of Duncan's amazing bookstore, Volume One .  Get ready for some deep-dive recommendations! Their favourites for adults: Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard (non-fiction) Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (fiction) Bluebird by Sharon Cameron (fiction) ~ on order People Change by Vivek Shraya (non-fiction/essay) Their favourites for children: The Snail and th...

Are fines fine, or are fines not so fine? Does fining lead to... crime? Find out with Nathan and visit the dark world of library fine crimes. (Did you know that VIRL has no overdue fines for children's and young adult materials? And we're trying it out for adult materials too in 2022!) Darby shares some fine thrillers (with crimes in them): The Kill Club by Wendy Heard Read alike: Kristen Lepionka...

Sooke Librarian Nathalie interviews Victoria-based author Hayden Stone .  He is definitely a book-ish person and talks about favourite real-life bookshops along with the fictional one he created for his character Aubrey.  You can find his queer romance book An Unexpected Kind of Love for sale or in our catalogue .  (Apparently it has a lot of kissing and steamy bits.) Casey tells us about some gre...

Settle in, maybe in a meditation seat, maybe reclined on your couch, and give yourself a little break to listen to some poetry.  Kamal Parmar is Nanaimo's Poet Laureate and the author of numerous books of poetry .  Parmar is also a writer creative non-fiction and has published multiple books in North America, India and the United Kingdom, with topics including childhood memories of India, her impr...

On Sunday November 28th from 2-3:30pm we will be conducting a virtual (Zoom) screening of the documentary film The Gift of Adversity , which will be followed by a Q&A by the filmmaker. Here are some details about the film and creator: Following W'Ren's life-changing 2016 diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, he turned to filmmaking as part of his healing journey. Dance with Disease: the Gift of Advers...

BOO(k) to you!!! Casey shares some Spoooooooky Booooooooks: Good House by Tananarive Due Through the Woods  by Emily Carroll Fangs by Sarah Andersen Check out Sarah's Scribbles too Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Sarah Khaw Dr. Edith Vane and the Hares of Crawley Hall by Suzette May Tell us what YOUR favourite spooky tales are! Then Darby had a more lighthearted conversation with Shanon Sinn of Vic...

What does folklore have to do with COVID anyway?  And have you ever wanted to know what the difference between gossip and rumour is?  Why does it even matter?  And how big an X-Files fan is Nathan anyway? Find out by listening (and using a bit of imagination on what the slides looked like) if you're concerned about the reptilian cabal that runs the podcast!  On September 28, Memorial University pr...

The episode in which you learn the name to that instrument you hear in all the TV shows but had no idea what it was.  Also, Nathan and Darby talk about Libraries of Things that lend unexpected items. We talk about: Seed libraries at Nanaimo North, Creativity Commons (Nanaimo),Courtenay, and Gabriola branches Human libraries Tool libraries located on Gabriola Island and in Courtenay Musical instrum...

"If only we could just read and not go to our jobs and stuff." -Quote of the episode Author Meryl Wilsner reads from and discusses their novel Something to Talk About back in June for Pride month.  The book follows Jo and Emma in a what starts as a Hollywood rumour and looks like it might become a relationship.  Meryl answers questions from the zoom audience as well. Queers romance authors/books m...

We're all about the R&R and slowing it down to get some reading in this episode.  These segments were recorded during our July heatwave, so don't mind our dewey/Dewey appearance. Beach reads are different everyone, but Casey tells you about some compelling, light, and totally entertaining books that she thinks are just beachy, whether you're an ocean, lake, river, or AC kind of reader: Skye Fallin...

Jessica takes us for a field trip into her Ask A Local Farmer program series!  Local Comox Valley farmer Arzeena from Amara Farm discusses growing your own food and supporting local food cultivation during and post pandemic.  You might learn something that will help you with your carrot crop or just inspire you to plant something!  Arzeena recommended you check out a book about square foot gardeni...

Brace yourself...this one is pretty book-ish.  Books about books...  Metabooks?  Bibliomemoirs?  Reading about reading?  In Talk Bookish to Me Casey tells us about some books about some other books. Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi The Victorian and the Romantic by Nell Stevens My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead Banned Book Club by Hyun Sook Kim (graphic novel) Book Love by Debbie Tung...

Are you a fan of cosy/serious/hilarious/Indigenous culture lit?  Us too!  Author Eden Robinson laughs (a lot) with Darby about her books, Wild Men of the Woods (aka Sasquatches), matriarchal tendencies, and lots more.  This is the audio from our special zoom event on April 23, 2021. Eden Robinson came to us from her home in Kitimaat Village and is of Haisla and Heiltsuk ancestry.  Darby was at wor...

Lori Shwydky talks to Darby about Rebel Mountain Press and the diverse titles they've been producing as they've grown since 2015.  You can find Rebel Mountain titles in our catalogue , including the teen writing anthologies that feature the talented teens of Vancouver Island and our surrounding coastal communities. Rebel Mountain Press books we touched on: In Our Own Teen Voice and In Our Own Abor...

Darby talks to Arija about her interest in Dungeons and Dragons (DND).  We answer pressing questions such as… : Is it only playable in a dark basement? Can you make friends playing it? What is it anyway? Is it really about storytelling? Is it pandemic friendly? Casey recommends some Sci-Fi and Fantasy books you might not know you needed to read by Black authors: Falling in Love with Hominids by Na...