Books - Part 2
Our small town of 4000 people has 3 pharmacies, 3 pot shops and soon to be 3 dollar stores. We have a Giant Tiger and a small grocery store. We also have a candy shop and a pretty good dress shop. We have 2 pet stores, a liquor store, and a very good bakery. We have a few other shops but the BIG news is that we now have a BOOKSTORE.
The bookstore used to be a Confectionery but now is the BEST independent bookstore around. Selina, the owner, has named her bookstore “Saturday Morning”. It’s an interesting name for a bookstore and I guess it’s because Saturday morning is for reading and relaxing but for us retired folks, everyday is a Saturday. 😜
Along with a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, this bookstore has a sweet children’s section, a puzzle table and a meeting spot. It also has unique merch. Selina encourages people to go next door to Sweetened by Shelly and pick up a coffee and bring it into the bookstore and sit. Selina also orders books in for you. I used to order books on Amazon (please don’t judge me) but NO MORE. I order whatever I need and Selina gets them for me in a jiffy. Fingers and toes crossed that this bookstore is well used by the people of the Deep.
Deep River is a very creative area. We have many artists who draw, paint, rug hook, quilt, woodwork, play instruments, write and the list goes on and on and on. Margaret Macpherson is one such person. She is a creative, a painter, a writer, a poet.
I met Margaret one day after buying books at the library’s used book sale. She was interested in what I had purchased and we got to chatting about the book I had in my bike basket. She had read it and told me it was a rather gruesome book but worth the read. I met her again when she did a reading of her then new book “Tracking the Caribou Queen”. She invited everyone to her home after her book launch to chat and sip wine. I ditched John and went over. Margaret and I have been friends ever since.
Margaret and Mark had arrived to Deep River from Edmonton. Her husband had grown up in Deep River and now that he was retired he had a hankering to return to his roots.
Margaret has written 9 novels and is working on a book of poetry (I’ve asked Selina to get me a book about how to understand poetry so that when Margaret’s book is published I will be able to understand it.) I have read 3 of Margaret’s books so far and am hooked.
These are Margaret’s latest books. Tilting Towards Joy is a collection of short stories that take place in Canada and in France. Although the stories stand alone they intersect here and there. Fascinating read. Tracking the Caribou Queen is a story of Margaret’s early years in Yellowknife. If you haven’t read these books yet, I HIGHLY recommend them. You won’t be disappointed. Selina has many of Margaret’s books in stock and says she will be showcasing and promoting local authors and their books in her bookstore. If there was a reason to visit Deep River, this is it.
What am I reading right now? One of the books I’m working through is this one.
I’m reading this book while rewatching the TV series. This book is a concise summary of every episode of Schitt’s Creek. I enjoy it because it’s a bit like learning about a painting: the more you know about its background, techniques, and the little details, the more you understand and enjoy it.
My favourite way to read is with my Kobo. It is so light and I like reading in bed. A big book weighs me down. My Kobo is worn at the edges and never betrays its secrets. You never know what I’m reading. It could be trashy guilty-pleasure romance, or an autobiography, maybe a pep-talking self-help manual, a murder mystery or a book that is pure, laugh out loud fun. I read them all (and if you want recommendations on the steamy trashy ones, let me know…I have the list 😚)
Remember when vampire books had a global takeover and every teen was swooning over immortal angst? I was NOT a teen, but I’ll freely confess —I was there, too. Once, on the bus to work, I was deep into one of those sparkly pages (of a real book with pages!!!) when a fellow peeked over and asked, “What are you reading?” I was mortified. I closed the book, “Umm, nothing.” If only I’d had a Kobo back then. No judges, no curious onlookers. This Kobo keeps my secrets. 😜
