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Scout Book Club, Vol. 17

We like consuming words on the page almost as much as we like consuming food on the plate. Welcome to the Scout Book Club: a brief and regular rundown of what we’re reading, what’s staring at us from the bookshelf begging to be read next, and what we’ve already read and recommend.

Recently Read & Recommended

IN SHORT: More suggestions for short attention spans! Ling Ma’s 2022 short story collection, Bliss Montage (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) blends absurdity with unabashed, real life emotions, relationship dynamics, identity issues and immigration politics. Yetis, ex-boyfriends, invisibility drugs and burial rituals, oh my! A collection of unique, entertaining and multi-layered stories that I highly recommend picking up, if you missed it. Find out more.

A Way to Be Happy (Biblioasis) is the new compilation of eight short stories by Vancouver-based writer, Caroline Adderson. Deftly swerving between settings ranging from a modern day Vancouver during the not-so-distant past to a psychiatric hospital circa the early twentieth century; flitting between a spectrum of narrators (including a middle-aged man with a colonoscopy phobia, a young addict out for a night of NYE party-hopping and thieving, a queer woman struggling to manage her depression with the raising of a neuro-divergent child in small town BC, and a sexually vicarious writer in search of a plot). This well-seasoned author has managed to steer clear of the hazards of kitsch or gratuitousness to produce a near-perfect collection about a bunch of very imperfect yet entirely plausible characters and scenarios. Find out more. — TS

Seek out your copies from local independent booksellers, such as Iron Dog Books, Massy Books and Upstart & Crow.*


GRAPHIC: B is For Beer (HarperCollins), by Tom Robbins | Considering the amount of time I spend drinking and thinking about beer and reading (often at the same time), it’s surprising that Robbins’ 2009 “A Children’s Book for Grown-ups” or “A Grown-up Book for Children” hasn’t come onto my radar sooner! A cheeky illustrated tale about a precocious little girl living in Seattle who learns all about beer via a dreamy education led by one “Beer Fairy” – from its origins to the brewing process, plus its various positive and negative effects. Good for a laugh (and a brush-up/rundown on where beer comes from). You can easily rip through this 128-page story while nursing a pint. Find out more.

Beirut (Invisible Publishing), by Barrack Zailaa Rima | The celebrated Lebanese expatriate comic artist’s three volumes depicting her time spent in Beirut was published as a singular English-translation graphic novel for the first time last month (September 17th, 2024). The result is a beautifully illustrated portrait of the Lebanese city during various phases across history, told in an unconventional narrative style that is poetic, personal, political and urgent. Find out more. —TS

Available as a special order from local independent booksellers, such as Iron Dog Books, Massy Books and Upstart & Crow.*


NEW & DEBATABLE: Intermezzo (Penguin Random House), by Sally Rooney | Regardless of my feelings of ambivalence towards the celebrated young Irish author (or perhaps because of it), my curiosity about Rooney’s writing and popularity didn’t sway me from diving into Intermezzo the moment I got my hands on it. In her fourth novel, Rooney continues to ponder the ways that ordinary humans relate to one another, this time honing in on two brothers (Ivan, a burgeoning chess player his early 20s; and Peter, a well-to-do lawyer in his early 30s), their unconventional relationships with the significant women in their lives, and the resultant collateral damage. Themes including age and class differences, power, and sexuality all come into play here, in Rooney’s typically oblique and stream-of-thought style. Although upon completion of the 437-page-long story, I still have yet to be convinced that Rooney’s writing is so deserving of its high praise, I chalk it up to a combination of the right timing and an ability to tap into a generational zeitgeist by portraying characters she is, essentially, growing up with in tandem. Read it and form your opinions – and let me know if you agree! — TS

Order your copy from local independent booksellers, such as Iron Dog Books, Massy Books and Upstart & Crow.*


NON-FICTION & FOOD-RELATED: Lessons in Service from Charlie Trotter (Ten Speed Press), by Edmund Lawler | Back in 1987, Charlie Trotter opened his eponymous namesake restaurant, a farm-to-table fine dining trailblazer that would carve out and shape his identity for service excellence for over 25 years. In Lessons in Service from Charlie Trotter author Edmund Lawler distills the famed chef’s approach and ideas (many unorthodox) for how he ran his restaurant and the people and customers who came within. A unique exploration into a once fascinating mind (Trotter died in 2013), Lessons in Service is an excellent tool for understanding the perfection of the art of service. —JM

The latest novel from award-winning local author Timothy Taylor, The Rise and Fall of Magic Wolf (Dundurn Press), is centred around a fictional French-trained cook-cum-restaurateur named Teo Wolf, who uses his experience abroad as leverage to open a succession of restaurants in his hometown of Vancouver. The story brings us in just as he is about to open his third establishment – an event disrupted by public allegations of sexual misconduct against one of his kitchen staff, and subsequent chaos. Sounds like 352 pages of F&B-related tension! FYI all royalties from sales of The Rise and Fall of Magic Wolf are being funnelled directly to the BC Hospitality Foundation, a valuable local organization dedicated to providing resources and financial assistance to BC hospitality and tourism workers in need. Find out more. — TS

“An easy and pleasurable read full of scandal and anxiety, as it takes you through the life of a rookie chef in Paris to a complicated restaurant empire in present day Vancouver. There’s innumerable references to the city as he [Timothy Taylor] takes his main character through the trials of opening three restaurants while managing to balance love, happiness and the pursuit of moral character. The other main character, Frankie, is a true piece of work. The classic high flying chef with no guard rails. Definitely recommend and can’t wait to unpack with Timothy*.” —JM *Stay tuned for a Track & Food podcast interview with the author, coming soon!

Seek out your copy from local independent booksellers, such as Iron Dog Books, Massy Books and Upstart & Crow.*


UP NEXT

Soups, Salads, Sandwiches (Appetite Random House), by Matty Matheson | Heads up, home cooks, because it’s almost time! The new cookbook from cult figure, chef, restaurateur and actor/producer, Matty Matheson, drops in less than two weeks, on October 22nd. The straightforward titled tome has been inducing our appetites for a while, and now that we’ve finally had the opportunity to flip through an advance copy of the 350+ page volume, we can attest that it ticks off all the right boxes: its photos are beautiful and the recipes seem mostly uncomplicated and comforting – perfect for this time of year! It’s still too early days to vouch for the ease or flavour of the myriad dishes spelled out on its pages, but now that the temperatures are dropping, time spent at home, cooking in the kitchen, is more and more appealing – so stay tuned! And if you haven’t already, then preorder your own copy here.


*It would be remiss for me not to mention Vancouver’s various other independent and used book stores, and encourage you to pay them an in-person visit to seek out these and other titles.

Supplementary Reading

What does the future of salmon farming look like in B.C.? | In collaboration with The Guardian, this excellent feature article details what’s at stake for many in the local salmon farming sector. Via The Narwhal.


Vancouver’s Iron Chef Rob Feenie Makes His Big Comeback | A light exposé of a once dominant Vancouver chef figure, and his renewal. Via Montecristo. —JM


Addressing the racism of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program | An excellent explainer of the core root problem of a major issue in BC and Canada. Via Policynote. —JM

Scout Book Club: Writers’ Recommendations

The Vancouver Writers Fest wrapped up its 2024 edition last week, on October 27th; however, we took advantage of the event’s impressive roster of writers to elicit a whole slew of book recommendations from its participants.

On Rose-Flavoured Words, Parlaying with Pirates, and Performing Circus Acts, with Heather O’Neill

On the heels of the publication of her latest book last month and ahead of her stint at this year’s Vancouver Writers Fest (October 21st to 27th), we pose a series of questions to the Montreal author of "The Capital of Dreams".

Scout Book Club, Vol. 16: Design Vancouver Edition

We're shaking things up by eliciting recommendations for design-related books from Becki Chan, of Open Format Arts & Culture and Director of the upcoming Design Vancouver Festival (September 19-29), and Marianne Amodio, Pecha Kucha Night Host and one half of the local architecture firm, Marianne Amodio and Harley Grusko Architects Inc..

Scout Book Club, Vol. 15

We like consuming words on the page almost as much as we like consuming food on the plate. Welcome to the Scout Book Club: a brief and regular rundown of what we're reading, what's staring at us from the bookshelf begging to be read next, and what we've already read and recommend.