Winter, Huckleberries and a Quick Seasonal Suggestion

It's a cold day here....winter has settled in and contrary to the usual coastal norm, it looks like it might stay awhile.













Dig those whitecaps on Howe Sound.

Bowyer Island, being battered.







But I spent most of the day in the warm embrace of my friends (and fellow scribes), James McCann and Lee Edward Fodi as we did a Holiday Book Event at Once Upon a Huckleberry Bush.

Warm thanks to Portia, Michelle and the rest of the crew made us feel at home and welcome. And best thanks also to Callie, Meg, Don, Oliver and all of our friends who braved the snow to join us in our candy cane celebration.

I love the picture Meg took 0f the tremendous crowds enjoying the antics of the strangely-hatted authors on parade!



And, after a long day, to finish with a quick Seasonal Suggestion, may I suggest that you add the Chronicles of Kendra Kandlestar to your gift basket?

These books, written and illustrated by my buddy Lee, (aka Mr. Wiz, the guy in the middle in the picture above) are a magical glimpse into different worlds, led by a tiny girl with many braids and a brave heart. Kendra Kandlestar and the Door to Unger, and Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers are currently available, and Lee is preparing for a new Kendra title to launch early in 2009.

What better way to take the chill out of the season?

~kc

Seasonal Suggestions for Teens -- December 11th

So, here we are...two weeks until Christmas. Chanukah runs December 22 -29th this year. December 22 is also winter solstice (scene of much pagan celebration around these parts this year, I can tell you...). Kwanzaa begins December 26th.

All wonderful reasons to celebrate in a world filled with empty stockings. If part of your gift-giving ritual, whatever it may be, includes sharing with someone else, may I point you to boing boing, where Cory Doctorow has put up an excellent compendium of charitable organizations who need your help.

And don't forget the SPCA -- we've talked about them before.

Reminder of a couple of upcoming events -- my buddy CC Humphreys is doing a reading downtown in the Alma Van Dusen room of the Vancouver Public Library (main branch) this Friday, December 12th at 7:30 pm. And...

Lee Edward Fodi, James McCann and I are doing a Holiday Book Signing at Once Upon a Huckleberry Bush (4387 Main Street, Vancouver) this Sunday, December 14th from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.

Then next week, I'll be off to CWC WinterCamp, 2008, where I have a mammoth role-playing-game set up for a little holiday fun in my classes. See you there, guys!

Uh...and at some point, I'd better turn my mind to Christmas shopping... anybody have any Seasonal Suggestions for me? If you do, post 'em in the comments. I'm collecting up all the names of December commenters and putting 'em in a draw for a signed copy of MS. ZEPHYR'S NOTEBOOK. I think I'll do the draw on December 22nd, in honour of all things solstice. So get your name in there -- and help me with my shopping!




~kc

Seasonal Suggestions for Teens -- December 7 & 8

Yikes! Can't miss a day on this whirlwind tour of the holiday season. Sunday turned out to be too full to blog, so today, gentle readers, you get a twofer.

To begin, I'd like to give a shout-out to Books on the Nightstand who have been blogging luscious gift ideas for readers of all stripes for some time now. They posted a few non-literary gifts for bookish readers today. [I love these guys. You must check out their site if you have a minute...]

A favourite suggestion is this clock:




Which can be found HERE for a Very Reasonable Price. They also supply a version in all black book covers, for the more sophisticated (or monochrome) reader.

[Please note I don't know the folks that run this website -- I just like the look of the clock!]



[Speaking of clocks, I picked up this little number -- at last -- from artist Sandra Bilewich this weekend. I had originally bought the clock when I stumbled into Sandra's packed house whilst on the East Side Culture Crawl, and spied it with my squinted eye.



It's now sitting on my dining room table until I can find it a proper home, but it is my favourite purchase of the year -- next to the MacBook, of course. A steampunk cuckoo clock, a collection of found welded steel bits, rocks, springs...and a clock running backwards. My idea of clockish perfection.]



Okay -- clocks galore for the comfort of the resonant tock-ticks while reading. An ideal seventh seasonal suggestion.



And now on to suggestion #8!




Suggestion #8 is an ENTIRE bookstore full of ideas that you can pick up at a special event this weekend:

James McCann, Lee Edward Fodi and myself will be appearing for a reading and general candy-cane gorge-a-thon at the new bookshop in Vancouver called Once Upon A Huckleberry.

You can see the poster on James' blog HERE or read the details in an earlier post of mine HERE.



Store details:

Once Upon a Huckleberry Bush
4387 Main Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada V5V 3R1

Phone: (604)876–4010
portia@huckleberrychildrensbooks.com

Triple Author Event runs from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, Sunday December 14th.

Don't forget the free candy canes -- we promise to ruin your dinner AND sign any books you buy for free!

~kc