Late-breaking recap: EVENT was able to raise a record-breaking amount at our annual book sale this year (March 19 – 22 in the New Westminster Campus Concourse and March 26 & 27 in the David Lam Main Atrium) and we owe it all to you!

Special thanks to local writers-and-book-donators Billeh Nickerson & Kwantlen College, David Zieroth, Caroline Adderson, Ben Rawluk and Hal Wake & the Vancouver  International Writers & Readers Festival, who donated signed books by Chuck Palahniuk and Lorna Crozier.

Thanks also to Douglas College staff, faculty, family and friends who donated, volunteered, and came by to either the New Westminster or Coquitlam campuses of DC to browse, chat and buy books.

EVENT’s Fiction Editor Christine Dewar shares her experiences of the week:

One of my favourite memories of this year’s booksale happened at the David Lam campus. Developmental Studies Reading and Writing Coordinator Mardi Joyce brought a whole class of students down to the booksale tables at coffee break and invited them each to choose a book, on her. Like shouting a round at a bar, but with books. Many students deliberated for a long time over their selections, while others knew right away what they wanted. Some chose books for themselves; others chose books for friends or family members. We gave Mardi a good deal for her generosity—but the best deal of all, by far, was the collective sense of unexpected celebration and abundance tucked into the middle of a regular school day. Thanks for bringing your festival energy and spontaneity to the table, Mardi Joyce!

Christine Dewar schleps books and enjoys a birthday treat at our annual fundraiser

Volunteer Ingrid Tamboline shares her thoughts on volunteering for our fundraiser:

A man walks up to me, places a bundle of books held together by an elastic band on the table, and wants to ask me something. But we can’t communicate. He cannot speak. With palsied grace, he places his backpack on the feast-like table groaning under the weight of the smorgasbord of delicious books, and withdraws a computer, opens it up and with his thumb begins typing a question. “How mu…” That’s all that’s needed and we begin the ancient dance of trade – with a twist. “It’s five dollars. Paperbacks are five dollars, and this is bundled, so for you, five bucks,” I say, cheerfully. Overjoyed and eyes sparkling with delight, he enthusiastically punches out the word “SWEEEEEEETTTTT” on his computer. Then on the next line, “EXCEPTIONALLY SWEEET!!!!”. Then he points to a piece of paper he found tucked into one of the books. It was an original receipt. Exceptionally sweet indeed!

I had such a nice day helping at the EVENT book sale, meeting cool people, communicating through electronic media that, for a moment at least, broke down the barriers between abled and differently-abled. A wonderfully diverse array of people picked up books, skimmed through them, stood for long periods deeply engrossed, shared finds with friends and strangers…. I looked around me to see the written/read word as the great equalizer.

People’s interests are so wide and varied: There was the young man who was looking to buy a book about animals for his girlfriend, a dog trainer; the aspiring guitarist looking for music books so he could teach himself how to play; the numerous people looking for favourite authors, recounting the plots of books they had read as they held them up tenderly, nostalgically.

There are so many stories written and still so many to be told. It was a boundary-free, unifying day. Thank you for making it happen, and for the opportunity to share in some intimate moments of memory making.

Thanks to you, Ingrid, to our other fundraising week volunteers: Liz, Christine, Theresa, Sue, Ian, Calvin, Nikki, Carleigh, Sharon, Amira, Matthew, Brock and Nicole; and to Douglas College Facilities and the Douglas College Foundation for their support.

Editor Elizabeth Bachinsky & Editorial Assistant Nicole Freeston

I have wonderful parents.

I feel blessed that they are both alive and incredibly supportive of my life’s journey.

It’s funny, when they come out to Maine from Pennsylvania I feel like I have to entertain them when they are here. But they like to do one of the things I love to do read.

I grew up with a houseful of books. There were bookcases in virtually every room maybe with the exception of the kitchen and bathrooms. Thousands of books. The Bryn Mawr book sale, library sales, used book stores … Lots of history, fiction you name it, the house was always full of books. Also full of papers, magazines and clutter a trait I have unfortunately continued.

But, my dad and my mom are always reading.

I grew up reading too .. starting with Star Wars Read and LP books at 3. I loved, loved Star Wars. Came out when I was 3, and have loved R2D2 since 1974. Part of why I am Ed2D2 now, as a poetry name and the future name for this blog (I hope) ed2d2.com. I hope to make that change soon. Have been reading since. Dr. Seuss as a preschooler, but was reading books like Ray Bradbury’s “The Martian Chronicles” by Christmas in 1st grade when I was around 7.

Reading is a wonderful gift any parent can give a child. If you want to raise a reader, been in a house full of books and reading. Reading has to be fun, outside of school. So many readers lose interest in reading after assigned reading in middle school, don’t let them. And maybe you can be the family that is just happy to sit by the water and read next to each other. It’s a wonderful thing.

edmund

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