The Raise-a-Reader event took place here in the Cowichan Valley today with four locations where folks could donate and enter for prizes. All funds raised are to help local literacy programs and will be matched by the Province of B.C.

The Downtown Duncan location was at City Square, alongside Gallowglass Books.  Among other notables in attendance, there were Cowichan Valley Capitals hockey players Curtis Gedig and Shayne Taker, as well as local MLA Jean Crowder, all there to help kick the event off.

Our appreciation to everyone who came out to support local literacy campaigns!

On Tuesday Sept 22nd we had Armstrong B.C. author Gordon Schnare at the bookstore all day promoting his book “Uncovering Treasures from the Earth: The Life Story of Prospector Thomas James McQuillan.”

McQuillan grew up in Courtenay and went on to become one of Canada’s most successful prospectors, laying claim to four major ore bodies (all major producers) over his career. He served in the Canadian Navy in W.W.II as a petty officer aboard a Corvette and was also a coastal logger for a time.  The author was a long-time friend.

The book retails at $25.00 and is currently available for sale.

While most readers probably seek out biographies to learn the intimate details of people’s lives and the history of different eras and cultures, there are some for whom autobiography is meant to be outright comedy. (Whether it was written comically or not!)  Which brings us to the off-Broadway production of Celebrity Autobiography.

Recently on CBC’s show Q, host Jian Ghomeshi interviewed the producer (?) and Saturday Night Live alum Rachel Dratch, one of the players from the New York production,  which is where we first heard about it.  The video below is a taste of the style, an odd and frequently very funny mixture of melodrama and witty spins on the personal stories of your favorite celebs.

A unique and fun way to put your biography library (or our collection) to fresh use, perhaps? You decide!

Certainly books are the most important thing to a bookstore  (of course!), but have you noticed how so many bookstores carry things in addition to books?  Everything from blank journals and stationary, to beautifully crafted bookmarks and other lovely things, can be found in our favorite stores around Vancouver Island.  And even here at Gallowglass — where we don’t actually carry journals or stationary — there’s always a few odd things around the store.

Taking inventory recently, I snapped a few photos…

The cards on this rack are all lovingly crafted by our friend, and long-time customer, Gwen Rawlins, a talented artist here in the Cowichan Valley. On the walls of the store you can also see various examples of prints and paintings (not pictured here) available for sale.

Above, you can see we keep a few audio books on hand, tapes and CDs. (Handy if you’re in the car a lot or like to take long walks!)

Recognize the books above? Well, they’re not books; they’re book boxes, actually. Particularly handy for hiding valuables. (Just be sure to buy a box of a book you really like… you don’t want to accidentally forget you’ve stored some cash in there before unthinkingly giving the book away!)

Finally, a wall hanging by Mary Rolls, another customer of the store and talented local artist. And below that photo, some stray book ends for the shelves.

Books are always the star of the show, but it seems other things have a way of slipping onto the shelves. And who knows… maybe one day we’ll even add some of those blank journals like a normal bookstore.