A Thousand Dreams

So, summer has run its course. The air has changed. Kids in school uniforms have reclaimed the city buses. And here at Museum, the fall book catalogues have arrived, something that always prompts lively conversations about the most compelling books about Vancouver, set in Vancouver, written by Vancouverites—or some combination of the three.

Our fall reading list includes Douglas Coupland’s highly anticipated Generation A (if you haven’t watched the clever promos for the book yet, proceed directly to iTunes. The shorts come up when you search the author’s name). On the non-fiction side, there’s A Thousand Dreams, a look at the current state of, and future of, the Downtown Eastside, and co-authored by Vancouver mayor-turned-Senator Larry Campbell, Vancouver Sunreporter Lori Culbert, and SFU professor and criminologist Neil Boyd. Lastly, Charles Demers’ Vancouver Special promises an irreverent take on the state of the things. We’re intrigued.

But what of those books in the back catalogue? Those takes on the city we continue to refer to years after the first printing?

We’ve assembled a shortlist of our favourite titles, recent and not so recent, that we’ll be presenting in a series of blog posts over the next couple weeks. Undoubtedly some of your favourites will be missing, so, do send in your comments.