Dollar Store Tattoos

Rachel

Art Gallery downtown (Olympic clock in the background)

Awesome spray paint artist

Walking down Burrard Street

Laura at work – The Cambie Hostel

Rachel at the Dunk Tank taunting the boys: “Get me wet!”

Mister Canada!

Rachel got dunked … but he ran up and hit it!

Rachel fooling around

Mmmm Cake!

Me at the Dunk Tank

Mid-Fall… good photo Rach!

Climbing out… really cold… really pink!

Later at Laura’s friend’s BBQ — and her cat who had to be shaved due to matted fur.

Great photo of Laura, Rachel, and I… great Canada Day!

The 2nd Canadian Book Challenge is hosted again by John of The Book Mine Set. I didn’t know about it the first time round, but now I plan to participate … and I have just the set of books in mind!

The Rules:

• Read 13 books by Canadian authors or about Canadians (represents the 13 Provinces & Territories)
• Between July 1, 2008 and July 1, 2009 (Canada Day)
• Choose from one of the categories (or The Free Spirit — any 13 Canadian books)

My category: The Prize Pack & The Provincial/Territorial because at my summer job, also in the office is the BC Book Prizes. This means that there are many books at my fingertips to borrow (and take good care of)!

1. finished July 4, 2008 Porcupine by Meg Tilly (YA Fiction)
2. finished July 15, 2008 Conceit by Mary Novik (Fiction)
3. finished July 6, 2008 The Alchemist’s Dream by John Wilson (YA Lit)
4. The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating by J.B. MacKinnon & Alisa Smith (Non-Fiction)
5. finished July 22, 2008 Forage by Rita Wong (Poetry)
6. Hannah Waters and the Daughter of Johann Sebastian Bach by Barbara Nickel (Children’s Lit)
7. [quit. I wasn't enjoying it.] Adam’s Peak by Heather Burt (Fiction)
8. finished August 17, 2008 A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah (Non-Fiction)
9. Kat’s Fall by Shelley Hrdlitschka (YA Fiction)
10. The Reservoir by Eric Miller (Essays)
11. Miss Smithers by Susan Juby (YA Fiction)
12. Safe House by James Heneghan (Children’s Lit)
13. White Girl by Sylvia Olsen (YA Fiction)

BONUS: Steve Zipp is sending me a copy of Yellowknife, his novel! I’m very excited to receive this and to add it to my challenge… it just doesn’t fit into the categories I chose, so it’s a BONUS!

In my first week at the office, although I was hired for The Word on the Street, there wasn’t much for me to do. So I helped organize and label hundreds of books going out to 26 schools in the Lower Mainland thanks to the Adopt-A-Library Program. I took photos after I helped organize them and sent them to the other staff members. Then, the BC Book Prizes website got updated:

Caption: Thanks to the Adopt-a-Library Program, 26 schools are each getting a library of BC Book Prize titles valued at $500. Here’s what $13,000 worth of books looks like before it gets boxed up and delivered.