Nathan talks with Vancouver Island-based Amanda Swinimer all about seaweed.  She has a BSc. that involved taking an algae physiology couse and harvests seaweed to eat.  She also has written The Science and Sprit of Seaweed for adults and The Science and Superpowers of Seaweed for kids.  You can find them here in the library. Pro tip from Darby: don't brandish bull kelp as a whip unless you are prepared to whip yourself in the butt (or face!) accidentally. 

It's a Sea & Cedar Storytime episode!  Nathan gets piratey to set some beach vibes.  Enjoy work from the Winter, 2024 edition of Sea & Cedar with local writers. Featured writers:  Camilla Arnold, Cate Sandilands, Jonathan Moskaluk, Marlene Dean, Mary Alissa, Erica Keen, Petra Chambers, Richard Youds, Shelley Stein-Wotten, T.J. Radcliffe You can READ this issue of Sea & Cedar online or in print.  You can also SUBMIT your own work here.

Was it Really Murder?  Big crime comes to a town too small to merit even that title in Murder Rides a Gale Force Wind. Beloved West Coast author and artist Yvonne Maximchuck is best known for her slices of BC marine life written with friend Billy Proctor, but has turned her hand to writing a murder mystery!  Yvonne reads from the book to whet your appetite and then chats with Darby. Check out more about her writing and art, including purchasing her books at her website:...

Have you always wondered what SOGI stands for but didn't want to ask the angry people with the signs by the side of the road?  Nathan thinks maybe you have.  He conducts an investigation with the help of Scout from SOGI 1, 2, 3. Find some SOGI-inclusive books for children and teens here.

Join us in our first sponsored episode! Buster and Barnfather's Children's Cigarettes are the perfect pairing for this educational look at Vancouver Island University's Canadian Letters & Images Project with Dr. Stephen Davies.  See the project here at https://www.canadianletters.ca including some famous Canadian guest readers! You can help the project financially by donating through the VIU Foundation, which is a tax-deductible donation.  If you have wartime letters, postcards, etc....

Nathan gets a bit down/realistic about climate change with some special guests.  First he talks to Teegan Walshe from Fridays for the Future in Qualicum, which is an ongoing school strike for climate justice.  (Back in Nathan and Darby's day, people skipped school to smoke pot or buy candy.) Second, he talks with Lucy Grainger of FireSmart BC.  You can learn more, including the free fire assessment mentioned, at FireSmartBC.ca.   Books on the topic of Climate Optimism selected by our...

Ex-high school investigative journal turned Library Manager Stephanie interviews Library Manager Monica about Freedom to Read Week, which we observe from Feb. 18-24 this year.  Tune in for this interesting library values conversation on this still very relevant topic. Further reading: Check out the Library's curated lists of Freedom to Read items.  Or some resources on the FreedomtoRead.ca site here. SOGI =Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.  See the BC government site about SOGI...

Nathan tests his Manager Stephanie's trivia prowess in today's episode.  Can you beat Stephanie at trivia?  Peter Parker Gretzky thinks you can in one section for sure.  Winners will of course receive FREE BOOKS FOR LIFE!  If you did not win, you will also receive free books for life, but only real Alex Cross titles.  Redeemable at your local library branch. 

We are feeling very educational today.  So today is the day you learn a new acronym! LAC stands for Library and Archives Canada and we are really nerding out with Julie Anne Richardson from LAC.  Ever wondered what the Library and Archives of Canada does?  Or how Canada preserves its written and recorded culture?  Or what animal noises Nathan's former bandmates can make?  Listen to find out the answers to these questions and more... Check out Library and Archives Canada, where to do your ...

How do YOU feel about honking like a goose for people?  If you're very comfortable, perhaps you are our next guest!  Meet Naomi Steinberg, storyteller and author.  There are no spoilers, just enjoy the voyage...  *HONK!*

Enjoy your literary adult storytime with these Sea & Cedar magazine readings!  Works included: Storyteller Spirits & Tuesday's Tide by Heather Hendry Hedgerow & Moss by Allie Picketts Flame Girl by Jann Everard Snake Spur Road by Karl Sturmanis Planting Onions by Zoe Dickinson Pop-Up Grebe by Christine Lowther Spell for Skookumchuck Narrows by Anne Hopkinson You can READ this issue of Sea & Cedar online or in print.  You can also SUBMIT your own work here.  A limited...

Do paper (or "pbooks", if you will) have a place in this world anymore?  Will reading an ebook lead to buying unneeded items on the internet and generally ruin your health? Nathan and Darby duke it out.  Can they come together on the topic, or will the excitement of the debate rhetoric prove to be too much?  Find out on this impassioned episode. 

Spurred on by our special guest, Nathan reflects on whether he is "award winning" for a brief, awkward moment.  Then Quadra Island dwelling and Order of Canada winning poet Jan Zwicky (and lovely human being) does a special reading of her essays and poems.  From this, she dives into a discussion with Darby about climate change and accepting the mess we seem to be in.  If you're feeling stressed out about climate change, chill out with some exquisite poetry and feel admiration for the...

Casey talks with Ottawa based bisexual author Ruby Barrett.  She is the author of The Romance Recipe, a queer rom-com featuring Amy and Sophie possibly adding the non-FDA approved ingredient of "love" into their restaurant food.  Publisher's Weekly calls it "a down-to-earth queer romance". This episode was recorded at our live Pride Month event with Ruby Barrett. Check out some other LGBTQ2+ reads here on our Pride Month page.  Queer books are great to read all year round!

Not for sensitive ears!  There are a lot of words that start with different letters, but mostly "F".  Get ready to feel like a kid looking up bad words in the dictionary!  (Tee hee.) Nathan talks about all of the books with the eff word in the title.  Apparently this kind of title is helpful to us all. And then there is some profanity trivia for you! 

Nathan gets to reuse his accordion rendition of our theme to welcome you to this second special episode of Sea & Cedar magazine readings!  It's like a literary adult storytime for you, really. Works included: Orca Cafe by Anna Russell West Coast Mornings: the view by Chris Lihou Tracks by Deborah Graham You can READ this issue of Sea & Cedar online or in print.  You can also SUBMIT your own work here.

Does your family have war stories?  Are they shared or unspoken?  Join blues musician George Halpern for his father's action-packed war story from his book From School to Sky: Joseph's Tale of War.  You can borrow his book here or find out where to purchase it here.  See photos here.  This event was originally at the Nanaimo North Branch in early 2023.

Nathan quizzes Darby on such topics as: what kind of library is an osmothèque? detective or dancer? Shakespeare word, or not? and many more... YOU could win FREE BOOKS FOR LIFE!  Please redeem your prize at your nearest branch. 

Nathan and Darby talk about books (again) and important topics like “what is a new year anyway?”  We may or may not be late with this segment about our top picks from 2022 (though we are totally early for Nowruz/Persian New Year, so there!). Our top picks: FICTION GENERAL FICTION: A Funny Kind of Paradise by Jo Owens -Victoria author TOP SERIES: The Rockton/Casey Duncan series by Kelley Armstrong -Canadian author Start at the beginning with City of the Lost BEST MYSTERY: The...

When Nathan gets a bee in his bonnet, he really goes all the way.  Listen to him talk about phone booths and "computer phones".  Yes, this is library related, really.  Don't get Nathan started again.  Please. Darby brings you 5 books to talk about.  They are book club approved!  Or you can just think about them really hard by yourself. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson Women Talking by Miriam Toews Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by...

Nathan is inspired to procure an accordion to welcome you to this special episode of Sea & Cedar magazine readings!  It's like a literary adult storytime for you, really. Works included: Steelhead! by Jess H. Brewer The Long View & Youth is an Absence by Diane Massam Hockey Fights by Miles Hayes Cedar Psalm III by Allie Picketts Back Road Bonanza, Solstice Ceremony, & Raining Glory by Neall Calvert You can READ this issue of Sea & Cedar online or in print.  You can also...

Nathan tests your library trivia knowledge and then lets you self-evaluate to assign your own points.  Listen in to hear what prizes are on offer. 

Longtime library employee Jeremy Tolmie talks to Dahlia about his life and his book called Kicking ASSpergers: One Meltdown at a Time.  Find his book on his publisher's website, Jeremy's website, or in the library catalogue. Jeremy Tolmie has written three previous books—Living with Asperger’s Syndrome, Living with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Living on the Autism Spectrum. His goal in sharing his story is to inspire hope in others with autism, and their families. He resides in...

We hear ya...  Summer can be a busy time and we have some local short fiction to squeeze in while you do something else.  Meet winners from the 2022 Islands Short Fiction Contest!  They are here for you. Stories included today: The Grimathonian Monster written by and read by Mira Vickers, 1st place in the junior category The Push written by and read by Lillith Stoyko-Lang, 1st place in the youth category Read-a-like: The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones Revenge of the...