Andrea and I attended a book reading at Bolen Books, Hillside Mall in Victoria B.C. Canada – featuring Grant Lawrence, author of Adventures in Solitude, CBC host, former singer in a Rock and Roll band, outdoors man and self described raconteur…
(And) That latter talent, Grants reading and telling of stories, brought out to shine in one of the first Spring evenings where the Sun poked through a Venusian thick cloud cover that has not broken in what seems like months.
I picked up a copy of Grants book way back in the Fall of 2010 – just prior to a trip to Hawaii, shortly after it had been released… and was more than pleasantly surprised – and if you have not read my little review, it is over here
My wife, Andrea, describes Grant Lawrence as adorable (in much the same way as the staffer at Bolen Books introduced the author) – and got that extra kick when the “voice” was finally attached to the face and the energy within the book. We are big supporters of CBC radio and Grant’s engaging and quirky deliver is an almost instantly recognizable ingredient in today’s CBC radio product. In person, Grant is a natural story teller with a down to Earth folksy and self effacing tone – surprised as much by the success of his soft cover as he is with the engagement of the audience.
And the funny twist for me was the reality that I had read the book cover to cover twice before starting to “bed time” read it to my dear wife – whose response to its first few chapters was less than stellar. And let me clarify this – I often read stories while we are getting ready to fall asleep and the genre is generally action filled Science fiction or mystery… and for some reason, my reading of Grant Lawrence’s work was coming off as a little too poignant. Imagine that. I mean, Grant’s early years were most certainly angst ridden – by any measure. But my deliver was magnifying the sorrow beyond that which was a pleasant read.
So when Andrea heard Grant deliver a troublesome passage (The Pot Luck passage as I call it…) and when it was over, she turned to me and declared “We need to start reading Grant’s book again… but work on your delivery!”
Because as Grant reads it, it is adorable and sweet and yes, poignant.
Gotta work on that part of my style.
Anyway – if you haven’t got a copy of “Adventures in Solitude” – by Canadian author Grant Lawrence… get on it.
Colin Newell lives in Victoria, gets paid to write occasionally, gets rewarded for drinking coffee constantly – and whose opinions are often darker and stronger than the brewed beverage.