Blog-a-licious!…good times!

Farzana meets and greets, and folks schmooze

It was one of those snappish, cold nights on Church Street, in the heart of gay town, in the middle of February, which, defying logic, can feel like the longest month of the year. Nonetheless, a crowd of literature-lovers showed up to hang out in the funky loft above the This Ain’t the Rosedale Library bookstore (named one of the world’s ten top bookshops by The Guardian!) for the launch of this blog, and food-themed readings by myself and novelist Farzana Doctor.

Marusya, between stories

Deliveryboy described the evening in a post last week: “It could not have been a more perfect evening…Charlie from This Ain’t the Rosedale Library bookstore was a wonderful host, offering not only a beautiful salon space but also, in his author introductions, a lively summary of the history and current state of affairs for independent publishers, writers and bookstores.

Farzana Doctor read from her first novel, Stealing Nazreen – (Inanna Press, Spring 2007), a wonderful food-themed scene…lunch with her father at their regular spot, Everyone who listened to this first public reading from the book is excited to get their hands on it in a few months.Marusya read “Eggs” from her upcoming memoir, also a tale of an inter-generational family exchange, talking and eating with her aunt, who she meets for the first time while visiting family in western Ukraine…Sitting in the audience, you could feel that wonderful sensation when listeners are drawn together by the words shared in common. Like a meal a loved one has prepared for us all to sit and enjoy together”.

Food samples were available, just like at the grocery store…Terri and Judith took their jobs verrry seriously.

Book samples, too!

Photos by Laurie Bell and Kristyn Wong-Tam