Book Reviews
Writers always look forward to their first book reviews, and fear them at the same time. But so far, I am getting good reviews that not everyone will be able to read, as they are aimed at the book market here in British Columbia. Here is the first of them, and I will add more as they come along.
From The Ormsby Review, an internet Book Review newspaper located in Vancouver, B.C.: http://ormsbyreview.com/2021/11/08/1278-volovsek-anderson-yf-express/ Thank you, Walter Volovsek, and The Ormsby Review!
Oh, and Ormsby Review has recently changed its name to The British Columbia Review, and so this book review will be found at a new location, here: http://thebcreview.ca/2021/11/08/1278-volovsek-anderson-yf-express/
In case you want to know who Walter Volovsek is, he lives on the Columbia River just north of the boundary line, and is actively sharing the beauty and history of the town and the river. Here’s his story: http://nowater-nolife.org/castlegars-columbia-river-story/
An aside: Note that on the site above, there is a whole section of articles on the Columbia River that you who live in the United States might want to read. Take a look at “Voices of the River,” and click “Columbia River.” The articles will be in the blog, I presume.
From B.C. Bookworld, another Vancouver based newspaper that is carried in British Columbia bookstores, although I find few copies in book stores today, probably because of the pandemic. They do operate by subscription, however, and so if you want to keep up with B.C. books, you can subscribe to this magazine, and I am sure many do.
To find the book review for The York Factory Express, go to http://ABCBookWorld.com/, and find the link that allows you to “view past issues,” on left side of page. Then click on Winter 2021, and go to pages 16-17. Thank you, Gene Homel, of BCIT, and B.C. Bookworld.
If any bookstore operators are stumbling on this post, the book itself indicates that it is Canada History. In reality, though, I am Métis through Métis Nation British Columbia, and this is a book about the Métis men who journeyed out in the York Factory Express. That means that this book can also be displayed in the Indigenous Writers section of your bookstore.
Please let me know if any other book reviews turn up in your area, ie. Washington State, and across the Prairies. For Washington State I depend on the kindness of academics or others that have purchased my book, as Ronsdale Press is a Canadian publisher with no particular ties to the United States. So, if I know about the reviews in your territory, I can add them to this list if they have permanent links, and you can read them as well.
Enjoy these ones thus far, and thank you for keeping me in touch with what’s happening in your part of the world.
Now there’s something else that’s happening or has happened that you might also enjoy following up. A few years ago a Television Series was filmed that was based on my book, The York Factory Express. It is still viewable on the Outdoor Channel and can be downloaded, even if you don’t subscribe to the channel itself.
The title of this television series is The Brigade: Race to the Hudson.
The series was set up as a contest between experienced paddlers, and so it is not a re-creation of the York Factory Express itself but a paddling series that follows the Express’s route. They do not travel the entire route but do cover the now-flooded Columbia River from Castlegar, B.C., to Boat Encampment and over the Athabasca Pass to Jasper’s House. They don’t paddle over Athabasca Pass, obviously, but they do paddle down the Whirlpool and Athabasca Rivers. They then skip the prairie provinces, but continue the journey across Lake Winnipeg and down the Hayes River to York Factory. I have not seen it myself but will now download it, and maybe you want to do it too. I would like, particularly, to see the Hayes River section, but I am also very interested in the climb over and through Athabasca Pass!
Have fun with this!
Copyright, Nancy Marguerite Anderson, 2021. All rights reserved.
On Twitter: @Marguerite_HBC
On Facebook: In Facebook Search Bar enter “Nancy-Marguerite-Anderson-Author,” or @TheYorkFactoryExpress. I am posting all my York Factory Express blogposts in order, so it’s very much easier to follow the story than through my website.