What does the word Readerity mean to you?

It’s frabjous (thank you, Lewis Carroll) when people make up words. John Flood made up readerity to describe an experience common to many of us. What happens when we enter wholeheartedly into the books we read, when we both lose ourselves and gain ourselves in the worlds of books? In Words Are My Matter: Writings on Life and Books , Ursula K. Le Guin says: “To read a story well is to follow it, to act it, to feel it, to become it — everything short of writing it, in fact. Reading is not ‘interactive’ with a set of rules or options, as games are: reading is actual collaboration with the writer’s mind.” 

What value is there in this reflection on books and reading?

The value of reflecting on a childhood book of influence can lie in the serendipities of memory. A long-forgotten feeling or the origin of a particular idea or wish or dream can arise from turning the attention to a book or books we have read in childhood and remember into adulthood.

Sometimes revisiting a book read in childhood can lead us to recall an entire scene or landscape or a particular tree in whose roots we nestled as we read a particular book. 

Some might say that this project is just “preaching to the choir,” that those that read your chapbook or attend the talk already know the value books and reading. How would you respond to this?

Even people who are not avid readers respond to the exercise of reflecting on an influential book of childhood. Those from families where books were not part of family life make a sideways leap to another medium, to an influential childhood movie or video or game or story. The process is similar to the readerity process: there is a reflection on how we engaged with story or image as children and how we as adults contemplate who we were then and the lasting impressions or influence of the childhood experience.

Tell us about your Readerity essay?

Writing the essay for the Readerity series was pure pleasure. It was the equivalent of a long hike along a beautiful trail, sometimes through a forest, sometimes along a coast. The experience resembled what I imagine walking the Camino de Santiago will be like when I fulfill that dream. I asked myself questions such as: How do we orient time and place in ourselves, in our interior landscapes, in our imagination? Part of the fun of asking oneself questions is answering them. For some of us, the books we have read as children (and the books we read as we go along in life) are our polestars and our navigation systems. In Are You Somebody? Irish journalist and memoirist Nuala O’Faolain wrote: “I never thought of being from Ireland . . . where I came from — from inside the books I’d read.”

Why should someone attend the Readerity Talk?

Anyone who has attended Bookmark events in the past knows how jolly they are, with free-flowing conversation, lovely hors d’oeuvres and beverages, and some of us rustling up jokes and one-liners to suit the occasion. There will be a 15-second instruction on the pronunciation of readerity (ree-DER-ih-tee) and lively discussions about early influential books. What an accomplishment for Bookmark to be in business for fifty (50!) years. Come celebrate our independent bookshop and its dedicated owners and staff.

We are always interested to hear about what others are reading. What are you currently reading?

Celebrity Narrated Audiobooks

If you’re looking for an immersive audiobook experience, look no further than this list of audiobooks narrated by celebrities including Tom Hanks and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Books About Books

What’s better than a book? A book about books, of course!  We have an entire section in the store dedicated to this type of book. Check out the list here.

Bookmark's Readerity Series featuring Alexander MacLeod, Sheree Fitch, Deirdre Kessler and John Flood

Wednesday November 2, 6:30-8:30pm

Bookmark is thrilled to present an evening in conversation with outstanding Readerity authors Alexander MacLeod, Sheree Fitch, and Deirdre Kessler moderated by Dr. John Flood on Wednesday, November 2nd at 6:30 pm in the Paul O'Regan Hall at the Halifax Central Library.

Bookmark’s passion for books and reading and its motivation for this project is well articulated in a quote from Mark Hansen, a professor of political science, who said, “The bookseller’s passion – for books, for the experience of reading, for the culture of the written word – is a source of inspiration for readers. Even more important, it is a crucial support for readers as they convey their enthusiasm to their children, their students, their friends, and their associates. For we, the habitués of bookstores, the readers of books, the patrons of the book culture, must also be booksellers. We too must model our belief that books, among all the world’s commodities, have special properties: the arguments, the narratives, the stories, and the poetry within. We must cultivate readers as farmers tend their fields.”

Sidelined for 2 years by Covid-19, Readerity is back in 2022 with three installments in the series. Dr. John Flood will moderate a lively discussion between the three authors and each author will read an excerpt from their work. This is a free event, and everyone is welcome. 

This epistolary novel is the brain-child of Canadian poet Amal El-Mohtar and sci fi author Max Gladstone. The concept, language and presentation are stunningly beautiful and unique. Time travel and spy antics blend seamlessly with romance and intrigue.

If you loved the lyrical language and gentle weirdness of Time War, you may enjoy Sea of Tranquility. Mandel revisits scenes and characters from earlier books in this lovingly quirky science fiction novel that spans three centuries.

Dune rocketed to the top of several bestsellers lists more than 50 years after it was published due to the popular 2021 film. A new generation of readers is now enjoying the world building and dialogue that made it a genre classic.

If you loved the sand worms and spice of Arrakis, you may enjoy the numerous worlds in the Hyperion series. Simmonds’ award-winning novel is another classic science fiction book that is rising in readership. It is also set to have a big-budget adaptation coming soon, so be sure to read it before it hits the big screen.

Klara is a beautifully written, fragmented dystopian novel in which the characters grapple with the pressures of technology and questions of what it means to be human. It is notable for what is not written, and the guessing games the reader must play to make the story whole.

This debut novel is both gut-wrenching and rewarding. It is a dystopian novel made up of individual vignettes set in the near future. Perfect for readers who enjoy Ishiguru’s slow-burn type novels rife with big picture questions.

In the Monk and Robot series, we find AI’s and humans attempting a utopian (yet separate) society. Chambers’s characters ponder their mark upon the land and weigh what would be best for all involved. It is the most loving, gentle exploration of what it means to be human or machine.

The Wild Robot series is a natural progression from the Monk and Robot series. In it, Roz awakens in a natural world, unaware that she is a machine. She must figure out how to behave within her community for the maximum benefit of all. It is a kid lit book, and makes for a fantastic read aloud for kids ages 6+, or a short read for anyone.