BC Books Online was created for anyone interested in BC-published books, and with librarians especially in mind. We'd like to make it easy for library staff to learn about books from BC publishers - both new releases and backlist titles - so you can inform your patrons and keep your collections up to date.
Our site features print books and ebooks - both new releases and backlist titles - all of which are available to order through regular trade channels. Browse our subject categories to find books of interest or create and export lists by category to cross-reference with your library's current collection.
A quick tip: When reviewing the "Browse by Category" listings, please note that these are based on standardized BISAC Subject Codes supplied by the books' publishers. You will find additional selections, grouped by theme or region, in our "BC Reading Lists."
Nikki van Schyndel is not your typical grizzled survivalist. She is a contemporary, urban young woman who threw off modern comforts to spend nineteen months in a remote rainforest with her housecat and a virtual stranger.
Set in the Broughton Archipelago—a maze of isolated islands near northern Vancouver Island—Becoming Wild is a story of survival in the pristine wilderness of BC. Sometimes predator and sometimes prey, twenty-nine-year-old Nikki and her companion Micah fend off the harsh weather, hungry wildlife, threat of starvation and the endless perils of this rugged Raincoast. To survive, Nikki must rely on her knowledge of BC’s coastal flora and fauna, and the ancient techniques of hunting and gathering. In this remote world she learns to skin bears, make clothes from cedar bark and take great joy in gobbling a fish tail whole.
Told in a voice that is both familiar and vulnerable, Becoming Wild explores our innate longings to connect with nature and revert to a pure, Eden-like state.
Becoming Wild is a must read for anyone concerned about the future of people and the natural world. Nikki van Schyndel’s incredible story tugs strongly at the heart of one of modern life’s greatest challenges: the massive disconnection of people from nature. Nikki’s deep calling to ancient knowledge, skills and authentic experience leads to powerful connections and reawakens ancient instincts, sensibilities and perceptions that are now mostly gone from modern people. After becoming wild, Nikki returns to post-modern life to discover how far away her known communities have gotten from this original relationship—as all people realize when they reconnect with nature. Nikki’s heartfelt and transparent self-discovery, reconciliation and renegotiation with self, others and the offerings of our world is a model all can benefit from.