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."
When 25-year-old Jo climbed down the ramp of the freighter Canadian Star to set foot in Vancouver, BC, in the summer of 1967, she'd never heard of log salvaging. But within two-and-a-half years, the immigrant from England would quit her teaching job and join forces with one of the most enigmatic salvagers of the Sunshine Coast. Dick and Jo Hammond spent a life together chasing logs, rescuing boaters in distress, and raising their two children in BC's log salvaging mecca, Howe Sound. Combining Dick's guidance and her stubborn nature to master all challenges, Jo learned to maneuver their salvage boat, drive dogs and tie knots, sing arias to the sea lions and suckle her child while chasing rogue logs.
Edge of the Sound is both a love story and a tale of adventure between a man with an uncommonly high IQ who found his niche behind the wheel of a salvaging boat and a young woman searching for her own place in the world. Their bond was the risk of the wild and unpredictable sea, classical music, the beauty of the natural west coast and the rise and fall of tides that help and hinder their hunt for logs that have escaped between forest and mill. As they work against the forces of nature, Jo Hammond learns to change and she learns to "expect the unexpected."
Before immigrating to the Sunshine Coast, Jo Hammond was a dairy farmer, a school teacher and a member of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir. She is an accomplished singer and performer and has a University Diploma in secondary education. She began her writing career as typist and editor for her husband, the author Dick Hammond, when he refused to lay his hands on a typewriter. Eventually, Jo turned her attention to her own stories, writing articles for the local newspapers and then novels for young readers. Her first book, Home Before Dark, was published by Orca Book Publishers in 2005. She lives in Gibsons, BC.