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."
The Sacred Herb / The Devil's Weed is informative and even enlightening, but above all, it's a hilarious look at a humble plant that has entertained, inspired, and occasionally terrified so many for so long. Andrew Struthers directs his "brilliant madness" towards the ambivalent nature of marijuana, once the target of "reefer madness" hysteria and now available for quasi-legal purchase at dispensaries on every other block (at least in some jurisdictions). One side of this double paperback answers all your questions about the world's most misunderstood plant, from how the bikers of the Stone Age spread it across Europe to why it makes music sound better. The other side is a non-stop trip as Struthers weaves together true stories from 100 friends of marijuana-inspired misadventures. The result is a book that "inverts expectations, giving your skull a little shake so that things come a little unstuck and can settle back in a slightly new way" (Focus Magazine). With Canada poised to join several U.S. states in finally re-legalizing marijuana, The Sacred Herb / The Devil's Weed is your liferaft in the coming sativa tsunami.
Andrew Struthers was accused of being "a Canadian version of Hunter S. Thompson" (Vancouver Sun) on the merits of his most recent memoir, Around the World on Minimum Wage (2014). His other books include The Last Voyage of the Loch Ryan (2004) and The Green Shadow (1995). He is at least as well known as his films, which include The Magic Salmon, TigerBomb: A Symphony in Dynamite, and Spiders on Drugs.