Hot Picks [FRIDAY]

Fly Away

Friday, November 24, 2006

Those insanely cheap ticket prices we see advertised at travel agents lately are sure tempting. But if you're like us, you don't have the time or money to get away, however much you'd like to trade those grey clouds for some new scenery.

Perhaps a different kind of vacation is in order. Like one that takes place between the pages of a damn good book? Thankfully, such a tome has been conveniently released this fall by ex-Vancouverite Anita Rau Badami. You might remember her sumptuous writing from her mega-popular first novel Tamarind Mem, or her award-winning second book The Hero's Walk. Now, her latest literary feast, Can You Hear the Nightbird Call?, is waiting to be digested.

Set partly in Vancouver and mostly in India, Nightbird will satisfy your every craving. You get a fascinating trip through Badami's native land and its history. You get to spend time with rich characters that will move you to tears of both laughter and heartache. And you get to savour the delicious writing that has catapulted Badami to the top of Canada's writing ranks.

Best of all, you'll be so busy soaking up the feeling of being lost in a foreign land, you won't even have time to notice the clouds anymore!

At a bookstore near you:

Book Warehouse Downtown, 552 Seymour Street, (604) 683-571

Book Warehouse Yaletown, 1068 Homer Street, (604) 681-5711

Book Warehouse West End, 1051 Davie Street, (604) 685-5711