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Read All Over -- Morgan McDonald

Read All Over celebrates the bookworm in all of us, showcasing readers in Vancouver and the books they love most.
Read All Over celebrates the bookworm in all of us, showcasing readers in Vancouver and the books they love most.

Morgan McDonald plays piano and keyboards in awesome Vancouver avante-jazz outfit Fond of Tigers and, before that, in local legends Buttless Chaps. By day, he's worked in renewable energy and carbon finance, and now his work involves design, construction, and financing for deep green retrofits to large commercial buildings.

What are you reading right now? Amazing Baby by Desmond Morris. It's a coffee table book detailing the first two years of human development from the perspective of a zoologist-anthropologist. We had our first baby seven weeks ago and it's a marvel to watch him grow!
How do you like your lit served - audio books, graphic novels, used paperbacks, library loaner, e-reader, other? I read news on my laptop, books on paper, magazines on both. Graphic novels are great; I don't know why I haven't read more of them. What publication could you not live without? I currently have a subscription to Discover and I read the Globe & Mail online every day. I used to read the NYTimes on my iPhone but that stopped after I accidentally took my phone for a swim in the ocean. I follow a few publications on Twitter: Grist, The Tyee, The Onion, The New Yorker, and a handful of journalists and writers. Where is your favourite place to crack open a book in Vancouver? Park benches (when they're dry), front seat of the SkyTrain (facilitates daydreaming), my bed (when I lived there; I'm on a brief hiatus in Toronto these days). What books have changed your life/influenced you the most? Limits to Growth by Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jørgen Randers, and William W. Behrens III The Descent of Woman by Elaine Morgan Both were written in 1972, a year of profound change. Read the Wikipedia entry for that year and then try to get excited about anything you read in today's news. What is the most cherished item in your library? My grandmother's copy of On the Origin of Species, 3rd edition, given to her by her father in 1938; he had acquired it in 1916. She marked that she read it again on her 95th birthday which was in the year of Darwin's 200th birthday. The one book you always recommend is... Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut Vonnegut must have been inspired (or overwhelmed) by 1972 -- this was published the following year. Your life story is published tomorrow, the title is? Things Are Looking Up Photos courtesy of Morgan McDonald