011 - Read All About It 📚
Tired of physically exploring our city? Experience London from the comfort of your favourite armchair with one of these books about our city. We invited Vanessa Brown—of Brown & Dickson—to collaborate with us on this list, so you can rest assured that these titles will be a helpful starting place for your London-centric book collection.
🎸 Graphic Underground: London 1977–1990 by Brian Lambert
Graphic Underground was an exhibition at McIntosh Galley that unearthed our city’s rich punk history. Who would have thought that London, the city that birthed this little ditty, would have such a dynamic punk rock past? Head over to Muse at Museum London to snag this visual exploration of our distinct punk scene from years gone by.
🌳 London: 150 Cultural Moments by Vanessa Brown and Jason Dickson
This delightful book offers an insider’s view of the city through the stories of our best eccentrics, artists, and intellectuals. Visit the bookshop—that is the namesake of the authors—and ask about the award the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario recently bestowed upon them for this fascinating book.
🔪 Murder City by Mike Arntfield
Truth be told, we were more surprised to learn that London had a significant punk rock past than we were to learn that London was the serial killer capital of Canada. Local murderinos will want to head on over to London’s last independent supplier of new books, Oxford Book Shop, to grab this engaging book on London’s seedy past.
🏥 So Long South Street by Ryan Craven
Through historical text and captivating photos from London-based photographer, Matthew Trueman, this book highlights the legacy of London Health Sciences Centre—a legacy that began with the now demolished, South Street Hospital. For long-time Londoners, this book is bound to stir up all kinds of nostalgia, pride, and appreciation. We suggest checking Attic Books to see if they still have a copy or two on hand.
📚 Bonus!
Still looking for more? Head to City Lights Bookshop to see if you can find any of these classic Forest City reads: London 200: An Illustrated History by Orlo Miller, Simpson’s at Christmas by Museum London, and Living: A London Journal by Roy McDonald.
Next week: Sporting experiences for the wannabe athlete in all of us.
Check out our kind sponsors at:
Editors: Jon Clemens, Titus Ferguson, James Kingsley, Steve MacDouell, Kevin Van Lierop
Associate Editors & Localists: Brown and Dickson, Sameer Vasta, Rob Howell, Matthew Wilson, Mike Donachie, Jason Pomerleau
Support us on Patreon to ensure the ongoing development, growth, and delivery of this publication.