Stir Bedside Table: Jill Barber

The East Vancouver singer-songwriter-musician talks Bad Cree: A Novel, Catcher in the Rye, and more

By Gail Johnson

Jill Barber. Photo by @jessicajacobsonphotography

Stir Bedside Table is a column where Stir connects with local artists and creatives to hear about some of their favourite reads.

The Cultch with CapU Jazz Series presents Jill Barber on April 15 at the sold-out York Theatre as part of the 2023 Femme Festival

The reader:

Jill Barber

What’s your story?

I’m an East Vancouver-based professional musician/singer-songwriter, who has toured back and forth across this country (and beyond) many times over the last two decades. I just released my 10th studio album, called Homemaker. It explores themes around motherhood, domesticity, and long-term love. I’m passionate about music, community, food, and family!

My performance at The York will be a combination of songs from the new album, some fan faves, a touch of French, and some surprise guests. And the amazing Abigail Lapell is opening the show.

What’s on your bedside table right now?

I’m currently reading (and loving) Bad Cree: A Novel (HarperCollins) by Vancouver author Jessica Johns, a member of Sucker Creek First Nation in Treaty 8 Territory in northern Alberta. I love that it unfolds as a spooky page-turner, and that it takes place in my city. Shout-out to my book club! I also have the graphic novel Ducks (Drawn and Quarterly) by Kate Beaton sitting patiently on my bedside table.

A book that changed your life?

This is kind of a cliché, but I read Catcher in the Rye when I was 15, and I felt like it shifted my reader’s perspective from “kid” to “young adult”.

Most inspiring biography or autobiography?

I was incredibly inspired and moved by Christa Couture’s memoir about loss, grief, and living with a disability, called How To Lose Everything (Douglas & McIntyre).

Best beach-read?

I loved Oh William!: A Novel (Random House) by Elizabeth Strout. Also, her follow-up, Lucy By The Sea (Random House) is great. Reading Elizabeth Strout feels like spending time with an old friend. On a beach.

Working title of your autobiography?

I like the sound of For The Record, but if that’s already taken (and it probably is) then I would have to go with Pun Intended. [Editor's note: Indeed, For the Record has been taken, by former British Prime Minister David Cameron.] 

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