Latest news with #RareBirds
CBC
08-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Solution to housing crisis flails in practice as RareBirds calls it quits
The RareBirds Housing project in Kamloops was a pioneer in the world of co-op housing. But now, as CBC's Shelley Joyce reports, the 6,000 square foot home, which was once shared and co-owned by six housemates, is up for sale.
CBC
06-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Kamloops's RareBirds Housing Co-op calls it quits
A bold Kamloops experiment in shared living is coming to an end. Founding members of the RareBirds Housing Co-op reflect on what worked — and what didn't — after a decade in their 6,000-square-foot dream home.
The Independent
18-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Best book subscription boxes for a monthly literary treat
Whether you're an avid reader looking to broaden your book collection in 2025 or are looking to bestow a bookworm with a gift that keeps on giving, the best book subscription boxes need to be on your radar. Delivering a box of literary treats right to your door each month, these subscription services offer an inventive way to discover new tomes and find fresh voices. Whether it's a crime caper, a historical drama or a romantic comedy, the books delivered can be accompanied by anything from a bottle of wine, a mocktail can or a pack of coffee and tea, with some book subscription brands even throwing pampering essentials into the mix. Just like a subscription to your favourite recipe box or beauty brand, you can choose the regularity of your deliveries. Most brands also let you decide the genre but the exact title is left as a surprise. Other companies keep it more general by categorising titles into bestsellers or classics. With so many exciting debuts, hotly anticipated follow-ups and viral TikTok titles, it can be tricky to know where to begin when selecting your next read but the best book subscription boxes remove the guesswork, by offering tomes chosen by insider literary experts. From the Edinburgh-based bookshop Rare Birds, which picks out the best of new fiction each month, to Words With Wine, which aims to pair a bottle of vino with a captivating read, the clubs are run by self-confessed bookworms. Some aim to champion under-the-radar authors such as the feminist Good Book Club, which chooses new books by women, queer men and non-binary writers, while others (including Bookishly) add a unique touch by designing bespoke dust jackets for classic books. Keep scrolling to find out more. How we tested From offerings for fans of crime novels and historical fiction to children's titles for young bookworms and romance novels to enjoy with a glass of wine, we've rounded up the best book subscription clubs in the UK. Considering what each offers in their boxes, as well as the variety available, we assessed the delivery service, packaging and quality inside. Of course, we also read each book in the monthly box, to see if it was worth the subscription. Here's our verdict... Why you can trust us Daisy Lester is our senior shopping writer here at IndyBest. She specialises in fashion and beauty but also in all things books. She has her finger on the pulse when it comes to new releases from debut authors and acclaimed writers. Daisy loves books of every genre, from satire to mystery and crime, so, rest assured there will be a book for every taste in her round-ups. She knows what makes a gripping, moving or important story, whether it's a romantic comedy or historical drama.
Boston Globe
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Celebrity Series's Stave Sessions defies easy classification, again
Seven years later, satisfying the AI — or whatever's powering the streaming service of the day's algorithm — has Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up On Tuesday evening, the small audience entered to find the lights already dim, and Providence-based singer and composer (and Bent Knee cofounder) Courtney Swain's setup onstage blanketed with artificial roses. Swain stood behind a flower-strewn keyboard for most of her almost seamless one-hour set with collaborating guitarist Tim Doherty; with her hands so obscured and the layers of her supple, strong vocals wreathing the room, she often seemed to be coaxing music from the blooms. The apocalyptic but strangely consoling lyrics set against the gentle instrumental background made for a meditative, inward-looking experience. Only near the end of the set did she address the audience, hinting that this might be one of her last shows under the Courtney Swain name as she formalizes this new artistic project under a different moniker. Advertisement Singer, sound artist, and composer Courtney Swain at Somerville's Crystal Ballroom on Feb. 11, the first night of Celebrity Series of Boston's 2025 Stave Sessions. Robert Torres On Wednesday, That's a process in itself. So, unsurprisingly, the group's setlist mostly consisted of repertoire from its upcoming album, 'Rare Birds,' which releases March 15. There were two originals by Owls cellist and composer Paul Wiancko; a hearty arrangement of a piece by Norwegian/American folk duo Trollstilt; a fascinating and kaleidoscopic inverse-quartet arrangement of Couperin's harpsichord piece 'Les Barricades Mysterieuses.' The most memorable was Azerbaijani composer Franghiz Ali-Zadeh's ecstatic 'Raqs,' written originally for Kronos Quartet — which, not so incidentally, has 50 percent overlap with Owls by way of Wiancko and violinist Ayane Kozasa, and newly installed Kronos second violinist Gabriela Diaz was in the audience. The adventuresome, try-anything spirit of Kronos is clearly in capable and joyous hands. If the number of professional musicians-about-town in the audience was any indication, Owls just might be a member of your favorite orchestra's favorite quartet. Cellist Seth Parker Woods is also a familiar face around Boston, having collaborated several times with local organizations such as Castle of Our Skins; Thursday, he presented his touring program 'Thus Spoke their Verse,' consisting of three sections he called 'hypersuites.' These used sarabandes from Bach's cello suites as launchpads into mostly contemporary repertoire, with mixed but mostly satisfying results. Particularly striking was the transition from the Sarabande from Suite No. 1 into the plucked Calvary Ostinato from Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson's 'Lamentations, 'Black/Folk Song Suite,'' which Woods anchored with a hauntingly calm repeated bassline while making the higher strings wail and twang like a banjo. Advertisement Also unforgettable was Fredrick Gifford's 'Difficult Grace,' for layered cello and voice. Reciting excerpts from Dudley Randall's 1968 poem 'Primitives,' Woods adopted a vintage storyteller's resonant tones, which morphed on a dime into a ghostly whisper, all while adding eerie wordless commentary from the cello. I wished he had provided the text of the poem in his program notes — the message was clearly powerful, but chopped up into collage for artistic effect as it was, it wasn't easy to process individual phrases. Woods's keen stage presence helped bridge that gap, however; several times throughout the evening, it seemed he was looking right at me, and I wonder how many others felt the same way. There's an experience no AI can replicate. STAVE SESSIONS Presented by Celebrity Series of Boston. At Crystal Ballroom, Somerville. A.Z. Madonna can be reached at
