Groove Cat Books & Records is hard at work trying to facilitate a little grooviness in New West.
John and Cathy Hughes opened the shop in Uptown New West in October 2022.
“The vision was about community,” said John Hughes.
Entering the doors of the shop, shoppers find themselves in a cosy space filled with books and art (by local artists), and places to sit and read. Until recently, Luna the shop cat was a beloved presence at Groove Cat.
“We try to have something for everybody,” Hughes said. “There's really no genre that we don't have or wouldn't have. We have somewhere in the neighbourhood of about 7,000 books, which is small by certain standards, but it seems to turn over pretty well.”
When setting up the shop, another bookstore owner advised the couple to ensure they had a big cabinet full of romance books. It turns out those didn’t sell in New West — even when the price was cut by 25, 50 and then 75 per cent.
“Ancient history is a big mover. Philosophy. Marcus Aurelius's Meditations — people love that book,” Hughes said. “If we could put together a package of Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations and Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, that would just be a hotcakes kind of item.”
In December, Groove Cat’s owners upped their game and launched a publishing company, Cosmic Cranium Press, as a means of contributing more meaningfully to the local literary scene.
Hughes told the Record Cosmic Cranium's mandate is to publish intelligent, well-researched books that: offer do-it-yourself solutions to problems most are not yet aware of; provide smart writing from the social margins; astonish with crisp prose that all but turns pages by itself; and do all three of these things.
Cosmic Cranium's first title is Hughes’ own book, Dream-Punk: A Nightscape. Dream-Punk uses Hughes’ dissertation research on dreams and mythology to make the point that dreams are a source of psychic energy that, for thousands of years, powerful interests have sought to control.
“To win this nocturnal political battle few even know is being waged, we need to claim jurisdiction over our own dreams,” he writes in a statement to the Record. “Through a combination of theoretical research, recourse to a punk rock ethos, and a photo-log of five years of my own dreams, Dream-Punk offers a means of doing this.”
Cosmic Cranium is open to “unusual” stuff — but Hughes says it’s not going to publish anything that’s hateful or based on conspiracy theories. It’s open to stories that “dazzle weirdly,” deal (credibly) with topics like culture, politics, philosophy, and science, and are well-written.
“I have found that for the most part, life simply isn't groovy enough,” he said. “And I'm here to make things groovier, or at least facilitate grooviness, is what I'm hoping to do.”
Hughes said the couple is really excited about the opportunity to publish books. Cosmic Cranium has found a Port Coquitlam company that’s able to print high-quality books at a good price.
“What we're doing, it's a little bit niche. I tried to get my own book published at a number of places, and I think it was too niche for them, right?” he said. “And the world we're living in with publishing is: how many social media followers do you have, and what does that look like in terms of how you're able to get behind your book. And sure, that's important, but it shouldn't be the defining factor for your book.”
Cosmic Cranium is also accepting submissions for a book whose working title is Canada is Not the 51st F*cking State.
“Have you seen that book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck? They kind of blot out the F word. So, we'll probably do something like that,” Hughes said. “But it's a collection of essays by Canadians who are not pleased with the idea of 51st state. It's a complete joke, an utter non-starter, and people are furious about it.”
Hughes, a former university professor and journalist, will write the introduction. It’s hoped the book will be published in the fall.
Building community
Groove Cat Books and Records sells a wide array of used (and some new) books, as well a small collection of used vinyl albums and assorted handmade items (including items crocheted by Cathy). The shop has launched various programs aimed at building community, including a local authors club.
“We've had six or eight — one of my own books included — where we have people come and support the local author by purchasing a book,” Hughes explained. “They read it, the author comes in, and there's a bit of a discussion. Sometimes the author will take their leave and then there's some chatter amongst the assembled group.”
Groove Cat Records and Tapes, located at 775 Sixth St., also hosts a storytelling circle, where participants bring a story to share; sometimes theirs, sometime somebody else’s.
“It sounds a little bit Kumbaya, but it's not,” Hughes said with a laugh. “It's about trying to get local people to figure out a way together to rebuild community and not to spend as much time on the screen.”
At those storytelling sessions, Hughes said “time just flies by” as attendees enjoy coffee or tea, have a good laugh, tell tales, and keep it real.
Hughes, who defended his dissertation on dreams in April 2020, said he’s doing a lot less dream journalling than he used to do — but he’s “living the dream” operating the books store and publishing company with his wife.
“The New West community is amazing, wonderful,” he said. “The people here are great. You know, it's almost without exception that the people who come in here are excellent, excellent people.”
That includes teens from New Westminster Secondary School who regularly bring the “bubbly, joyousness of their youth” into the store — sometimes while on the hunt for vinyl albums.
“The high school kids that come in, they're respectful, they're smart,” Hughes said. “It's these wonderful conversations that we have with them.”
