GROOVE CAT BOOKS & RECORDS
A New Neighbourhood Treasure Chest

by Jacqui Birchall
(click images to enlarge)

So many West Enders have already visited Groove Cat Books & Records at 1823 Robson Street that my welcome to the neighbourhood may seem a little outdated.

Groove Cat Books and Records had a soft opening at 10 a.m., Friday, August 14. I was there as excited customers came flooding in. A buzzing, immediate success.

Owners John and Cathy Hughes are interesting, knowledgeable, and charming. I have yet to meet the rather-nervous-at-the-move, very famous resident cat, Chester. Soon!

The store is intimate, beautifully set out, with attractive colours and a cozy corner to sit in.

The books are beautifully curated, and it is easy to find the genre you're after. The shelves are labelled: Black History, Spiritual, Classics and Poetry, Philosophy, Paranormal, Fiction, LGBTQ, Fantasy, Young Adult, and more.

I spotted a collector’s edition of a Christopher Isherwood novel. Awesome! They sell audiobooks too.

Check their website (see below) to browse books and maybe find the one you want.

Vinyl is big here. From their website “You’ll find some of the best-priced vinyl options in town, with every record carefully curated, cleaned, and inspected before it reaches our shelves. Classical, jazz, blues, country, pop, punk, metal, or classic rock, we have something for every music lover and every collection.”

Groove Cat Books and Records also carries games and puzzles, classic board games, comic books, and DVDs.

John is an author himself. His book, Dream-Punk: A Nightscape, “employs Dr. Hughes' theoretical research to reexamine the dream as a historical power struggle.”

Yes, Dr. Hughes. “John Francis Hughes holds a doctorate from Simon Fraser University's School of Communication. He is a former university instructor, journalist, and bike courier. John's first book, Nobody Rides for Free: A Drifter in the Americas, was published in 2012 (BookThug). When there's a spare moment, John likes to listen to punk rock or thrash metal while reading up on Hindu philosophy.”

John and Cathy also own their own publishing house, Cosmic Cranium Press, which “publishes titles that offer garage-punk solutions to problems most don’t know exist, reveal smart ideas that linger on the social periphery, dazzle weirdly, or do all of these things.”

John is also the editor of Canada Is Not The 51st F***ing State: Canadians Face Off Against Donald Trump’s Worst Idea Ever, featuring essays, interviews, and artwork focused on Canadian sovereignty, published by Cosmic Cranium Press. It is for sale in the store.

I asked why an independent bookstore.

John explained that during the pandemic, Cathy kept getting her hours cut, and John’s sessional lecture jobs diminished.

John felt the world “had to be groovier. Big beige fucking corporate yawn out there that we are going to be swallowed by. We dig the groovy cool, but we are smart about it.”

“We felt the West End would suit our store better than our previous location. We were in New West for our last day on July 25 and we opened here on August 14. We had a contractor help with the painting and floors, and we moved our store and apartment in three days! We live on a green leafy West End street.”

John also explained that “no one will get rich in a bookstore, but we did not set out to get rich. It's all about community, to be a part of something where people feel supported and safe and where people can express their thoughts.”

John finds West Enders to be curious, kind, interesting people.

I asked John to explain the beatnik culture that is obvious on the store’s website, especially as Cathy and John are too young to have experienced the beatnik world.

“The beatniks were a midpoint to counterculture,” he explained. “If you want some serious groove in your life, explore all the countercultures. We didn’t choose the groovy life, it chose us.”

John added that authors and musicians have come in to ask about readings, and that “some fairly big names have approached us about performing/reading here.” The future will see.

In October, look for a reading from Haunted Vancouver by authors Gina Armstrong and Victoria Vanek, the sister duo and founders of Haunted History BC.

It seems ironic, considering their latest book, that Cathy and John’s first customers were from Oregon. Groove Cat Books and Records is in the same building as Times Square Suites Hotel, and curious hotel guests also enjoy browsing. An international crowd dwells above.

Groove Cat Books and Records and Cathy, John, and Chester are not to be missed.

Groove Cat Books & Records
1823 Robson Street
604-553-0929
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