Black bears, grizzly bears, and spirit bears all make their home in the Great Bear Rainforest. A Bear’s Life uses Ian McAllister’s stunning photographs to follow these beautiful animals through a year in the British Columbia wilderness—catching fish, eating berries, climbing trees and taking long naps. A Bear’s Life is the second in the My Great Bear Rainforest series, after Wolf Island.
What planning and research did you do for you book?
My writing partner, Ian McAllister, lives in the Great Bear Rainforest, so he knows everything there is to know about it. I also did some scientific research and of course visited the rainforest myself.
What is your favorite part of being a writer?
The writing. But I also like meeting interesting knowledgeable people.
What’s your favorite movie or TV show? The show you binge watched the fastest?
I Love Lucy. I’ve seen each episode a million times.
What’s your biggest indulgence?
Champagne.
What do you admire most in a book?
A good story. One that keeps you wanting to turn the page.
You’re stranded on a desert island and are allowed 3 books—which do you choose?
The Bible (it’s the only way I’d ever read it). Excellent Women, by Barbara Pym (my favorite book). And a book on how to survive being stranded on a desert island.
What’s your favorite genre to read? To write? What draws you to these?
Historical fiction to read. Non-fiction to write. I like reading historical fiction because I like being taken to another time and place. I like writing non-fiction because I can learn something as I research and write my book.
What has been your most unlikely adventure?
I spent a year and a half working at a radical animal rights organization in Kent, England.
What is your favorite book from your childhood?
The Rupert books.
A Bear’s Life is available now.
Nicholas Read is a journalism instructor at Langara College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He collaborated with Ian McAllister on Wolf Island, The Salmon Bears, The Sea Wolves and The Great Bear Sea and wrote City Critters, about urban wildlife. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.