Agent Palmer

Two years after the first publication of Douglas Coupland’s Souvenir of Canada, a brilliant if unconventional guide to Canadian culture, he published Souvenir of Canada 2. After all, it all couldn’t be distilled down into just one singular volume.

Unlike the first book which contains a smattering of personal anecdotes, this book is much more personal to Coupland, in both the stories of his family and the way this book is written. It feels like he’s telling you these things personally.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve recently found myself being more intrigued by documentaries and docu-series than with the fiction that’s being released right now. It could be my age, the current state of fiction, or just the state of content right now.

But what I do know is that it’s the truth. And maybe it’s that truth is often stranger – or more attention-grabbing – than fiction.

Learning can be a product of doing, but it can also be generated by listening. This is the takeaway that I have from watching Will Smith in Welcome to Earth. This series produced by National Geographic and available under the Disney Plus umbrella is not your typical nature documentary.

A good story can teach us a lot if the story is done well, and Welcome to Earth is great authentic storytelling.