This issue marks my fifth anniversary as books editor. In the spring of 2018, I opened the BCHF Buzz, the BC Historical Federation’s (BCHF) e-newsletter, and read that British Columbia History magazine was looking for help with the books section. After several emails and a phone call with Jane Watt, managing editor, I was writing book reviews and getting to know the fantastic magazine team and reviewers.
Days before my first deadline, my laptop had a catastrophic failure—the dreaded “blue screen of death” had appeared on my screen—and I could not recover any files. I quickly learned that my laptop’s warranty had expired less than a week earlier, and a local repair shop said the files were gone for good. I started rewriting the entire column and nervously chewed my fingernails while I waited for a second opinion on the state of my laptop. Miraculously, another shop was able to restore all the files and fix my laptop within 24 hours. My first column (BC History 51, no. 3 [fall 2018]) ended up being a crash course on writing reviews—and backing up files. But I met the deadline.
The column has evolved over the last five years; it has expanded to include digital media and eventually moved away from longer critique-style reviews. Receiving new BC history books in the mail is still
