One of my favourite books when I was a child was the "Choose Your Own Adventure" series, where the author offered the reader several options at key points in the story that would allow he or she to decide what happened next.

If you visit Vancouver's Main Street area, you can have the same experience while walking through a local neighbourhood.

The Active Fiction Project is a public literature project created by the Vancouver Public Space Network, renowned Canadian author Timothy Taylor and other local authors at UBC's Faculty of Creative Writing.

It creates (very) short fictional stories that take place in the Main Street neighbourhood. The stories are 'hidden' in public spaces for readers to discover as they walk through the story. According to project spokesperson, Jaspal Marwah:

"The medium of choose your own adventure just seemed to offer a natural fit for exploring how literary adventure collides with real life and real space. It's a great way for explore the neighbourhood through a new set of eyes."

more Sarah Higgins is the author of the current Active Fiction story, which is set in Riley Park and invites readers to stroll along and discover hidden corners of the community.

"The story begins with the protagonist setting out to find something they've only heard about but don't know where or how to look for it. They end up on a street corner, lost, wondering what to do next," said Jaspal.

He said that by blurring the lines between fiction and the everyday experience of walking, Active Fiction is inviting participants to take a literal walk in the protagonist's shoes, bringing a new dimension to the story as well as to how they experience a public space.

"It's playing on the desire that I think most readers have had at one point or another, to find a way to get closer to the narrative of a book as they read it."

Reading is considered a solitary experience, but the beauty of the Active Fiction project is that it has brought literature into the community as a public space project. As a result, people can enjoy reading while also being part of their neighbourhood, walking, drinking a cup of coffee, and engaging with others in public space. The project is also cheap and easy to replicate in any public space around the world.

"Active Fiction is contributing to the ever broadening discussion of 'what is public art?' Hopefully, the meeting of literary creativity with the tangible experience of public space leads to exploring what's possible when the imaginary and the real take a slow and curious amble down the street," said Jaspal.

The fall installation launched on November 8 and will be up until December 7, 2014. If you are interested in visiting the project, the first chapter of the story starts at the street corner on Main & 28th, in front of the art shop. Jaspal would not reveal too much of the plot:

"The rest is revealed along the way, so we won't spoil the surprises. Grab an umbrella, get a coffee, and take a walk with Active Fiction!"