Book ~ "Living in the Present with John Prine" (2025) Tom Piazza

From Goodreads ~ In the spring of 2018, Tom Piazza climbed into a 1977 Coupe DeVille with the great singer-songwriter John Prine, taking a Florida road trip that soon evolved into a deep friendship, full of jokes and tall tales over epic meals, afternoons digging around antique malls and record stores, and long nights playing guitar and trading songs. 

Eventually they decided to write Prine’s memoir together and Prine shared intimate, often hilarious stories of his youth and family in Chicago and Kentucky, his breakthrough into the national spotlight, his riotous early years in the Nashville country scene, and much more. 

When Prine died suddenly of COVID in April 2020, that unfinished memoir evolved into an intimate narrative of the artist’s final years. Piazza offers fans an unforgettable portrait of the beloved musician in his late glory - as a boyish cut-up, an epic raconteur, a great American poet, and most importantly, the good friend his fans have always imagined.

John Prine was an American country/folk singer-songwriter who has been around since the early 1970s. I've been a fan of John Prine for over 40 years. I've seen him many times in concert and was happy I attended his last concert here in Toronto (The Tree of Forgiveness tour). I think his death during COVID probably hit me the hardest of all the celebs who had passed away during that time.

Tom Piazza spent time with Prine at home and on the road with the intent of writing an article about him before Prine asked him to work on a memoir about him. They ended up enjoying a two year friendship before he passed away. Piazza shared moments that showed Prine's sense of humor, his love for the simple things and the way he saw the world a little differently than most. Even after surviving cancer, Prine didn’t dwell on the past or future ... he was all about appreciating what was right in front of him (especially food and dessert!). Prine's songs were simple but packed with emotion, real life, heart and a touch of wry humor. 

I enjoyed this book. I like that there were actual interviews with Prine transcribed so we got to know Prine in his own words and his sense of humour. Prine sounds like a fun guy to hang out with. In addition to spending time with Prine, Piazza also spent time with his family including Prine's wife, Fiona, his sons and his late older brother, Dave. It was nice to see the intimate pictures of Prine as a regular guy. As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "Don't Try to Find Me" (2014) Holly Brown

From Goodreads ~ Don't try to find me. Though the message on the kitchen white board is written in Marley's hand, her mother Rachel knows there has to be some other explanation. Marley would never run away.

As the days pass and it sinks in that the impossible has occurred, Rachel and her husband, Paul, are informed that the police have "limited resources." If they want their 14-year-old daughter back, they will have to find her themselves. Desperation becomes determination when Paul turns to Facebook and Twitter and launches FindMarley.com.

But Marley isn't the only one with secrets.

With public exposure comes scrutiny and when Rachel blows a television interview, the dirty speculation begins. Now the blogosphere is convinced Rachel is hiding something. It's not what they think; Rachel would never hurt Marley. Not intentionally anyway. But when it's discovered that she's lied, even to the police, the devoted mother becomes a suspect in Marley's disappearance.

Is Marley out there somewhere, watching it all happen, or is the truth something far worse?

Fourteen-year-old Marley disappears one day, leaving her iPhone behind and a note on a whiteboard saying, “Don’t try to find me.” Her parents are shocked, especially Rachel, her mom, and Paul, her father, starts a huge online campaign to bring Marley back. But as her parents goes public, cracks start to show in their seemingly perfect life and and it becomes obvious Rachel has been hiding things.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I thought it was okay, not great. It is written in first personal perspective jumping back and forth in Rachel’s and Marley’s voices and different timelines (the chapters are labeled). As the story progresses, we eventually discover why Marley ran away and the ramifications of her decision. The police don't seem overly effective or interested in finding Marley and I found it unbelievable that Paul's online campaign was more instrumental than them. Why wasn't there an amber alert issued right away? I didn't find any of the characters overly likeable. As a head's up, there is swearing and teenage "adult" activity.

Book ~ "Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook" (2010) Anthony Bourdain

From Goodreads ~ "Medium Raw" marks the return of the inimitable Anthony Bourdain, author of the blockbuster bestseller "Kitchen Confidential" and three-time Emmy Award-nominated host of "No Reservations" on TV’s Travel Channel. 

Bourdain calls his book, “A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook,” and he is at his entertaining best as he takes aim at some of the biggest names in the foodie world, including David Chang, Alice Waters, the Top Chef winners and losers and many more.

Medium Raw is Bourdain’s follow-up to Kitchen Confidential, which I read last week. It's a series of essays where he writes about the food world, the people in it and how much everything (including himself) has changed. Bourdain’s older, in his second marriage, dad to a young daughter and no longer living the reckless chef life.

He talks about the behind-the-scenes reality of restaurants, shares some opinions on celebrity chefs (some he loves, some he absolutely does not) and gives props to the underappreciated people doing the real work in kitchens, like immigrant line cooks and fish guys who never get the spotlight. 

I thought this book was just okay. Because it is a series of essays, it jumps around a lot about many subjects. Some of the essays were interesting (like personal ones about himself) and some weren't. He makes references to people and restaurants I've never heard of (maybe they were part of the New York scene?) and I didn't really care about them. As a head's up, there is lots of swearing.

Downtown Winery, Toronto, ON

After our massages, Gord and I stopped in Downtown Winery on Ossington Avenue (just north of Queen Street W) ... OSSFEST was happening so it was busy with fun energy!

Laya Spa & Yoga, Toronto, ON

For our birthdays, Gord and I don't buy each other anything ... instead we gift each other with experiences. Today is my birthday and we went for 60 minute massages at Laya Spa & Yoga (Queen W/Ossington). Thanks, Gord!

Gord and I

Happy birthday to me!

Many years ago today ... at 2:12pm ... I made my arrival into the world at the Grace Maternity Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Here I am at my first birthday party ... celebrating with cake and a washing machine.  Good times!

Happy 23rd anniversary to Gord and I!

Ken (Gord's son), me, Gord and Sister Sarah

July 26, 2002 ~ 5:30pm

City Hall, Toronto, ON

Mandarin, Toronto, ON

Gord and I had lunch with the Toronto Social Seniors and Retirees gang today (there were 26 of us!) at the Mandarin at Yonge/Eglinton. 

Gord

Mandarin still has their “Celebrate Canada” celebration happening until August 4 (hence all the Canadian flags).

Book ~ "The Names" (2025) Florence Knapp

From Goodreads ~ Can a name change the course of a life?

In the wake of a catastrophic storm, Cora sets off with her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, to register her son's birth. Her husband, Gordon, a local doctor, respected in the community but a terrifying and controlling presence at home, intends for her to name the infant after him. But when the registrar asks what she'd like to call the child, Cora hesitates.

Spanning thirty-five years, what follows are three alternate and alternating versions of Cora's and her young son's lives, shaped by her choice of name. In richly layered prose, "The Names" explores the painful ripple effects of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family and the possibilities of autonomy and healing.

In 1987, Cora has just had her second child and is heading to register her son's name. Gordon, her dominating and abusive husband, wants their son to be named "Gordon" after him and his father. Cora wants to name him "Julian". When she asks their nine-year-old daughter, Maia, what she would like him to be named, she suggests "Bear". What follows are the three different versions of the naming of their son over the 35 years. It's not the name itself that affects their lives but Gordon's reaction to the name and the repercussions.

I thought this was an interesting premise for a story ... kind of like the movie, Sliding Doors, which I've seen many times. The story is chopped up in seven year increments over the next 35 years, each covering the three name versions. I liked the writing style but I found I really had to focus because when the stories changed names and time periods, I'd have remember what was going on and who was involved. In hindsight, it might have been better to skip ahead and read all the same name sections at one time (so all the Bears, then Julians and then Gordons). As a head's up, it was hard to read the parts with the domestic violence.

Book ~ "Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly" (2000) Anthony Bourdain

From Goodreads ~ Over two decades ago, the New Yorker published a now infamous article, “Don’t Eat Before Reading This,” by then little-known chef Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain spared no one’s appetite as he revealed what happens behind the kitchen door. The article was a sensation and the book it spawned, the now iconic "Kitchen Confidential", became an even bigger sensation and megabestseller. 

Frankly confessional, addictively acerbic, and utterly unsparing, Bourdain pulls no punches in this memoir of his years in the restaurant business.

I don't really enjoy cooking but we just finished watching the fourth season of The Bear and we watch Gordon Ramsay's reality shows. This book has been around for years but I've never read it so I thought I'd give it a go. It looks like a crazy brutal industry to be in!

Kitchen Confidential is Bourdain’s look (it’s part memoir and part exposé) at what went on behind the scenes in restaurant kitchens ... and it sounds like he'd been in many up to this point. He started with his journey of being a young punk washing dishes to eventually becoming a seasoned chef in New York’s culinary scene. He talked about his past with drugs, the crazy (and sometimes offensive) characters he worked with and the intense and chaotic vibe of professional kitchens. 

It was interesting to find out some industry secrets  ... like why you should never order fish on a Monday or what really goes into your fancy restaurant meal. It was obvious that he did have a deep love for food and the people who cooked it. I liked the writing style and found most of the chapters interesting. If you’ve ever thought about what life in a professional kitchen is really like, you should read this book. I know it wouldn't be the life for me! As a head's up, there is swearing.