Book ~ "The Stuff That Never Happened" (2010) Maddie Dawson

From Goodreads ~ What if you were married to a wonderful husband for twenty-eight years but in love with another man? What if you were in love with them both?

Annabelle McKay knows she shouldn’t have any complaints. She’s been in a stable marriage that’s lasted almost three decades and has provided her with two wonderful children, thousands of family dinners around a sturdy oak table and a husband so devoted that he schedules lovemaking into his calendar every Wednesday morning. Other wives envy the fact that Grant is not the type of man who would ever cheat on her or leave her for a younger woman. The trouble is Annabelle isn’t sure she wants to be married to Grant anymore. The trouble is she’s still in love with someone else.

In the early tumultuous years of her marriage, Annabelle carried on a clandestine affair with the one person whose betrayal would hurt her husband the most. When it ended, she and Grant found their way back together and made a pact that they would never speak of that time again. But now years later, with her children grown and gone and an ominous distance opening between them, she can’t help but remember those glorious, passionate days and wonder if she chose the right man.

Then, when called to New York City to help care for her pregnant daughter, Annabelle bumps into her old lover. Offered a second chance at an unforgettable love, she must decide between the man who possesses her heart and the husband who has stood squarely by her side. 

It's 2005 and Annabelle and Grant have been married for almost 30 years.  Their oldest, Sophie, is married, pregnant and living in New York.  Their youngest, Nick, is away at university.  Annabelle is feeling a bit lost because she doesn't have her children to take care of and Grant is preoccupied with writing a book on a subject she has no interest in.

When Sophie is bedridden 'til the end of her pregnancy and her husband is away working, Annabelle jumps at the chance for a change of scenery to go back to New York where she'd lived when she and Grant first got married and take care of Sophie.

Annabelle tells us how she and Grant met and married in California in the late 1970s and moved to New York.  Needing a place to stay, they lived with his colleague, Jeremiah and his family for a couple years.  Being young and feeling neglected by her new husband, she spends too much time with Jeremiah and they begin an affair.  When the affair ends, she and Grant are able to pick up the pieces of their marriage and move on.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I thought it was interesting.  I liked the writing style.  It was written in first person perspective in Annabelle's voice ... it was if she was sitting with me and telling me her story.  It jumps back and forth from the present (ie 2005) to the past but it's obvious because the dates are at the beginning of the chapters.  As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity.

I must say that I didn't really care for the characters.  It's been almost thirty years and though she has had no contact with him, Annabelle is still hung up on Jeremiah.  I was hoping it was more a feeling of "what could have been" but it wasn't ... she felt that she still loved him.  I found this unbelievable.  All Grant cared about was writing book.  How do you spent 30 years with someone and be that inconsiderate?  I didn't find Jeremiah charming or attractive ... he sounded like a user.  I know that Sophie was going through a hard time but I got tired of it always being about her.  Her mother had dropped her life to be with her and all she did was whine.  The only character I liked was Nick.  He was trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life and his parents weren't really open to listening.

Despite not liking the characters, I look forward to reading others by this author.

Book ~ "Accidentally Yours" (2010) Susan Mallery

From Amazon ~ WANTED:

-Single mom seeks billionaire's pocketbook to fund dying son's research cure. Will seduce if necessary. Blackmail is not out of the question. Miracles welcome.

-Cynical billionaire seeks working mom with a heart of gold for PR campaign to improve his standing in the community. Must be willing to attend social events. Anyone looking for love need not apply.

It seemed like the perfect match … until the unthinkable happened.

Kerri's son is dying and money is needed to fund the research to save him. So she manipulates Nathan in contributing millions of dollars to find a cure. Even though his son had died of the same disease, he remains cold. It's not until he realizes that he needs her wholesomeness that he agrees. Plus throw in Nathan's crazy bitter sister.

Though this was a romance novel, it had a sad storyline since a child was dying ... not my usual kind of book. I enjoyed the writing style and the story moved quickly. I'd recommend it.

Was there a happy ending? Did Kerri's son die? You'll have to read it to find out.

Book ~ "Hand of Fate" (2010) Lis Wiehl

From Amazon ~ When Jim Fate, a radio talk host in Portland, OR, opens a padded envelope addressed to him shortly before going on air, he releases a poison gas, possibly sarin, that soon kills him. The package also contains a copy of Talk Radio, originally a play, later a movie, about the true-life murder of Denver talk show host Alan Berg. Caught in the subsequent investigation are three young professionals with links to law enforcement: federal prosecutor Allison Pierce, who's pregnant; FBI special agent Nicole Nic Hedges; and Cassidy Shaw, a TV crime reporter, who formed the Triple Threat Club after a high school reunion. Readers will identify with these very real women as they try to uncover Fate's killer, and each battles a personal demon—Allison her fear of miscarriage, Nic her fear of her daughter's criminal father, and Cassidy her prescription drug addiction.

This is the second book in a series with the three main characters. It's the first book I've read by this author and it will probably be my last.

I didn't mind the writing style too bad. It got annoying at times having things explained (for example, how court proceedings work). Though each of the women had traumatic things happening in their lives, I didn't really care about them. I didn't feel pulled emotionally to them.

I like mysteries ... I found the premise to this one not overly exciting. I wasn't buying the ending with the person who did it. Whatever.

I didn't dislike the book enough to not finish it ... but I was happy when it was done.

Book ~ "The Life And Soul Of The Party" (2009) Mike Gayle

From Goodreads ~ Meet Melissa and Paul: Five years after they split up he's still looking for love in all the wrong places while she wants the one thing she can't have: Paul.

Meet Chris and Vicky: They're so in tune they even brush their teeth in time with each other. So what is Chris doing risking it all for a meaningless affair?

Meet Cooper and Laura: He wants to settle down, she wants to take a grown-up gap year but can their relationship really survive a year apart?

Set across a year of leaving dos, birthday parties and anniversary celebrations The Life and Soul of the Party is a warm, funny and moving tale celebrating love, life and those special moments we've all spent in the kitchen at parties.

I enjoy Gayle's novels and it's been about three years since I last read one.

I liked this one. The style is different in that the chapters are short and snappy and each is written by one of the characters so you get to see how the various characters react to something.

They get together quite often at parties to celebrate something.

Gayle could have tied all the loose ends up at the end and have everyone get what they wanted and live happily ever after. I'm glad he didn't choose to go that route. I was happy with the way it ended.

My only complaint (and it's not really a complaint) is that there are so many characters that at first it was hard to keep them straight. But once I got into it and got to know them, I was fine.

I'd definitely recommend this novel.

Book ~ "Some Girls: My Life in a Harem" (2010) Jillian Lauren

From Amazon ~ At the age of 19, Lauren was trying to get a fledgling acting career off the ground while working as a stripper and call girl. When the opportunity arises for several girls to travel to the island of Borneo to be a part of the harem of the Sultan of Brunei’s youngest brother, Prince Jefri, for a few weeks, Lauren jumps at the opportunity. Telling her family she’s headed overseas for an acting job, she travels to Brunei for what she thinks will be a diverting and exciting two weeks. Once she arrives at the expansive estate, Lauren finds her only duty is to attend lavish parties each night and hope that she will be the one chosen to steal away from the party with the prince. Two weeks turns into a year, and Lauren finds herself increasingly involved in the vicious competition for the prince’s attention. While the surprising and exotic subject matter is sure to pique interest, Lauren’s graceful, introspective prose lifts her unusual memoir far above the level of mere titillation.

I can't say I ever warmed up to Jillian. She spends a lot of time in the beginning telling us about her upbringing (she was adopted, her dad was abusive and her mother let it happen). She was a college drop-out who became a stripper and then an escort ... all by the age of 19. Then off she went to Brunei to join a harem for easy money and gifts.

It was interesting to read how it was to live in a harem. I found it surprising how much she loved and wanted Prince Jefri (aka Robin) considering she knew going in that it was just a job and she was one of many.

She eventually searches for and finds her birth mother. There wasn't excitement with this considering how much she talked about being adopted.

It sounds like she has found herself today, though it doesn't give a lot of details as to where she is and what she is doing (not a big surprise).

If you are looking for something different to read and experience, this could be it.

Book ~ "Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison" (2010) Piper Kerman

From Amazon ~ Just graduated from Smith College, Kerman made the mistake of getting involved with the wrong woman and agreeing to deliver a large cash payment for an international drug ring. Years later, the consequences catch up with her in the form of an indictment on conspiracy drug-smuggling and money-laundering charges. Kerman pleads guilty and is sentenced to 15 months in a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut. Entering prison in 2004—more than 10 years after her crime—Kerman finds herself submerged in the unique and sometimes overwhelming culture of prison, where kindness can come in the form of sharing toiletries, and an insult in the cafeteria can lead to an enduring enmity. Kerman quickly learns the rules—asking about the length of one’s prison stay is expected, but never ask about the crime that led to it—and carves a niche for herself even as she witnesses the way the prison system fails those who are condemned to it, many of them nonviolent drug offenders. An absorbing, meditative look at life behind bars.

I started off not liking Lauren ... I found her too cocky and arrogant. That's also the impression I got of her from her picture on the back cover. I didn't feel any sympathy for her.

But I kept with the book and am glad I did. Yes, she is more priviledged than most of the others in prison but she gave a good account of those she encountered. There were so many that it was hard to keep track of most of them.

It sounds like she grew a lot and is more appreciative of what she has. It would be interesting to see if she has kept in touch with the friends she made in prison and if she has been "giving back" to others given her experience.

Book ~ "You Could Live a Long Time: Are You Ready?" (2010) Lyndsay Green

From Chapters Indigo ~ Are you ready to live a long time, or do you dread it? Author Lyndsay Green has interviewed forty successful seniors to talk not just about the problems of old age but its strength and benefits.

These seniors were from all walks of life and from all over the country, living in Victoria, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, Kingston and Halifax, aged 75 to 100. They have been identified as the self-reliant seniors we would like to be and they share their wisdom and strategies for independent and happy living. The book combines their advice with cutting edge research, to arrive at specific suggestions for what we should be doing now to prepare for old age, and includes resources to help us implement the advice, including:

Money isn''t everything, and won't cure ill-health or loneliness. Cultivate new friendships now. To keep your dignity, give up your pride. You need a work plan instead of a retirement plan To keep a home, consider leaving your house. If you push too hard to stay young you''ll get old faster.

The unique message is that we should not try to avoid old age. Instead of trying to do the impossible to stay forever young, Green comes to the radical conclusion that in order to get as much as possible out of our old age we will need to embrace it.

I work in the retirement industry as an educator ... I conduct seminars encouraging participants to sign up for their company-sponsored retirement plan so financially they can have the retirement they hope for. As such, I like to read books about retirement planning.

This was a unique book in that there was only one chapter on saving for retirement and being financially stable at that time ... and it's towards the end of the book.

The majority of the book is focused on how to have a happy retirement. This includes cultivating friendships now so you'll have them then, deciding ahead of time whether you'll stay in your house or downsize, giving away things you don't need now so there won't be that burden after you're gone, volunteering and feeling needed, hanging out with younger people to keep you younger, staying active and exercising, etc.

I liked that it gave a different twist on retirement planning ... its a good book for everyone to read, no matter what age you are.

Book ~ "Call Me Russell" (2010) Russell Peters

From Goodreads ~ Up-close, personal, and yes, funny - this is the must-have celebrity memoir of the year. 

This candid, first-person memoir chronicles Russell's life from his humble beginnings in suburbia as a scrawny, brown, bullied kid with ADD all the way to his remarkable rise as one of the world's top-earning comics. This is a shockingly honest book filled with poignant memories of his family, his life and his career. 

"Call Me Russell" is a deeply inspirational story for aspiring artists of any culture about having hope, working hard and dreaming big.

Russell Peters is an Anglo Indian comedian from Brampton (about a half hour from Toronto).

Gord and I think he's hilarious and saw him in June 2007 when he sold out a couple nights at the Air Canada Centre.

So that's why I wanted to read his autobiography. It was very honest about how close he was to his dad (who died in 2004), the women in his life (he got married in July 2010) and how he's made it to where he is today.

It's a good read if you are a fan!

Book ~ "The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee" (2010) Sarah Silverman

From Amazon ~ Demonstrating that her penchant for swearing began at an early age, comedian Silverman begins her hilarious memoir by describing how, at age three, she gleefully responded to her grandmother's offer of brownies with shove 'em up your ass. Growing up in New Hampshire (where cows are well done and Jews are rare), Silverman naturally gravitated toward performing and moved to New York, where she attended and eventually dropped out of New York University to pursue a standup comedy career. Mixing show business moments (she wrote for Saturday Night Live for one season, but none of her sketches made it past dress rehearsal) with stories of her childhood and adolescence (punctuated by a persistent bedwetting problem), Silverman never shies away from poking fun at her own expense. Though she's best known for sexually explicit jokes, Silverman is able to address more serious subjects in the book without losing her edge, particularly her teenage struggle with depression and that her often abrasive public persona allowed her to say what I didn't mean, even preach the opposite of what I believed .... It was a funny way of being sincere.

I know who Sarah Silverman is but I don't know much about what she's done.

I saw her as Cameron Diaz's friend in Something About Mary.

She professes to be f*@#ing Matt Damon, which I thought was cute.



But that's all I know of her. Apparently she has a TV show but I've never heard of it. I like ready bios and thought this might be interesting.

Though I finished it, I can't say that I enjoyed it.

Since I'm not a fan, I guess that's why I found her story boring.

I'm not a prude but it seemed like every second word rhymed with "hunt" or "mothertrucker" ... it was a bit much.

If you are a fan of hers, you may enjoy it more than I did.

Book ~ "Talk Me Down" (2009) Victoria Dahl

From Amazon ~ Beautiful Molly Jennings, secretly an erotica author, returns to her hometown of Tumble Creek, Colo., and finds her desire for handsome police chief Ben Lawson hasn't waned during her 10-year absence. Ben can't deny the chemistry but he fears gossip and vows to remain hands-off until Molly explains just how she earns a living. Snoopy questions from a journalist, stalker-like behavior from Molly's ex and a series of disconcerting incidents lead Ben to decide that Molly's safety is paramount, even if that means very personally protecting her. Despite some lingering questions, Dahl smartly wraps up a winning tale full of endearing oddballs, light mystery and plenty of innuendo and passion.

The last couple books I've read were filled with the CIA and FBI so I was looking for something light and fluffy to read ... and this fit the bill.

I enjoyed the writing style ... it was fast and light. Molly and Ben seemed likable as characters.

I thought Molly's assumption that Ben would be less than understanding about her occupation was immature ... she assumed he would kick her to the curb. They are in their late 20s, experienced and enjoy each other's company a lot and often. So I didn't get why Molly feared Ben's reaction.

The author's attempt at the stalker scenario was feeble and I wasn't buying it.

This is the first of this author's books that I've read. I'd try another one because of the writing style, not because of the storyline.

Book ~ "Simple Genius" (2008) David Baldacci

From davidbaldacci.com ~ Former Secret Service agents turned private investigators Sean King and Michelle Maxwell have seen their lives splinter around them. Michelle lies unconscious in a hospital bed after a night of suicidal violence. And Sean is forced to take on a thankless investigation into the murder of a scientist just inside the CIA’s razor-wire fence near Williamsburg, Virginia.

Soon he is uncovering layer after layer of disinformation that shields a stunning world filled with elite mathematicians, physicists, war heroes, spies, and deadly field agents. Amid more murder, a seemingly autistic girl’s extraordinary genius, and a powerful breakthrough in the realm of classified codes, Sean soon learns enough to put his life at risk. Now more than ever, he needs Michelle to help him catch a killer, save an innocent life and solve a stunning mystery that threatens the very soul of the nation.

From Michelle's courageous struggle to defeat her long-buried personal demons to a centuries-old secret that surfaces in the heat of the action, Simple Genius pulses with stunning, high-intensity suspense.

This is the third book these characters are in but you didn't need much background to know what's going on.

I wasn't crazy about this book. There was a lot of time spent going on about quantum computers and what exactly the geniuses were doing at Babbage Town ... it went over my head. Huh?

I found Viggie's "disability" and actions annoying. She has the secrets that will solve the case but can't reveal them because she's been "programmed". Um ... sure.

Overall, it was far fetched and I wasn't buying most of it. And it got confusing with the CIA, FBI, DEA, etc.

I didn't mind Sean and Michelle's characters, though ... I was interested in what was behind Michelle's suicidal actions in the beginning and was happy it was pretty well resolved. I liked her Harley driving shrink, Horatio.

Book ~ "Stone Cold" (2007) David Baldacci

From davidbaldacci.com ~ Oliver Stone and the Camel Club are back in their most dangerous adventure yet, a war on two fronts. Casino king Jerry Bagger is hunting Annabelle Conroy who conned him out of millions. Stone and his colleagues Reuben, Milton, and Caleb marshal all their resources to protect Annabelle.

Yet all their skills may not be enough when a deadly new opponent rips off the veneer of Stone’s own mysterious past: Bagger’s menace pales next to newcomer Harry Finn’s lethality. Passing as a normal family man, Finn has already killed three men, with more targets to come. When Finn sets his bull’s-eye on Stone, his reason will be the greatest shock of all, causing readers to reconsider their views of good and evil. As bodies and institutions topple, the story rockets toward a shattering finale that will leave the survivors of this explosive tale changed forever.

I hadn't read the other two Camel Club books so was a bit lost in some of the past references. But it wasn't enough that I didn't get what was going on. I'd like to go back and read the first two.

It's a suspense novel that would probably appeal more to guys given its story and violence.
I like Baldacci's writing style. It's fast paced and interesting. There are two stories happening at the same time that eventually come to an end.

I liked the characters ... I found them believable. I was cheering for the good guys and hoping the worst for the bad guys.

Book ~ "Rough Weather" (2008) Robert B. Parker

From Amazon ~ Spenser, the redoubtable Boston PI, struts his stuff in this 36th entry in the series, but may leave some readers wondering if his ethics will bear even casual examination. When Heidi Bradshaw hires Spenser to support her at her daughter's wedding on Tashtego Island in Buzzards Bay, MA, an old nemesis of Spenser's, the Gray Man, who almost killed Spenser in Small Vices (1977), also shows up on the island. Spenser is unable to prevent the kidnapping of the bride or the deaths that attend it. Assisted by a cadre of familiar players, Spenser persists in trying to find the missing bride in spite of warnings from the Gray Man. The trademark banter and snappy dialogue may seem more forced than natural. Spenser displays his machismo in dealing with a muscle builder and his detective skills in figuring out the Gray Man's connections to the case. A troubling conclusion produces one resolution and the promise of further consequences in the next installment.

The Spencer novels used to be more indepth and deep but have gotten fluffier over the years. Nevertheless, this was a fun book to read. I enjoy Parker's writing style.

I like Spencer ... he's funny, sarcastic and a bad ass. His pal, Hawk, was in most of the book too and the interaction between Spencer and Hawk is funny. Alas, Susan, Spencer's longtime girlfriend was also in the book and was as annoying as every.

There were references to past plotlines and characters that I either didn't know or didn't remember but he didn't dwell too much on them. It would have been nice to have a bit of detail/history.

There are only three Spencer novels after this one ... Parker died in January 2010 and his last one will be published next year.

Book ~ "Holly Blues" (2010) Susan Wittig Albert

From Amazon ~ The arrival in Pecan Springs, Tex., of Sally Strahorn, the insecure ex-wife of China Bayles' husband, PI Mike McQuaid, leads to trouble. Against her better judgment, herbalist and tea-shop owner China takes pity on Sally, who's just lost her home and suffers from split personality disorder, and offers her a place to stay. Soon enough, a stalker targeting Sally makes threatening calls to China, and the police suspect Sally of involvement in a murder. With Mike away on business, China again turns sleuth to determine what connection the stalker might have to the deaths of Sally's parents almost 10 years earlier—and to prevent any harm to herself or her children. More than once China and her best friend, Ruby, dress up as Sesame Street characters to disarm suspicion. Series fans will enjoy catching up with old friends, though newcomers are likely to find the soap-operish family relationships of less interest.

This is the first China Bayles story I've read ... it's apparently the 18th in the series. I was attracted to it because it's a mystery with a female detective (even though she owns an herb/tea shop).

I enjoyed the writing, though I found it went off on a tangent sometimes that had nothing to do with the story. For example, sometimes it veered off into a conversational tone (where we got a lesson in herbs or China described how much she liked baths) that conflicted with the tone of a murder mystery story. Another example is there is a big of description about two lesbians who were necking in a restaurant just before they left found a dead body... what difference did that make as it added nothing to the story?!

Though China and McQuaid are married, I wasn't buying them as a couple ... I wasn't feeling the love.

All fingers are pointing to McQuaid's ex-wife as a murderer yet China continues to give her the benefit of the doubt even after the ex-wife lied to China. For a former lawyer (which you are constantly reminded), China seems too trusting and naive.

We are told who the murderer is about halfway through the book and I was waiting for a twist at the end in that they didn't really do it. Sorry to spoil it for you but they did indeed do it. The ending fell flat for me.

With all that said, I didn't think it was a horrible book and I'm interested to go back and start at the beginning and read the first couple.

Book ~ "Chosen to Die" (2009) Lisa Jackson

From Amazon ~Detectives Regan Pescoli and Selena Alvarez have been searching for the Star Crossed Killer for months, never imagining Regan will be captured by the madman she's been hunting. Regan knows exactly what he's capable of -- and avoiding the same fate will take every drop of her courage and cunning. As Selena joins forces with Regan's lover Nate to dig deeper into the case and the body count rises, the truth about Regan's disappearance becomes chillingly clear. Something evil is lurking in the snow-covered mountains. With time running out, the only way they can save Regan will be to get inside a killer's twisted mind and unravel a shocking message that he is revealing.

I enjoyed the writing style of this book ... it kept my interest.

I liked the characters. When the police and FBI got together, there were too many of them and I had a hard time keeping them straight but most were minor characters so it didn't matter.

I'm not into astronomy so didn't get the whole Orion connection. Minor detail, though.

I found it unbelievable that everyone individually figured out "whodunnit" at the same time with very little to go on. And the "whodunnit" is kind of lame ... there could have been more time spent inside the killer's head to really discover why they did it.

I found Padgett's situation at the end (trying not to give a spoiler) kind of flaky ... it would have been nice to have tied up those loose ends and have closure.

All in all, I'd recommend it.

Book ~ "Unbuilt Toronto: A History of the City That Might Have Been" (2008) Mark Osbaldeston

From Amazon ~ Unbuilt Toronto explores never-realized building projects in and around Toronto, from the city’s founding to the twenty-first century. Delving into unfulfilled and largely forgotten visions for grand public buildings, landmark skyscrapers, highways, subways, and arts and recreation venues, it outlines such ambitious schemes as St. Alban's Cathedral, the Queen subway line and early city plans that would have resulted in a paris-by-the-Lake.

Readers may lament the loss of some projects (such as the Eaton’s College Street tower), be thankful for the disappearance of others (a highway through the Annex) and marvel at the downtown that could have been (with underground roads and walkways in the sky).

Featuring 147 photographs and illustrations, many never before published, Unbuilt Toronto casts a different light on a city you thought you knew.

If you've ever wondered what Toronto could have looked like had some of the projects gone through, then this is the book for you. Things like the waterfront would have looked so different. The ScotiaPlaza might never have been. Can you imagine a downtown with Old City Hall? How about a community that was built on water down by the Island Airport?

Book ~ "Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto" (2010) Shawn Micallef

From Amazon ~ What is the "Toronto look"? Toronto architecture is rich with superlative facts – "tallest" this, "first retractable" that – but, taken as a whole, the city’s built environment is underappreciated. Here, glass skyscrapers rise beside Victorian homes and Brutalist apartment buildings often mark the edge of leafy ravines, creating a city of contrasts whose architectural look can only be defined by telling the story of how it came together and how it works, today, as an imperfect machine.

Eye Weekly columnist Shawn Micallef has been examining Toronto’s architecture for many years, weaving historical information on its buildings and their architects with expansive ambulatory narratives about the neighbourhoods in which these buildings exist. Stroll collects Micallef's expanded columns alongside a number of new, unpublished essays; together, these psychogeographic reportages situate Toronto's buildings in living, breathing detail, and tell us more about the people who use them, how it feels to be exploring them in the middle of the night and the unintended ways in which they're evolving.

Stroll celebrates Toronto’s details – some subtle, others grand – at that velocity and, in so doing, helps us understand what impact its many buildings, from the CN Tower to Pearson Airport's Terminal One and New City Hall, have on those who live there.

This is an interesting account of one person's walking tours around Toronto, along with high level history of the areas and what is currently there.

One weird disappointment was in his description of being at Tommy Thompson Park (aka Leslie Street Spit) and Vicki Keith Point. He makes no mention of the automated lighthouse ... it is only one of three lighthouses in Toronto and the only active one in the city (though he'll tell you there is a Coffee Time at the corner of King/Queen/Roncie!!).

Book ~ "Breadwinning Daughters: Young Working Women in a Depression-Era City, 1929-1939" (2010) Katrina Srigley

From Amazon ~ As one of the most difficult periods of the twentieth century, the Great Depression left few Canadians untouched. Using more than eighty interviews with women who lived and worked in Toronto in the 1930s, Breadwinning Daughters examines the consequences of these years for women in their homes and workplaces, and in the city's court rooms and dance halls.

In this insightful account, Katrina Srigley argues that young women were central to the labour market and family economies of Depression-era Toronto. Oral histories give voice to women from a range of cultural and economic backgrounds, and challenge readers to consider how factors such as race, gender, class, and marital status shaped women's lives and influenced their job options, family arrangements, and leisure activities. Breadwinning Daughters brings to light previously forgotten and unstudied experiences and illustrates how women found various ways to negotiate the burdens and joys of the 1930s.

I like reading books about Toronto's history ... this is a very interesting book.

It's hard for us to imagine what life was life for women in the 1930s ... having to quit school to get a job to support your family if your father couldn't find one. Taking whatever job you could find and putting up with harassment so you could bring home $12.50 a week. Facing racial biases if you weren't white and of British heritage and having to take jobs as domestics or seamstresses as your only option.

Once women got married, they were automatically fired because it was assumed that she now had a husband who could take care of her so she didn't need a job.

Times have changed (thank goodness!) and we have it so good today.

Book ~ "Toronto: Tales of the City" (2005) Glenn Cochrane

From Federal Publications Inc. ~ Glenn Cochrane's Toronto: Tales of the City is the ideal pocket companion for anyone looking for the underground city not only as it is, but as it was.

For a quarter century, Glenn Cochrane reported for CFTO's daily Worldbeat and Nightbeat news. He left viewers with a smile by scouring the city for the genuine eccentrics and landmark fests that put Hogtown on the map. Now Cochrane comes out of retirement to walk the old beat, unearthing the local lore and historic hijinks that make Toronto come to life. Peter Ustinov once said "Toronto is New York run by the Swiss," but Cochrane shows you a city with chutzpah and flair uniquely its own.

His roaming recollections include anecdotal "streeters" with the famous: Eartha Kitt, Sammy Davis Jr., Rich Little, George Burns, Phyllis Diller, Mickey Rooney, Carol Channing and Paul Hogan — and with the moms and pops of all the best shops. When Mike Myers accepted his place on Canada's Walk of Fame, he gave a nod to the retired newscaster by sporting "a Cochrane" signature mop top and impersonating Glenn’s comedic catch phrase.

From Dave Garrick's free dry cleaning policy for rainy Canadian National Exhibitions to an orangutan receiving CPR at the Toronto Zoo, and from neighbourhood thug Baldy Chard's grip on Cabbagetown to Sammy Taft's "milliner to the stars" on Spadina, Glenn Cochrane's Toronto: Tales of the City walks the old beat, telling tales and unearthing a history you won't find in tourist guides or municipal archives.

Gord read this book during the week and then passed it along to me as he knows I like to read about Toronto's history.

This book doesn't get into a lot of details ... but it gives you a taste of Toronto and its neighbourhoods.

I found Cochrane's writing rambling, which I found a bit annoying. Plus I found it kind of boring.

Book ~ "Why Fish Fart and Other Useless Or Gross Information About the World" (2009) Francesca Gould

From Amazon ~ In Why Fish Fart and Other Useless (or Gross) Information About the World, Francesca Gould sifts through the world's most unpleasant creatures, diseases, physical deformities, culinary delicacies, ritual practices, and hideous torture tactics to uncover every horrifying and stomach-turning fact under the sun. This book is full of questions you never thought to ask - and perhaps will wish you'd never had answered - including:

- What exactly is maggot cheese?
- How did anal hair help to lead to the conviction of the Great Train Robbers?
- What is the job of a "fart catcher"?
- How exactly do "crabs" cause such intense itching around one's private parts?
- The real story behind why the toilet is often referred to as "the john."
- Why you might want to steer clear of some coffees.

Why Fish Fart and Other Useless (or Gross) Information About the World is sure to delight any and all hard-core fans of the obscure, esoteric, and-last but not least-grotesque.

It is indeed an interesting book about useless and gross information, most of which I found interesting.

Don't make the same mistake I did, though, by reading it while I was eating ... the first chapter is about "obscene cuisine". I had to skip to the next chapter, "weird creatures", and go back to the first chapter when I wasn't consuming my lunch.

BTW, it is the herring who farts ... to let the other herring know where he is.