Book ~ "Parting Shot" (2017) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ If you made a mistake that took someone's life, you'd remember it ... wouldn't you?

After a tragedy rocks the community of Promise Falls, Cal Weaver is asked to investigate the threats being made to the accused's family. He's heard all about it on the news: the young man who drank too much, stole a Porsche and killed a girl and who claimed afterwards not to remember a single thing. The whole town is outraged that he got off lightly but for reasons Cal can't explain, he accepts the job. Then Cal finds himself caught up in a vicious revenge plot, chasing someone set on delivering retribution. In Cal's experience, it's only ever a matter of time before threats turn into action. 

Brian Gaffney wanders into the police station in Promise Falls claiming he had been abducted, possibly by aliens.  Detective Duckworth initially doesn't believe him but when the man shows him his back, Duckworth discovers a crude tattoo with a message.  As Duckworth hears Gaffney's story, it reminds him of another similar experience someone else recently had so he goes off to investigate to see if the two victims are linked somehow.

Cal Weaver is a private detective who has been hired to protect Jeremy Pilford.  Jeremy was recently acquitted on charges of killing his friend.  They had been partying, got drunk and Jeremy ran her over with the party host's car, killing her instantly.  Jeremy's lawyer got him off with the defense that he had been coddled by his mother all his life and didn't understand the consequences of his actions.  He became known as the "Big Baby" and the target of threats.

Duckworth and Weaver were characters in Barclay's Promise Falls trilogy, which I'd read but wasn't crazy about. I  enjoyed this book a lot more.  There are references to things that happened in the trilogy but this book is independent of that and works as a stand alone.

I've read many books by this author over the years ... some I've liked a lot and some not so much. I like the writing style in this one and was okay with the switching of perspectives ... sometimes it was third person perspective with the focus on wherever the action was and sometimes it was first person perspective (in Detective Duckworth's voice). As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

I liked the main characters, Duckworth and Weaver, and would be interested if the author started a new series with these two (I can see that happening).  I think they could work well together.  I wasn't crazy about Duckworth's son, Trevor.  Though he is an adult, he acted like a child at times.

The author is Canadian and the references to Canada are fun ... like Cal having a Toronto Blue Jays ball cap in his car.

Book ~ "A Newfoundlander in Canada: Always Going Somewhere, Always Coming Home" (2017) Alan Doyle

From Goodreads ~ Armed with the same personable, candid style found in his first book, Alan Doyle turns his perspective outward from Petty Harbour toward mainland Canada, reflecting on what it was like to venture away from the comforts of home and the familiarity of the island. 

Often in a van, sometimes in a bus, occasionally in a car with broken wipers "using Bob's belt and a rope found by Paddy's Pond" to pull them back and forth, Alan and his bandmates charted new territory, and he constantly measured what he saw of the vast country against what his forefathers once called the Demon Canada. 

In a period punctuated by triumphant leaps forward for the band, deflating steps backward and everything in between - opening for Barney the Dinosaur at an outdoor music festival, being propositioned at a gas station mail-order bride service in Alberta, drinking moonshine with an elderly church-goer on a Sunday morning in PEI - Alan's few established notions about Canada were often debunked and his own identity as a Newfoundlander was constantly challenged. 

Touring the country, he also discovered how others view Newfoundlanders and how skewed these images can sometimes be. Asked to play in front of the Queen at a massive Canada Day festival on Parliament Hill, the concert organizers assured Alan and his bandmates that the best way to showcase Newfoundland culture was for them to be towed onto stage in a dory and introduced not as Newfoundlanders but as "Newfies." The boys were not amused.

Heartfelt, funny and always insightful, these stories tap into the complexities of community and Canadianness, forming the portrait of a young man from a tiny fishing village trying to define and hold on to his sense of home while navigating a vast and diverse and wonder-filled country.

I'm a fan of Great Big Sea and had seen them many times in concert over the years.  I discovered them in the mid 1990s when they were just starting out.  Alan Doyle was one of the members in Great Big Sea.  I read his first book, Where I Belong, a couple years ago and enjoyed it.

This book is Alan's memoir and a collection of his memories, starting just after the band was formed in 1992.  He starts by giving a bit of history of how Newfoundland had joined Canada (or Canada joined Newfoundland, depending on your point of view) in 1949.  He then tells of his adventures in various cities and provinces across the country as Great Big Sea made their way from Newfoundland to British Columbia as their popularity and awareness grew.  He had lots of funny stories to tell such as finding accommodations and renting vehicles, partying with locals and the concert line-ups they were in (they have opened for Barney and Junkhouse!).

I liked the writing style ... I thought it was honest and humorous.  I bet Doyle would be a fun guy to sit and have a beer with.  The dialogue is great because it's written phonetically and I could hear Newfoundland accents when I read it (he devotes some time to acknowledging that Newfoundland has it's own dialect).  There is some swearing.

This was a fun and interesting book about a proud young Newfoundland band who played their version of traditional songs that started with not a lot but had dreams of making it big (which they have).  It would have been nice to include some pictures.  I'd recommend this book.

Book ~ "The Cure for Everything: Untangling Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness, and Happiness" (2012) Timothy Caulfield

From Goodreads ~ In "The Cure for Everything!" health-law expert Timothy Caulfield exposes the special interests that twist good science about health and fitness to sell us services and products that mostly don’t work. Want great abs? You won’t get them by using the latest Ab-Flex-Spinner-Thingy. Are you trying to lose ten pounds? Diet books are a waste of trees. Do you rely on healthcare practitioners - either mainstream or alternative - to provide the cure for what ails you? Then beware! Both Big Pharma and naturopathy are powerful twisting forces with products and services to sell.

Caulfield doesn’t just talk the talk. He signs up for circuit training with a Hollywood trainer who cultivates the abs of the stars. With his own Food Advisory Team (FAT) made up of specialists in nutrition and diet, he makes a lifestyle change that really works (mainly it involves eating less than he is used to eating ... much less) And when he embarks on a holiday cruise, dreading motion sickness, he takes along both a homeopathic and pharmaceutical remedy - with surprising results. 

This is a light-hearted book with a serious theme. Caulfield demonstrates that the truth about being healthy is easy to find (but often hard to do). 

Timothy Caulfield was the closing speaking at a pensions and benefits conference I attended in October.  I found him interesting and entertaining so thought I'd read some of his books.

Timothy Caulfield is a Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy, a Professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health, and Research Director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta. His interdisciplinary research on topics like stem cells, genetics, research ethics, the public representations of science and health policy issues have allowed him to publish over 350 academic articles. He has won numerous academic and writing awards and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Trudeau Foundation and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

This book is about health and about the science associated with health.  There is a lot of information available to us about what to eat, whether to cleanse, whether to take supplements, how to exercise, whether you get your meridians centered, and more.  In this book, Caulfield seeks to answer the questions about these issues and other related questions.

He felt it was essential to experience the journey rather than just speak with the experts and read relevant research (his findings are listed in the large notes section of the book).  As such, there are four chapters in the book:

1. Fitness - he went to a personal trainer (he includes his recommended exercise routine)
2. Diet - he went on a diet (he includes his eating suggestions)
3. Genetics - he got his genes tested
4. Remedies - he tried different potions and procedures

Caulfield worked on the book for a year, interviewing experts and getting personally engaged in every topic he covered, before providing his conclusions.  In the process, he discovered some things about himself.

I like the writing style.  I'm not a science person and I understood for the most part what he was talking about.  If I wanted further information, I could check the notes section.  I found this to be an interesting read and I look forward to reading other books by this author.

Book ~ "You Might Remember Me: The Life and Times of Phil Hartman" (2014) Mike Thomas

From Goodreads ~ Beloved comedic actor Phil Hartman is best known for his eight brilliant seasons on "Saturday Night Live", where his versatility and comedic timing resulted in some of the funniest and most famous sketches in the show’s history, including his hilarious impersonations of Frank Sinatra, Bill Clinton, and Charlton Heston and outrageous portrayals of the Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer and Anal Retentive Chef. He also starred as pompous radio broadcaster Bill McNeal in the NBC sitcom "NewsRadio" and voiced numerous classic roles on Fox’s long-running animated hit, "The Simpsons".

But Hartman's life was cut tragically short when he was shot to death while he slept by his jealous and intoxicated third wife, Brynn, who turned the gun on herself a few hours later. It was a Hollywood tragedy that captured the nation's attention.

Now, for the first time ever, the years and moments leading up to Phil’s stunning death are revealed in detail with insight gleaned from exclusive interviews with numerous famous cast mates, close friends, family members, letters, audio/video recordings, police records and more.

"You Might Remember Me" is both a celebration of Phil Hartman’s multi-faceted career and an exhaustively reported, warts-and-all examination of his often intriguing and sometimes troubled life - a powerful and at times harrowing portrait of a man who was loved and admired by millions and taken from them far too early. 

Phil Hartman (1948 - 1998) was an actor.  He was born and lived in Brantford, Ontario, until his family moved to the States when he was about ten.  He graduated from university with a graphic arts degree and designed album covers for bands like Poco and America. 

Hartman joined the comedy group The Groundlings in 1975, where he met Paul Reubens and helped him develop his Pee-wee Herman character (he co-wrote the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure and was Captain Carl on Pee-wee's Playhouse).  In 1986, he joined Saturday Night Live and was on the show for eight years.  In 1995, he starred as Bill McNeal in NewsRadio.  He also had voice roles on The Simpsons, from seasons two to ten, in addition to being in movies.

Hartman was married three times (and divorced twice) and had two children with his third wife, Britt, who he married in 1987.  In May 1998, while drunk and on drugs, Britt shot Phil while he was asleep and a couple hours later killed herself.  Their two young children were raised by Britt's sister.

This book covers Hartman's life from the time his family was living in Brantford to his death, and includes the aftermath of his death with the investigation, tributes from his friends and family, and his memorials.

I liked Phil Hartman and thought his death was tragic.  I liked the writing style of this book and found his story interesting.  There was a lot of information and I found it was at a good level (detailed but not too detailed).  At the end of the book, there are lots of pictures of Hartman throughout the years and a bibliography. 

If you are a Phil Hartman fan, I think you will enjoy this book.

Book ~ "The Moscow Code" (2017) Nick Wilkshire

From Goodreads ~ Ottawa bureaucrat–turned-diplomat Charlie Hillier is back. Having barely survived his first posting in Havana, Charlie is eager to put what he learned there to good use. And it isn’t long before he's thrust into a fresh case - a technical writer from Toronto in a Moscow jail on dubious drug charges. Charlie has barely put a dent in the brick wall that is the Russian legal system when the jailed man turns up dead, the official explanation: suicide. And just when evidence to the contrary is discovered, the body is “accidentally” cremated by the authorities.

Undeterred by bureaucratic stonewalling and determined to help the victim’s sister get to the bottom of her brother’s death, Charlie follows the sparse clues available. But what he uncovers brings them both far too close to powers more dangerous than they could have imagined. Suddenly, getting at the truth is less important than getting out of Russia in one piece. 

Charlie is middle-aged, divorced and working with Foreign Affairs, reporting to headquarters in Ottawa.  He recently transferred from a posting in Havana to Moscow.  He meets Steve, a fellow Canadian who is a technical writer working in Moscow.  Steve has been in jail after being picked up at a party ... he was apparently the only foreigner there without a passport.

As Charlie works to help him, Steve is found dead in his cell of an apparent suicide.  Charlie breaks the news to Sophie, Steve's sister, who travels from Toronto to Moscow take her brother's body home.  The body, though, ends up being accidentally cremated after Sophie identifies it.  Sophie is a doctor and sees some signs to make her suspect that Steve's death wasn't a suicide after all.  She looks to Charlie for help to find out what really happened.

This is the second and latest in the A Foreign Affairs Mystery series (I read the first one last year) and the second book I've read by this author.  It is written in third person perspective, from Charlie's point of view.  For the most part, I liked the story and characters,  I found it confusing at times, though, and had a hard time keeping the Russian characters straight (who they were, what they did and how it pertained to the story).  As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity.

I look forward to reading more in this series.

Book ~ "The Book of Business Awesome/The Book of Business UnAwesome" (2012) Scott Stratten

From Goodreads ~ UnAwesome is UnAcceptable. "The Book of Business Awesome" is designed as two short books put together - one read from the front and the other read from the back when flipped over. 

Covering key business concepts related to marketing, branding, human resources, public relations, social media, and customer service, "The Book of Business Awesome" includes case studies of successful businesses that gained exposure through being awesome and effective. This book provides actionable tools enabling readers to apply the concepts immediately to their own businesses. 

The flip side of the book, "The Book of Business UnAwesome," shares the train-wreck stories of unsuccessful businesses and showcases what not to do.

Ensure that your business remains awesome, instead of unawesome, and apply these awesomely effective strategies to your business today. 

This is actually two books in one:

1. The Book of Business Awesome - How Engaging Your Customers and Employees Can Make Your Business Thrive
2. The Book of Business UnAwesome - The Cost of Not Listening, Engaging or Being Great at What You Do

The Book of Business Awesome

According to Scott, to be awesome in business, you can't mandate being awesome and you can't demand it.  You have to hire awesome.  You have to inspire awesome in others and you have to be your awesome self.  Loyalty is building through amazing experiences.  It is the front line who have the first and most important contact with customers but they are often the lowest paid and least appreciated.  This book looks at how the impact of a company's brand lies with every area in a business (marketing, HR, PR, etc.) and how to build relationships.  There are many examples of how businesses have gone above and beyond in creating excellent customer experiences regardless of the role of the employee in the company.  As an educator/trainer, I found the tips for speakers interesting and helpful.

The Book of Business UnAwesome

The book focuses on how to be unawesome ... wasting time and money rather than focusing on your employees, ignoring and/or being rude to customers, making things difficult for customers, inappropriate and/or not well-thought out social media messages, etc.  Throughout this book, there are examples of hall of shamers.

I liked the writing style of the two books.  It is conversational, casual and amusing.  I think Scott would be a fun guy to sit down and talk with.  I read this book on my iPad and there are lots of links which I found myself going to as I was reading to learn more about the experiences Scott talked about.

I look forward to reading his other books and hope sometime to see one of his keynotes.

Book ~ "Crying for the Moon: A Novel" (2017) Mary Walsh

From Goodreads ~ Raised on tough love in St. John’s, Maureen is the second-youngest daughter of a bitter and angry mother and a beaten-down father who tells the best stories (but only when he’s drunk). If life at home is difficult, then school is torture, with the nuns watching every move she makes. But Maureen wants a bigger life. She wants to go to sexy, exciting Montreal and be part of Expo 67, even if it means faking her way into the school choir.

Finally achieving her goal of reaching Montreal, Maureen escapes the vigilant eye of Sister Imobilis and sneaks away, and over the course of a few hours, one humiliating encounter with a young Leonard Cohen and a series of breathtakingly bad decisions change the course of her life forever.

It's July 1967 and Maureen is a teenager living in St. John's, Newfoundland.  Expo '67 was held in Montreal and in the July of that year, Maureen manages to weasel her way onto the local choir because they were heading to Montreal to perform.  In Montreal, she and her friend, Carleen, are able to escape the nuns and party.  Carleen decides to stay in Montreal with a sleazebag she'd just met and Maureen heads back to Newfoundland.  Once home, she discovers she is pregnant, a situation her dominating mother (aka Sarge) takes care of.

Shortly thereafter Maureen is living with Bo.  Bo is abusive and is always viciously beating her up, whether they are sober or drunk.  He is eventually found dead and the police, knowing Bo and Maureen's history, look at her as the suspect.

I had high hopes when I started this book but it just kept getting more and more dreary and boring as it went on.  The writing could have been tighter so therefore the story shorter.  I felt there was a lot of information, details and rambling that wasn't needed.  I gave up when I got about three-quarters of the way in and skimmed to the end.  As a head's up, there is swearing, adult activity and violence.  I'm originally from Nova Scotia so it was fun to read the lingo that I haven't heard in years.

I didn't find any of the characters likable.  I couldn't find any sympathy for Maureen and the predicaments she had gotten herself into.  Growing up, her home life wasn't the best but she didn't do anything to better herself and rise above it when she got to be an adult.  She continued to wallow in it and let her upbringing beat her down.  I found it ridiculous that Maureen, who wasn't overly bright or motivated, would put herself in danger trying to find out who was responsible for Bo's death.  Her parents were awful and it was sad and unnecessary that a "retarded" older sister who her mother abused was part of the story.

Book ~ "QR Codes Kill Kittens: How to Alienate Customers, Dishearten Employees, and Drive Your Business Into the Ground" (2013) Scott Stratten

From Goodreads ~ Experts are constantly telling us what we need to be doing to improve our businesses. Hundreds of books in the market are filled with advice from these experts. But how can you filter out all of the bad advice, misinformation, and misuse of business tools that is out there? None of us needs another list of what we should be doing. "QR Codes Kill Kittens" tells you what not to do. Easy to digest, easy to avoid. The book is separated into several sections, and each will include a story related to the topic in addition to tips and explanations on what not to do.

Includes real-life examples along with tips and guidance on experts, human resources, marketing/branding, networking (in person and online), public relations, and customer service.

It doesn't do you any good to do a few things right and a lot of things wrong. Find out what not to do. If reading this book saves just one kitten's life, it's worth it. 

I've read a couple books by Scott Stratten and find them interesting.  This book is about QR (quick response) codes, which is a kind of bar code.  To read them, you download a QR code-reading app which will allow you to scan the code.  It is supposed to take you to a website, download a link or take you to a mobile-friendly destination.  I've never downloaded a QR code-reading app so I haven't had the experience of seeing what happens when one does ... so I thought I'd see if I was missing out on anything.  As it turns out, Scott's not a fan of them.

There are four chapters, which are reasons for not using QR codes:

1. They don't work
2. Nobody likes them
3. They are selfish
4. They take up valuable time better spent elsewhere

Within the chapters are lots of examples of why/how not to use QR codes, plus other faux pas and Scott's commentary on them.  There are occasional lists of what causes a kitten to die ... like any time someone asks to have an original faxed over, not a copy, or whenever a company promotes from within without basing it on merit.

I liked the writing style.  It is very conversational, casual and amusing.  He seems like he'd be a fun guy to sit down and talk with.  I look forward to reading his other books and hope sometime to see one of his keynotes.

Book ~ "Unmarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging." (2010) Scott Stratten

From Goodreads ~ From one of the leading experts in viral and social marketing-market your business effectively to today's customers.  For generations, marketing has been hypocritical. We've been taught to market to others in ways we hate being marketed to (cold-calling, flyers, ads, etc.). So why do we still keep trying the same stale marketing moves?

"UnMarketing" shows you how to unlearn the old ways and consistently attract and engage the right customers. You'll stop just pushing out your message and praying that it sticks somewhere. Potential and current customers want to be listened to, validated, and have a platform to be heard - especially online. With "UnMarketing", you'll create such a relationship with your customers, and make yourself the logical choice for their needs.

Shows how to create a mindset and systems to roll out a new, 21st century marketing approach.  Marketing expert Scott Stratten focuses on a Pull & Stay method (pulling your market towards you and staying/engaging with them, leading them to naturally choose you for their needs) rather than Push & Pray.  Redefines marketing as all points of engagement between a company and its customers, not just a single boxed-in activity. Traditional marketing methods are leading to diminishing returns and disaffected customers. The answer? Stop marketing, start UnMarketing!

Regardless of your role when you work for a company, we are all sales and marketing people, not only promoting whatever the product or service is but also the customer experience.  According to Scott, "marketing happens every time you engage (or not) with your past, present and potential customers."

This book is about "unmarketing" ... the ability to engage with your market.  It's what comes naturally, not being forced to do things that make you uncomfortable.  It's the authentic, it's personal and it's the way to building lifelong fans, relationships and customers.  This book is for you if you have had enough of the "old-school" ways of marketing and want to believe there is a better way.

If you believe business is built on relationships, make building them your business.  Scott Stratten

Scott starts with the hierarchy of buying ... with cold-calling on the bottom of the pyramid and referrals from current satisfied customers at the top.  He then discusses the value of being considered an expert and trust.  Various methods are described such as "pull and stay" rather than the "push and pray", social media such as Twitter, viral marketing, seminars and more.  He includes his experiences of what some companies did well and how others failed to live up to their promises.

I liked the writing style.  It is very conversational, casual and amusing.  He seems like he'd be a fun guy to sit down and talk with.  I read this book on my iPad and there are links which I found myself going to as I was reading to learn more about the experiences Scott talked about.

I look forward to reading his other books and hope sometime to see one of his keynotes.

Book ~ "Big League Babble On: The Misadventures of a Rabble-Rousing Sportscaster and Why He Should Be Dead Now" (2017) John Gallagher

From Goodreads ~ Veteran radio and television personality John Gallagher’s salacious, voracious and dangerously delicious memoirs of a life lived on the edge in the midst of some of the world’s biggest celebrities.

Long-time sportscaster John Gallagher has had close to four decades of hosting some of the top-rated radio and TV shows in Canada and, while he was at it, doing enough drugs to wipe out a small village. Along the way there was plenty of drinking, cavorting and gallivanting with some of the coolest, biggest, and baddest sports stars and Hollywood celebs around.

In "Big League Babble On", John spares no one, not even himself. Read about his nights boozing with the likes of Tony Curtis, Stevie Nicks, Colin Farrell and Leafs head coach Pat Burns. Find out how partying with Gallagher saved Mark Wahlberg’s life. Or how he once came a little too close to Princess Di. And the time Muhammad Ali stole John’s Penthouse magazine … for the articles.

Gallagher is a pop culture Cuisinart and a walking - but mostly talking - sports almanac. From hot tubbing with Wendel Clark to “chasing skirt” with Robbie Alomar, Gallagher has met (and often partied with) all of the greats. This book will give you an accredited backstage pass and get you close enough to sniff Bo Derek’s perfume (Tigress by Fabergé?).

According to his bio, John Gallagher is an award-winning, thirty-year on-air veteran of Canadian television and radio.  He worked for fifteen years at Citytv and is the former host of the country’s #1 talk show, Gallagher, on TSN. A self-described news and pop culture junkie, foodie, music collector, world traveller and closet wine expert, John has partied with just about every celebrity of note for the past three decades - and has the pictures to prove it.

John was raised in Montreal.  After accepting a job in broadcasting in Halifax when he was quite young, he moved to Toronto from Nova Scotia about the same time I did in the 1980s (he's about my age).  I know of him from being on the morning crew on classic rock station Q107 and on Citytv.

I enjoy reading bios/autobios and I thought his would be interesting, especially since he has spent most of his career here in Toronto.  John is not shy about telling his story ... of his excesses in booze, drugs and women, his meetings with actors, sports stars and other broadcasters, the adventures his career has allowed him to experience, and more.  He names names and is honest in his opinions about them.  Throughout the book, there are pictures of some of the people he talks about in the book.

I liked the writing style and found it to be conversational.  The stories he shared were interesting and at times shocking, but in a fun way.  I will admit, though, that I didn't find John all that likable.  Though I liked the book and the writing style, I found him to be too arrogant, cocky and boastful (not unlike his on-air persona).  It would appear that no woman can resist him and all are anxious to hop in bed with him minutes after meeting him.  It doesn't seem like he has much for respect for women, other than his mother.  Needless to say, the language and stories are for a mature reader.  The last chapter in which he talks about his father and his family life growing up to me seemed to be perhaps the "real" John rather than the "on" John.

Book ~ "Brother" (2017) David Chariandy

From Goodreads ~ An intensely beautiful, searingly powerful, tightly constructed novel, "Brother" explores questions of masculinity, family, race and identity as they are played out in a Scarborough housing complex during the sweltering heat and simmering violence of the summer of 1991.

With shimmering prose and mesmerizing precision, David Chariandy takes us inside the lives of Michael and Francis. They are the sons of Trinidadian immigrants, their father has disappeared and their mother works double, sometimes triple shifts so her boys might fulfill the elusive promise of their adopted home.

Coming of age in The Park, a cluster of town houses and leaning concrete towers in the disparaged outskirts of a sprawling city, Michael and Francis battle against the careless prejudices and low expectations that confront them as young men of black and brown ancestry - teachers stream them into general classes; shopkeepers see them only as thieves; and strangers quicken their pace when the brothers are behind them. Always Michael and Francis escape into the cool air of the Rouge Valley, a scar of green wilderness that cuts through their neighbourhood, where they are free to imagine better lives for themselves.

Propelled by the pulsing beats and styles of hip hop, Francis, the older of the two brothers, dreams of a future in music. Michael's dreams are of Aisha, the smartest girl in their high school whose own eyes are firmly set on a life elsewhere. But the bright hopes of all three are violently, irrevocably thwarted by a tragic shooting, and the police crackdown and suffocating suspicion that follow.

With devastating emotional force David Chariandy, a unique and exciting voice in Canadian literature, crafts a heartbreaking and timely story about the profound love that exists between brothers and the senseless loss of lives cut short with the shot of a gun.

This is the story of Michael and his older brother, Francis, who are living in Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto in the early 1990s.  Their parents are of Trinidadian background.  Their father left the family when the boys were very young and their mother has to work a couple menial jobs to support them.  As they get older, Francis gets involved in a crowd that his mother doesn't approve of and that causes friction.  Michael's friend, Aisha, has come home for the funeral of her father who had lived in their neighbourhood.

I liked the writing style and the story.  It bounced from present day to the past.  It is written in first person perspective in Michael's voice.  As a head up, there is violence and swearing.

Book ~ "Nine Lessons I Learned from My Father" (2017) Murray Howe

From Goodreads ~ When Gordie Howe passed away, the world paused to acknowledge the legacy of the game's greatest player. For twelve straight hours - 9 to 9 - thousands of mourners passed through Joe Louis Arena in Detroit to pay their respects. The game's elder statesmen dropped what they were doing to gather for the funeral. Fans young and old flew in from around the world. Wayne Gretzky argued that Howe's number 9 should be retired league-wide. Barack Obama issued a statement recognizing what Gordie Howe meant to the game. 

As one after another dignitary spoke, it became clear that as staggering as Howe's achievements were on the ice, he was even greater as a person. In story after story, friends and rivals alike painted a portrait of a man the likes of which we may never see again. How could someone so revered also be so humble? How could someone who fought so hard also be so gentle? How could someone of whom so much was expected routinely astonish those around him by doing more? The man named Gordie Howe - not the hockey player, not the legend, but the living, breathing man - came into focus when his son, Murray, approached the podium to deliver the eulogy. The mourners in the packed cathedral, and those watching on television, got a glimpse of what a man who was a hero to generations looked like to his own children, and what his life looked like to those whose lives he shaped. 

The Gordie Howe his son introduced to the world was in many ways a teacher. Through his words and, more importantly, through his actions, he showed those around him what it means to live a life you can be proud of. Those lessons formed the backbone of the eulogy his son delivered, as it does the book that grew out of it. 

Unlike his two brothers, Murray Howe failed in his attempt to follow in his father's footsteps to become a professional athlete. Yet, his failure brought him to the realization that in truth, his dream wasn't to be a pro hockey player. His dream was to be his father, Gordie Howe. To be amazing at something, but humble and gracious. To be courageous, and stand up for the little guy. To be a hero. You don't need to be a hockey player to do that. What he learned was that it is a waste of time wishing you were like someone else. We need to identify and embrace our gifts. Gordie Howe may have been the greatest player in the history of hockey, but greatness was never defined by goals or assists in the Howe household. Greatness meant being the best person you could be, not the best player on the ice. 

This book will take the reader through the hours Murray spent writing the eulogy - the hours immediately after his father's death, as he gathers his thoughts and memories, and makes sense of what his remarkable father meant to him. The result is nine lessons, built out of hundreds of stories, that show us the man behind the legend and give us a glimpse of what we can learn from this incredible life. 

I'm not a hockey fan but this is the third book I've read about Gordie Howe ... I'd read one by him and one by his son, Mark, in June 2016 shortly after Gordie had passed away.  This book is by his youngest son, Murray, who was not a hockey player but a doctor.

This book came about right after Gordie had passed away and Murray was writing his eulogy.  It is less about Gordie that hockey player and more about Gordie the father and friend.  Gordie was living with Murray and his family when he died and Murray is honoured to have spent his father's last days with him.

There are nine lessons (which are chapters) that Murray and others had learned from Gordie:

1. Live honourably
2. Live generously
3. Play hard but have fun
4. Patience, patience, patience
5. Live selflessly
6. Be humble
7. Be tough
8. Stay positive
9. Friends and family are live gold - treasure them

Along with the lessons are lots of stories to support the lessons.

Gordie Howe was nicknamed "Mr. Hockey" and is considered the most complete player to ever play the game and one of the greatest hockey players of all time. A 23-time NHL All-Star, he held many of the sport's scoring records until they were broken in the 1980s by Wayne Gretzky.

Gordie was born in rural Saskatchewan as one of nine children born during the Depression to poor parents.  Though he eventually moved to the States and raised his family there, he never forgot his humble roots.  Though a tough guy on the ice, it sounds like Howe was a nice guy.  He was friendly and giving to everyone, even up to the end.

Whether you are a hockey fan or not, I think you would enjoy this book.

Book ~ "The Ward: The Life and Loss of Toronto's First Immigrant Neighbourhood" (2015) John Lorinc, Michael McClelland and Ellen Scheinberg

From Goodreads ~ From the 1840s until the Second World War, waves of newcomers who migrated to Toronto – Irish, Jewish, Italian, African American and Chinese, among others – landed in "The Ward".  Crammed with rundown housing and immigrant-owned businesses, this area, bordered by College and Queen, University and Yonge streets, was home to bootleggers, Chinese bachelors, workers from the nearby Eaton’s garment factories and hard-working peddlers. But the City considered it a slum and bulldozed the area in the late 1950s to make way for a new civic square.

The Ward finally tells the diverse stories of this extraordinary and resilient neighbourhood through archival photos and contributions from a wide array of voices, including historians, politicians, architects, story­­tellers, journalists and descendants of Ward residents. Their perspectives on playgrounds, tuberculosis, sex workers, newsies and even bathing bring The Ward to life and, in the process, raise important questions about how contemporary cities handle immigration, poverty and the geography of difference.

The Ward was a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, bound by College Street, Queen Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue.  For several decades of the late 19th and early 20th century, it was a highly dense mixed-used neighbourhood where waves of new immigrants would initially settle before establishing themselves.  It was characterized by authorities in the 19th century as a slum.  It was the centre of the city's Jewish community from the late 19th century until the 1920s and until the late 1950s, the home of the city's original Chinatown.

The old neighbourhood has wholly disappeared.  The Ward was slowly demolished as land was expropriated for office buildings, hotels, Nathan Phillips Square and City Hall.

This book is a collections of essays written by a variety of people including authors, journalists, photographers, politicians, historians, doctors and nurses, etc. about the Ward.  As such, there are many perspectives and interesting stories, with some of the stories being about the same thing but with a different twist.  Did you know that "America's Sweetheart", Mary Pickford (aka Gladys Louise Smith), was born and lived in the Ward at 211 University Avenue?  Though there is a hospital there now, there is a plaque commemorating that she'd lived there.

There are lots of great pictures in the book showing what the Ward looked like.  It's hard to imagine because things have changed so much!

The square is where City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square are today

Book ~ "Toronto and the Maple Leafs: A City and Its Team" (2017) Lance Hornby

From Goodreads ~ On December 19, 2017, the Toronto Maple Leafs officially turn 100. In the spirit of the centenary celebrations, Toronto and the Maple Leafs explores the city’s relationship with its most beloved sports team. No matter how many times the Jays and Raptors make the playoffs, it’s a Leafs game that still brings the city together on a cold Saturday night and fuels the talk shows all summer. But why are fans so absorbed by a team that has not won a Cup in 50 years?

Veteran Leafs and NHL columnist Lance Hornby gives readers an insider’s perspective on how the pulse of the city and team became one through two world wars, the Depression, the zany Harold Ballard years, and, until recently, dysfunctional hockey operations. Toronto and the Maple Leafs includes insights and stories from Mayor John Tory to Joe Fan; from influential voices of the Leafs, such as Foster Hewitt and Joe Bowen, to the ushers, cleaners, and ticket scalpers. Not to mention a funeral director who performs Leafs-themed services.

An unforgettable book about the good teams, bad games, and bizarre times of this franchise’s history, this is the perfect companion for every Leafs fan.

Though I don't dislike hockey, I will admit that I'm not a hockey fan.  This book caught my eye because I am interested in Toronto and its history and the Toronto Maple Leafs obviously are part of that history.

The author of this book, Lance Hornby, has covered the Maple Leafs and the National Hockey League as a Toronto Sun beat writer and columnist going on 25 years. An avid historian and member of the Society for International Hockey Research, he has written, co-authored or edited six books, including the Story of Maple Leaf Gardens and Hockey's Greatest Moments. He has appeared on Sportsnet, TSN, CBC and LeafsTV.

The Maple Leafs were founded in 1917, known as the Toronto Arenas.  Under new ownership, the club was named the Toronto St. Patricks in 1919.  In 1927 the club was purchased by Conn Smythe and renamed the Maple Leafs.  They were one of the "Original Six", one of six NHL teams to have made it through the league during the Great Depression.  They have won 13 Stanley Cups, second only to the 24 championships of the Montreal Canadiens.  They last won the Stanley Cup in 1967 and fans have been waiting 50 years, the longest current streak in the NHL, for them to win another.

I found the stories in this book interesting.  They were short and bite-sized and covered things such as the beginning of the Leafs, the Harold Ballard years, playing in Maple Leafs Gardens and then the Air Canada Centre (ACC), super fans, employees, players past and present, and more.  There are stories and quotes from the players, employees and fans.

The last chapter lists the Leafs' top 100 by numbers ... for example:

• 3 - the number of rinks the Leafs have called home (Mutual Street, Maple Leaf Gardens and the ACC)
• 6 - the number of overtime periods of the longest Leafs playoff game (April 3 to 4, 1933)
• 11 - the number of "Smiths" who have played for the Leafs
• 47 - NHL teams the Leafs have played against, including defunct clubs
• 79 - the number of game-winning goals by Mats Sundin, the club record
• 97 - the number of games by Tim Horton in the playoffs, the most played by a Toronto defenceman

As a non-fan, I found this book interesting.  If you are a Maple Leafs' fan, you'll probably love it!

Book ~ "Skinheads, Fur Traders, and DJs: An Adventure Through the 1970s" (2017) Kim Clarke Champniss

From Goodreads ~ A true story of an adventurous pop-loving teenager who, in the early 1970s, went from London's discotheques to the Canadian sub-arctic to work for the Hudson's Bay Company. His job? Buying furs and helping run the trading post in the settlement of Arviat (then known as Eskimo Point), Northwest Territories (population: 750). 

That young man was Kim Clarke Champniss, who would later become a VJ on MuchMusic. His extraordinary adventures unfolded in a chain of On the Road experiences across Canada. His mind-boggling journey, from London, to the far Canadian North, to the spotlight, is the stuff of music and TV legends. 

Kim brings his incredible knowledge of music and pop culture and the history of disco music, weaving them into this wild story of his exciting and uniquely crazy 1970s. 

I remember Kim Clarke Champniss when he was a VJ for MuchMusic in the 1980s.  This book is about his life in the 1970s.

Kim was raised in London, England.  With no prospects and looking for adventure, he moved to Canada when he was 19 to work in the small community of Eskimo Point (now called Arviat) in the North for the Hudson's Bay Company.  There his life was very different than what he left in London ... there were no fancy clothes or radio which must have been quite the adjustment for a young man used to dancing in clubs often.  He was living among the Inuits who made their living hunting and fishing.  He still has fond memories of his time there and the people he met.  Once he fulfilled his year obligation, he moved to Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver and even Australia.  He eventually settled back in Vancouver, enrolled in university and got a job DJing in clubs (disco was all the rage at the time).

I liked the writing style and found his story interesting.  Not only is it about what was happening with the author in the 1970s but he also describes what was happening in the world at that time ... in music, TV, movies, fashion and politics.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "150 Fascinating Facts About Canadian Women" (2017) Margie Wolfe

From Goodreads ~ Did you know that, in 1875, Grace Annie Lockhart graduated from Mount Allison University as the first woman to receive a degree in any British Empire country? 

Or that in 1920, the Women's Labour League was formed calling for equal pay, maternity care, and birth control? 

Or that all Black, Japanese, Chinese, and South Asian Canadian women couldn't vote federally until 1949? 

Did you know that in 2008, Shannon Koostachin, a 13-year-old girl from Attawapiskat First Nation, led a rally to Parliament Hill that galvanized the movement for safe schools for Indigenous communities across Canada? 

These are only a few of the fascinating facts about Canadian women who have - for much longer than 150 years - helped to shape this country. 

This book has 150 facts about Canadian women and is a quick read.

Women of many cultures, backgrounds and races have always been workers, inventors, caregivers, scholars, factory labourers and creators of visual and performing arts.  They have advocated for social and judicial reform, fighting for change when it was needed and fighting for our rights when they were denied.

In addition to those facts listed above, here are some I found interesting ...

• Before 1909, the kidnapping of any woman over the age of 16, except for an heiress, was legal in Canada.
• In 1986, Sharon Wood was the first North American woman to climb to the summit of Mount Everest.
• In 1946, Viola Desmond, a black beautician in Nova Scotia, refused to vacate a seat in the "white section" of a movie theatre.  She was arrested and convicted.  It wasn't until 2010 that she was pardoned.  In 2016, the public voted for her to appear on the 2018 $10 bill.
• In 1996, Ottawa's Alanis Morissette became the first Canadian artist to win the Grammy Award for Best Album of the year for Jagged Little Pill.  She won three other Grammys that year.
• Before 1952, women could only work for the federal government if they were single.  Once married, they either resigned or were fired.

Book ~ "I Hear She's a Real Bitch" (2017) Jen Agg

From Goodreads ~ A sharp and candid memoir from a star in the restaurant world and an up-and-coming literary voice. Toronto restaurateur Jen Agg, the woman behind the popular The Black Hoof, Cocktail Bar, Rhum Corner and Agrikol restaurants, is known for her frank, crystal-sharp and often hilarious observations and ideas on the restaurant industry and the world around her. 

"I Hear She's a Real Bitch", Jen Agg's first book, is caustic yet intimate, and wryly observant; an unforgettable glimpse into the life of one of the most interesting, smart, trail-blazing voices of this moment. 

The Black Hoof, Cocktail Bar and Rhum Corner are about a twenty minute walk northeast from me.  I like rum and have walked by the Rhum Corner to check it out but I seem to pick the wrong times because it's been closed when I've gone by.  I'll get there eventually.

Jen Agg is the owner of these bars/restaurants (along with two others) and this is her story.  The book starts with her childhood in Scarborough, working in restaurants and bars for others, realizing her dream of opening her own bar (Cobalt on College Street) but closing it due to a bankruptcy, meeting and marrying her second husband and designing and opening more bars/restaurants.

I liked the writing style.  I found the author honest and open about her experiences.  It was interesting reading about all that is involved in deciding to open a bar and/or restaurant, creating and designing it, running it and the personalities involved.  There is no doubt about the passion the author has about the bar and restaurant industry and her establishments.

The author has a mouth and she's not afraid to use it (and there's nothing wrong with that).  I think you'd either like her or you wouldn't ... and she couldn't care less.  As a head's up, there is swearing (she likes to use the F-bomb frequently) and TMI about the author's sexual activities that goes beyond information about the restaurant industry.

It would have been nice to have more pictures of her restaurants, some of the dishes and drinks offered, etc.

Book ~ "Truth and Honour: The Death of Richard Oland and the Trial of Dennis Oland" (2017) Greg Marquis

From Goodreads ~ "Truth and Honour" explores the 2011 murder of Saint John businessman Richard Oland, of the prominent family that owns Moosehead Breweries, the ensuing police investigation and the arrest, trial, and conviction of the victim's son, Dennis Oland, for second-degree murder. 

Oland's trial would be the most publicized in New Brunswick history. What the trial judge called "a family tragedy of Shakespearian proportions," this real-life murder mystery included adultery, family dysfunction, largely circumstantial evidence, allegations of police incompetence, a high-powered legal defense and a verdict that shocked the community. 

Today, the Oland family maintains Dennis Oland's innocence. Author Greg Marquis, a professor of Canadian history at the University of New Brunswick Saint John, leads readers through the case, from the discovery of the crime to the conviction and sentencing of the defendant. 

Offering multiple perspectives, "Truth and Honour" explores this question: was Dennis Oland responsible for the death of his father? 

In July 2011, the body of 69-year-old businessman Richard Oland was found in his office in Saint John, NB.  The Oland family owns Moosehead Breweries Limited, which is Canada's oldest independent brewery.  The brewery was founded in 1867 and is still privately owned and operated by the Oland family.

Richard had been bludgeoned to death (he'd suffered 45 blows to the head, neck and hands).  In November 2013, Oland's only son, Dennis, was officially charged with second degree murder and found guilty in December 2015.  Dennis was sentenced to life in prison, with a possibility of parole in 10 years.  His lawyers immediately began the appeals process, which was successful, and Dennis' conviction was overturned in October 2016 (he'd spent ten months in prison).  A new trial was ordered, which should start next year.

Dennis is supposedly the last known person to see his father alive. During the first trial, the Crown suggested Dennis' possible motives for killing his father were his financial struggles and/or alleged anger over his father's extramarital affair with a real estate agent.  A key piece of evidence in the Crown's case against him was a blood-stained brown sports jacket, found in his bedroom closet a week after his father's body was discovered.   It had four small bloodstains on it which DNA matched to his father's.  Dennis has denied any involvement in his father's death and his extended family has stood by him from the beginning, maintaining he is innocent.

This is a very comprehensive book about this case (I'd heard about it over the years in the news) and I found it interesting.  There is a lot of detail and it's obvious the author spent a great deal of time researching it.  It was first published in October 2016 but was updated in April 2017 with a chapter about the conviction being overturned and what lies ahead for Dennis.

Book ~ "The New Farm: Our Ten Years on the Front Lines of the Good Food Revolution" (2017) Brent Preston

From Goodreads ~ The inspiring and sometimes hilarious story of a family that quit the rat race and left the city to live out their ideals on an organic farm, and ended up building a model for a new kind of agriculture. 

When Brent Preston, his wife, Gillian, and their two young children left Toronto ten years ago, they arrived on an empty plot of land with no machinery, no money and not much of a clue. Through a decade of grinding toil, they built a real organic farm, one that is profitable, sustainable and their family's sole source of income. Along the way they earned the respect and loyalty of some of the best chefs in North America and created a farm that is a leading light in the good food movement. 

Told with humour and heart in Preston's unflinchingly honest voice, "The New Farm" arrives at a time of unprecedented interest in food and farming, with readers keenly aware of the overwhelming environmental, social and moral costs of our industrial food system. "The New Farm" offers a vision for a hopeful future, a model of agriculture that brings people together around good food, promotes a healthier planet, and celebrates great food and good living.

Brent and his wife, Gillian, met in 1994 when they were working in Africa for the National Democratic Institute, an American organization that sought to spread and strengthen democratic government.  He was from Toronto and she was from Vermont.  They eventually settled in Toronto, married and had two children.  Brent was a producer with CBC and Gillian worked for a public-sector management consulting firm when they decided they wanted to move away from Toronto to the country.

Brent and Gillian had bought an old farm in Creemore, about an hour and a half northwest of Toronto, with the intent of having it at as weekend getaway but instead relocated there.  With no money and not a lot of experience, they decided they wanted the farm to support them.  But they wanted the farm to provide organic produce, something that wasn't heard of in the mid-2000s.  Despite having the other farmers in the area think they were crazy and having many lean years in the beginning, The New Farm is now a certified organic farm producing premium quality organic vegetables for restaurants, retail stores and wholesale customers.

I liked this book and found it interesting.  It goes without saying that there is a lot of work that goes into farming, especially when most of it is done without machinery and staying true to being organic.  It re-enforced that it's not something I ever want to do.  And as much as I like meat, I couldn't raise animals, get attached to them and then kill and eat them (that was hard to read about).

I liked the writing style and found it amusing at times.  As a head's up, there is swearing.  The passion that Brent and Gillian have for the farm, for ensuring it's organic, involving the community, helping worthwhile causes, respecting migrant workers and making a better way of life for their family comes through.

It would have been nice if the book had had some pictures so we could see what the farm looks like and how far they've come.

Book ~ "Heart of the City" (2017) Robert Rotenberg

From Goodreads ~ When Detective Ari Greene was charged with the murder of the woman he loved, he stopped at nothing to clear his name and uncover the real killer. After his acquittal, Greene fled to London to get away from it all but now he’s back. And he’s not alone - with Greene is his twenty-year-old daughter, Alison. The child he never knew he had.

Determined to leave his life as a cop behind him, Greene gets a job on a construction site for one of Toronto’s many new condos. It seems he has finally found peace as he settles into a new career and new role as a father, helping Alison adjust to life in Canada.

But when Greene stumbles upon the corpse of hated developer Livingston Fox, he is plunged back into the life he tried so hard to leave behind. As the body count rises, Greene is forced into a reluctant reconciliation with his former protégé, Daniel Kennicott. The pair must delve into the tight-knit world of downtown development, navigating tangled loyalties, unexpected corruption, and family secrets, some of which are closer to home than Greene could have ever imagined.

In a world where the stakes are high and the profits are even higher, Greene and Kennicott race against the clock as they follow the trail of blood and money to its shocking end. 

Ari Greene was a cop in Toronto.  He fled to England last year to take some time away after he'd been charged and acquitted of killing the love of his life.  While in England, he discovered he had a twenty-year-old daughter named Alison from a relationship he'd had with an Englishwoman years ago.  When he returns to Toronto with Alison, he gets a job on a construction site as a labourer.  When the developer of the site is found murdered on there, Ari can't help but get involved (the lead detective is Daniel, who Ari had mentored).  The developer wasn't well-liked so it could have been many who wanted him dead.

This the fifth book by Rotenberg I've read and I enjoyed it.  Though it's the fifth in a series, it works as a stand alone because there is enough background information provided.  It is written in third person perspective with the focus on wherever the action is.  I like the writing style and it moves at a good pace.  I didn't really buy the "whodunnit" and the why but I went with it.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I like that this series is set in Toronto.  The author is quite specific about the locations so I know exactly where the action is taking place and I have been to a lot of these places.  The construction site was in the Kensington Market area, for example, as were protests.  I think I was recently at the bakery on Dundas Street where Ari and Daniel meet.  I've had lunch at the Fresh on Spadina, south of Queen where the developer had supper with his dad.

I look forward to the next book in the series!