I was recently sent a review copy of The Reavers by George MacDonald Fraser (author of the Flashman Papers). I have fond memories of reading about Flashman, probably because his adventures were among the first I ever read involving S-E-X. Vague, faint memories, but good ones. When my shiny red paperback arrived in the mail, […]
I’m so sorry about The Reavers Read More »
I’m a fan of Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Cafe radio show. His stories are entertaining, usually funny and they have a quality I struggle with in my own writing: heart. It’s situation comedy but he makes you care. McLean’s characters, snug in their tight-knit community, are always involved in each others’ lives. It’s a welcome antidote
Secrets from the Vinyl Cafe Read More »
The Big Over Easy is a fun book, set in the same universe as Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next novels. To be fair, I’m not an expert mystery reader. I don’t care enough about the puzzle and seldom solve it ahead of the sleuth. I read for the setting and the characters. This book delivers both
My son got his hockey picture taken before his game today. This meant a lot of sitting around waiting and reading Scooby Doo. He’s in his second year of French Immersion so he brings home Scooby Doo books in French. I end up reading them to him in both languages, one chunk at a time.
Yer typical Canadian Hockey teams. Read More »
Today I attended CANSAIP’s annual conference called Packaging Your Imagination. Held at Trinity college, Toronto, the day-long conference consisted of three workshops and a keynote speaker. Between the second and third workshops, there was a sit down lunch with brief speeches from the CANSCAIP organizers. I will talk about the workshops another time. I’m still
This Can’t Be Happening at Trinity College — Gordan Korman Read More »
Writing humour is difficult. Wordplay can trigger a laugh but the same pun may cause one listener to laugh, the other to groan. The reasons two people might not laugh at the same joke are poorly understood. We know that humour plays with language, touches on truth and finds ways of expressing things we can’t
Christopher Moore — A Dirty Job Read More »
One of my favorite short story collections is Tom King’s A Short History of Indians in Canada: Stories. I have admired King since listening to his Dead Dog Cafe Comedy Hour on CBC radio. He explores the truth of our shared experiences to make us laugh, and ache. The first story in the collection, in
A Short History of Indians in Canada Read More »