Born Weird - Andrew Kaufman

An intriguing premise with a false promise on the cover; a review said that the unbelievable was wrapped up satisfactorily in the end, so I persevered. Well it wasn't exactly the ending that was promised but the ride was decent enough. Toronto references were also fun to envision. By no means extraordinary it was an easy-drinking read.

4
Nov 2014

A Nation Worth Ranting About - Rick Mercer

The beauty of these books is that after years of 22 Minutes and RMR I can now read the rants in my head and hear Rick's voice. He really gets to the crux of matters in these concise, poignant pieces on all matters of things - politics, culture, human-nature. A good book can give you an escape, while a great read inspires. In the introduction everyone is encouraged to rant and the subsequent pages made me want to do just that (in a positive way!)

8
August-September 2014

Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates - Tom Robbins

Not only is the title a mouthful but the entire text is rather verbose. Although it is wordy some strings of those words are enlightening, some amusing for their outrageousness while others are simply hilarious. I savoured this book in that it had the battiness of Vonnegut while commonly dropping nuggets of real wisdom. Over the course of the book it was easy to "get to know" the protagonist through his outspoken rants - a man I can't help but think is an extension of the author himself. I'd only read B is For Beer (a children's book for grown-ups/a grown-up book for children) and it really didn't do Mr. Robbins justice. The beauty is that there is so much more back-catalog to dig into. Going to curl up in a blanket..

9
Nov-Dec 2014