Summer Reading List

Tonight at bedtime I got a little too excited telling Lenny about the reading incentive programs they used to have at the Toronto Public Library when I was growing up. You'd get a piece of paper stamped every time you read a book. That was the big incentive. What? I remember it being so exciting. Reading was the reward, I guess. It got me to thinking about what I want to put on my reading list this Summer. Here's where I'm at so far...

1. Leave Your Mark by Aliza Licht - Before we knew who Aliza Licht was, we were all following @DKNYPRGirl on Twitter. I'm looking forward to Licht's insights into Social Media.

2. Yes Please by Amy Poehler - What's weird is that I haven't read this yet.

3. #GirlBoss by Sophia Amoruso - I'm not sure about this one, to be honest. I can't decide if I'm going to find her annoying or inspiring. I guess the only way to find out is to read the book. And I'm curious enough to do that, so bonus points for that, Amoruso.

4. Believer by David Axelrod - I think I might be in love with David Axelrod, so it would be kind of rude if I didn't read his book this Summer, right?

5. Picnic in Provence by Elizabeth Bard - It's a memoir with recipes. I think that qualifies as delightful Summer reading, don't you? It sounds vaguely escapist, which is just what the doctor ordered sometimes, especially if you find yourself on the beach or poolside.

6. Serve It Forth by MFK Fisher - Last year one of my Summer reads was Provence 1970, written by Fisher's nephew Luke Barr. I loved every page of that book. Barr really brought the people it was about alive. Julia Child, James Beard and most especially, Fisher. I've been excited to dive into her work ever since.

7. The Gastronomical Me by MFK Fisher - Because I have a feeling one isn't going to be enough. And I want to be MFK Fisher when I grow up.

8. A Cook's Tour by Anthony Bourdain - Because I've read all the other books he's written. Damn it, Tony! Write a new book!

9. Saint Louis Armstrong Beach by Brenda Woods - This is Young Adult Fiction, but after reading my friend Tanya Gough's wonderful YA novel Root Bound, I'm more open to that than I used to be. I imagine it will be a quick, compelling read, with a New Orleans backdrop. Who knows? Maybe in a couple of years it will be something that Lenny and I can read together (I know we'll be reading Root Bound)!

10. Norman Granz: The Man Who Used Jazz For Justice by Tad Hershorn - I love Hershorn's writing and Granz is a personal hero. I can't wait to dig into this!

11. Can You Hear Me Now? by Michael Eric Dyson - It's been a good 5 years since I've read any Dyson and this seems like the right place to get my fill this Summer. He's got a way with words, this man.

12. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris - Because this is the only Sedaris I haven't read yet and I need to rectify that as soon as possible. I saw him speak recently with my friend Sarah and it was such a delight. He's so special. And weird. I just love him. Sedaris is the only author other than Wodehouse who's ever made me fall into hysterical fits of giggles on public transit. That's some sort of a litmus test, as far as I'm concerned.

Lenny is doing remarkably well learning how to read in JK and she wants to do more of it. So, we'll be keeping up our routine of board books that she can read by herself and Curious George and Pete the Cat books that we can read together. I think she's ready to put some big kid chapter books into rotation too.  It's so hard to know where to start!

1. The Hotel Cat by Esther Averill - while it's true we've already read this to her at least twice, it's still my all time favourite and the fact that she loves it too means we're going to read it over and over again. That's just how it's going to be.

2. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White - because I think maybe it's OK if she breaks her heart a little bit? Maybe? I'm still on the fence about this one. Not sure I can handle having my heart broken like this again. But it's so good! Decisions, decisions.

3. The BFG - by Roald Dahl - I think this is a good place to start with Dahl? I think? And Sophie is such a fun character and the BFG is so muddled up and loveable. It's definitely gateway Dahl, and that's what I'm looking for.

4. The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary - Speaking of gateway...she's already seen the movie and loves little Ralph. I, of course, was obsessed with all things Beverly Clearly as a girl, so I'm super excited to get Len started this Summer first Ralph...then...

5. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary - RAMONA! I don't need to say anything more than that, do I? (Well, that's not true. I will say that if I can't find the cover art seen above I'll be pissed. That's the only Ramona I care to know, visually anyway).

6. Ribsy by Beverly Cleary - My kid loves dogs. This will be an easy sell. And it's a great book. Henry Huggins is such fun. Ahhhh! I can't wait!

Any tips? What do you think is missing from my list? What are you planning on reading this Summer?

My Favourite Parts of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

The Kobo has truly made 2012 the year of the book for me.  I am so happy about how much more reading I've been doing.  I've got at least six more books under my belt that I want to include here, but today I'll be taking note of my favourite parts of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: A Novel by Jonathan Safran Foer.

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What about a teakettle? What if the spout opened and closed when the steam came out, so it would become a mouth, and it could whistle pretty melodies, or do Shakespeare, or just crack up with me? I could invent a tea kettle that reads in Dad's voice, so I could fall asleep, or maybe a set of kettles that sings the chorus of Yellow Submarine, which is a song by the Beatles, who I love, because entomology is one of my raisons d'être, which is a French expression that I know. Another good thing is that I could train my anus to talk when I farted.

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Grandma knitted me white sweaters, white mittens, and white hats. She knew how much I liked dehydrated ice cream, which was one of my very few exceptions to veganism, because it's what astronauts have for dessert, and she went to the Hayden Planetarium and bought it for me. She picked up pretty rocks to give to me, even though she shouldn't have been carrying heavy things, and usually they were just Manhattan schist, anyway. A couple of days after the worst day, when I was on my way to my first appointment with Dr. Fein, I saw Grandma carrying a huge rock across Broadway. It was as big as a baby and must have weighed a ton. But she never gave that one to me, and she never mentioned it.

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Only a few months into our marriage, we started marking off areas in the apartment as "Nothing Places," in which one could be assured of complete privacy, we agreed that we never would look at the marked-off zones, that they would be nonexistent territories in the apartment in which one could temporarily cease to exist, the first was in the bedroom, by the foot of the bed, we marked it off with red tape on the carpet, and it was just large enough to stand in, it was a good place to disappear, we knew it was there but we never looked at it, it worked so well that we decided to create a Nothing Place in the living room, it seemed necessary, because there are times when one needs to disappear while in the living room, and sometimes one simply wants to disappear...

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I wished he could remember even more details, like if Dad had unbuttoned his shirt's top button, or if he smelled like shaving, or if he whistled "I Am the Walrus." Was he holding a New York Times under his arm? Were his lips chapped? Was there a red pen in his pocket?

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I love that story, because it shows how ignorant people can be. And also because I love tortoises.

I know I'm coming to the party late on this one...

Can't blog. Busy reading. And thinking about cooking.


It's been a while since a new author has captured my imagination the way Julie Powell has. This really takes the pressure of David Sedaris and Doris Kearns Goodwin. Guys, go get yourself a cocktail and thank Julie, she's just swell.

Jazz Casual

I've been reading, along with every holiday themed decorating / cooking magazine I can get my hands on, Ben Ratliff's new book on Coltrane. It's really good read so far. Reading it made me want to watch one of my favourite clips from Ralph Gleason's Jazz Casual of Coltrane (with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones) playing Alabama in 1963. Thought you should see it too.

I'm STILL Miss Chatelaine.

I enjoy a good periodical. I try to read every issue of the New Yorker. The Sunday New York Times Magazine makes me really, really happy. I quite often read Vanity Fair (maybe half the issues put out in a year). Over the last year or so I've started picking up Downbeat, Jazz Times and Coda on a regular basis as well. Toronto Life comes to the office and I at least skim every issue. The change of season usually inspires me to pick up a home decor mag for ideas and fantasy. I used to read Premeire Magazine a lot, but I hardly make it out to the movies anymore, so really, what's the point?

Once, I made the Robeau buy me a copy of Playboy, because there was an interview with Derek Jeter in it. And you know what everyone says about how great the interviews are in Playaboy! I didn't want to buy it myself because I didn't want the nice Korean man at the corner store to think I was a pervert.

I never buy "woman's magazines". You know what I'm talking about. "Ladies Home Journal", stuff like that. Magazines that talk a lot about how to feed a family of six on a budget. Recipes for casseroles. And things involving marshmallows. Or even casseroles with marshmallows. I know you know what I'm talking about.

I was in the bookstore the other day and I picked up a copy Chatelaine. I was pulled in by a beautiful picture of Nigella Lawson holding a plate of cupcakes. Then there were the headlines about "knowing if it's time to break up with your RRSP" and "learning how to run". I want to change up my RRSP, I want to think about learning how to run again before I do that (down hill) 10 K I've committed to doing in May (ugh). I should buy this magazine! Besides, if the Robeau was nice enough to buy me a copy of Playboy I can certainly return the favour with a picture of Nigella Lawson, holding cupcakes, no less.

So I bought it. The minute I left the store, with my copy of Chatelaine in tow I felt about 100 years old. And that was unfair of me, I know. The first and last time I bought this magazine I enjoyed it. I really have to get over this bizarre problem I have with "women's magazines".

That night, curled up on the couch with a glass of red, I started to flip through Chatelaine. The Robeau was in the kitchen making his Mother's recipe for Beef Stroganoff. Can you say delicious? Can you also say recipe probably culled from the pages of Chatelaine magazine some 30-odd years ago?

When I was flipping through the magazine, I came across an ad for Starbucks. I lingered on it a moment, because it felt familiar somehow. It was then I realized that this was a photo of the Starbucks at 185 King Street East, right here in Toronto!

Click on this picture to make it bigger. I'll wait for you.



You see "Ethan" and "Cara" who are on their first date since the birth of baby "Alec" (are "Ethan" and "Cara" fans of "30 Rock"?) OK. You see "Cara's" head? Good. Do you see the two pictures hanging on the wall behind "Cara's" head? Do you? Those are MY pictures! You'd never know it. Not in a million years. But these, are them:





They must have shot this add when I was having my exhibit in support of Hurricane Recovery last Fall. And I find this endlessly amusing. I'm quite tickled. Do you think every time I buy Chatelaine I'll be "featured" in its pages?