SECRET CUPID

Ruth C. Robbins. SECRET CUPID: Love at the Stationary Store. SP, 2019.

A fast lighter than Harlequin read. Sad young widow feels alone and rejected. Goes to a mixer. Meets 2 men. Problems ensue. I like the way the mystery is tied into the stationary store setting. 

I know I'm guilty of the same thing but it makes me sad to see women with no emotional life except longing for a man. And all the small town people whose lives peaked in high school. Sad. 

This slim volume suffers from many pitfalls of self-publishing. Tips: number your pages; choose fonts that are readable size, and line-spacing that is reader-friendly; ask someone who is good at it to copy edit. The bonus chapter made no sense, unless a reader said that you have to tie up all the loose ends, and make everyone happy in the end? 

CALL ME RUSSELL

Russell Peters, with Clayton Peters & Dannis Koromilas. CALL ME RUSSELL. Doubleday, 2010. 

An entertaining memoir of Brampton ON - raised comedian. Family ties, an Anglo-Indian family, the brothers born one in India & one in Canada. Bullied at School. ADD and directionless. The heroic climb from open-mic nights to sold out arenas. Generous with his gratitude. Sharing a bit more than I care to know. Especially the bits about counting sleeps. It seems his ideal woman is a porn star. Shopping. Labels. Being star-struck. An eternal boy in this book, published ten years ago before either of his children were born. What I learned of the life of a touring comic would not make me want to try that career. But you have to admire the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. 

A BROKEN BOWL

Patrick Friesen. A BROKEN BOWL. Brick, 1997.

Poetry. Always wonderful. 

BRAIDING SWEETGRASS

Robin Wall Kimmerer. BRAIDING SWEETGRASS: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed, 2013.

I've heard about this book for years, owned if for more than a year, and finally, with the lockdown, had the opportunity to give it the time and attention it deserves. It is one of those books you dole out to yourself is digestible doses, in order to make it last as long as you possibly can. A book you never want to finish, because then you will have to leave the beautiful plants, and their teachings and teacher.