The Savvy Reader

A Menu to Welcome the Warm Weather

Laura Calder has single-handedly revolutionalized the way we view French food. With her simple recipes and accessible ingredients, the host of French Food at Home has made steak au poivre a practical option for every dinner table.  Now, Laura Calder has put together a full menu exclusively for her readers. Taken from her most recent bestseller French Taste, each carefully-picked course perfectly complements the next, in this menu designed to welcome the warm weather. Below is the recipe for Laura’s entree choice, Lettuce-Wrapper Halbut with Dill Cream Sauce. Don’t forget to check out our MSN Book Guide for the appetizer, Pernod Mussels on the Half Shell, and French Taste for the Radishes and Peas side dish and a delectable Savarin with Strawberries. Bon appétit!

Lettuce-Wrapped Halibut with Dill Cream Sauce

One spring, I became fixated on perfecting a recipe for lettuce-wrapped fish. Don’t ask me why, but that sort of drive overtakes me sometimes: I make something, and it’s a complete disaster, but I know it has potential, so then I make it again (and again and again) until the recipe finally reveals to me its inner splendor. That was the case with the lettuce-wrapped fish. The reason for lettuce instead of chard leaves or spinach (which you could also use) is that lettuce has that wonderfully promising color of early spring buds, and it wraps itself lightly around the fish like a pretty silk shawl rather than like a wool blanket. Meanwhile, the sauce (which I found in an excellent book by Anthony Worrall-Thompson, called The Elegant Chef ’s Guide to Hors d’Oeuvres and Appetizers) is as simple as boiling water but tastes as sophisticated as something straight out of a Swiss finishing school. Please, please, please serve it with Radishes and Peas (p. 210) on the side. It’s so beautiful that way, and the dishes belong together like violets and dew.

Lynn Johnston in Toronto

Melissa Zilberberg, our Children's Books Publicist, just spent a weekend with For Better or For Worse creator and Farley Follows His Nose author Lynn Johnston. Here's what she had to say about it:

"Lynn Johnston had a welcoming stay while here in Toronto this past weekend. She came to Toronto to promote her new book Farley Follows His Nose which is the first-ever children's picture book to feature one of the beloved character's from Lynn's world famous comic strip For Better or For Worse.
 
Besides all of the heartfelt stories shared by her long-time fans, the interviews went very well (we even got to see Larry King...live at Canada AM!), and the bookstore events were also unforgettable. I was blown away by how connected Lynn's fans felt to her and how they opened their hearts (and there were tears) during their two minute chat with her while she signed their books. What stood out the most was how many people said that they regularly cut her comic strip out from the  weekend paper and placed it on their refrigerator door.
 
Indigo Yorkdale did a fantastic job at making Lynn feel at home in their store. The staffwas as excited as her fans and they have an amazing children's department! Chapters Brampton also hosted an absolutely wonderful event. The staff was buzzing when Lynn arrived and the crowd of adults and children eagerly awaited Lynn's presentation. All of them held books from her backlist and copies of Farley Follows His Nose. She ended up signing for an hour and a half and everyone walked away with a smile on their face. 
 
Thanks to everyone who came out to show your support!"

397 Ways to Save Money

Most of us have been feeling the pinch lately, so Kerry K. Taylor’s advice on money-saving tactics comes at the perfect time. In 397 Ways to Save Money, Taylor shows that by looking in every corner of our house, from the kitchen to the closet, and by considering the needs of every member of your family, from toddler to dog, we can find ways to save thousands of dollars in unexpected places without feeling pinched -- and even have fun. Here are some buying tactics to consider before parting from that hard-earned cash.

Buying Tactics

Before you hit the shops to spend some coin, arm yourself with these budget-saving tips to keep the most money in your pocket

Don’t waste money on brand names. Don’t believe the expensive marketing hype behind many brand-name products. Items carrying a brand are not necessarily better or worth the substantially higher price than the less advertised alternatives. Be wary of companies that spend lots of money on image-oriented advertising, as marketing costs big bucks and you’re paying for that cost in the product. Save 10% to 50% by purchasing quality generic food, clothing, cleaning supplies, toiletries and kitchen supplies.
Bottom line: On a $75 cart of groceries, going generic will save you up to $37.50 -- cash in the bank on every shopping trip.

Ask for a discount. Asking to pay less for a product or service sounds difficult, but it’s not. Just be polite and ask, “Is this the best price you can offer me?” Finding a store manager can usually net good results immediately. Just by asking the question, I’ve walked away saving 10% to 15% on area rugs, mirrors, furniture and a camera. Offering to pay cash for an item rather than using plastic can often help too. Asking for a discount is free. Saving 10% with less than five minutes of work is time well spent.
Bottom line: Ask for a discount on everything you buy. You may just save a few bucks.

A Summer Reading Presentation

A message from our friend Ben McNally at Ben McNally Books.

Dear Friends,

We would like to invite you to join us at the store for our Summer Reading Presentation.

We will be presenting 45 books in 45 minutes, fiction and non-fiction.  We’ve been doing this spring and fall for various book clubs over the past seven or eight years and have decided to open it up to the public. You will hear about new releases of note as well as books we have read and recommend. It would be ideal for your own book club ideas as well as being a good head start on your summer reading list.

Refreshments will be served and you may shop to your heart’s content. The date is Thursday, June 11 at 6:30 p.m. We plan to start the presentation at 7o’clock sharp. Please let us know if you will be attending as space is limited. Admission is free.

We hope to see you then.

Sincerely,

Ben

10 Scary Books to Scare your Socks Off

Who doesn't love a good scary book? Here are 10 suggestions that will definitely leave you not wanting more. What's the scariest book you've ever read? Let us know in the comments section below!

10 Scary Books to Scare your Socks Off

If a good book is one that gives way to your imagination, then a great book is one that haunts you for months -- awake or asleep. Fearlessly penned by some of the best known crime writers out there, as well as some up-and-comers to watch out for, there is no territory that’s left unchartered or convention left intact. So tighten up those belts because these tales are sure to scare the pants off of you.

The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
Guillermo del Toro, the Oscar-winning director of Pan’s Labyrnth, and Hammet Award-winning Chuck Hogan bring us an epic battle between man and vampire that threatens all of humanity. Vampires have always been here. Waiting, in the darkness. Now their time has come.In one week, Manhattan will be gone. In one month, the country. In two months -- the world.

Darkness at the Stroke of Noon by Dennis Richard Murphy
RCMP Sergeant Booker Kennison knows more dirt than he should and is quickly exiled to Yellowknife. When a series of freak accidents claim the lives of two archeologists in remote Victory Island, Kennison is dispatched to investigate in the cold wilderness. But winter’s grip and the 24-hour darkness are closing in fast and Kennison must solve two mysteries before time and light run out.  Listen to the book’s exclusive radio drama here.

Ritual by Mo Hayder
Bestselling crime novelist Mo Hayder has been dubbed as Britain’s Queen of Fear, and for good reason. On a spring afternoon, police diver Flea Marley closes her fingers around a human hand. The fact that there’s no body attached is disturbing enough. Yet more disturbing is the discovery, a day later, of the matching hand. Both have been recently amputated, and by the looks of it, the victim was still alive when they were removed. When DI Jack Caffery shows up to lead the investigation, the two are plunged into a terrifying underworld of ritual mutilation, drug addiction and muti, African medicine magic.

Flesh House by Stuart McBride
Prior to the publication of Flesh House, Stuart McBride warned fans to “expect cannibalism.” And soon after, comments started flowing in about readers’ McBride-induced nightmares. When notorious serial killer the Flesher is released on an appeal, Aberdeen starts to panic. Then a container filled with human meat turns up at the harbor, and kicks off the largest manhunt in the city’s history. The Flesher is on the run--and looking for revenge.

5 Lessons from John Lennon

Jerry Levitan, who celebrated the launch of I Met the Walrus last night at Tattoo Rock Parlour, has written an exclusive piece for us on the  life-changing lessons he learned from his one-on-one meeting with John Lennon.

5 Life Lessons I learned from John Lennon

Jerry Levitan had always dreamt of meeting John Lennon. But when his idol finally came to Toronto in 1969, Jerry did much more than just meet him: he got to spend an entire day with him, including an exclusive forty-minute interview. Now, forty years later, Levitan shares his day with Lennon in I Met the Walrus. Featuring never-before-seen photos of John and Yoko, John’s doodles, the secret code to contact him, and his candid opinion on war, politics, and the scandalous Two Virgins album, I Met the Walrus is an absolute must-have for Lennon fans around the world -- and for anyone who’s ever dreamed of meeting their hero. Below, Levitan remembers the five life-changing lessons that John Lennon taught him.

Peace
John talked a lot to me about peace. Not only about the ideal of a peaceful world, but about leading a peaceful inner and outer life. “Whatever you do, do it for peace,” he said. “We’re all Hitler inside and we’re all Christ inside.” His point was that each of us has to work on the good part of ourselves. He told me that, from a practical point of view, “ . . . if you run around wild, you’ll get smacked.”

Boldness
John did not place any limitations on his imagination. Everything was up for grabs—accepted notions, religion, politics, style, culture, music. “No hell below us and no religion too,” he sang, merging simplicity and heresy in the same breath. As a young boy, what appealed to me about John was his propensity for boldness. He had an instinct to strive for higher things and to challenge the norm, and I was drawn to this. Although taking a stand has its dangerous side, I cannot imagine life without it.

Spirit
The Beatles exuded joy and projected an uplifting spirit, an attitude that set them apart from other bands. John was the champion of spirit. All You Need Is Love. Give Peace a Chance. I Want to Hold Your Hand. Even Revolution proclaimed “Don’t you know it’s going to be all right.” We can approach life positively or negatively. It’s a choice. Like all of us, John experienced tragedies in his life. Ultimately, we can be consumed by bitterness or try to overcome it. I would rather experience joy and have an uplifting spirit. Listening to a Beatles song helps.

Playfulness
The Beatles never took themselves too seriously. This was particularly true of John; he always had a twinkle in his eye and loved to have fun with people, conventions, and ideas. In his darkest song, Yer Blues, from The White Album, he talks about suicide but then pokes fun at himself with lyrics like “If I ain't dead already, ooh girl, you know the reason why.” If you can’t have fun with yourself and with others, what’s the point?

Love
No word better describes what The Beatles were all about. And John proclaimed love from the mountaintops. I could see it when he held Yoko’s hand and kissed her. You could feel the pain and hope, passion and despair in songs like Don’t Let Me Down, In My Life, and She Loves You. I heard John sing about love and watched him manifest it with Yoko long before I knew what love was. But oh, how he made me want it! Now that I have found it, I understand every one of his songs so much more.

© Jerry Levitan 2009

Browse Inside to read more from I Met the Walrus.

Buy the book.

Yoko Ono’s Memories of John Lennon.

The Globe and Mail on Tolkien's latest

J.R.R. Tolkien new book, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, received a rave review in this Saturday’s Globe & Mail. Here are some of the highlights:

The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, the latest of J.R.R. Tolkien's works edited and published posthumously by Christopher Tolkien, will delight not only diehard Tolkien devotees and students of Old Norse and Old English literature, but also lovers of the ancient tales of gods and heroes that we read (or had read to us) as children.

The lays themselves are a masterpiece of retelling and reinvention.

The book would be worth the read for richness of the tales alone.

“The stark narrative is enriched and extended by the force of the language: One can hear the sounds of battle, smell the slaughter.”

In sum, Tolkien's New Lays are rich and compelling, combining the master's originality with the scholar's proficiency, echoing both ancient legends rooted in the mists of time and well-beloved tales of his own (readers will recognize many names and motifs from The Lord of the Rings). The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún demonstrates J.R.R. Tolkien's ability to delight and enthrall his readers, even years after his death. It is one of this year's must reads.

Written before his ever-popular Middle Earth creations, the two poems in this book are based on an ancient Norse legend that influenced much of Tolkien’s later work, including the Lord of the Rings and The Children of Húrin. And with the movie adaption of The Hobbit finally in the works (directed, after much hubbub, by Pan’s Labyrinth director and The Strain author Guillermo del Toro), The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún is the perfect place to prime for the new wave of Tolkien mania that’s about to hit.  And if like me you can’t wait until then, just check out the book trailer or this fascinating video on The Making Of… from the folk over at HarperCollins UK.

Agent 009: A Summer Reading Club

Lynne Missen, our Children’s Books Editor, sent around an e-mail announcing the latest picks for the TD Summer Reading Club, an initiative to keep kids reading during the summer months (read more about it here). Not surprisingly, my face was always buried in a book, snow, rain or shine, but we’ve all known those children who avoid books like the plague as soon as school’s out. Finally, librarians across Canada have developed a program that includes a wide range of activities based around a different theme each year, with this year’s theme being none others than Agent 009: a detective-like program that includes secret agents, investigators, horror, suspense, and whodunits. Makes me wish I could join in the fun!

The 2009 picks include: 

Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams
The Mystery of the Martello Tower by Jennifer Lanthier
The Emily Carr Mystery by Eric Wilson
Dust by Arthur Slade

And for the more skeptical parents out there, the TD reading club had over half a million participants reading a total of 2 million books just last year! That’s a whole lotta books…

--Narvan

The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez

At age 33, Alex Rodriguez is the highest paid player in the history of baseball, a once-in-a-generation talent who is about to break many of the sport’s most hallowed batting records. Yet, he is repeatedly taunted by fans and teammates who cheer when he’s on a streak and jeer as soon as he slumps. Through meticulous reporting and hundreds of interviews, Sports Illustrated writer Selena Roberts – who broke news of Rodriguez’s steroid use back in February -- analyzes the elements of A-Rod’s freefall, from his strained relationships with teammates to his failure on the field in clutch situations, from his cold business decisions to his steroid use. The first comprehensive biography on Rodriguez, A Rod is a no holds barred look at a lifestyle steeped in lies and contradictions that are finally catching up to baseball’s greatest star.

The Good Son

The back porch of the Emerald Park Retirement Center opens onto a large green lawn with a stone walkway that loops through the neatly trimmed grass and curls by a half-dozen benches. It's not an entirely bucolic scene, though. Over a stucco wall, there is a sprawling strip mall where a pub boasts that it opens "daily at 7 a.m."

Across the road out front there is a trailer park where residents live in single-wides on cinder blocks and aged RVs with broken headlights. A six-lane highway borders the center on the left, which makes this one of the noisier parts of Hollywood, Florida, with sedans, vans and 18-wheelers blasting past the corporate parks and the multiple storefronts for psychics.

Inside Emerald, where Muzak bathes a vast community room of white tile, Victor Rodriguez feels fortunate.

"It's a nice place," Victor says. "I'm taken care of."

He looks sturdier than any of the other residents. Most appear to be at least 10 years older than Victor, who is 79. Behind him, a brittle-looking man in blue shorts, black socks and orthopedic shoes is slumped in a chair asleep, oxygen tubes plugged into his nostrils. A woman with a walker moves slowly across the lobby, asking why the room is so cold -- again and again. Victor sits next to the glass elevator, upright in his chair, dressed in a crisp short-sleeved button-down shirt and brown slacks with a sharp crease. His jaw is still square. He still resembles the ballplayer he once was.

"My son, Alex, he is, let me tell you, a much better player than I was," Victor says. "He is the best, I think. But I am a father, so . . ."

10 Ways to Keep in Touch with Your Best Pal

Cathy Kelly, the author of nine #1 bestsellers and, most recently, Lessons in Heartbreak and Once in a Lifetime, analyses her ever-expanding phone bill and the 10 all-important phone calls all best friends inevitably make.

10 Ways to Keep in Touch with Your Best Pal

Does your phone bill read like the gross national product of a small country? If so, I bet it’s due to phoning your girlfriends. Because my bill certainly is. And despite my efforts, I can’t stop phoning my friends. With this in mind, I’ve analyzed a lot of women’s phoning habits and come up with my top ten phone calls to your best friends….

1. The Should-I-Phone-Him call. This one can run and run.  If you work with your friend, you can do this at the coffee machine but if you don’t, you need to talk about it. Many times. Details need to be exchanged. What he said, what he didn’t say.  Precisely how he looked as he waved goodbye. Was he smiling warmly/lustfully or did the tires squeal as he drove away at speed? Ideally, one party should have a degree in anthropology for this one but if they don’t, it’s OK.  Women are pretty good at working out body language and meaning, especially after endless twenty-minute phone calls.

2. The How Did-The-Weekend-Work-Out Call. This happens just after you drop the kids at school on Monday and is supposed to last five minutes as you and your friend are busy women. Somehow, the story of annoying people they know coming to dinner and how someone announced a new food intolerance at the table which meant they couldn’t possibly eat the chicken she’d slaved over, turns into a twenty-minute call discussing people being rude, and ‘do they have any idea how hard it is to work all week, raise kids and still cook a three-course family meal?’