Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw by Will Ferguson - Book Review #279

Travels in Search of Canada

Sometimes, especially around July (read Canada Day) I pick up, buy or borrow a book about Canada.

I've known of Will Ferguson for years and especially this book; the title has always stood out.  This time, I ran across an article that described him as Canada's Bill Bryson whom I adore.

Good enough for me.  I typed in his name on the EPL website and found Beauty Tips.

Part travel book, part memoir and part history it was a perfect read to inflate my pride in this underrated country.

There was plenty of humour that made me seek out my wife so I could read her passages.  This happened quite often, as it turns out.

In the ten chapters, he covers, almost every province, New Foundland and Labrador has two entries, Furguson explores the smaller, more interesting places tying the history of a place to his personal experience there.

I found myself keeping the book in sight at all times because I was always interested.  The writing is crisp, self-deprecating and always respectful.

It was a joy to read.

Recommended for every Canadain and anybody interested in understanding Canadians a bit more.

Will Ferguson's website - https://www.willferguson.ca/

Will Ferguson

Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig - Book Report #278

This is a heart-warming and helpful little book.  It is filled with bite-sized essays and random thoughts to help you come to terms with, cope and make a positive influence on a world that has seemingly lost its mind.

Matt Haig is refreshingly candid about his struggles coping in a  modern, connected, fake-news-filled world.  Sharing his discoveries and skills of how he navigates the currents of a nasty time in our “civil” society is a gift to anybody who takes the time to read his book.

One of my favourite thoughts come from the chapter Shock of the News, in an essay called, Shocks to the System he says;

"Change doesn't just happen by focusing on the place you want to escape.  It happens by focusing on where you want to reach.  Boost the good guys, don't just knock the bad guys.  Find the hope that is already here and help it grow."

I loved this book.  It was a positive experience and read like a paper-bound twitter account, only better and more thoughtful.  I could pick it up and read a passage or two or make a cup of tea and settle back and enjoy the warmth of a positive human being finding his way in this world.

Highly recommended.

Matt Haig's website - http://www.matthaig.com/

Matt Haig

Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn - Book Review #277

I love Star Wars.  I love heists.  Put them together and you get Han and Chewie putting a team together to rob a Black Sun crime boss.  Nothing to it.

This story takes place shortly after the events of A New Hope, where Han has lost his reward from the Alliance and he has to make it up to pay his debt to Jabba.

I can't say enough about the talents of Marc Thompson, who narrated the book.  His abilities to create character voices was as if an entire cast was making the production.  It really felt like an episode of the movies.

That said Timothy Zahn sometimes went over the top in putting obstacles in the way of the terrific team of specialists Han gathered to do the job.  The safe they had to crack was so elaborate that I completely lost my interest in it.

All-in-all it was an entertaining story if a bit long, I loved how Zahn tied in events of the past with hints of the future.  He also created characters that I wound up caring about and look forward to reading about in the future.


The book is certainly set up for a sequel.

Lots of fun.

Timothy Zahn's ISFDB page - http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?Timothy_Zahn

Timothy Zahn

The Latte Factor by David Bach and John David Mann - Book Report #276

I am Canadian so I recognized this book for what it is - an American version of The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton who wrote his book in 1989.

It is a narrative about a 27 year old woman working in a high-pressure job at a travel magazine in New York.  She is loaded with debt and is living paycheque to paycheque.  Her boss sends her to speak to Henry the owner of a coffee shop for advice.

Even though I am 54 I still found the message compelling.  Although I won’t have the benefit of decades to grow my money I can still create a much-needed financial cushion from the lessons within the book.

I enjoyed the structure of the book, it felt much more natural than The 5AM Club.  Best of all, the book is less than 150 pages, making for an easy read.

I will say here that I loved the length of the book, it had the effect of distilling the message and focusing the advice.  I like how a limited space removes the need to “fill” the book.


Recommended.

David Bach's website - https://davidbach.com/

David Bach